Please Help My Mare To Stop Losing Mane!!!!

Vixxy

Vixxy

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Forward thinking to rugging again this winter!

I fully clip my mare going into autumn but last year 1/4 of her mane fell out!

Anna in winter wears a Horseware Supreme rug with under blanket which fits well, horsewear stable rug with neck and Newmarket 100% wool day rug. All rugs are regulary repositioned and changed very regulary, so why did her mane start to fall out in just one place?

She is very think skinned, suffers terribly from mud fever which last winter in the end was well undercontrol, her coat easily rubs away. Basically I need to wrap her up in bubblewrap each winter, she looks amazing in the summer but come winter she loses weight and condition and looks awful.

She gets fed, pretty much ad lib hay, 1 scoop of Spillers conditioning Fibre, 1 scoop Spillers Conditioning Mix, 1 scoop Meadow Herbs, 2 Scoop Speedi Beet split between two feeds. NAF linseed Oil, Equine Answers PremierFlex, Equine Answers 365 fed as a balancer.

She is in light work througout winter, but even with this feeding routine all last winter she was a ribby mess and I felt helpless, as soon as spring hit she looked fab on grass and a token feed for vits.

Where am I going wrong, diet? Over rugging? Under rugging? (please bear in mind she is clipped and temps here reach down to 20-)

What can I do to protect her mane this winter, any products I can try, would a hood under blankets help? Please help me be prepared for autumn as it is already worrying me
frown.gif
 
Just thought I should add, the area the mane fell out showed no visible sores, no flaky skin just over the weeks it started to fall out! I rubbed Aloe Vera lotion into the area but it didnt help one bit.
 
I have had the same - used to put it down to being rubbed off then one show morning went out to find that two of the three strands of a plait which had been done the night before had come out at the roots.

Apparently - and I don't know if this is true - but its lack of oxygen getting to the mane


Still haven't decided on my winter plan of attack yet - only just got enough mane back for a full set of plaits now - and dredding loosing them!

Was thinking of one of those necks that attach (not zip) to let air circulate???

I suppose one other thought is that years ago we never had rugs with necks, still clipped our horses and nothing died! However never been anywhere as cold as you and I would be wanting to rug up to the eyeballs too.

Will watch this thread with interest for other peoples ideas
 
I have them in a small (5 stable) insulated american barn, this year I was planning to heat, so perhaps I could use a stable rug without neck so at least at night air gets to the mane area, does anyone think that might help?

Cronkmooar - It is so good to know I am not alone, this mare gets 5* treatment off me, I am based at the yard with work all day (I have an office on farm) so she is fussed all day, I can see her and stables from house so fussed again in the evening. Nothing is too much trouble for her and I feel so sad that despite this she didnt do well last winter.

Lets hope we both get lots of good advice from forum members who have found solutions to this problem or can spot where I am going wrong!

Its all up to you lovely people...
 
Forgot to say that the mane get's weakened by the constant pressure of the rug. I think you'll find that a lot of people have the same problem , my horse included. During the summer when horses are rugless you will probably find that there is not much of a problem unless your horse has sweet itch of course!
 
Keep neck rugs off if possible and rub the mane daily with megatek. Megatek won't stop rubbing but it will keep the hair as healthy and strong and fast growing as possible.

Mine are wear SI outfits and I do this daily to help keep their manes intact - as I have ones with very long manes for showing this stuff is essential along with the survivor detangler which I put on as well to keep the mane slightly slippery.

So far I have not lost mane but am constantly pampering them. With mine, from October no neck covers are worn until March to give the manes lots of time to recover.
 
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- this mare gets 5* treatment off me, I am based at the yard with work all day (I have an office on farm) so she is fussed all day, I can see her and stables from house so fussed again in the evening. Nothing is too much trouble for her

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You are me in another country!

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The reason your horse looses her mane is because the rug rubs it away, Simple mc dimple.

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certainly with mine it is not rubbing - i do get a small amount of rub off near the wither end of mane

The part where it comes out at the roots the rug doesn't touch and strangely I have three horses all with the same rugs (how sad am I for matching horses!) The two TB have no problems at all - the ID x is what looses it.

I use megatek - at least it helps get it back - though not as quickly as it claims. Have tried every lotion and potion to try and stop it but to no avail - by January you can litterally pull it out at the root without any effort - mane pieces are still normal length and not broken or rubbed

Personally I do think that the only way to stop it is no neck - but it just feels so mean
grin.gif
 
Well I think this winter I shall turn her out in daytime with supreme with neck and when I bring her in at night I shall put a stable rug on minus neck and just heat the stables to take the edge off.

Lets hope this works for her, and I really hope the mane regrows soon as she looks errm a bit odd lol!
 
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