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  Discussion on Tail hair loss
Author Message
New Member:
trissy

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 1:10 am:

My mare started to loose hair in her tail. she has bald patch already and her hair falling out in patches. She is not itching and looks healthy otherwise. She lives in Ca, this winter feels very dry and cold. She gets a multivatimes, flexseed, good hay, deworming etc. What could be the cause of her tail hair loss and what can I do to help? I tried TMG; main tail conditioner; keeping the tail braided and in the sock. Nothing help.
Member:
muffi

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 12:18 pm:

that happened to a small extent last year with my Arab in Arizona in early Spring. I put cream on the tail - top of the tail only was where it was happening. For Him it appeared to help - I think it was dry skin? He is all black too and the sun was really hot early last year in AZ. I use hoof creme and human hand creme - what ever I brought outside with me that day - it helped and the Flakey and hair loss seemed to go away quickly - I think the tail was dry - he rubbed it when I wasn't around causing the hair to be rubbed away - applying the creme helped him - Worth a try...
Member:
hwood

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 8:42 pm:

You might try some Bag Balm. It has lanolin and eucalyptus . . . It has antiseptic properties and works wonders for irritated or rough, dry skin. I have seen it work wonders on callouses (hope I spelled that correctly). I used to raise sheep and know that working with sheep, one's hands never get dried out because of the constant contact with lanolin.
I have used Listerine, baby oil, and Witch Hazel mixture, too, and that helps with itchiness.
Member:
kthorse

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 9:02 pm:

That happenned to my horse at one barn. It happenned the whole time he was there. The only thing that help was washing his tail and putting fungas spray. cant remember what its name was. It was very frustrating. however since moving to the new barn it all resolved. Very strange
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 7:05 am:

Welcome oleysa,
A few questions:
Do you just find the hair just gone or do you see it laying on the floor of the stall?
Can you pull the hairs out yourself?
Are there any broken hairs around the hair loss?
What does the skin look like where the hair has fallen out?
Has the veterinarian looked at this and what did he say and what tests did he run?
DrO
New Member:
trissy

Posted on Friday, Mar 9, 2007 - 1:21 am:

She stays in pasture with other horses during day. I didn't see any hair on the floor in the stall.
she has a bald spot at the base of her tail.
Her hair from the tail are falling out by touching.
The skin in bald spot looks normal.
Hair look very dry and brocken, mostly in the tail. Main and the rest of the body just look and feel dry.
Vet hasn't seen her yet.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Mar 9, 2007 - 7:52 am:

That is a little perplexing olesya. If the tail hairs are broken and the skin normal most often either the horse is rubbing its tail or some the horse is pulling them out. The distribution suggests rubbing. But you should not be able to easily pull the hairs out. Are you saying that if you went to the tail you could easily pull tail hairs out by the roots? Could we have a good picture of this?
DrO
Member:
corinne

Posted on Friday, Mar 9, 2007 - 6:02 pm:

Welcome Olesya...I always keep posted on Hair and tail issues as my invariably loses hair some how, rubbing it out on his own, getting it pulled out. Please keep us posted about your mare. We would love to see some pictures!
New Member:
trissy

Posted on Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 - 1:12 am:

Can you recommend some supplements for hair and skin? any topicals? Which brands? How often should I wash her tail, and the body too? should I condition it more?
thank you for your time.
I will try get some pictures soon.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 - 11:46 am:

olesya,
it is not clear that supplements will help this problem and as to specific treatments first you need to make an attempt at understanding why the problem is happening and from there a solution that is likely to help might present itself.

You could spend hundreds of dollars on such nonsense without any help at all. My horses do not get regular detergent shampoos, conditioners, nor supplements for skin and hair and they usually have beautiful coats. For more on routine skin care see Horse Care » Routine Horse Care » Hair Coat Care.

But let's try to understand why this is occurring so that we have a chance at fixing it.
DrO
New Member:
trissy

Posted on Saturday, Mar 17, 2007 - 3:14 am:

I washed her hair and used conditioner (main/tail). Also gave her dewormer, Equamax, a month earlier the usual. ( this is her routine dewormer). Also use MTG (tail main growth) oil, once a week. In in week, the hair in the bold spot grew a little bit. She looks healthy otherwise, the rest of her coat feels normal.
I was also wondering if I should bread and put her tail in the sock, to protect from sun and dryness?
thank you for your advice.
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