Bald patches when moulting?

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Wheresthehoofpick

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I have taken on an elderly chestnut gentle giant. He has a very soft short coat and is now moulting heavily. His coat is quite scurvy and he has bald patches where his rug was too tight.

Feeding equerry mash for linseed etc. maxwell gut health. Veteran Hi Fi. Inside out care.

Any tips on what to do to help his coat from the outside?

He hasn't had a Cushings test yet. Our Cushings ponies have always had very long coats. His is short and soft. Could this be part of it?
 
I've two chestnuts and both are moulting with big bald patches this year. I haven't a clue why either?!
 
That's interesting. When I googled it. I got an article saying it was a chestnut thing (he is my first!) and that it can happen with sudden change in temps - which we have had.

Glad it's not just us.
 
Odd moulting with some patches being suddenly bald was one of the first signs of Cushings in my gelding, he never got a very long coat or delayed moulting even though he had quite advanced Cushings.
 
My boy has been diagnosed with PPID and for the first time, has gone bald in patches.

He still grew an average coat, was shedding at normal time and showed very few other typical Cushings symtoms. Definitely worth checking out IMHO..
 
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One of our geldings has the same this year, although only small patches. His coat is really really scurfy as it's changing with these little spots here and there where he looks almost bald. He had a Cushings test not too long ago and seems in really good health otherwise.
 
my two chestnuts are tbs aged 3 and 5. so I don't think it's cushings with them (I have other cushings horses). my friends two chestnuts also look terrible moulting this year. it's so odd
 
Interesting about chestnuts as my skewbald has bald patches on his chestnut areas but not on white. Happens every year on the chestnut bits .
 
My piebald has a moth eaten look, new this year. His Cushings test came back ‘within normal limits’. I’m mildly relieved to see everyone else mentioning this. It has been a very dry month, I wonder if it’s related.
 
I read that equine alopecia (sp?) can be a result of a dramatic change in temperature. We have had -4 to +20 in the last couple of weeks so maybe it's a thing?
 
My chestnut looks like horrendous at the moment, like a rescue pony ? tested negative for Cushing's last month. The temperature fluctuation could be a cause, and I've never heard of a pattern with chestnuts so that's really interesting! My last chestnut was the same actually, although she did have Cushing's. I thought at first he was rubbing his coat out oddly due to flies, but I think he is just moulting in strange clumps!
 
I do think the changes in temperature and humidity are likely responsible, especially since many of us seem to be experiencing it with our horses/ponies for the first time? On a semi-related note, our cockerel keeps showing what looks like frostbite on the tips of his comb and then it goes away again. This is also something we've not seen before and I think relates to the large variations in weather we have seen.
 
My 20 yr old bay mare has been moulting brilliantly but is now left with long hairs on her neck and shoulder and some rather sparse patches too. The long hairs aren't in any hurry to come out. My sister's chestnut gelding also 20 is looking fine and her coloured pony has a lovely summer coat through. Mine did lose quite a bit of condition through the winter (planned) and hasn't put much back on yet so possibly that has something to do with it.
 

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I've got The Beast (grey ID type) almost in complete summer coat, Little Dragon (grey Welsh A rising 26) still fluffy but enthusiastically moulting and MrT (chestnut, Welsh D type) probably half way there. Summer coat showing on clipped areas, still a clear clip line and quite fluffy but has lost a lit already. Also still moulting enthusiastically. To me it's The Beast that seems to have gone early rather than the other two being late looking at Facebook memories. Beast is rugged more heavily. I think the cold spring has confused things a bit. I know it's supposed to be driven by daylight but I'm never so sure about that. I think it's more complex.
 
My chestnut youngster and the old lad are moulting fairly evenly, but the little dartmoor is showing various bald patches and has since she arrived in January, they've been growing out fine though, so I've not particularly worried and the vet said a little seasonal alopecia can be quite common when I mentioned it to him. She's only 5, so unlikely to be cushings! Thinking back, I've seen a few that go a bit patchy as they moult, although it'll be interesting to see what she does next year as it may well have been the result of stress/diet changes from her move ?
We did louse powder them all as a precaution when I first noticed the patches, but I've not seen any on her.
 
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