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  Discussion on Broken tail hairs
Author Message
New Member:
dlsenDrO

Posted on Monday, Aug 11, 2008 - 8:59 am:

This is my first post ever so please bear with me. I have a grey large pony gelding. He is 1/2Welsh, 1/4Arabian, 1/4Thoroughbred. When I comb his tail, the hairs at the top come out in the comb, no matter how delicately I comb. Even if I don't comb them, they seem to fall out anyway. The longer hairs don't seem to be as brittle, but all the new growth is very brittle. We are always very careful about our tails and don't brush and pull out the knots. I thought it was brittle from over washing (since it IS mostly white and we show alot). Now I wash it only when I have to, but the problem seems to be with the new growth rather than the established tail. He seems a little itchy, but no more than anyone else in the barn. We worm on a regular basis and they have been mostly on grass this summer. He does have an allergy to hay, so he gets dengi hay instead. My first thought is that he is missing some vital mineral but don't have a clue as to what that may be.
Any suggestions??
Member:
maggienm

Posted on Monday, Aug 11, 2008 - 10:19 am:

I don't know for sure but if you wash the tail frequently perhaps rubbing some lotion into the tail head will help.

Also, earlier in the spring we had some kind of midges that made the horses tails very itchy, so I rubbed MTG into the tailheads every day for a few weeks, stopped the itch-ing and I beleive the biting.
New Member:
dlsenDrO

Posted on Monday, Aug 11, 2008 - 2:45 pm:

Thanks Lori. I have been rubbing MTG in and the itching has stopped, but the hairs are still breaking off as soon as they grow in. I'm afraid that it's something internal since it only seems to be affecting the new hair growth.
Member:
paul303

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 - 1:10 am:

Dana: I'm in NJ also, and one of my mares is suffering hair breakage at the top of her tail. I'm fairly sure it's insects, since, after inspecting closely, I found one area that was swollen, and another ( obvious )one that was definitely a bite. I know the ticks and chiggers are out in force right now, so I make sure the fly spray and Swat is handy, and I clean her tail daily with Novalsan and apply a mix of triple antibiotic ointment and cortizone ointment overnight. The main problem is, that she is rubbing her tail, and that is what is causing the hair breakage. Perhaps some Benedrly ointment or gel on the itchy area might ease the itch a bit.

At any rate, it sure takes awhile. Good luck.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 - 6:36 am:

Hello Dana,
In general mineral and vitamin deficiencies have wide ranging effects and if the only problem you are seeing is broken hairs at the tail head I tend to agree with Lee the most likely cause is tail rubbing. But to pursue the thought, do you offer a trace mineral block? Is your area known for any mineral deficiencies? For more on this see, Horse Care » Equine Nutrition, Horse Feeds, Feeding » Minerals and Electrolytes for Horses, an Overview.
DrO
Member:
corinne

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 - 8:42 am:

We live for the first time in wet and humidity and this week Demetruis has rubbed himself raw under his tail itching what appears to be horse fly bites. He too has also rubbed his tail bald in one spot and it's caused breakage. In addition to the bugs I can not rule out a combo of sweat (giving fungus and yeast a nice climate to breed) sun and sand as contributing factors. After some cold hosing I gave him a microtec bath (we got it from the vet prior to leaving) then after he was dry put some zinc oxide powder (I think Gold Bond) which has absorbed the sweat and is cooling on the tail head and on the skin he was rubbing and it was worked wonderfully. Within two days the skin is growing back and he is no longer itching or rubbing....plus with the zinc oxide concentration the powder protects from the sun as he grazes with his tail raised to swat bugs.
Good luck! We will be watching all the bug and fly posts as well.

Corinne
Member:
maggienm

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 - 9:07 am:

Gold Bond hey? Good idea
Member:
lilly

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 - 9:23 am:

Dana,
My horse had been rubbing her tail a lot recently. She had that frizzy, toilet brush look to the top portion. I started treating the area with MTG on some days and Equiss anti-itch spray on others. Then, almost two weeks ago, I saw a worm crawl out of her butt while I was brushing her. I had the vet give her an additional worming outside the cycle and the scratching has stopped. She is wormed regularly and I never would have guessed worms were causing the problem if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.
Member:
corinne

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 - 11:02 am:

Oh goodness....we might deworm again for good measure. We are with a new herd. Thanks Ann for sharing!
Member:
erika

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 - 11:29 am:

EEEEEWWWW! No more lunch...
Member:
frances

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008 - 8:32 am:

Remember the thread on here last year in which many people recommended Listerine mixed with baby oil for itchy tails? Some added witch hazel as well although others felt it wasn't necessary. Everyone seemed to swear by it.

(OK, for horse's like Ann's, it's pretty clear that deworming is the answer! For general itchiness of the sweet itch variety, though, the Listerine/baby oil apparently hit the spot.)
Member:
muffi

Posted on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 - 12:10 am:

WOW worms - i 'll have to try to re - worm again - my big guys is scratching his butt too.
but the other one has a very dry tail head so I use any oil & cream rinse on the hairs to keep them more supple - dont was out - use the leave in kind. and a cream on the skin part - helped a lot! you could actually see dry skin before and yes the Hairs were very brittle - now they are not so bad!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 - 6:50 am:

The only worm that causes tail rubbing is pinworms. I suggest instead of just deworming read about the diagnosis and try to demonstrate if you have this problem. If you are having such a problem it is important to know because simply throwing a dewormer at the horse is not the best solution and may not be effective if not carefully considered. For more see, Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Parasites and Worms » Pinworms (Oxyuris).
DrO
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