Microscopic Study of Skin Diseases in Horses from the Bogota Savanna, Colombia

Abstract

Horses hold third place in number of cases of skin disease after cats and dogs; however, there is little information about the demographic aspects of dermatological diseases in this species in Colombia. The purpose of this work was to carry out a preliminary study in order to determine the dermatological diseases that affect horses in the Bogota Savanna, through biopsy, skin scraping and trichogram, in order to approach the diagnosis and thus to establish therapeutic and prophylactic measures that benefit the animal’s health and productivity in commercial farms. Thirty-nine skin biopsies, thirty-nine cutaneous scraping and thirtyseven samples of hairy peel from horses with some kind of skin disease were received, all of which were processed by the Histopathology Laboratory from La Salle University. The inflammatory injuries were sorted taking into account the histological patterns of inflammatory skin disease and tumors, according to the classification by the World Health Organization (WHO). Allergic dermatitis was the most common pathology (46%) and neoplasia was observed in 13% of the cases; fungal spores in ectothrix position were found in 10% of the cutaneous scrapes. Mites of the type <em>Psoroptes spp</em> were identified in one of the trichograms. This is the first report of microscopic diagnosis of skin diseases of horses in the country with the goal of contributing with the demographic knowledge of skin diseases in the Bogota Savanna.