Horsey skin problems and other drama

I've had it with weird skin issues on my horses.  Victor got hives on the last day of the Burbank show, and I didn't treat it with steroids because we were (a) at an FEI show, which has very strict drug rules, and (b) I didn't want to compromise his immune system any more than a 15 hour trailer ride home would already do. 

I had my vet look at it when we got home, by that time his skin had gotten kind of scaled and dry looking and some of his hair fell out.  Not so attractive looking. :(  My vet recommended us to scrub it three times a week with Chlorohexadine shampoo.  But at this point they will just have to heal.  We were also instructed to clean his blankets, saddle pads, etc and make sure they don't have any residual detergent that might be irritating his skin.

A couple days later he got hives again, so we gave him some Dexamethazone (which is legal to give a certain window before an FEI competition, as long as it clears his system.  The time frame is 7 days before the show.  So we're cutting it a little close, but I want to get it under control  I also haven't ridden him for a few days since the hives are mostly on his right side under the saddle pad (and somewhat lower).

So today I go to tack Majek up and he has a couple large hive-looking lumps on his side.  Turns out it's ringworm.  WTH!  So now we have more scrubbing and we have to be super careful about all of his stuff, tack, blankets, saddle pads, brushes, etc.  All of it has to be super clean (preferably with a small amount of bleach) as ringworm is transmissible through inanimate objects.  Grrrr.

I have no idea why all the sudden I'm having a bunch of skin issues on the boys.  They must have picked something up in California I suppose.  I've had hive issues in the past, and they've always been in early to mid-March, right before I leave for the late March California shows, about 3 weeks after clipping them.  So I don't know if it's something about being clipped that makes their skin more sensitive or what. 

Anyhow, so now I can't ride either GP horse before we leave for the next major show in a little under two weeks.  I think this week I'll lunge them and do some in-hand work as I've found that to be a good way to keep them going.  Hopefully later this week or next week I can be riding again.

If it's not one thing it's another...