Balding on the tips of the ears?........

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Could this be a deficiency in something?

Pony in question has been very itchy through summer and has sparce mane and tail, has TONS of dandruff from head to toe and scabs dotted all over.

He was described as having sweet itch and it certainly looks like that is what he has, but I'm wondering if there is more to it and especially with the tips of his ears being bald.

He is otherwise bright and cheery

Any ideas?:)
 
Friend of mine has a mare with very mild sweet itch -she only rubs her mane and forehead/forelock slightly.She also has bald ear tips, us, usuallywith tiny scabs on
 
Thanks spacefaer...

I have a cob with sweet itch and he's never had this.
They're not rubbed or sore/scabby...just bald and just the very tip.

Tbh, the pony isn't showing classic sweet itch IMO. He has been in a fairly exposed field previously with access to barbed wire fencing and has made a fair mess of himself but only his mane and tail (he has about 10 tail hairs left) and these scabs on his body and face. Nothing on his belly.
I've brought him home to a very midgey paddock which is stream bordered and braced myself for a hell of a time ,but apart from a bit of what I would class as normal itching in such a paddock, he's barely bothered.

So, I'm beginning to wonder if it's something else...a deficiency or something perhaps...*ponders :)
 
No, I would say it really is the sweetitch. Pony has it and his ears have borne the brunt of it this year. He scratches them with his hind leg and they are balding. I am also struggling because he is now getting them caked in mud; fortunately he just loves having them combed.
 
Are they balding just on the tips Flummoxed ? Like literally the tips, as in you wouldn't see it if the pony didn't happen to be only 28inches tall..lol :) The rest of his ears are as they should be. He is not really itching like a sweet itch pony although granted, he has a full winter coat now so those midges can't really get in...
The bald bits are smooth...not sore or scabby...like the hair has just dropped out...just the very tips (I need to get photo's) :)

They're not getting worse though so I'll not worry too much and he's on a forage balancer and micronised linseed so hopefully he'll right himself soon...
 
Well no, not this year - he has scraped the hair off the inside and the back! - but in previous years he has only managed to lose hair on the tips.

Thankfully, as you say, the itching seems to be getting less although the temperature hasn't dropped to the levels we might expect at this time of year.....

I hope you get to the bottom of it, OP.
 
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