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  Discussion on Horse losing mane
Author Message
New Member:
Drfergie

Posted on Monday, May 3, 2004 - 9:57 pm:

This is my first post so bear with me. My 5yo mare paint horse is losing her mane. I have researched this sight and have not found a previous posting. while grooming her a couple of weeks ago I noticed that an excessive amount of hair came out of her mane. I thought that it was no big deal but this week i was looking at her mane and it is wearing very thin. If you run your fingers through it you come away with several strains in your hand. I would suspect Selenium toxicity but no hoof problems or laminitis. The odd part is that it seems to be just in the white parts of her mane. the black part and the tail, also black, seem to be fine. I have been treating with M-T-G for a week but with no real change. I'm at a loss here, if it continues I will be forced to shave off what is left and will still not know why it fell out, please help.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 7:44 am:

Why would you suspect Se toxicity Daniel? Does the skin look irritated or are any of the hairs broken as though there has been rubbing?
DrO
Member:
Drfergie

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 8:50 am:

sorry let me clarify. all the research that I did the olny thing I could find that made any reference to mane loss was attributed to that. I should have left that out or stated that better in my first posting. I just cant seem to find anything that would cause just the mane hair to be lost. there is no sign of rubbing or broken hairs. no signs of skin irritation. I think the oddest thing is that it effects only the white hair. any ideas?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2004 - 9:38 am:

Daniel the focal hair loss without signs of inflammatory disease of the skin suggests a condition called alopecia areata. Though uncommon it is not rare. It has a number of forms with one being problems seen in the loss of mane or tail hairs (mane and tail dysplasia) and another form being seen in areas of decreased pigmentation (spotted leukotrichia). Put them together and this is what you have. A good physical exam and review of nutrition (see Nutrition Overview) with a emphasis on vitamin and mineral assesment. If no problems are clearly found, a biopsy of the abnormal areas is done. The basis for a diagnosis which is one of ruling out other causes of these symptoms.

It is thought that the problem may be genetic but this is not certain. If this is the problem there are reports that twice daily application of Rogaine has resulted in return of hair.
DrO
New Member:
Kkirby

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 8, 2004 - 10:34 am:

Daniel and Dr. O,
I read your posting as I am currently seeking help for the same or similar condition for my horse, a spotted saddle horse. His mane is thinning dramatically, with the skin area underneath having no apparent irritation or sensitivity. It is just bare. The condition is also just affecting the white part of his mane. The brown areas are not thinning.
This is the first time my horse has encountered this condition. He has always had a very long thick mane.
Other than the mane, he is outwardly very healthy.
I have tried antifungal shampoo and cortisone ointments as treatment so far and needless to say, neither have worked.
I am at a loss as I will soon have a horse with no mane.
From your discussion with Daniel I think it may be related to diet as this is the first spring my horse has been on his current pasture. We moved to a new home late last summer.
Where do I start with trying to identify the source of a possible dietary issue?
Thanks,
Kimberli Kirby
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 9, 2004 - 6:50 am:

Usually the best place to start evaluating a diet is having the feedstuffs analyzed at your regional agricultural extension service but I don't think you will find your answer there.

Nutritional issues or toxicity do not result in the type of focal (only the white) hair loss you are experiencing and there are other signs like poor quality skin and hooves. For more on other causes of hair loss and some pasture issues with hair loss review the article that is associated with this forum.
DrO
New Member:
Simba

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 23, 2005 - 5:09 pm:

Well, I too have a hair loss problem. I have a 20 year old arabian gelding, bay that is losing mane AND tail hair. His skin is great, this is the only problem. He is not rubbing, he is wormed regularly and blood pulled every year. He is hypo-thyroid so he is on Thyro-L,timothy hay, beet pulp, some alfalfa/oat pellets and Nutrena Senior Feed (without molasses) and Coca-Soya oil (which he's been on for a couple of years). This condition is really sudden. Any ideas?
Pam
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 24, 2005 - 8:00 am:

Can you post some good pictures of the areas with hair loss Pam? If not can you describe in detail what you are seeing: how much hair is being lost, have completely bald areas developed and if so how large, etc...

Assuming you have a real problem you should follow the suggestions in the earlier posts above. Both the timothy and the beet-pulp are low to barely adequate in protein and may be hard to balance with the concentrate, your diet could be deficient in protein.

You also should read the article on hypothyroidism. Just yesterday I posted a article brief that while thyroxine supplemetation will help reduce weight it does mess with the proper function of the thyroid axis. Too little and too much thyroid hormone can effect any system of the body.
DrO
New Member:
Simba

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 24, 2005 - 9:38 pm:

Thank you so much for your quick response. His hair on his mane comes out in small handfulls as does his tail hair. I wormed him yesterday with Strongid and will follow-up with Zemectrin in a month just in case this is a contributing factor. I know Timothy varies from 7% to 10% but the Alfalfa is grown for cows and gets up to as much as 35%. Therein lies my problem...I do supplement him with Alfalfa pellets with a 14% protein as does his Senior Feed. He is also very SE sensitive (I had his tail hair analyzed so I'm careful about any SE add in with any feed). I might think that this could be an early shedding of his summer hair but it is just too much and without evidence of body hair loss. Thank you for your suggestion about hypothyroidism article...I'll read it immediately. I'm just frustrated. Should I pull blood? Thanks again!! Pam
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Aug 25, 2005 - 6:28 am:

How much by weight do you supplement and how much does your horse weigh?
DrO
New Member:
Simba

Posted on Thursday, Aug 25, 2005 - 5:25 pm:

My horse is 14.3 and weights about 950. Daily, he gets 3lbs of alfalfa/oat pellets, 2 lbs Senior Feed (14% protein) 1/2 cup of cocasoya. I do not add any vitamins. His energy is good.
Thank you!
Pam
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 26, 2005 - 6:03 am:

I think I would change the alfalfa/oats to straight alfalfa cubes if the local hay is not suitable. This should get you close to proper protein levels. The decision to pull a blood sample on your horse is best made following an examination, so if you continue to worry about this you should have your vet out to look at the horse.
DrO
New Member:
Simba

Posted on Friday, Aug 26, 2005 - 1:25 pm:

Will do. Thank you so much for your advice, it's much appreciated.

Pam
New Member:
tmpk9bru

Posted on Thursday, Mar 5, 2015 - 8:52 am:

Hi Dr. O,

I just read this post and my 6 year old TB is rapidly losing her mane. She is a bay with a black mane and tail. She is only losing hair in her mane at the current time. She is not the only horse on the property that is also losing her mane hair. There are several horses that are also being affected. I will attach pictures so you can see the amount of hair loss that is occurring. We recently had a new barn manager take over our barn in November who changed the horses feed and hay. She has been at this current barn for 3 years and has had no issues up to just recently. It is extremely cold here in CT so all of the horses are blanketed some of which have blankets with neck covering. The hair loss area is not being affected by blanket rubs. The hair is not breaking and is falling out from the root with the root ball attached. There is no sign of external parasites or fungus or other skin irritations. The vet is stumped but did say that she believes that this is a herd issue because other horses are affected as well. The only commonality between the horses that are affected is the first cutting hay and water. All of the horses affected are on different types of grain and supplements. The vet took blood and recommended that although she did not detect fungus she wants us to treat with betadine every other day for 5 days until the blood test come back. She is also going to check for a possible Thyroid condition. The horses are of all different breeds, sex and ages. The hay that they have been on recently had a very high percentage of alfalfa one of which they have not been on before. I am unable to test this hay because we recently ran out and a brand new shipment of another kind replaced it. There was no transitioning period between the old and new. This hay is purchased from NY and supposedly contains timothy and alfalfa. There has also been an outbreak of unexplained lameness issues that are believed to be abscesses. Again, its winter, we have about three feet of snow on the ground and most of these horses are not being worked hard because it's been averaging about 10-20 degrees here if that. My horse has not had any lameness problems and she is being lightly worked at least 2-3 times a week either ridden, lounged or free lounged in our small indoor. She is on a 14-10 grain, Smartpack cocosoya and MSM.
Tina
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Mar 8, 2015 - 3:51 pm:

Welcome to Horseadvice Tina,
I believe we can help you with your question but let me get you started off right so you can get the best answer as quick as possible.

You will get more responses if you start your own discussion rather than post at the bottom of another member's discussion. Each discussion is "owned" by the original poster and all replies in that discussion should directly address the concerns of the original poster.

To start your own discussion back up one page using the navigation bar at the top of this page. This will be a Article Page on this topic. Below the article you will find a list of already existing discussions on this topic. Under this list, at the bottom of the page, you will find the "Start New Discussion" button. This is a good topic on your subject that directly addresses your problem. Review the article as it will have important information on your subject including the possible diagnosis.

If you do not find the information you seek, check the titles of the already existing discussions to see if your question has already been answered.

If your question remains unanswered, now is the time to Start a New Discussion. Select a short title that describes your specific concern. A title like "Help!!!" does not help others find your specific topic. Instead something like "Ace for Colic?" allows others to rapidly find and understand what your topic is about just by viewing the title. This is likely to bring more responses from those with some experience with your topic and allows members to find answers to their questions quicker.

Thanks for helping keep this information source organized. DrO
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