Disease Du Jour: Equine Dermatology

In Episode 67 of the Disease Du Jour podcast, we talk about ‘New Thoughts on Old Dermatologic Diseases” with Ann Rashmir, DVM, MS, DACVS. Rashmir, who is self-employed in the Washington, D.C. area, is a board-certified surgeon. She received her DVM from the University of California, Davis, and did her equine surgery residency at Kansas State University. She has an interest in dermatology, and her research has included heritable equine regional dermal asthenia (or HERDA). Included in her job history is 10 1/2 years as an Associate Professor, Large Animal Clinical Sciences, at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine and as the current Equine Program Manager of the Western Veterinary Conference, a title she has held for more than eight years.

EquiManagement’s Disease Du Jour podcast is focused on equine research and current best practices. Disease Du Jour is brought to you in 2021 by Merck Animal Health.

Topics in Rashmir’s podcast included:

• Allergic Disease
• Tumors
• Parasitic disease
• Infectious (including bacterial)

Allergic diseases can include hives, allergies for bug bites and dealing with mosquitoes around horses.

Rashmir said it is time for veterinarians to rethink sarcoids. “Sarcoids are cancer; get rid of them sooner rather than later,” said Rashmir. 

Infectious causes of dermatologic issues in horses include parasites, mites and others. Infectious causes can include bacterial issues (i.e., rain rot). Rashmir cautioned veterinarians to think about nutrition as a component, particularly in older horses.

EquiManagement’s Disease Du Jour podcast is focused on equine research and current best practices. Disease Du Jour is brought to you in 2021 by Merck Animal Health.