Hair Loss

[leahisabella16]

Hi all,

This could possibly be a long post, but I want to try to get as much information in as possible.

Ok, I have a 9 month foal who I have had for a little over 2 weeks now. He didn't come to me in the greatest of conditions so I've really had my work cut out for me. He was a little bit on the skinny side, was covered in mud, which has hardened in clumps on his belly which I'm slowly cutting off bit by bit, he had never had his hooves clipped which was causing him to stumble constantly. Now those issues are out of the way, I have noticed that he has several bald patches on his body and wonder what this could be due to. He is also quite itchy and has quite bad dandruff (if that's what you could call it?) on his bald patches and down the centre of his mane (his mane has a parting and falls on both sides of his neck)

The first thing that went through my head was obviously mites. I couldn't find any evidence of them and had another person at the yard check, they also couldn't see any evidence either. I put mite dust on him just to be on the safe side anyway. The lady who I asked to check for mites went away and asked a few of her friends what they thought it could be. Stress? A reaction to something? Ragwort? But the next day, she said that they had agreed that it was Seasonal Alopecia. They came to this conclusion as he had been kept outside with a rug on constantly and with him being young and the fluctuations in temperature, he doesn't know when and how to moult. She said to get a Lavender based product to soothe his skin and promote growth of his summer coat. This is to be mixed with water and sprayed on twice a day, brushed in and left to dry. I will admit it has eased his itching a lot and dandruff is clearing up, but I just wanted to get other opinions really. I don't mean to ignore what she has said or anything but obviously if there is a possibility of it being anything else, I would like to know. As with this, I can't really rug him as it won't help his situation (unless he really needs a rug that is)

If there is a possibility of it being anything else, what do you think and why? And is there anything that can treat what you suggest? If you think it is Seasonal Alopecia, is there anything else I can be doing for him? Before I get a vet out to him, I just wondered if it was something that can be treated with other remedies?

Thanks in advance.

 

[L&M]

Have you checked for lice? The bald patches are maybe where he has been itching? We had a livery come with lice and had numerous bald and scurfy patches, and although lice are hard to spot, the vet immediately found them with a magnifying glass.

Lice is best treated by a vet as can be little bu**ers to get rid of, and tbh even if it isn't lice, I would be getting a vets opinion. This horse had to have a series of injections as no over the counter powders etc touched them.

Hope you get to the bottom of it!

 

[leahisabella16]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I checked for lice. When I had him gelded a week before I picked him up the vet said she couldnt see any, but to give him a spray bath in lice stuff anyway to make sure. I did that in his first week and cant find any evidence of them now. I have been reading up on seasonal alopecia but there so many different causes it's just ended up confusing me rather than helping.