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is big round bumps under the skin, all over back and neck, not crusty.sore to the touch, look like jelly beans under the skin. on a long haired weanling around the corner. they have been there about a week, bathing in antibacterial shampoo is not changing anything. I'm voting for a vet call, but owner is thinking enough crud buster will take care of it. I have never seen anything like this.

Sounds more like hives to me

Rain scauld or mud fever, are crusty scabs which can ooze liquid. Normally the hair starts to stand up, and you can actually pick the scabs off, especially if the rain scauld is on their back and neck.

This isn't what you are describing. It sounds like a reaction to something or insect bites of some description. Or even sweat itch.

Do you have a photo of it? Are there many insects around? Is he covered? Have you washed everything that touches him on a regular basis? Or what about, has anything changed in his diet or environment recently?

How are you affiliated with this horse? Sounds like he's a neighbours horse?

Certainly sounds like hives.

NOT my horse, not my farm, just drop in and add some info when it's accepted. The hair doesn't seem disturbed, when she washed him yesterday, they hair laid down slick all around these lumps and they were alarming, they stood out so abruptly against the flattened wet hair. All lumps are on his back and upper neck, like rain rot, nothing lower on his belly or flanks. The lumps show no hair loss. The skin around them seems clear. They feel somewhat soft, but not exactly fluid filled, and the little guy squats if you put much pressure on a lump. This weanling arrived about 6 weeks ago, the lumps showed up about a week ago and don't seem to be changing. Several other horses on this property have the usual rain rot, We were washed out for 10 days. This doesn't look anything like any of the pictures I can find on the internet image sites for skin lesions on horses backs. Wish they would call the vet. Too busy practicing 'Natural Horsemanship' to learn much. Drives me nuts.

martha sc wrote:NOT my horse, not my farm, just drop in and add some info when it's accepted. The hair doesn't seem disturbed, when she washed him yesterday, they hair laid down slick all around these lumps and they were alarming, they stood out so abruptly against the flattened wet hair.

Warbles?

Sounds like hives or an irritation of some sort that hasn't broken the skin yet. I would probably call the vet, probably could be on meds for a couple days and be all better. But yeah-I understand your hands are tied.

I've never seen hives that are the size of marbles in terms of "elevation". I have seen bug bites that look like that. Any chance all the moisture brought out a new crop of mosquitoe? Spiders fleeing the low ground, etc?

martha sc wrote:NOT my horse, not my farm, just drop in and add some info when it's accepted. The hair doesn't seem disturbed, when she washed him yesterday, they hair laid down slick all around these lumps and they were alarming, they stood out so abruptly against the flattened wet hair. All lumps are on his back and upper neck, like rain rot, nothing lower on his belly or flanks. The lumps show no hair loss. The skin around them seems clear. They feel somewhat soft, but not exactly fluid filled, and the little guy squats if you put much pressure on a lump. This weanling arrived about 6 weeks ago, the lumps showed up about a week ago and don't seem to be changing. Several other horses on this property have the usual rain rot, We were washed out for 10 days. This doesn't look anything like any of the pictures I can find on the internet image sites for skin lesions on horses backs. Wish they would call the vet. Too busy practicing 'Natural Horsemanship' to learn much. Drives me nuts.

You live in South Carolina, correct? If so, there has been a wave of mosquitoes causing this in our area. And when I say "wave" that is exactly what they look like in some of the farms. We have people going out in mosquito nets. Since the flooding it has been bad in some areas and the horses are looking like this after they come through. The thing is they aren't on them all day. They are on them for a few hours and then travel in a wave somewhere else. A friend's horse busted through a gate yesterday and I'm wondering if it was to get away from another wave. He's not one to ever test a fence.

Almost every one of my horses has had some rain rot the last few weeks. I'm attributing it to the extreme rain we had a few weeks ago. It all seems to be resolving. Oddly my 3yo had it the worst and when I had the chiro out she needed the most work. Absolutely a wreck tip to tail.

If it's mosquito bites, why is this the only horse out of a dozen that looks like this . Others have regular rainrot, some are clean skinned

Does the horse come from far away? If so he could be reacting to something (eg insect bites) that the ordinary horses don't have any trouble with.

silk wrote:Does the horse come from far away? If so he could be reacting to something (eg insect bites) that the ordinary horses don't have any trouble with.

This and it is a young horse too...I think OP said weanling?

Could also be ant bites though I would think after a week, you'd see those oozing too.

martha sc wrote:If it's mosquito bites, why is this the only horse out of a dozen that looks like this . Others have regular rainrot, some are clean skinned

Because he's the only one that is sensitive/allergic to whatever is biting him?

consider,perhaps, this is a bad case of threadworm

many of the signs are like rain rot