Understanding the Horse's Skin and Coat E-Book

Jane Coatesworth

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

The health and quality of the horse's skin and coat are affected by a range of internal and external factors. Understanding the Horse's Skin and Coat aims to inform the reader how these factors can impact on the horse's wellbeing and appearance. The book is written in clear, non-technical language and is suitable for interested horse owners and veterinary students. Topics covered in this new book include the structure and function of the skin and coat; genetics, coat colour and markings; parasites and skin diseases; signs of illness; wounds and healing and, finally, external and internal treatments. Aimed at veterinary surgeons and nurses, and horse owners, and fully illustrated with 150 colour photographs and 25 diagrams.

Leseprobe

Understanding the Horse’s Skin and Coat

Jane Coatesworth

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2016 by

J.A. Allen

www.allenbooks.co.uk

JA Allen is an imprint of

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2016

© Jane Coatesworth 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 908809 55 1

Photographs by the author, except where credited in the text Frontispiece: Alice Loder (www.aliceloderphotography.co.uk) Illustrations by Carole Vincer

Disclaimer

The contents of this book are for information only. They are not intended to replace professional diagnosis and treatment by a qualified veterinary surgeon. Please consult your vet about any concerns you may have about animals under your care.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Introduction

1. PEOPLE, HORSES AND HORSEHAIR

Horses as an Historical Workforce; Horsehair

2. WHAT THE SKIN DOES, AND HOW IT DOES IT

Structure of the Skin; Skin Function

3. IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL HORSES BY SIGHT

Genetics and Coat Colour; White Markings

4. GATHERING THE INFORMATION

Taking a History; Examining the Horse

5. PARASITES AFFECTING THE SKIN

What is a Parasite?; Ticks and Mites; Insects

6. NEOPLASIA AFFECTING THE SKIN

Factors that may Influence the Development of Neoplasia; Development of Tumours; Sarcoids; Squamous Cell Carcinoma; Melanoma; Less Common Types of Skin Neoplasia

7. SKIN DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH HYPERSENSITIVITY

An Introduction to Allergic Disease; Itchy Horses; Atopic Dermatitis; Food Hypersensitivity; Urticaria; Angio-Oedema; Sweet Itch; Hypersensitivity to Bites from Other Insects; Contact Allergy

8. CONTAGIOUS SKIN DISEASES

Ringworm (Dermatophytosis); Papillomatosis; Aural Plaques; Bacterial Skin Infections; Mud Fever Complex (Pastern Dermatitis)

9. NON-CONTAGIOUS SKIN DISEASES

Pemphigus Foliaceus (PF); Sunburn; Granulomas; Malassezia Dermatitis; Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia (HERDA); Contact Irritation

10. CHANGES IN THE SKIN AND COAT THAT POINT TOWARDS INTERNAL DISEASE

Hirsutism; Multisystemic Eosinophilic Epitheliotrophic Disease (MEED); Generalized Granulomatous Disease (Sarcoidosis); Photosensitization

11. WOUNDS AND WOUND HEALING

Stages of Wound Healing; Wound Breakdown; Antibiotics; Cleaning a Wound; Managing an Open Wound; Proud Flesh; Skin Grafting

12. PILLS, LOTIONS AND POTIONS – TREATMENTS USED IN SKIN CONDITIONS

Drug Safety; Treatments Applied to the Skin; Treatments Given Internally to the Horse, Which Have Action on the Skin

References

Index

Acknowledgements

My grateful thanks and heartfelt appreciation for the love and counsel of my family and friends and for the kindness and support of many colleagues at the Animal Health Trust. I would also like to thank those people, credited in the text, who kindly gave me permission to use their photographs, and Richard Wilson for demonstrating his skills as a bow-maker. Finally, thanks to my patient companion throughout the typing process.

Author’s Note

There are a couple of points to which I should draw the reader’s attention.

Wherever, within the text, the heading Treatment Options appears, please be aware that what follows is strictly a list of options, each of which may be most appropriate to individual cases. Do not be tempted to use a treatment, or a combination of treatments at random. Please seek professional advice on the best treatment for your horse.

Those who read through the text in its entirety may notice that, in some cases, details of certain treatments may be repeated. This is because some treatments may be effective for more than one specific condition. Since readers may be seeking explanation of how best to treat an individual condition, it seemed helpful to include all details pertaining to that condition in one place, rather than direct the reader elsewhere in the text by means of cross-references.

Introduction

Imagine the shining coat, and flowing mane and tail, of a healthy, well-groomed horse as it catches the sunlight on a summer’s day. These are beautiful things to see. The skin and coat are both attractive and interesting.

Many variable conditions affect the skin and the hair coat: internal variables such as hormones, blood supply and diet, and external variables such as infection, sunlight, parasites and rainfall. Add to this the numerous management options of rugs, clipping, grooming and housing. The skin is a dynamic organ that will respond to these variable factors, and to many more. Skin and hair are constantly replacing themselves, under the influence of genetic factors and of the changing internal and external environment.

A great advantage in dermatology is the ability to see, feel and smell what is happening at the surface of the skin. We can also see the part of the hair coat that is outside the hair follicles. A disadvantage in dermatology is that many skin conditions have a similar appearance. We are often working from a list of different conditions, all of which fit the history and appearance of the case. Our job is to work patiently through the list and to rule out, or to positively identify, each option. This patient and rigorous approach allows us to reach a definitive diagnosis. Having a diagnosis saves a lot of time and money in the long run: all subsequent treatment is rational and relevant. A diagnosis can also give a prognosis, allowing us to plan and budget realistically for ongoing care.

The management and treatment sections, which accompany the disease descriptions in this book, contain a number of options. These are not listed in order of preference. The best choice of options depends on the individual case, and is part of the clinical judgement required to manage a case successfully.

This book is not so much a diagnostic manual as an aid to understanding what we see in front of us when we look at a horse’s skin and coat, both the normal and the diseased. Through that understanding we can make better decisions, which will lead to better actions and outcomes. Our individual and collective understanding changes as we see more of what is around us, and we integrate new information. The book is a source of information and discussion for the curious. It is for anyone who has wondered about the flies around a wound, or the lumps on that horse’s skin, or why that foal turned out the colour he did.

1People, Horses and Horsehair

HORSES AS AN HISTORICAL WORKFORCE

Horses were an essential workforce for many centuries. They were involved in military campaigns up to, and including, the Second World War. In addition to being cavalry mounts, horses hauled heavy guns, moved supplies and carried the wounded. It is estimated that eight million horses died in the First World War, plus countless mules and donkeys.

Major C.D. Phillips, of the South Wales Borderers, mounted on the mare Longboat. Both survived the First World War. (Photo: A. Deacon)

In civilian life, horses would have been a familiar part of daily life. They took over from oxen, to plough the fields, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Horses hauled carts to bring in the harvest and to move timber. They pulled barges on the waterways. Ponies hauled coal in the pits. The doctor, the priest and the veterinary surgeon rode, or drove a trap, to and fro across the parish to make their visits. Towns and cities were packed with horses drawing cabs, trams and buses, with ponies pulling milk carts, and with heavy horses hauling the brewery drays. People rode or drove all manner of horses and horse-drawn vehicles for business and pleasure. Horses for riding and driving were available for hire by the day. Stage coaches and mail coaches were drawn by teams of two, four or six horses, depending on the terrain. The teams were changed at several stages during the day and the coach continued with fresh horses. Thousands of people were involved in breeding and training horses to meet the demand for horse power, and in feeding and mucking out and handling horses. It is estimated that, in 1900, London had a working population of 300,000 horses.

The dependence on horse power, and the closely interdependent relationship between people and horses, came to a fairly swift end. In the UK horses were replaced for farm work, haulage and personal transport by the arrival of steam and coal power, and by the coming of the motor engine.

USES OF HORSEHAIR

Plaster for walls

Suit linings

Rocking horse manes and tails

Cloth

Bows for stringed instruments

Sporrans

Ropes

Brushes

Leaders on Victorian era dry-fly fishing lines

Military plumes e.g. of the mounted regiment of the Household Cavalry of the British Army Judicial wigs

Padding under shoulder armour

Filters for draining/clearing cider

Saddle stuffing

Mattress and window seat stuffing

Birds’ nests in aviaries

Victorian hair lacework

Braiding on tunics

Scouring, with or without additional sand

Polishing wood and burnishing metal on a lathe

Padding First World War ammunition boxes

Attaching feathers to arrows

Gin traps for small birds

(Thanks to M. Sowden Sr for supplying this list)

Brushes of various sizes, made of horsehair, and used for ink painting and other art work.

A short barrister’s wig. (Photo: D. Hayes)

HORSEHAIR

Prior to their numerical decline, with so many horses around, and their relatively short working lifespan, there was a large volume of horsehair available. Horsehair was recognized as a tough and flexible material and was put to many creative uses. Some of these uses are discussed below.

Stuffing

Horsehair stuffing protruding from beneath the covering layers at the back of an old sofa.

Horsehair was widely used as a stuffing material. The durability and resilience of the material meant that it kept its shape well, while being somewhat flexible when loaded. Chairs, sofas, railway carriage seats, mattresses and saddles were all regularly stuffed with horsehair.

Horsehair Plaster

Before the adoption of plasterboard in the twentieth century, the interior walls of houses were frequently made with a lath and plaster technique. Lime-based plaster was mixed with chopped horse, or cattle, hair before being applied to the wooden laths. The addition of animal hair made the plaster stronger, and allowed it to stick more easily to the wooden laths. The hair was a lightweight and strengthening addition to the plaster.

Rocking Horse Manes and Tails

The flowing horsehair mane and forelock of a traditional restored rocking horse. This example is a large, early, extra carved, original paint horse by F.H. Ayres. (Photo: rockinghorseheaven.com)

Rocking horses have been around as children’s toys for many centuries. The earliest surviving English example is from around 1605, and can be seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood. Rocking horses were popular in Victorian times. They were mass-produced for the home market and for export. F.H. Ayres was a leading London manufacturer of rocking horses, and other toys, around the turn of the twentieth century. The wooden horses had ’real’ manes and tails, made either of horse or cattle hair. Modern rocking horses of traditional design, and restored period rocking horses, have manes and tails of flowing horsehair in a variety of natural and dyed colours.

Suit Linings

Horsehair can be woven, with various amounts of cotton, into a fabric known in the tailoring profession as ’canvas’. Higher proportions of horsehair give a flatter, stiffer fabric, while more cotton allows greater flexibility and a rougher texture. The canvas provides the structure and shape of the garment, such as in a suit jacket. Horsehair canvas supports the overlying woollen fabric, allowing it to drape well, and maintains a flexible but consistent shape throughout the rigours of daily wear. The canvas middle layer is not seen in a finished garment, as it is covered with a silky lining material. Jackets can be half or fully canvassed, the former having horsehair material only across the chest and lapels. Horsehair canvas has largely been replaced by synthetic materials.

Horsehair Cloth

Michael Sowden Sr finishing a hank of horse tail hair in the traditional manner. (Photo: M. Sowden Jr)

Cloth made from horsehair was widely produced during the nineteenth century. The warp was made of cotton and the weft of horse tail hair. The average length of a horse’s tail limited the width of the cloth to approximately 70cm (28in). The fabric was flexible and hardwearing, and resistant to degradation by ultraviolet light. It was used for the upholstery of railway carriage seats and window blinds, and for household window seats and chairs. Horsehair cloth has an attractive sheen and can be dyed many colours. It was used by designers such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh for chair upholstery. Horsehair cloth is still woven today with a warp of cotton, or of polyester. There is a factory in Castle Cary, in Somerset, which has specialized in producing this product since 1837. The contemporary fabric is used both in restoration work, and in exclusive modern soft furnishing projects.

Bows for Stringed Instruments

The violin, viola, ’cello and double bass are all played by moving a bow across the strings to make the strings vibrate. The bow is a wooden, or carbon fibre, stick supporting between 100 and 150 horse tail hairs. The lower number of hairs would be appropriate, for example, in a period violin bow and would represent about 5g (0.18oz) of horsehair. The higher number of hairs would be found in a ’cello bow, of contemporary design, and would represent about 6g (0.2oz) of horsehair.

Hanks of white, black and mixed colour tail hair hanging in the workshop of the bow-maker.

Bow-makers select the right number of hairs of an appropriate length, colour and quality. Each end of the selected hairs is then tied together with twine to form a bundle. One end of the bundle is trapped in the pointed end of the bow with a wooden wedge. Maple and lime-wood wedges are used to trap and spread out the hairs. The hair bundle is wetted, stretched and wedged in at the other end of the bow. As the hairs dry they take up a uniform tension and form the flat ’ribbon’ of parallel hairs used by the musician. The tension of the hair ’ribbon’ can be adjusted by turning a screw in the end of the bow. With repeated use the hairs of a bow become worn and they lose their grip on the string. Bow-makers can then replace the worn hair bundle with a new one. Professional string players may have their bows re-haired two or three times each year.

The bow-maker has wedged the bundle of horse tail hair at the tip of the bow, and is now stretching and arranging it before securing it at the other end.

2What the Skin Does, and How it Does it

Structure and function are closely interrelated. The skin is the way it is, because of what it has needed to do over many generations of horses. In turn, it can perform the tasks it needs to, because of the way it is. The structure of the horse’s skin is discussed first, to give a common descriptive language for when the function of the skin is discussed later. The separation of structure and function is helpful and convenient, but the two are interdependent.

STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN

The skin can be thought of as having two layers. These are the outer epidermal layer and the deeper dermal layer. Beneath these two layers is an underlying subcutaneous layer, literally a ’beneath the skin’ layer.