Overview of Hair Loss & Irritated Skin

Introduction

There are many causes of hair loss in horses and until the cause is identified it may be difficult or impossible to treat. This article is designed to describe some of the most common symptoms and go through some of the common diseases to help you decide on a likely problem or if you might need more help with your skin problem. Where specific diagnosis are made links to more detailed articles on the condition are provided. Some of the conditions considered in this article are:

Hair Loss with Healthy Skin
Ringworm or Dermatophytosis
Rain Rot or dermatophilus
Grease Heel or Scratches
Onchocerciasis
Chronic Selenium Poisoning
Spring Hair Loss
Sunburn, Plant Toxicity and Photosensitization

This article discusses the different appearances of diseases that cause hair loss with and without irritated skin. Once you think you know what disease you have you can follow the links for a discussion on treatment.

The first step is determining the cause is to decide if the skin where the hair loss is occurring is healthy or not. The different diseases are divided by their primary clinical signs. However, all these diseases crossover and can cause other symptoms that may be confusing. For instance some diseases which are not normally itchy may develop a hypersensitivity reaction resulting in scratching, and hair loss. Usually in these cases a primary skin disease is noticed prior to the scratching so it is important to consider the first symptoms seen as the primary disease and give greater weight to those symptoms.

Causes of Hair Loss, with Healthy Skin

Spring Hair Loss

Some horses begin to lose their winter coats early and before the summer coat has begun to come in. This result is a temporary baldness. This type of alopecia is common and easily recognized:

It occurs at the onset of the normal shedding time or a little earlier.
It is bilaterally symmetrical.
The skin underneath shows no signs of trauma or disease.
There may be light rubbing as the horse attempts to dislodge the winter hairs.

Foal Shedding

Foals generally shed the hair coat they are born with starting around three months of age and may continue slowly until eight months of age. It will be affected by the time of year the foal is born with those born in early winter delaying hair loss some. When shedding, the new coat is frequently darker than the foal's coat and can result in unusual patterns forming with one of the most characteristic being dark rings of new hair growth around the eyes.

The shedding pattern is bilaterally symmetrical.
The skin underneath shows no signs of trauma or disease.
There may be light rubbing as the horse attempts to dislodge the winter hairs.

Congenital Hypotrichosis and Alopecia

Almost all breeds report occasional foals born with patchy areas of thin or no hair. These areas can become progressively larger as the foal ages proceeding to a complete lack of hair. Diagnosis is made from a skin biopsy and the problem should be considered genetically transmittable.

Hair Loss with Itching (Pruritis) as a Main Component

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