#i ALSO think it's not good for them to have put the photosensitivity warnings with the rest of it

[xwhitenoise]

So I’ve started on Neverafter, right, and despite being sort of a baby when it comes to more grotesque horror elements I’m enjoying it so far

but some of the content warnings are for things that are... honestly really trivial and would not have warranted timestamped warnings in any other season, and I feel like they make the idea of content warnings themselves seem kind of frivolous and silly overall. Which is. The opposite of what they should be doing.

[antiadvil]

early tit shows request

I already posted this in the community tab but wanted to make a separate post so it can be shared more widely.

TLDR I’m very photosensitive and have tit tickets for November 3rd in Chicago. I would like to compile a list of the flash effects in the show and when they are before I go, so I can know when to look away. If anyone else would find this useful, I can share the list publicly. I'll put the rest under a cut because it's very long and I want any discussion via reblog chain to be legible:

why i need help:

As some of you may know because I bitch about constantly, I have chronic migraine, and one of my symptoms is photophobia that ranges from moderate to severe Literally All Of The Time. On a good day I’m able to hang out in a dim room wearing my tinted glasses and experience no light related pain but even on my best migraine days I still find very bright, flashing, or flickering lights to be very painful to look at or generally exist around. I bought a tit ticket fully knowing there would likely be flash effects in it because WAD did, many of their videos do, ii and tatinof probably did, I don’t remember, and literally every stage production I have been to in the past year did, except for an orchestra, if that counts as a stage production 😂. I literally would not be able to leave my apartment if I avoided everything that triggers my photophobia considering the Literal Sun is one of the biggest offenders so I am really not looking for people to tell me to just not go or whatever. Obviously I hope that my migraine resolves by the time my show comes around (like at least breaking down into individual episodes instead of one incredibly long migraine would be nice), and it’s possible it will, since I haven’t actually gotten to try the most promising treatments yet bc insurance bullshit, but I expect to still be dealing with this two months from now.

how you can help:

So, it would be really helpful if anyone was able to tell me about the flash effects in the show before I go. Ideally, I would like to know how many there are, how extreme they are, how long they last, and MOST ideally, approximately when in the show they happen so I can cover my eyes and look away beforehand (I’m thinking, like, “after they do abc they flash the lights,” not timestamps, since I think that would be much easier for everyone involved to remember. I know this will probably involve spoilers, I don’t mind, I’m currently planning to look at spoilers for the show). I know this is not something people with normal eyes/brains/optic nerves normally remember after shows (even my closest friends who are genuinely trying have failed to warn me about flash effects before) but I am hoping through the power of crowdsourcing i can put together a semi-complete guide to When To Look Away At Tit For Photophobic people. I can share that doc if there’s any interest in it and anyone who is able to “test drive” the document before my show would be very helpful. I’m also willing to keep making changes to the document after my show, if that’s something people would find helpful. If it is though I would really appreciate hearing from you- even if it's just an anon or something, because I'm not going to do extra work if I don't think it will reach anyone who needs it. I'm sure I'm not the only person who's planning to go to tit and just suffer through any flash effects, but I don't know if this post/the document I make will reach any of them (does anyone know if there's an accessibility/disability community on phan twitter??). My tentative plan is to share the document regardless, since it doesn't take much extra work from me, but if this is something that would benefit you please reach out so we can make sure it benefits you too.

a hopefully helpful guide to flash effects:

Another challenge is, quite frankly, most people are very bad at even noticing flash effects if they’re not photosensitive. I get it, as a newly photosensitive person I was genuinely confused about why I left across the spiderverse with such a bad headache, because nothing in it looked like a “flash effect” to me. Some things that have triggered my photophobia before that people may not think of as “flash” effects include: the snow effect in stardew valley, candles (flames in general create a very flickery light), glitch/static editing effects, the sort of stuttery/laggy way video games look when your graphics card is bad, and video that flips through photographs/backgrounds very quickly (this is worse the more different the colors/etc in the photos/backgrounds are from each other but even if it’s done in a more stopmotion kind of way it still bugs me at low FPS. It’s like the video game thing, I’m not sure if there’s an actual word for that). Another thing that commonly bothers people (personally it doesn’t hurt much though it can make me a bit motion sick) is sort of swirly “hypnotizing” gifs.

From the set photos, I think any flash effects would most likely come from the light/rope/wire things, those just look perfect for some kind of sparking/lightning effect which I imagine would be very obvious and easy to spot. The video screens could probably also be a problem but if they’re all at standard screen brightness, unless they all start being flashy at the same time, they’re a much smaller portion of the audience’s field of vision so I don’t think they would be as problematic (though I would still like to know about them!). My worst fear is that they’re playing something really staticky for the entire show, though I hope that at my distance from the stage, the static would be small enough to just kind of blend into gray and not bother me much.

in conclusion:

Yes, this could all be solved if people stopped putting so many fucking flash effects in their shows. I am begging for the entire world to realize that nine times out of ten they are Completely Not Worth It and just putting a “some flash effects may not be suitable for photosensitive viewers!!!” warning on every piece of media ever created does not make their media accessible (hey Netflix! Wanna give me a timestamp to skip or am I just expected to never watch Stranger Things?). But here we are.

[anistarrose]

Other good posts have gone around about this, but I wanted to give another boost to this survey from a Tumblr staff-affiliated blog @benevolenthellsite (warning: the blog itself has gifs, some of which are potentially slightly flashy).

Please, send them politely but strongly worded feedback about our frustration with accessibility issues. In particular, I recommend telling them you won't be buying anything from Tumblr, let alone turning off your ad blocker, unless they:

add a photosensitivity community label

give users an option to block gif/video audio play on both posts and ads, on both mobile and browser

give users the option to have alt text display automatically, in customizable font size/colors to ensure readability

give users the option to disable small text, colored text, etc

(you'll notice XKit Rewritten does some of the two above points, making me doubt it would be especially hard to code)

stop putting inaccessible art on Tumblr Radar

(seriously, there are so many wonderful artists who describe their work and so many more who will happily edit IDs into their posts once someone provides them in the notes. this would not be hard and would immediately incentivize more people to add descriptions)

fix the zoom-in feature for images on mobile so that it's actually usable again

ensure that any collapsing of reblog chains will be a setting you can permanently opt out of (this is an accessibility issue because it would make it harder to access image descriptions added later in threads)

Oh, and if you want, it wouldn't hurt to politely but firmly complain about the prev tags thing and any other signs of enshittification you can think of, btw.

I don't have high hopes that this will change anything, but I also don't think it can hurt (it takes like 5 minutes), and I would love to see @staff prove me wrong and actually start taking accessibility concerns seriously for once. Don't give them Crab Day money or whatever until they do.

[teaboot]

hello this is my first Tumblr and I am quite confusef Hel me!

Hello!

Tumblr in my experience is different from a lot of other social media platforms as there is no real goal or purpose or competition in posting. You can pretty much just say or do or add whatever and if people like your vibes the follow you, and if they don't, they don't.

If you like certain topics or Fandoms (groups of people who enjoy a particular show, book, media, etc.) you can search for it and click "follow" on blogs dedicated to those things.

Whenever they post something, you can see it on your dashboard (your "feed" or "homepage") and decide to comment (add pictures or words) reply (say something without sharing the post with your followers) or reblog (share with your followers, so that anyone following you can see the post, with or without adding your own commentary.)

Beyond technical stuff, there are some cultural things you may want to know about.

If something you reblog has potentially upsetting content- violence, traumatic topics, nudity- its considered an act of courtesy to "tag" it. This is so your followers who specifically do not want to see those topics can use filters to make those posts invisible. This is handy for people with phobias, PTSD, or photosensitive epilepsy, but also for people who just don't like those things.

There are a lot of memes that will not make sense. That is because posts don't vanish when they get old, so anything that becomes a "meme" often gets referenced over and over again for years, sometimes actual decades. Posts like "do you like the color of the sky?", "Horse Plinko", "loss.jpeg", etc. are examples of this.

There is no algorithm that decides what you might like and shows you those things. You are in control of your own experience. If you see a lot of posts from people you don't like about things you don't want to see, you can block them and never see them again. They won't see you, either. It's like making friends- you can choose to follow whoever makes you happy and avoid whoever doesn't.

There is a bot problem. Bots are automated spam designed to look like other users. This is often "cute single women" type stuff, but can also be anonymous or generic fake blogs that send out a thousand identical messages that accuse you or others of wrongdoing, or just send out basic insults. They will never see your reply. They only exist to cause chaos. You can report and block them and are encouraged to do so.

There is a difference between "liking" and "reblogging". If you "like" something, it is added to an invisible list so you can go back and find it later. If you "reblog" something, your followers can see it too. Artists prefer reblogs over likes, because they put a lot of work into their art (or writing) and the only way they can reach a large audience is if lots of people share it. Artists who are trying to get commissions or develop a career depend on reblogs to continue making art.

Sometimes an update or change happens that alters the website without any warning and everyone whines about it and adapts. This happens every few months. It's kind of dumb and sometimes makes it worse but if you Google "tumblr 2012" you will see that it's actually been a slow march of improvement.

Something weird will happen on April fool's day. Sometimes this will affect the website layout.

You will not get many followers unless you engage with other users. This is a cafeteria and if you wanna eat alone you can.

If any of your posts go viral you will see it forever until you die and if it's about Beans you will live out the rest of your days getting messages like "Are you Bean Guy" so tread lightly

You will need to choose an icon and change the appearance of your blog or people will think you are a bot. (Side effect of the bot problem.)

I have no idea if you are a bot or spam message this reply is an act of faith

Good luck!

[teslacoils-and-hubris]

What the shit is everhood

(Info dump pls?)

Gladly! ^w^

so everhood is a game that I would say is very similar to undertale, from the pixel art style to the humour to the general uhh theme? i guess is the word? Where you play as a wooden puppet named red on a quest to get your arm back from gold pig. The battle mechanic is a rhythm based system where you have to jump around and over beats the enemies through at you. The music is absolutely fucking fantastic and i actually bought the soundtrack i like it so much lol

a couple battles get absolutely insane with the visuals too, to the point im not even totally sure i can do a description justice? you can check out this video if you're curious, theres really no spoilers in this battle but it shows what im talking about. these battles are where the photosensitivity warning really comes in though, so be cautious if that effects you

I can't go too deep into the plot without getting into spoiler territory, so i'll put that under the cut for anyone who's curious, but here's what I can say! You go around collecting clues to find gold pig and get your arm back, and along the way you get to meet all the wonderful characters that populate Everhood. Like Rasta beast, Noseferatchu the sneezing vampire, Flan and Muck, the dancing mushrooms, a vampire who's name always changes. You really get to know and love these characters while also learning that maybe everything isn't as it seems in Everhood. Maybe, actually nothing is what it seems. Maybe you're the only one willing to do something about. But..... are you willing?

oh also kermit is there and I think he might be god? Also you can kill him and it impacts literally nothing

Full plot summary under the cut. I highly recommend you play the game without spoilers, but if you're like me and you Need to know what happens before you play then go wild. I'll only be talking about the intended good ending though, since I haven't gotten around to playing the secret endings yet- oh also mild spoilers for undertale i guess if youre worried about that in 2023

so when I say its similar to undertale in themes, its sort of. in a reverse sense. In undertale the good ending is the pacifist route. By saving the monsters you help them escape the underground and better their situation. It is mercy, the direct functional opposite of killing, that saves you. There is no mercy kill because using mercy ends the fight period.

Well in Everhood, the good ending requires you to kill everyone.

Your arm was taken from you because you've done this before, wiped out countless lives, friends even. And now you must finish the job. Its hard and sad and it sucks but it has to be you because no one else is going to. It falls on you to go back to these spots you've been through already, these happy cheerful locations, and hunt down everyone you've come to know over the course of the game.

so why do you need to kill everyone? and how on earth is it similar to undertale at all? well, Everhood isn't just the title of the game or the location it takes place, its the state every single character in the game is stuck in.

in the distant past, humanity found a way to reach another world, one they called Everhood. And in this world, no one could ever die. Some people chose to stay in this world, which lost connection to the human world for some reason i dont remember rn, and in doing so slowly lost their humanity. They lived for eons and eons and eons, changing their shape and loosing themselves in the process. You discover at one point that the Green Mage, a chaotic character whom I love, has been keeping track of the years everyone has spent in Everhood, every year a tally on the wall of their secret playroom. It takes three hours to get to the end of this hallway, to give you an idea of scale here. three real time hours.

Your character, Red, is a vessel for the literal human player behind the screen to free the inhabitants of Everhood from eternity. They aren't really happy. They can't be. They've been stuck for so long, and even though they beg and plead for you not to kill them you have to. Its the only way for them to be happy and move on from Everhood. And don't get me wrong you CAN choose not to go through with it. You have to actively fight back after this reveal to kill anyone. I haven't played through this way, so I can't speak on it.

The ending is sort of ambiguous, in which Pink (the person pretending to be Red and letting you the player control them) goes to an afterlife after killing everyone and gets to see them one last time, and they're happy. They forgive you. One by one you talk to them and they thank you for freeing them, apologize for fighting you, and move on happily to whatever comes after death. I choose to interpret it literally, but there's something to be said about the idea it's all in Pink's head. I don't think it was meant to be taken that way, but its one way to look at it.

The game sort of looses people with this being the good ending. But I think it's a beautiful metaphor. Sometimes you keep doing things that hurt you only because you're used to it. Maybe you don't even realize how its hurting you, its better than the alternative right? For the longest time I kept my bedroom blinds perpetually closed because the bright sunlight gave me headaches. I didn't realize just how depressed it was making me to be in near constant darkness like that. It was only after I bought a plant on a whim that I realized how much happier I was letting in the sunlight. You get so used to bad habits and awful jobs and clothes you hate because they're familiar. And doesn't it just seem easier? To take non-action and let everyone keep living and having fun in Everhood? Green Mage hosts DnD every week (or whatever counts as a week after you've lived for eternity), go play with the mushrooms in the forest, doesn't that sound lovely? You don't have to kill anyone, just keep living on exactly as you were! You have friends here Red! It hurts too much to kill them! they don't want to die! why not just give up? How could anything good come from the pain of change?

[northwest-cryptid]

It's sad to me that this is the closest thing a lot of younger people will ever have to a forum, or they look at sites like reddit and think that is what a forum was like.

Listen I'm extremely medicated right now so I'm likely not going to make sense but it's important to know that I have nothing against the younger generation.

I just think it's sad they had to grow up with such a polluted and corporate internet. They didn't get to experience the fun of old forums, and I mean like... old old forums.

Okay hear me out, sure you had your little profile with lists of all your posts like you do on something like reddit, but you also had so much personality in how you designed everything from your pfp to your slogan/signature.

Forums had a ton of various topics, again kinda like Reddit but as someone who has used reddit to try to get back into old forums, it's just not the same. It's not worse it's not bad or anything it's just not the same.

Because it used to be that you had your own little place on the internet, it was like walking into your favorite bar or cafe and everyone seeing you and knowing who you were.

Signatures for example, would go at the end of your posts and would generally be a little image or a blurb or something. There's this common misunderstanding that all signatures were actually just the person's name or something. Some of them used to be cool little gifs and stuff.

Oh and then you had like, badges? They were added on to your posts automatically, and work kind of like tumblr badges but they were more specifically awarded for having accomplishments. Have you posted a certain amount of times in a specific board? That's a badge. Did you get a lot of reactions on a post? Maybe you got a certain number of a specific reaction; that's also a badge. Some badges you could even opt into if you wanted to, and they usually included fun little things about interests.

I used to collect a lot of the ones I got on forums and such they're just kind of fun. Though I know I have some viewers who are photosensitive and some of them blink/flash so I'm gonna drop this all under a cut and warn people accordingly.

You used to have such an identity without having to put much effort into it, you could just be whoever online and no one really ever knew YOU but knew plenty about you. Which was a great happy medium.

I miss this kind of atmosphere because it was always cool to have a small sense of community and it was like everyone came wearing their heart on their sleeve so to speak.

I greatly miss the old internet, for all it's faults it had a lot of good to share that we don't have anymore.

[holyarcadeglitter]

Alright sit down. Let's have a chat about Cyberpunk 2077. This has been in my drafts for 3 days because I'm lazy and also sleep deprived.

I'm but a lowly QA tester, so maybe my opinion maybe isn't valid, but I am in the gaming Industry, so that's gotta count for something, right? Right.

So, disclaimer, if you choose to play the game, I aint gonna hate you. I just think it's important to know what you're supporting.

Second disclaimer, I HAVE actually played this game very briefly (otherwise I'd be relying solely on hearsay).

Lastly, I'm putting a HUGE content warning here for the following: transphobia, racism, fetishization, queerphobia, exploitation, transgender slurs, ableism. As far as I recall, none of the links in the epilepsy section have the actual game play footage, so it should be safe to view those. Just to be safe though, this is an epilepsy content warning.

For those of you who do not wish to do your own research, I have compiled a huge list of references and resources pertaining to why this game isn't so great.

Let's go.

So over here is the first article I found partaining to transphobia. Here is a really shitty cop out excuse as to why the perpetuated transphobia in the first place, and here is the reason why it's a cop out.

Here, here, and here are just other links on it.

Now, I'm sure I don't have to explain the fetishization of trans women, but I will link some spots for you to check that out. Basically, trans fetishization has been rampant in the anime and gaming community with tropes such as "s**sy"* and "f**tanari" (which itself has interesting history but has been bastardized by western fans. This thread has some interesting takes. Maybe not all good though.).

Fetishization of femmes

This link explaining that trans women are NOT for your "sexual bucket list"

This one on tropes

This one one fetishism

Their response was also one of the oldest, most tired back lashes at the trans community. Yup.

"Did you just assume my gender"

More on that here.

Let's not forget that the game completely disregards a wide range of its player base by being ableist. Yeah. There was a scene which could trigger epilepsy in photosensitive players. And it had no warning and was unskippable.

Now, as a QA, my job is literally to find bugs before players do. To keep them safe from shit like this, to keep my bosses safe from backlash, and to keep hardware safe from memory leaks and whatnot. I, of all people, am HIGHLY aware that some bugs slip through the cracks. It happens! It's okay! But a bug this fucking dangerous with a studio of this caliber is absolutely unacceptable. Not even a goddamn warning.

Now, let's move on to the actual people. The gaming industry it cut throat. Deadlines are scary. I do not want to normalize crunch, but it happens, especially in this industry. The least the studios could do is be transparent about it and pay overtime. It's probably not great if it's mandatory too.

Moving on to the game play. Personally, to me, it just felt like Grand Theft Auto but with shiny lights and a custom character. Nothing worth writing home about. I'm easy to please when it comes to graphics, but again, for a game of that caliber, they're not special. I've seen modders do better jobs. Granted, I understand that one modder may spend months on a single texture, and expecting any more from this project would quite likely actually endanger CDPR employees.

Lastly, the game plays on so many racial stereotypes and generalizations (but that's probably a "glitch")

That's also not even going into the stuff about sex work and mysoginy that the game depicts. Anyway, that's my two cents on this. Buy it, don't buy it, I don't care (just kidding, I obviously do since I made this whole ass post while using tumblrs sucky mobile formating) but just know what you're getting into. I'm sorry if I repeated some of the links, as I said, Tumblr mobile is tricky. There you have it.

TL;DR: Here's a nice summary.

[haikyuupaladin]

Ok, there’s something we need to talk about when it comes to Thomas Sanders and his videos. The lack of PROPER warnings for flashing lights is honestly not ok. His newest video as far as I know has TECHNICALLY included a warning since it was uploaded... but it’s been relegated to the video description. And it can’t be said that it was too late to edit it in if it’s been there since it was uploaded.

Thomas tends to be good about warning for most other types of common warnings onscreen in the video to my knowledge. He knows putting a warning in the description is not the best way to warn. So why put a flashing lights warning in the description and not on screen? Even if he’s unsure if the warning is actually necessary, it should be on screen so that photosensitive people can ask people who know them and their triggers better to screen how bad it is for them at least.

Even in one of the live-streams that got put on YouTube (I forget which one, the one with Joan and the makeup tutorial I think?) he technically put a warning on screen... in fine print and relegated to a corner when his normal warning screens take up a whole screen by themselves. (Which since I forget which stream it is may have also applied to other trigger warnings in that video, which is also not ok if it did).

But there’s a track record here with flashing lights warnings. And no matter how many times we talk to him about it, it doesn’t seem to be getting better. There needs to be some accountability for the lack of warnings or lack of proper warnings and while there are people who do try to hold him accountable, they’re drowned out more often than not by the people who think we’re being too harsh in asking for basic safety.

[vulturevanity]

Is our artistic vision ableist? A kind of ramble and a request.

(Content warning: Noodle’s video linked here contains scenes from Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse and other animations with high contrast and flashing lights. It’s possible to just listen to the audio and understand his points; a volume warning is also warranted, as there’s a jumpscare at the end with an explosion, sirens and screaming around the 14 minute mark.)

I’ve been researching DAIN and SmoothVideo Project for college, partly inspired by Noodle’s video on why those "4k 60fps amazing” renders of animated scenes are actually really bad and also an insult to the animators who worked on those scenes. Noodle mentioned Into The Spiderverse as an example of intentionally animating at 12 fps as an artistic choice, and I remember reading a comment by someone saying they weren’t able to watch it because they have photo-sensitivity issues and the effect gave them a massive migraine.

I then recalled that The Incredibles 2 has high-contrast strobing effects in several important scenes and Disney didn’t warn the audience of it until after the Epilepsy Foundation demanded it to (putting thousands of watchers with photosensitive epilepsy at risk of having seizures in theaters), as well as the absolute clown show that was Cyberpunk 2077 infamously using an accurate recreation of a device designed to cause seizures as one of its core mechanics, which triggered a seizure in a game reviewer.

I think the main point I want to bring here is that an artistic choice can unintentionally hurt someone. That doesn’t mean the artist went out of their way to make their art inaccessible to a whole group of people (except when they do, In 2077′s case), but a lack of awareness was (and is) an active danger in the mentioned cases and many others, and an alarmingly common issue as well. Most recently, there has been heated debate over the design of the disability pride flag, due to it being a migraine/seizure trigger for some people, while the high contrast is preferable for people with low vision and other visual impairments. It’s a nuanced problem, and I’m one of the people who believe a good solution is to make multiple versions of it for people with different needs.

My college assignment will be focused on the use of those interpolation programs in ways that help disabled people (specifically those who get migraines and seizures due to strobing effects) access artwork that is, in its original state, inaccessible to them. But I, as an animator and film student who doesn’t suffer from these issues, would love to hear from the community about your own experiences with movies and video games, in order to make a more informed case. What can an artist keep in mind in order to help minimize this kind of damage? Is there anything else that needs attention, besides high contrast, flashing lights and strobing effects? Is audio an issue as well? (I’ve become aware recently that people can have seizures due to noises) And for visual artists with epilepsy and other neurological issues for which these things are triggering, what is your process?

[interstellix]

november; epilepsy awareness month

since november is epilepsy awareness month, I’ve been considering dropping something like this for a while now, though hesitated since I wasn’t sure how many it would reach out to. however, not too long ago, I got the request of writing about it and explain what it is like to live with the condition (thank you anon :’)) and i figured that, really, there’s no harm in doing it. so, i decided to put this out there and hope that this reaches out to as many people as possible. admittedly, this ended up longer than planned but if you still decide to read it, thank you, big kudos to you :)

before actually going on, i may add that epilepsy, like most conditions, is something that varies from person to person so part of this is written based on my own experience with it - if a fellow epileptic wants me to add something, or feels like there’s something to correct, please do let me know.

i'm writing this purely to let people know about at least some of the pain with epilepsy, because it's not just having seizures. it's also worrying your family and friends, having to adjust your lifestyle to it (which i’ll come to a lil bit later), medicination, the side-effects of medicination, the fear of forgetting medication, the side-effects of forgetting taking medication even just a single day, possible anxiety or depression, embarrassment, hospital visits, tests, not being able to do certain things you want to do, people joking about it and making fun of you, scary and random body jerks, fear of waking up in an ambulance, fear of waking up with serious injuries or fear of not waking up at all - all of these are things that come with epilepsy and it's more of a pain than, to be honest, non-epileptics can imagine.

all that said, to those who have heard about epilepsy (or not at all) but don’t know what it actually means, is a neurological disorder; the activity in your brain becomes abnormal and uneven which mostly leads to seizures but also various sensations or loss of awareness. so it’s not constantly on-going and only actually happens when something triggers the brain to have that abnormal activity. it can happen to anyone, and when i say anyone, i mean anyone can have seizures, it’s just that it doesn’t automatically always mean that you have epilepsy (basically, epilepsy -> seizure; seizure -> not always epilepsy).

again, the condition is different from epileptic to epileptic, meaning that the triggers for seizures can vary a lot and depending on what kind of epilepsy it concerns. my own main triggers are flashing lights (also called photosensitive epilepsy) and lack of sleep but it can also be stress, skipping meals, overeating caffeine/alcohol/drugs/medicine, head trauma (aka head injury), brain damage (for example a tumor or stroke), etc.

symptoms for seizures can also vary. i’ve noticed that a lot of people think it’s always going unconscious and violently shaking/jerking, but it can also be staring blankly at nothing for a short amount of time, losing awareness, have rapid twitches in arms and/or legs, body stiffening, muscles going limp, and on and on.

honestly, one particular thing i feel like people need to know is that epileptics are just as human as others. aside from the condition itself, it socially and emotionally feels like shit when we’re treated differently. what i’ve, personally, often seen epilepsy being treated as contagious, a disease, mental disorder/illness or psychological disorder is in reality a neurological disorder. for the love of god, please take that into mind when you meet someone with epilepsy (especially if it’s your first time) because, while there’s nothing wrong with any of those, it’s really not fun when people treat you like it. we’re still human, and more human than those who think otherwise. on top of that, most epileptics are able to live just like anyone else, sometimes perhaps on the cost of adjusting your lifestyle to it, but by the end of the day many of us can live the same way as anyone else.

adding to that, if someone actually opens up to you about their epilepsy, tbh i hope you’re feeling grateful. for some, it’s not always an easy topic to talk about it so when they actually do let you on about it, you should know that it’s because they’re putting their trust in you.

something else i want to bring up is the do’s and don’t’s if you see someone have a seizure. it can be scary, understandable and this might sound ridiculous, but stay calm, for the sake of yourself, the person who’s having the seizure and people in your surroundings. this one got quite lengthy, so i’ll put it under the divider. thank you for making it this far, seriously, but it’d be great if you continued since this, no joke, can save a life.

time the seizure: most seizures end within a few minutes but if it’s still going on after five minutes, call an ambulance, whether you know if they have a history of seizures or not (what goes that, you can also check if the person is wearing some kind of epilepsy i.d)

surroundings (brief mention of blood): basically, bring the person away from harmful objects. to bring up my own personal examples, i have, during two different seizures, hit my head against a table (literally broke the entire thing) and against a shelf. while the first one miraciously didn’t give me more than a bump, the latter caused a jack and i ended up bleeding from my head. keep in mind though, that the objects don’t always have to be harmful for the head, but any part of the person’s body. obviously (i hope), bring them out from water if that’s where the seizure started.

turn the person to lay on their side: while they’re still unconscious, don’t let them lay on their back as this can block the airway. instead, put something soft under their head and loosen anything tight that might be around their neck.

don’t put anything in their mouth: for the love of god, just don’t. be it food or a cloth or something of that kind. a lot of people do especially the latter to prevent the person to bite their tongues off or swallow it (no, you don’t) but this just increases the risk of blocking their airway or making them choke on it. yet again my own personal example, this happened during my first seizure and i ended up having a cardiac arrest (how the hell i’m still alive, i still don’t know).

don’t restrain or hold their body: aside from turning them to lay on the side, don’t restrain their body, for example holding onto the parts that are jerking. this can also cause injuries or make it more aggressive.

stay with them: not only during but also after the seizure, stay with them. seizures are really, really exhausting both the brain activity and since the muscles in their body stiffen during the seizure. it can also cause one hell of a confusion/dizziness and stress so stay with them and calmly explain what happened as well as where you are. if you called for medical help, please, try to wait until they’ve arrived.

don’t give them cpr during the seizure: just don’t, it’ll only make it worse. you can, however, do it after the seizure in case the person doesn’t wake up and has stopped breathing.

also, if you’re an angel like @astronomlns and warn an epileptic for something that might include flashing/rapid lights, i love you and hope you’re having a good day :D

[capitainecorbeau]

K you know what I tried to write a steam review but it turned out way too long so here you go ! (the random italics/bold are here for readability, it’s LONG and I know wall of texts can be hard to digest)

I want to like this game, I really do. There was obviously a lot of love poured into it, and there ARE some stuff in it that are pretty cool and made me happy... but overall it just... not very good.

Buckle in, it's gonna be a long one. Also light spoiler warnings, I'll try to stay vague, but I am going to discuss some plot points. Also tw for mentions of mental illness and harmful tropes relating to it.

GAMEPLAY : this is, IMO, the worst part of the game. They tried to spruce up the ol' jRPG/tactical RPG formula, but the result dosn't work.

Reason 1 : The combat is extremly unsatisfying. Like, in every single rpg I've played, even the more lackluster ones, there was always a couple a ways to deal significantly more damage to the enemy. It could be a weakness/resistance system, critical hits, buffs, a gauge that when filled lets you unleash more powerful attacks, grouped attack, etc etc. Inkenfell doesn't really has that.

Ok so, when you time your attacks, there are three results : oops, when you mess up, nice and great. Except that great, the best you can get, feels like what bog-standard attacks do in other rpgs. There is no significant difference between nice and great. I ended up very quickly setting the timing on auto (every signle attack is "great") because it felt like they just added an extra tedious step to the usual menu-based combat. Also despite that, and skipping all fights save for the bosses, it STILL felt long and grueling.

There are attempts at more powerful damage but they all fall flat. Most buffs are single target, which I don't bother with because I could spend that turn attacking rather than applying a buff that most often a)makes little difference or b)wears off too quickly.

There are a couple attacks that deal effective damage against certain enemies but a)the difference is negligible b)one of those is against a type of enemies you barely ever fight against. There's also a "powerful" attack you can only do when your hp is below half ! It's less powerful than the single target spell you get at the very beginning of the game. All in all, it makes every thing long, grindy, and not very exciting.

Reason 2 : The utter lack of variety. Almost every single boss fight is exactly the same. Couple of phases, the boss attacks you and summons minions. SOMETIMES they also have status effects/debuffs. And that's it.The first couple bosses have this trick where their minions explose on death and deal bigger damage. But that quickly disappears. I can't really speak for the other battles because I skipped them but for what little I played it also felt very same-y. As for your characters, you have characters focusing on raw damage and other focusing on utility (healing, buffs, etc).

I basically benched every utility character because the general damage output is already low enough and the utility isn't really useful. Healing is fine, buffs would be fine if it didn't buff enemies caught in the range as well (I usually use them once at the start of the battle and then stop bothering). You can set traps if you want, and then tear your hair out as you watch the enemy repeatedly side-step them (though there are two character who can set traps, maybe you couyld make a strategy out of that). Most likely the trap will expire or you will kill the enemy before they step on it. You can steal items, but you find so many everywhere in game that if you don't use those skills you won't miss them. You can poison your enemies, for an amazing ONE DAMAGE A TURN. Or delay their turn, if you feel like eating two attacks in a row later. Nothing really feels worth it you know ?

It results in this long, drawn-out same-y battles where you just use the same couple of spells against the enemy, over and over until they die. Which, in terms of bosses, can take a very long time. My reaction to new phases was generally "are you kidding meeee ANOTHER one ?" which is not a good sign.

Reason 3 : The lack of juiciness and quality of life. Example : you can freely see enemy hp ! if you specifically go to the menu and hover over the enemy. Otherwise, it's hidden. Why ? Either make their hp easily and quickly visible, or keep it hidden ! When you factor in the fact that every attack has its own, sometimes awkward range, that you cannot walk on occupied tiles (apparently your allies will not deign step aside to let you through), the short walking range of the characters, AND the facts that many enemies love to pepper the battlefield with traps (high damage+lost turn), actually getting in a good position to hit the enemies can be rather tedious. Hitting the enemies doesn't feel satisfying. There aren't little things like shaking their sprites, shaking the screen, cool fx, satisfying sound effects, etc. Just the damage and a little "oops/nice/great". It's a little things, but it makes battles feel even more flat.

TL;DR : the fights are repetitive and unsatisfying, and none of the alternatives to "deal damage to enemy" feel interesting enough to explore.

STORY :  The story is... eh ? Well let's just say there are good things, bad things, and utterly confusing things.

Good : The characters are pretty endearing, for the most part. I'm not gonna be thinking about them for long after finishing the game, but they're nice, there were lots of funny quips and cute moments. That's mostly what kept me around despite the bad gameplay (and other issues I'll get to), I wanted to know what would happen to these people ! Also I loved that there are so many nonbinary characters !! With different presentations and pronouns !! AND who are all humans :D That made me really happy.

Bad : The pacing is bad. My god it's bad. Most of the first half of the game boils down to : we have to do x, but for that we have to go to y, but we can't so we have to ask w in z, and just when you think you can, finally, do x, another obstacle pops up and you have to go on the other side of the map to do something else. It really feels like you're making little to no progress, and it ended up being quite frustrating at times. The second half of the game is better, but sometimes, after an emotiolly intense moment, you would snap right back to "oh we have to go to q but there's a giant rock in the way !". Jarring. Also some scenes left me asking "wait that's it ? You're not gonna discuss things further ?" or "Why aren't the characters reacting to this ?". The story in itself was ok, but the pacing... yikes.

Also, this is more a personal gripe that anything, but... (spoilers warning) I really didn't like how the game handled trauma and ptsd. It fell into the ol' trope of "ptsd/delusions makes people dangerous and violent", and that's not really something I expected from a game that tries to be progressive about this stuff (The inclusion of content warnings is a very good thing !! more games should do that). And I'm not talking like "lashing out at people", no, we're talking kidnapping, assault, murder, potentially triggering the apocalypse. And like, the game deliberately puts these characters through some of the worst things that could happen to them, which made them very violent and dangerous as a result... I don't know, it feels pretty thoughtless and cruel. Not to mention that they then go down the "oh but it's not your fault it's the traumaaaaaa" which, ew, no. No, mental illness, ptsd, trauma etc don't make people inherently violent and dangerous. But when you harm people, it's serious, and you should make amends, regardless of what mental ilness(es) you may or may not have. I dunno, maybe it's just me but that whole thing left a sour taste in my mouth.

Confusing  : There's a character who is handled very weirdly ??? Like, at the beginning of the game they're pretty present, they get an arc, join you and then... barely do anything ???? They almost never interact with the others, or react to what's going on ? There are scene where they went to the trouble to show their sprite (characters who don't contribute to the conversations usually don't appear), but they don't say or do anything ??? At most they make a quip about fighting and stuff but that's it ??? There was a scene when the group argues and a few characters go off on their own, and other follow them and comfort them. I thought, well, since they have a huge crush on the protagonist, they're gonna go and talk to her, right ? They're the only one who hasn't left yet. But nope ! They don't even react ! And yet they're one of the few characters who gets a song ???? I feels like they were added as an afterthought what It's a shame, they're pretty fun.

TL;DR The characters are endearing but one is handled weirdly, the pacing is bad and some plot points felt unsavory.

And finally, some random stuff. In general, the world feel very bare and empty. I'm not just talking about the very low number of npc, there's a plot reason for that, but there is almost no flavor text ?? At first I tried to check out everything, to learn more about this setting and the people in it, but the only things you can interact with are plot important. Makes the whole world rather flat, and that's a shame ! I would've liked to learn more !

One good thing though, is the inclusion of accessibility features like different options for the timing gameplay, displaying content warnings and stuff (though I've seen someone say the game wasn't friendly to photosensitive people , there is an option to reduce flashing lights but I dunno how good it is). That's very nice, and I hope more games will include those features !

So here's my giant wall of text on Ikenfell. I'm sad I didn't end up liking it more, but the game has quite a few issues (ESPECIALLy gameplay-wise). I hope the developers will take that as an opportunity to leanr, because I'm sure they can make good games ! There's some good stuff in there, some good ideas that would've just needed to be imlplemented better !

[iamcinema]

IAC Reviews #013: The Forest (1982)

I’ve been gone for far too long and in desperate need of a massive pick-me up with how everything around us is becoming more of a tire fire by the minute. So, let’s pack our bags and make our way for the woodlands to get away from the chaos for a while. I miss being out in the great outdoors during times like this. It’s so calm and peaceful, and with us approaching summer here in the northern hemisphere, it’s all the more pleasant. The fresh air, wide open space, the clear night skies - what could possibly go wrong? _______________________________________ I first heard about The Forest back in 2008 when I came across the Creepy Kentuckian’s review of it as part of his now dead series “Creepy’s Crappy Movie Reviews”, in which he spotlighted other horror titles like Lost Boys: The Tribe, Terror on Tour, Return to Sleepaway Camp, and Bates Motel to name a few. Since then, it sort of faded away from my memory and much like other films like Don’t Go in the Woods...Alone and Backwoods, which was for better or worse. Because I have an unusual fascination for these gritty, lesser known or spoken of titles, my eyes almost always light up when I come across something in the wild like this. I hope you packed your bug spray, because we’re going in deep for this one. Who knows what we’ll find?!

The Forest is a 1982 horror-thriller film that was directed, produced, edited, and written by Don Jones who doesn’t exactly have the most impressive filmography with anything too noteworthy to speak of. Most of his credits are attributed to the sound department, with titles like Blood of the Iron Maiden, The Psycho Lover, and Girl 27 (which is most recent credit as of 2007) coming up when you crosscheck his information. In regards to the cast, most of them didn’t go on to do a ton either after the 1980s for the most part, apart from Gary Kent who has the most prolific career of the crew with most of them being attributed to acting and stunt work - something he provided here as the acting stunt coordinator, which he went unaccredited for.

Our story centers on that of two couples and longtime friends who go on a camping trip to get away from the city and potentially help save one of their marriages from divorce. However, their fun doesn’t last too long when car troubles, bad weather, and a cannibalistic hermit looking for his next meal before winter puts a damper on things. While this isn’t anyone’s first rodeo with woodland cannibals, hermits, and weirdos, perhaps this one will bring something special to the table to help it stand out among all the rest.

The Forest In One Gif:

Well, color me impressed...I think. ________________________________________ It’s hard to really put a pin in movies like this since it feels like you can only do so much with the concept. You don’t exactly know what you’re going to get, so at best you might get something above average and at worst you’ll have a disaster of a time. Going into this, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect given the mediocre review from the Creepy Kentuckian and the abysmal 3.8/10 rating on IMDb. I’ve had luck with poorly rated and received films before in the past, so maybe there was some hope that this would impress me. Maybe.

As far as the story goes, it's not all that bad and the motivation for our main characters feels like it means something so it doesn’t feel like a completely bland and generic slasher film - sort of. With the reviews I’ve come across on IMDb, some say that while this absolutely looks and feels like a stereotypical horror film with the same tired tropes, it bring something else to the table that helps it feel a bit more different. But, what this thing is I can’t exactly nail down either. I think it's partially due in part to the supernatural elements that come into play a bit later, which caught me off-guard because I wasn’t expecting it - certainly not for a film like this, as well as the subtle drama with our villain’s backstory and the marital subplot.

If I had to make one gripe about it that I can think of, it would be the logic and reasoning behind why our cannibal hermit, John, is doing what he does. I mean, we do learn more about his backstory and why he’s the way that he is, but why he chooses to hunt people for sport and his food supply doesn’t completely make sense to me if that’s how he’s scraping by alone. He’s situated on miles upon miles of woodland with plenty of freshwater sources, so why he isn’t utilizing those to his advantage doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Plus, you’d have to have a good amount of luck to just stumble across random hikers and campers like that, but again, that's just a small gripe that we don’t get much of an answer for.

With our characters as a whole, they aren’t all that bad and or as forgettable as others are from similar low-budget, obscure, and forgotten horror films. There’s something charming about our main characters, even if the acting isn’t very good and the dialogue being clumsy which starts to show itself more as things go by in a way where it boarders between feeling awkward and sometimes unintentionally comedic. The latter feels all the more accurate when it comes to one of the scenes towards the end of the film, and I don’t know if that was done on purpose or it was a weird stylistic choice with the editing [which, as a spoiler, flashing epilepsy warning for those who are photosensitive].

From a technical standpoint, it’s pretty good for what it’s worth and I have very little to nitpick about.

However, the only way to truly enjoy this is in 1080p+ because you’d otherwise be robbing yourself of the all around sound visuals, which is probably the strongest thing going for it. The film was shot in the Sequoia National Park, which makes for some truly beautiful shots with the scenery; both the day and night shots when the lighting was good. But, some of the day for night shots it feels a bit off because we’ll cut from that to an actual night take, and then back to day for night. It can throw you off a bit with what time it’s supposed to be, but that feels more like something that can be overlooked with some patience.

If I had to fault the technical department somewhere, it would be with the sound. For the most part, it’s quite good and clear. In spite of that, we have a few hiccups here and there where the dialogue feels muffled or low due to the background noise of the rivers they were shooting near or on part of the child actors who have a filter distortion over them. Once again, this can be glossed over, but without captions or a good ear you might overlook something unless you don’t care.

When it comes to the SFX work, I’m impressed by how gruesome it was for something this low budget. The opening sequence in particular is probably the most graphic moment of the film and it gets us off to a nice start with what we can expect for the duration of the film, even when it comes to the more tame murders or bloody injuries. The same can be said with the stunt work as well in a way too, I suppose. While the fight sequences aren’t anything special, it’s interesting that one of the actresses, Tomi Barrett, did her own stunts; which included a scene where she dove off a small cliff and was swept down the river over some rapids. Much like her co-star and husband Gary Kent, this also went unaccredited for.

On another semi technical note, the score and soundtrack isn’t all that bad either and is kind of catchy, at least to me. It was composed largely by Richard Hieronymus and Alan Oldfield; with Hieronymus providing work for films like Lethal Pursuit, The Astral Factor, and The Love Butcher and Oldfield working on films like 10 to Midnight, The Fear, and The Fear: Resurrection. The songs are also a nice touch as well, even if they’re brief; particularly “The Dark Side of the Forest” (ft. David Somerville) and the closing song “The Edge of Forever” (ft. Carol Browning). If you have a guilty pleasure for 80′s horror soundtracks, especially the somewhat cheesy like ones like Blood Lake, Psycho Pike, and Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness, then I think you’re going to have fun with this one. I hate to admit it, but I’ve been jamming to both ever since I wrapped up seeing this a few hours ago.

________________________________________

So, where am I at now with this? I don’t completely know, if I’m being honest.

To hearken back to something I said about Rot last year, I think that the low score it has is a rather harsh and a bit unfair. While I agree that it’s better than Don’t Go Into The Woods Alone by a long shot, it doesn’t sit right with me. On that note, I feel that seeing reviews that place it at 8/10 or above is being a bit too generous as well, even if it’s in a “so bad, it’s good sense” which I don’t consider this to be since I don’t see it as a terrible horror film either. This is why it’s difficult for me to stick some pins in this damn thing to figure out where I’d place it.

It’s not a masterpiece by any means, absolutely not, but it’s not trying to be and it’s not a massive disappointment either like a certain film around the same time was. If you’re looking for a different slasher film of the time, especially if you have a weakness for woodland flicks goes, consider giving this one a watch some time and see where you fall with things. I’m stumped with how I feel about this one. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t see myself rushing to watch this again in the near future.

Rating: 5.3/10

[withasmoothroundstone]

A photosensitivity/epilepsy warning about 17776, and other random comments on it (no spoilers).

I have barely started reading it and I’m completely mesmerized and so far always wanting to know what happens next.  

However some parts are videos and animations and some of those contain things flashing super-fast -- like the way things flash at the beginning of Big Bang Theory, series of photos going faster and faster until it feels like a strobe light.  If you’re photosensitive epileptic and can’t control that in any way, I wouldn’t risk it.  Photosensitive anything else, use your judgement.  

I’m photosensitive with migraines and general visual overload but I can handle this sort of thing on a good day, and I handle it better if I’m more forewarned and prepared than i was here.  Hence telling people.  Most of it so far is not doing this, but it definitely happens.  And the parts in the videos convey essential information so skipping them you won’t fully know what’s going on.

Mostly unrelated comment on the content itself:  I didn’t expect to find it interesting and thought I would have to force myself through it to read it at all.  It yanked me in and I haven’t yet gotten bored or disinterested.  If you’d told me the premise there’s no way I would have expected to like it.  

This is the thing... I swear that whether I like something or not depends the most heavily on how much I care about the characters.  It’s not the plot, not the ideas contained within it, etc.  Those things affect it, but the characters and the particular ways they’re developed can make the difference between being deathly bored by something, and loving it so much I can’t tear my eyes off it.  17776 was so good at making me care about the first character within a very short period of time, that all the rest of the considerations faded into the background.

It’s not always the main character I like, either.  I can’t stand the main character in Orange is the New Black, but I watch it anyway because I love Suzanne and identify with her painfully much.  (Although the last season, the main character managed to at least hold my interest despite not really becoming more likable.)  In Firefly I don’t know who the main character is exactly supposed to be, but I both love the character of Kaylee and sort of wish I could date someone like her, and she’s one of a few characters who keep me coming back.  In The Book of Night With Moon I love every cat character in the whole book, I love the fact that the characters are not only cats but realistic cats except possibly inasfar as they’re wizards.  (But reading it made me wonder if my cat was a wizard and that’s what she was doing when I couldn’t find her.)  Like they could just sit around all day and do nothing and I’d find it interesting -- the fact there’s also a good plot and some fascinating ideas buried deep underneath it, is just a bonus.  

And with Tolkien I am always a little upset that he didn’t write more of something he really enjoyed -- hobbits just being hobbits.  He made up plenty of such stories but only told them to relatives and maybe close friends.  He assumed the public would never be interested.  I think a lot of the public, and especially fans, would’ve been totally enthralled by what Tolkien called ‘hobbitry’ and seemed to worry there was already too much of in the books.  Like... I used to be part of a MUD where some people just endlessly role-played hobbits doing hobbitry, and it was a lot of fun both to take part in and to read the logs from.  I’m not normally good at role-play but someone coaxed me into it and it was fun.  I’m sure anyone in the hobbit section of that MUD would’ve loved an entire book of nothing but hobbitry, so certainly stories here and there would’ve done well in some circles.  Writers need to remember that if they enjoy telling a certain kind of story, there are people somewhere in the world who will enjoy hearing or reading it.  It may be lots of people or just a few, but you’re never so unique that only you would like your writing.  And I think Tolkien felt that only he and his family would enjoy random bouts of hobbitry.

Anyway, all that is to say, I can’t explain why 17776 pulled me in, or how.  Nor will I explain what it’s about, because discovering what it’s about and who the characters are is already a spoiler.  And I don’t think I would be able to handle it if the animations/videos were nothing but flashing, but since they contain other things, I’ve so far been willing and able to put up with it -- today at least -- entirely because it has pulled me in so thoroughly.  

YMMV, I know people who are driven by other things who love things I can’t stand and can’t stand things I love.  Like I can’t stand The Hunger Games.  I read the entire series but it felt like watching paint dry.  Or worse.  I actually found the characters and story interesting in the abstract.  And I’m glad I read it so I can make references to it and understand references other people make to it.  But I hated -- consciously -- every single moment of reading it.  It was never easy.  No part of it flowed past quickly.  Every part of it was an actual mental struggle in a way I can’t describe.  And I honestly don’t know what made me keep reading.  And yet, I know people who liked it, even people who loved it.  And it’s not just that I’m not usually into dystopias, there was just something about the book that utterly refused to interest me.  Like I could think back on it and be interested intellectually.  But my emotions wouldn’t connect at all.

17776 I so far have zero intellectual interest in the topics so far (which is why telling me about the premise -- even if it was not a spoiler -- would have either not interested me or actively disinterested me depending on the day), but my emotions are fully connected and I care what happens to characters and that’s enough to even make me disregard small amounts of strobing.  (I can’t disregard it at will, but I can take steps to prevent migraines and etc. and continue reading despite knowing it may happen again.)

[yesilovehorses-blog1]

Equine Skin Issues: Scratching the Surface

New Post has been published on http://lovehorses.net/equine-skin-issues-scratching-the-surface/

Equine Skin Issues: Scratching the Surface

Stay on top of any changes you see in your horse’s skin and alert your veterinarian if any areas become inflamed or infected.

Photo: The Horse Staff

 What's causing the hives, hair loss, and scabs on your horse's body?

One particularly wet spring in Western Pennsylvania, I was grooming my beloved childhood gelding when I felt a series of small bumps along the top of his rump. Being too short to see above 15.2 hands, I fetched a mounting block for a closer look. Sure enough, matted tufts of hair were sticking up like a formation of small, scabby soldiers amidst the partially shedded winter hair on Risco’s rump. As a 10-year-old who cared far more about my horse’s appearance than my own, I took the scabs personally and started furiously picking away at them until they littered the barn aisle and my gelding’s rump was embarrassingly bald.

Luckily (for both of us), my gelding’s first-ever case of rain rot was mild, and my furious eradication of the offending scabs was actually part of the treatment our veterinarian later suggested (along with antimicrobial baths, regular grooming without sharing tools or equipment, and direction to keep Risco in during heavy rain). No harm done. But I’ve learned that it pays to know a bit more about the many lumps, bumps, rashes, and infections that horses are prone to before going on the attack. 

April Showers Bring …

Rain rot (or rain scald) is a bacterial infection also known as dermatophilosis. Anything that compromises the skin’s natural barrier (such as insect bites), particularly in the presence of moisture, can trigger the causative bacterium, Dermatophilus congolensis, to spring into action, spreading the infection throughout the horse’s skin and resulting in the scabbed-over lesions I picked off with such vigor. As its name implies, rain rot is often triggered by wet weather, but high humidity, high temperatures, or biting insects can bring it on, as well. For Risco, a free-range horse with constant access to shelter but little inclination to take advantage of it, springtime showers were the obvious culprit.

While my family’s horses preferred standing out in the rain to coming into the barn, they were mercifully spared from one affliction that plagued horses at a barn down the road from us: scratches, or “greasy heel.” Like clockwork, come March or April, my neighbors’ horses would develop scabby, inflamed heels.

Scratches can have many causes, all of which result in red, inflamed, crusty-looking heels.

Photo: Alexandra Beckstett, The Horse Managing Editor

“Scratches isn’t a specific disease; it’s simply the term we use for an inflammation at the end of the leg,” says Stephen White, DVM, Dipl. ACVD, chief of service, Dermatology, at the University of California, Davis, William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

“It can be caused by bacteria, dermatophytes (fungi also known as ringworm), chorioptic mange (caused by mites), a viral infection, or a contact reaction. Calling your vet and telling them your horse has scratches is a bit like calling your dermatologist and saying you have a rash on your palm. It’s not a diagnosis or a disease, but it will make your dermatologist start thinking about all of the possible things that might have caused that -reaction.”

So, while the effect might be similar for most horses—red, inflamed heels that look crusty or scabbed-over—the cause varies widely, as does the treatment. Wet, muddy conditions make horses more vulnerable to a bacterial or fungal invasion, but inflammation might just as easily be triggered by biting flies, mites, or leaving the hair on your horse’s lower legs too long, causing it to retain enough moisture to prompt scratcheslike inflammation.

May Flowers Bring …

Allergies. Like people, horses are susceptible to a range of seasonal allergies. And ironically, being a horse provides no guarantee against hay or grass allergies.

“Typically, (affected) horses will exhibit pruritic dermatitis (an itchy inflammation of the skin) or hives, together or separately,” White says. “Horses that are primarily inside during the winter can also have a similar reaction to various grain mites or barn dust.”

Horses can develop both respiratory and skin diseases from allergens. As any allergy-prone person can tell you, spring is typically the season when allergies are at their worst, thanks to the thousands of grasses, flowers, and trees bursting into bloom. The same is true for horses.

Infographic: Equine Allergies

Most horses with chronic skin allergies end up in the care of an animal dermatologist, like Rose Miller, DVM, Dipl. ACVD, who is affiliated with the Gilbert, Arizona-based practice Dermatology for Animals. While your usual veterinarian will likely have a good handle on most kinds of common skin gunk, board-certified dermatologists are required to do an additional three-year residency specific to dermatologic issues and are best qualified to help you develop a plan for allergy testing and treatment.

In Miller’s experience, most of the animals she sees are “almost universally itchy,” she says, “with the exception of the occasional autoimmune-related issue. Horses are often allergic to similar things as people—grasses, trees, weeds, dust. Mites and insect hypersensitivity can be an issue, too.”

When Miller examines a horse she believes might be suffering from allergies, she has the option of conducting a serologic (blood) test and/or an intradermal allergen skin test (IDST). Veterinarians frequently use serology to determine what environmental allergens might be at play, but intradermal testing is typically where most veterinary dermatologists begin their investigations.

“For an intradermal allergen test, we start by injecting about 70 to 75 different allergens into the skin of the horse’s neck, using a positive and negative control to test their reaction,” Miller says. “Once you’ve determined what a horse is allergic to, you can start formulating a desensitization plan.”

Miller will contact the lab and request a vial containing a concentrated dose of those allergens. She’ll then formulate a series of increasingly higher doses of the allergen to be administered in a shot, which might cost around $40, on a weekly or monthly basis to desensitize the horse. 

“You’ve got to teach the horse’s body that the allergens are not actually a problem,” she says. “The amount of time that takes varies from horse to horse. We generally warn our clients that it may be a lifelong commitment.”  

Burning Sun and Biting Insects

A few months after Risco’s first run-in with rain rot, I brought him into the barn sporting a bright-pink nose that was peeling around his nostrils. A quick call to the veterinarian confirmed that Risco was suffering from a nasty sunburn, a common enough occurrence for horses with light-colored coats or on any horse with a broad blaze or snip like Risco’s. Before advising that I apply SPF regularly to my horse’s nose, though, my veterinarian ran through a series of questions that I later realized were to check for photosensitization, which can have an appearance similar to sunburn.

5 Ways to Prevent Sunburn in Horses

“Photosensitization is caused when horses come into contact or ingest certain plants that are activated by light to cause a chemical reaction in the skin,” says Toby Pinn, DVM, an associate at Vermont Large Animal Clinic, just downt he road from me in Milton. “It can cause what looks like a horrible chemical burn, mostly in nonpigmented areas.”

While it’s worth checking your pastures for the plants that can cause contact photosensitivity, such as red and alsike clover, St. John’s Wort, and wild carrot, your horse is far more likely to suffer the effects of a typical summer insect invasion or common sunburn. Depending on where you live, your horses can encounter everything from deerflies and no-see-ums to black flies and horse flies, as well as mosquitoes and barn flies. Fly masks, lightweight fly sheets, and fly sprays can all help, but as White notes, “most fly repellents don’t last nearly as long as the label claims. Most are only good for about 48 hours, if that, and always be sure to follow the directions. You have to be sure it’s diluted properly and that you’re applying it as directed.” And sometimes it’s just easier to bring a horse in from the field when bugs are at their worst.

The same goes for sun protection. Because horses are also prone to squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer), it’s best to bring them in during the midday hours. At the least, slather sunscreen on burn-prone areas as frequently as you’d put it on yourself during a trip to the beach.

Creepy Crawlies and Ringworm 

Flying insects aren’t the only bugs that can cause your horse to suffer. Ticks, mites, fleas, and lice can all take up residence in manes, tails, the hair coat on the belly and ears, or in the fetlock feathers, causing irritation, hives, or bumps as they feed on their equine hosts. If your horse exhibits any of these signs, ask your veterinarian to take and test a skin sample so you know what you’re dealing with. 

Is My Horse a Tick Magnet?

Your veterinarian will follow a similar procedure if you spot the signature circle of ringworm on your horse’s coat. While ringworm—an infection of the skin or hair caused by a type of fungus—isn’t common here in Vermont, or in California where White practices, a raging case of ringworm once spread through the Pennsylvania barn where I occasionally boarded my horse during the winter. It wasn’t picky; it spread from the horses to the barn cats to my friend, who was unlucky enough to pick up one of the cute (and infected) kittens, and all affected species developed the scaly patches that typify the infection. It didn’t help that horses shared grooming tools and saddle blankets, which causes the infection to spread quickly, but luckily for all, using medicated shampoos and dedicated grooming tools helped curb the infection. 

Take-Home Message

“Skin issues are generally pretty equal-opportunity,” says Pinn. For that reason, it’s important to stay on top of any changes you see in your horse’s skin and to alert your veterinarian if any areas become inflamed or infected. “Sometimes we’ll see a (Staphylococcus) infection coming secondarily after a case of allergies or biting flies,” White says. “Anything that diminishes the natural barrier of the skin can lead to an infection, particularly if the horse is in poor health.”

So while Risco was in excellent health when he showed up with rain rot, I’ve learned my lesson: My horse’s skin is his largest organ, and it deserves as much attention and care as the rest of him. So next time I’ll ask questions first, and only attack once I know my enemy.

About the Author

Lindsay J. Westley

Lindsay J. Westley is a freelance writer based in Burlington, Vt. She grew up riding hunters, worked as a wrangler in Montana, and spent two years as a professional polo groom. She rides between deadlines when she can find a horse.