A horse in our stables got oil based paint on his coat. How do we remove this and will it hurt the horse…?”

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Patty,

The oil-based paint should not hurt your horse unless it is covering over 40 to 50 percent of his body. Oil based paint can be cut with a detergent but it is not as effective as turpentine. Do not use turpentine or any other chemical base thinner on your horses skin. Use dish soap (not dishwasher soap) and warm water. Do a repeated washing as long as the horse is tolerant. If you have to give him a break and clean more the next day, that’s okay. You should be able to eventually get him clean without damaging his skin.

 

“The area that was being treated had not grown any hair back but the skin underneath looks healthy…?”

I have an 18 y.o. Saddlebred gelding that had a line of crusty areas about ¼” in diameter and about 4 inches long down one side of his neck. When I felt them they were raised and crusty. I could remove them by scratching them lightly with my fingernail without any discomfort to him. We had them cultured and they grew in a culture dish. The vet put him on an oral antibiotic for 10 days along with daily applications of a steroid type ointment. Over the winter it appeared that it was improving but when spring came this year and all of his hair had shed, the area that was being treated had not grown any hair back but the skin underneath looks healthy. Around the area where the ointment spread the hair is lighter and almost downey in appearance. The vet said that it was a form of Staph. Or, strep (I cannot remember) probably happened from an abrasion and he rubbed it causing the lesion. What can I do to get the hair to come back and what is the deal with the surrounding hair looking so thick and fuzzy. The interesting thing is that I have to shave that area because this soft hair will not shed and sticks straight up. Thanks

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Judy,
The skin infection that your horse experienced apparently did enough damage to the underlining dermal layer of skin (where the hair follicles reside) that it could have permanently damaged hair follicles and left scar tissue in its place. The area of soft hair growth has also been damaged but to a lesser extent. The hair that grows there may eventually begin to grow in like the other hair, but the areas of no hair growth may never regenerate. I would expect them to slowly contract and become a smaller area of hairlessness as time goes on. A strong steroid ointment will help reduce the scarred area.

 

“My horse has lost most all his hair on his back…?”
My horse has lost most all his hair on his back, his skin is very flaky with flakes of skin in his mane, so what can I do to help him?

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Donna,
It sounds as if you are dealing with a fairly serious dermatological condition. It would be best to have a Veterinarian do a dermatological exam and attempt to determine what is the exact cause of the loss of hair. Many of the common dermatological problems that affect horses show symptoms of hair loss. It would be important to know whether itching is associated with the hair loss also. Is the skin under the hair loss normal looking or thickened, or maybe scabby? These things would be necessary to know in order to try and determine the cause of the problem. The Vet would probably do a skin scraping in order to rule out mange (mites) and will also check for fungal problems such as girth itch. Until you can get a Vet to check the horse over, it would be safe to give the horse a good bath using Betadine or Nolvasan shampoo. Either of these products is antifungal, and antibacterial.
I hope this helps and good luck.

 

“He lost his winter coat fast and has some balding on his chest…?”

I have a mini stallion he is 2 yrs old. He lost his winter coat fast and has some balding on his chest. It doesn’t appear to be red, swollen, or crusty, just bare skin under his front legs which seems to be getting worse. What could cause this and what can I do for it?

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Heavenly 777,
Your mini stallion is suffering from Alopecia that is simply a lack of hair. Alopecia can be caused by a number of things in horses. If there is no redness or scaling then you can eliminate many of the causes of Alopecia. Allergic response by the skin, hormonal response by the skin, or skin responding to external parasites or insects may be involved. If the condition continues to get worse, I would suggest that you have a Veterinarian examine your colt and try and find the cause and possible cure. I wish I could have a magic cure for you but, as you can tell, the causes are many.

 

“now he is losing really hair around his eyes and nose and his chest. “…

I just bought a new horse and we thought he might have worms. So we de wormed him and now he is losing really hair around his eyes and nose and his chest. Is this because of the worms and if not what should I do?

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Kara:

Horses can lose hair in large areas when they have some type of immune insult. This can be an illness, great stress (such as a huge move), surgery, or a heavy parasite load. If you are concerned, you should have your veterinarian examine him. Otherwise, monitor for hair regrowth, as long as the other major points of normal appetite, drinking, bowel and bladder habits.

 

“My mare is not growing a good winter coat. What do you recommend?”…

Hi,

She is 4 years old, in great health, trimmed, wormed. We live in Northeastern Washington. She is kept outside. She is registered with Poco Bueno background. It is windy, snowy and rainy. Temp may drop to 0, to minus 15 – 20 degrees at times. Hot in the summer 100. We have your basic four seasons.

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Kara:

Unfortunately, there is no secret to getting a horse to grow hair, be it tail, mane, or body hair. If she is allowed to adjust gradually, which it sounds like she is by living outside, then the coat growth is respondent to daylight hours more than temperature. If this still hasn’t helped, you will have to supplement her by blanketing or at least keeping her in a barn at night, or both depending upon the weather/climate conditions. If she is left out in the cold to keep herself warm, she will resort to burning not only fat, but also muscle, for energy to keep herself warm. Burning muscle will decrease her muscle tone, further depleting her energy stores, causing weight loss, and setting her into a negative energy balance.

Hopefully you have a barn, or at least a run-in shed to shelter her from the elements. One thing you could add to her diet to give her a little more fat is corn oil, at about 1 cup per day. Start lower (~1/4 cup) and slowly increase it. This will provide her a fat source, but won’t help accelerate her hair growth. Some horses never seem to grow a heavy coat; some of them grow a heavier coat with age. Good luck.

 

“Some of my barn-mates discourage french braiding tails as they’ve heard that it restricts blood flow to the tail dock.”…

I live in Michigan, and this time of year the pasture gets very muddy. I often french braid my horse’s tail to A) keep it from dragging in the mud, and B) to help protect it from getting damaged so it can grow stronger & longer. Some of my barn-mates discourage french braiding tails as they’ve heard that it restricts blood flow to the tail dock. Is this true? Thank you for your advice!

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Reannon,

The use of French braiding of the tail might be an occasional cause of constriction of blood supply to a part of the tail, but it is not very likely unless a group of strands of hair are wrapped excessively tight around the circumference of the bony part of the tail or if things like rubber bands are used around the same area. I would not discourage you from continuing the practice. I hope this helps.

 

“I have an Arabian quarter horse 5 yrs. He is getting white marks on his face, over eyes. Is that normal? “…

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Sue,

The white marks that you describe could be a gradual change in his basic coat color. Around the eyes is usually where you first see a color change in a horse that is or will eventually turn grey. I would have to see a picture of him to be sure if that is possible.

 

 

“I just noticed a couple of quarter sized spots of hairloss on her hind quarter…”

 

My daughter has a older Paso Fino, which is a strawberry roan color. I just noticed a couple of quarter sized spots of hairloss on her hind quarter. The skin looks fine, just the loss of hair. I have been feeding her 12% pellet feed & also beet pulp. I also got some weight gain powder and had it on her for the last 30 days. She eats good, but you can still see her ribs. I just thought it was due to her being near 20 years old. I don’t see her being in pain, since she runs around the pasture with our other two horses. I don’t see her rubbing against trees in the pasture either so I don’t think it’s itchy. Also I just wormed her with Iverease. I would appreciate any direction you could point me as to what you think it may be.

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Joe:

The hair loss patches and weight loss may or may not be related. A comprehensive blood test will screen for a lot of problems which can cause the signs you are describing. The skin should be dealt with separately than the weight loss. Your veterinarian can do a complete diet evaluation, as well as review your deworming and vaccination protocols. These are good places to start. Depending on what those tests find, they will help your veterinarian choose appropriate course(s) of therapy.

 

 

“I have an 11 year old, good condition that has been treated by 5 vets for hair loss and itching”…

 

He’s been treated for fungus, parasites, allergies, (still gets a shot a month) and sweat itch.  Nothing has helped; I have a bald horse that I feel sorry for because he acts like his skin is on fire.  Can you help me get him in to someplace like Texas A&M?  I am not a rookie had horses all of my life and have a BS in Agriculture.  Please help Thanks

 

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Larry,

I graduated from Texas A&M and if you are close to this Veterinary School, that would be a very good place to take your horse. Any one of the Veterinarians that you have contacted should be able to refer you to this school with just one call to the University. You could also initiate the contact with the Veterinary school since it is a state school, they will accept any patients within their state. You would want to talk to the Dermatology specialist in the Equine section. Getting all of your records together for the referral Veterinarian will be very helpful. I hope this helps and good luck.

 

“My 5-year-old Belgian X gelding has terrible body odor. “…

He shows no outward signs of illness. Any suggestions as to what may cause this?

Dr Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Karen:

Excessive sweating can cause bad body odor, as can skin conditions.  Skin disease does not always “show” up as something ill, and it may not be all over the body, but only in less obvious spots, which can still cause quite a potent odor.  One other thing to not forget about is the sheath.  A dirty sheath can indeed smell quite foul, and since geldings cannot clean themselves, they depend on the owner and the veterinarian to tend to that duty.

 

“One of my friends horses is having hair problems…”

One of my friends horses is having hair problems: the horses’ hair is falling out in circles (not ringworm) around the neck area. And it has been spreading to other horses. A vet came over to check it out but didn’t know what it was. Can you help?

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Amber, since the hair is falling out and it is spreading to other horses, it does sound as if the horses may be suffering from a fungal dermatitis. One form of this fungal infection is called ringworm. I was wondering why you are sure it is not ringworm. Ringworm is not caused by worms, but is caused by a fungus. There are other possibilities for this loss of hair, but the fungal dermatitis is the most probable. A good medicated shampoo (betadine or nolvasan scrub or shampoo) will usually help control and rid the horses of the problem. These products should be available at most tack shops, or even at a drug store, over the counter. The Vet can do a little diagnostic work up on one of these horses if he is not sure what the problem is, and maybe come up with the exact cause. If you are not willing to do that, at least try the medicated shampoo and see if it helps.