my 23 year old gelding is starting to get some sores on his stifle/flank area on both sides....he had these last summer but they went away with salve. he also didnt show any discomfort.
i noticed the sores today and i also noticed that my gelding is "uncomfortable" in the flank/loin area. every time i try to touch this area, he kicks. not "at"me, just kicks.

i called my vet earlier (before i relized the "sores" were hurting and he is ruling out kidney problems and bowl problems as he is going to the bathroom normally. i asked him about my horses sheath and he told me that a horse really doesnt need their sheath cleaned as often people tend to think......he is very open to give my horse a physical and check him out.......my vet wants me to start him on a low dosage of bute to see if he acts differently (my vet wants to rule out behavioral problems)

as soon as i get my tax return (should be any day now) i am going to trailer Khlassi to my vets to have his teeth done and have him looked over and possibly blood work done.....i love my boy this is really scary. its hard to watch him kick out and lokk back at me adn tell "ouch mommy it hurts back there!!!"

here are some pics of the sores....they are not the best but my phone was all i had at the time

here is a picture of his right stifle/flack area. this sore is no more than some loss of hair (the lighter hait in the middle of the pic is the "soon to be" sore)


This is a picture of his left stifle/flank area. this sore is more prominant. i know he is not rubbing. they are in a weird spot for rubbing. (his hip bones above would get in the way) the oblong mark above the sore is of an old injury (the hair is still growing back)


what does everyone think????? i will really value everyones opinions.....especially AQHABreeder and Cathy......

and i wrote this up kind of fast, so if something doesnt make sense, please ask me before you comment! thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it possible that it may be mites or something else tiny and "hair-eating?" We have had in the past something almost invisible that eats at the horses' manes and sometimes a bit below the mane onto the hair area.
Are you sure he's not rubbing it? It really looks like it's been rubbed/hair moved around, unless you moved it a bit for the pictures (?) horses can get into strange positions when they've got an itch. He's not biting at his stifle/flank is he? Does the skin look dry/flakey, or fairly normal to you?
If you use a blanket/stable sheet on him it's possible that something on the blanket could be rubbing it such as leg straps or buckles if the blanket was to have slid to one side a bit.
Is the hair falling out or is there any swelling?
If the hair is messy, falling out, skin dry and damaged looking, without knowing anymore about your horses' condition, I would at least rub some Olive oil into the area very softly so as not to hurt him. Also you might try some sort of rub-on anti inflammatory since it's irritating him. Preparation H is supposed to regrow hair if it's falling out, and it's anti-inflammatory but I'm not sure of the contents in it. If you use anything to rub on it, try not to use anything with Mineral Oil or Petroleum (such as Vaseline) BELIEVE IT OR NOT; Mineral Oil which is Refined Used Motor Oil or Petroleum seals up the pores on skin. So would only temporarily make you think it's softening and helping the skin's condition.

Is he stalled; maybe laying on something at night which is making him sore and causing the rubbed look?

Sorry for all the questions, just hard to rule out much without knowing some things first.

he is not rubbing on anything and none of the other horses are getting this anywhere on their body......now that you mention it, he is biting at his flanks and that might be where the sores are coming from......i sure hope its just his sheath and nothing too serious. my vet was out on an emergency call last night so i couldnt really talk to him about the sores. the bute seems to be helping some. he wasnt as sore last night as he was before the bute ws given......

well my gelding kept biting himself and ended up making himself bleed. i called my vet and he was able to get him this Tuesday. he is going to have a physical done and then get his teeth floated and get his sheath cleaned and some blood work. we are now thinking that part of his attitude change is because he may be getting Cushings. my mom thinks he may have it due to his really long dull coat. he is also going blind very slowly but that hasnr slowed him down any.
just thought i would give an update!!!!! i will let everyone know what the results are from my vet

Thanks for the update.
Interesting, I have 3 Cushings horses, none have shown that before, of coarse every horse is different.

what symptoms do your horses have? how do you treat it? i havent had time to do much research yet.

All 3 are older ponies- 2 Welsh and 1 Quarter pony.
1st-20 yr old Welsh came from a riding school. Had been on Pergolide daily for 10 yrs. Changed her diet to Purina's Complete advantage and bagged hay-Spillers happy hoof. She goes out in the big field with everyone else.
2nd- AGED QP
He is on purina's Complete advantage and rinsed beet pulp [soak it the strain/rinse] to get the excess sugars out, dry lotted or turnout muzzle, alfafa hay [I know that sounds bizzare, but of all the hays alfalfa has the lowest sugar/starch levels]
3rd-18 yr old Welsh
She is actually the worse with symptoms, has had chronic founder, fat deposits, lethargy, some eyesite issues. She only gets Spillers happy hoof and a supplement called Remission.
The 2 ponies were on Pergolide and Thyro-L, I have since been able to wean them off those meds. and have had healthy sound ponies who ride and drive without any issues.
None of the above are on any meds.
I just went to a Laminitis seminar, and had the Vet tell me that 80% of aged horses will get Cushings or IR. That 100% of those will founder and need to be put on Pergolide.
I did have to disagree and after some discussion he resigned to say that "it is possible to manage it with proper diet/exercise and nutrition, but that he still suggests regulating it with Pergolide"
As for symptoms, that ranges but -pot bellies but still ribby,long hair coat that doesn't shed out,founder,bulging eyes,excess urination,over sensitive to light.

thanks Ltc4h!!

I took my horse to the vet yesterday, and he says that my horses stifles are popping and thats why he is biting at them.......if you watch Khlassi walk you can see them pop......my vet says that he needs more excersise........yay!!!! its nothing serious!!!!! as for the cushings, he doesnt think Khlassi has it. he did see some cgrayness in his eyes but for Khlassi being 24, he thinks his eyes look normal. his temperature is normal, his heart rate is really really good for a horse his age, and his weight looks good. he reccomends me keep him on what im feeding him (1.5 flakes alfalfa/grass twice a day and 1 scoop (3 qrts) Equine Senior.
he feels that he dropped weight bue to all the sudden cold snaps we had this winter and feels that his weight will stay up throughout the rest of the year.

Hey girl! So glad to hear he doesn't have cushings. It would seem a little odd to me for an Arabian at that age to have something such as cushings. Maybe that's just me.

I suppose all of our senior horses fit into that 20% that this vet talks about as far as getting Cushings/IR. We had a 37yr old Shetland (deceased now) , 30 yr. Old Quarter gelding, and 40yr old Quarter Mare (deceased) with none of the above.

Hey girl! So glad to hear he doesn't have cushings. It would seem a little odd to me for an Arabian at that age to have something such as cushings. Maybe that's just me.

I suppose all of our senior horses fit into that 20% that this vet talks about as far as getting Cushings/IR. We had a 37yr old Shetland (deceased now) , 30 yr. Old Quarter gelding, and 40yr old Quarter Mare (deceased) with none of the above.


Well Dimmers- keep us updated!

im going to take him on a short easy trail ride thurseday. we have an irrigation canal behind the house that we ride on when we dont want to take on the hills.