Single white hairs in mane - mineral imbalance?

[delta_]

Hi,

do you know if any mineral deficiency or imbalance, that causes single white hairs in a bay (warmblood) horse's mane?

According to a blood test we did a while ago, copper was relatively low, but still in the reference range. Manganese and Zinc (the latter was supplemented for a while at that time) were both quite high. There are also some single white hairs on the coat, but not as many as in the mane.

Since my horse showed signs of a copper deficiency (white/depigmented spots around the mouth and inside the nostrils and thrush), we recently changed to a mineral feed, that contains zinc and copper in a 3:1 ratio and is free of manganese and iron.

I also noticed some brown spots (they're larger and not as many as compared to the white ones around the nostrils) on the cheek and behind the shoulder. I just can't let go of the feeling that it's feed respectively mineral related. The spots have already been there for months already, but haven't been there two years ago.


Best wishes,

delta

 

[Equi]

Its more likely to be a throwback in her colouring genetics. My mare is bay and her mother is bay, father is buckskin. She has typical bay characteristics but the light points are lighter and her mane and tail have little blond bits. Her tail looked like cruella devil until about 6 months ago!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I have a warmblood pony who is dark brown and has a black mane and tail with a ginger tinge courtesy of his grandfather. He has single white hairs in his mane, about 3 white hairs on his forehead and the occasional white hair on his body. He is the spitting image of his mother who also has the white hairs on her body so I would guess its hereditary.

 

[Fransurrey]

White hairs are perfectly normal in dark coloured animals. It's simply due to melanocytes dying out in the hair follicle. The rate at which this happens is down to genetics.