Losing hair on legs

O

oldie48

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 April 2013
Messages
7,028
Location
South Worcestershire
Visit site
For several years now, at this time of the year the old boy loses the hair from his legs. It comes out in clumps and the skin is very scurfy. He's a chestnut TB and prone to skin problems but I've never got to the bottom of what is causing it. No sign of infection, his legs are cool and not filled in any way. In desperation I did get him treated for mites a couple of years ago, but I don't think that it did any good. He doesn't get mud fever. Now, I just wash his legs with Hibiscrub just in case there's any bacteria lurking and watch his legs going bald. Any thoughts?
 
S

shokkyy

Active Member
Joined
9 April 2008
Messages
39
Visit site
My horse always had this, on the front of his lower hind legs and on his face, usually at its worst around the time he was changing coat. The hair used to fall out in clumps and it appeared kind of greasy and scurvy around the roots. I had my vet check it out but it was just a greasy skin sort of thing, isolated to areas prone to sweat but where the skin was thin. I came to the conclusion that the only thing to do was to make sure I kept those areas scrupulously clean, mostly with grooming but I did also use diluted hibiscrub. I don't think you can get rid of it if they have a tendency for it, but you can keep it at a minimum to avoid any skin problems caused by a buildup of anything.
 
P

Perfect-Piaffe

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 June 2008
Messages
376
Visit site
My tb has exactly the same at this time of year and I try to get as much as I can off with a rubber curry comb and give them a good scrub with an antibacterial shampoo/wash. I've tried lots of things to prevent it over the years but nothing really stops it! It just seems to be one of those things! :)
 
H

Hawks27

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 October 2009
Messages
526
Visit site
We have this issue with our retired cushings mare as her winter coat is so hurendously thick and she takes for ever to loose it, it gets hot and uncomfortbale and her skin is so scurffy and horrid from a wiinter of layers of rugs as she feels the cold. Sadly there is nothing to fix it that we have found when she does eventually start to drop her winter coat it comes out in massive clumps and leaves her with big bald patches. once its hot enough i just give her a bath with tea tre oil shampoo to strip out the greaseyness and soothe her skin and she always has a shiny summer smooth coat eventually but she has to go through several weeks of looking like a scruffy neglect case! even though shes groomed daily
 
A

Annagain

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 December 2008
Messages
15,566
Visit site
My share horse gets this too but his legs go scabby, like mud fever and can bleed at times. He's had it every spring for years and we've never got to the bottom of it or cleared it up. The vet thinks that as he has lots of leg hair (he's part Sec D) it traps dirt and grease and then as he starts to moult, the porse open up and let all that dirt and grease in, so like a mudfever type dermatitis, but not caused by mud. We wash them regularly, make sure they're dry and smother them in sudocream, which seems to soften the scabs and sooth the skin.
It's only ever his back legs, and earlier this year I dawned on me that maybe it was his tail rubbing his legs so we got a tailbag. It cleared up so I thought we'd cracked it, but unfortunately it came back last week.
 
ibot

ibot

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2008
Messages
2,924
Location
Who Knows Moved That Often
Visit site
paddy has something similar on his back legs and i have decided it was gelding rot, I asked my YM for second opinion and he agreed which is a first lol. I am brushing also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top