Traumatic Skin Disorders - Donkey

This donkey suffered from a well-defined focal dermatosis that was restricted to its tack contact areas. The condition related to very contaminated and badly cleaned tack and resolved quickly following replacement of the head collar with the one shown here.(Image courtesy of The Donkey Sanctuary)

Traumatic injuries to donkeys is common in working animals. The needs of the owners and some degree of ignorance result in repeated trauma to the skin that inhibits healing and causes considerable skin hyperplasia and thickening.(Image courtesy of The Donkey Sanctuary)

Probably the most prevalent, dramatic and disturbing skin disease is trauma. Donkeys that are required to work very hard may be maintained in poor conditions with poor nutrition and with ill-fitting harness (if any is fitted at all!). Traumatic skin diseases are a recurrent and major concern in working donkeys worldwide. Like many of the other skin disorders this is best regarded as a direct consequence of domestication. Feral populations of donkeys are remarkably free of skin disease of any sort and traumatic injuries usually heal remarkably well.

Most of the serious skin damage is caused by recurrent injury: repeated trauma is a known and strong inhibitor of wound healing, and the geographical locations where donkeys work usually mean that both their nutritional status and the risks of parasitic and bacterial infection of wounds are high.

Whilst donkeys have a largely resilient skin they can react to inappropriate contacts from dirty tack or from chemical injury. Usually the clinical features of these dermatoses relate to specific defined areas of application or contact with the irritant material. Saddle or harness oils may be irritants and then, for example, the pattern of contact will be evident from the clinical examination: lesions are restricted to contact areas. A more detailed description of the significant wound healing problems in donkeys is given in Wound Management section.

References

• Knottenbelt, D. (2008) Skin disorders In Svendsen, E.D., Duncan, J. and Hadrill, D. (2008) The Professional Handbook of the Donkey, 4th edition, Whittet Books, Chapter 8

DERMATOLOGICAL DISORDERS - DONKEY

This section was sponsored and content provided by THE DONKEY SANCTUARY