Pony going bald???

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kat2290

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Went out this eve to poo pick and feed, noticed one of my mini shetlands had a couple a clumps of loose hair on her back. Went to pick them off and more and more handfuls of hair started coming out in big clumps, leaving her with a nice bald patch about 6" long and 2" wide, but with other various bald bits over her back.

I treated them for lice recently with Coopers fly repellent. The first treatment I gave them was at the beginning of march, whereby I poured 100mls along the length of their backs from poll to dock. I know this isnt perhaps the best way of doing it, and so for the re-application after 14 days (mid march) I applied it using a cloth wiping it all over the body.

The area where the hair is coming out is a direct correlation to where I poured the coopers the first time, and there isnt hair coming out in this way on any other part of her body. She is just moulting normally everywhere else!

My first thought was maybe she has mites, but after thinking about it more that isn't the kind of area normally affected. Plus it just seems like too much of a coincidence that it is only coming out in the place I poured the coopers. Do you think it is just a reaction to that, and now that she is started to moult more heavily the dead hairs on her back are coming away in clumps?

She is really really scurfy, and where the hair has fallen out there are lots of shorter hairs underneath so shes not totally bald. It doesnt seem to be causing her any discomfort and she wasnt at all bothered by me pulling the hair off, and she also didnt seem itchy at all. The skin underneath doesnt seem irritated or scabby as such but itis kind of bumpy and raised in places.

The other pony doesnt have any clumps coming out but she is also really scurfy and I wouldnt be surprised if the same thing started happening to her tomorrow. She had the coopers applied in the same way.

Anyway sorry for the ramble, would be interested to hear what you guys think...

Heres some pics :)

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Haven't read the whole thing, sorry! Haha! But just wanted to say this is exactly what's happened to my pony, from the pictures!! I just posted a thread about it!
 
My mini has this too! And I also just treated him and the other for lice... how bizarre! My boys is on his face, the skin underneath is perfectly fine, no irritation at all!

Last night I hi-bi scrubbed it and today no hair was loose...

Very strange!
 
How strange!! I'm not too worried about it, just going to keep an eye on it and see what it's like tomorrow. I think I will give her a good brush tomorrow and try to remove as much of the dead stuff as possible, I think that's probably a good idea.

I've been having a look online at mites and mange etc but I don't think that's what this is, I'm pretty sure it is something to do with the coopers. Perhaps they just have sensitive skin as foals?!

Sophie - haven't seen your thread, what's happened to your ponio?

Muckypony - I feel like we are living the same life with our Shetlands!!
 
I know me too!

Sometimes I think it may have been easier to get a 'normal' horse!! Haha.

I'm not convinced mine is mite/mange/lice related either... I used Deosect and since the last application (mid January) I haven't seen a single live lice... I Deosected on Tuesday night after the bald patch appeared just in case as it will do no harm, but im sure (judging by the last fiasco!) He would be at least a little itchy and I'd be able to find atleast 1 or 2 lice!

To be honest... I just feel like mine need a really good bath!!! They are sooo scurfy! Hurry up summer!
 
Yep I couldn't agree more! I think 99% of their skin/lice issues is just down to them having such a ridiculously thick coat! I can't wait until they lose it and till I can give them a gold old scrub!
 
It happened a friends mare, but on a larger scale, they had the vet out, did bloods and she was lacking in something, was put on a tonic, and she was fine afterwards. Sorry for the lack of actual info, cant remember what it was she was lacking in... :)
 
Thanks, if it gets any worse I will be calling the vet but I suspect if I called them now they would agree with me re the coopers. Going to check on them shortly so I'll be able to see if the patch has got any bigger, poor thing I bet she felt a bit draughty last night!
 
How were yours today?

This morning my boy looks as though he's getting the exact same bald patch on the other side of his face...!? So very confusing!

Poor b*gger is getting rather annoying with me poking and prodding his face!
 
I think the lesson you've learned is to not pour Cooper's onto a horse's back (and did I understand correctly that they are foals?). It has probably burned the hair, it is very strong stuff and *should* be applied as per the directions. The lice themselves have most likely caused the scurf.
 
Yep that is definitely a lesson learned and I won't be doing it again! I learnt that lesson before the 2nd application hence why I applied it properly the second time :o

No change today and she still doesn't seem at all bothered by it or itchy at all. However did notice a couple of patches on her face where the hair seemed a little thinner/shorter but it could just be from her moulting, she does have a rather hairy face! Plus I obviously didn't apply any coopers on her face so if it is a reaction to that then it shouldn't be causing her facial hair to fall out. Will keep an eye on it and see if it gets any worse.
 
Have all those who posted on this thread used coopers? How long after application did the bald patches appear? Have a similar case really (appears to have burnt hair as not falling out per say in most of the affected areas but very short and an abundance if grey/white dust. Affected foal has had both coopers Nd deosect applied since Xmas.
 
The last time I applied it was about two weeks ago, but that time I rubber it all over the body with a cloth as opposed to the first time where poured it along the back. I think it is a reaction from the first application as it is localised to the back only and isn't affecting any other parts of the body
 
I haven't used Coopers just Deosect and I don't think mines is a reaction as its only on his face, which if anywhere is the place I got the least deosect.

Both of mine have a bit of a scabby back....

Roll on the warmer weather when the summer coats come so we can actually see what's going in and they can have much needed baths!
 
Looks like rain rash to me , coat will come out in clumps like that , also the skin that's attached to the hair is it thick scabs ?
 
No the hair is coming out attached to dead skin rather than thick scabs.

This may sound really stupid but can they get rain scald when there hasn't been any rain? It has been dry here for nearly two months now give or take a few days.
 
Mine got it a few years ago under a rug from sweating as was really mild in January and February and appeared really quickly , has the pony been too hot as the bacteria causes rain rash not the actual rain
 
Ahh right well they have possibly been getting a bit sweaty! They are never rugged but they have such huge thick coats that in all this sunny weather they have been baking! But I'm not sure if they actually get hot enough to sweat! They do like to hoon around the field and they get a bit sweaty from that but not much.
 
They dont need to actually sweat just to be warm and the bacteria can get going!
Just shampoo them with a good anti fungal shampoo a few times should do the trick , and try getting there thick coats out ASAP !
 
I would say rain scald, native ponies are prone to it as they grow very thick insulating coats and if moisture gets trapped next to the skin (eg sweat or rain) and their thick fur keeps it moist and warm but it does not dry out completely that makes an ideal breeding ground for the fungus bit like athletes foot!.
 
What is the best way to go about treating it? Wonder if I should get a vet diagnosis. What do you think about it matching up with the area I poured on the coopers?
 
The skin isn't broken so just get a anti fungal shampoo onto it and do this several times , get there coats out ASAP to relieve the heat from there coats and that will help
 
Rainscald does mainly effect the back area and it maybe that if the coopers made the fur very wet next to the skin and then it got warm and wet and lacking oxygen and this activated the fungus.

When my pony had rain scald the vet came and clipped the area so it could get exposed to air and would be easier to treat and keep dry then I had to wash him every day for 10 days with an anti fungal dog shampoo and put some cream on and his back had to be kept clean and dry.
 
It's probably nothing to do with what's happened in this case as the scurfy bits make it a bit unlikely, but I used to look after some donkeys that got similar patches at this time of year. One day we spotted birds sitting on their backs pulling the hair out (angry donkeys!!), assume it was for lining nests or something :eek:
 
Should I be washing them though with the weather the way it is? They have such thick coats they will take a long time to dry and with the wind I think they will get chilly very quickly. They're out 24/7 and whilst they have a shelter they don't have a proper stable to bring them in and keep warm.
 
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