Skin problem...what could it be? Advice please! :-

Randonneuse

Randonneuse

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Hi,

Sorry this is going to be a bit long!

For about a month now my pony has been molting, but in several places he has been losing more hair than normal (for about 2 weeks now) with nearly bald patches on certain part of his body.
Now this is strange but as you can see on the pictures he has lost lots of hair where the saddle goes on his back and also where the girth goes.
I shower or wash the sweat off him everytime I ride but I asked my sharer (she rides him Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) last week if she does it as well and she said no she doesn't.
She also asked me last week to show her how to shower him.
Anyway I don't think it is ringworm (but I may be completely wrong!) and think the loss of hair is more caused by my pony not having been washed off his sweat after having been ridden.
For precaution I have disinfected all the grooming kit with bleach, washed both his numnahs (sharer has washed hers last week as well) and I have been using some antibacterial product to wash him yesterday and today. (I know it won't do anything if it is ringworm as it doesn't treat fungus!)
I have also cleaned his tack/bitless bridle.
He also has hair missing behing his ears (where the bridle goes) and on his chest (he has never worn a rug so it's not related to a rug)

Any advice welcome please :-)

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Thanks a lot.
 
I think you'll find it is just friction removing the winter coat faster than everywhere else.

If you are worried that it could be fungal wash him thoroughly with Nizerol - you can buy it from the chemist. Dilute in hand hot water and lather up well working well into the coat. Scrape excess off and allow to dry.

No need to rinse.
 
I agree with the others that this is just friction, but if it has never happened before then I might question what changed in his diet or way he lives that has given him a more brittle coat that he has had before. It is very difficult to judge from pictures, of course, but his coat does look a little dry and brittle.

Did you change his feed when he came to this country? Has he been used to a winter of heavy frosts and snow like we got this year? Is he old - getting older seems to go with a coarser, more brittle coat in some horses. If he doesn't get too fat then I would look at feeing him oil or linseed for his coat quality. And possibly check your copper/zinc levels in your grazing, and excess manganese/iron which can cause copper deficiency - copper and zinc are needed for skin quality.
 
cptrayes said:
I agree with the others that this is just friction, but if it has never happened before then I might question what changed in his diet or way he lives that has given him a more brittle coat that he has had before. It is very difficult to judge from pictures, of course, but his coat does look a little dry and brittle.

Did you change his feed when he came to this country? Has he been used to a winter of heavy frosts and snow like we got this year? Is he old - getting older seems to go with a coarser, more brittle coat in some horses. If he doesn't get too fat then I would look at feeing him oil or linseed for his coat quality. And possibly check your copper/zinc levels in your grazing, and excess manganese/iron which can cause copper deficiency - copper and zinc are needed for skin quality.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for your reply :-)
Here is a picture of him so you can see his coat better!

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I honestly can't remember how it was the previous years as I am in the UK since Sept 2006 and until May last year was mum was looking after him in France (I was visiting only 2 or 3 times a year).
He is 17 and we've had him since he was 4.
I don't think his coat is that dry except where he has lost his hair but as you are talking about an excess of iron, it could be the problem!
In fact, the dentist came about 2 weeks ago and I asked him why Bilto had a black tongue since recently and he said it's because of too much iron in the grass but he said it didn't affect anything!
Do I need to give him some supplement if he has a copper deficiency? (which one please?)-he only has himalayan salt-
His diet hasn't really changed, he is out 24/7 all year round (same in France), hay in the winter, mostly grass since mid april.
The grass here is a lot richer(unfortunately...) as the farm where I keep him has cows so it is dairy grass.
He is used to cold winter like we had this year as where I am from in France it's every year like here, with even colder temperature.

I can't really feed him any fattening things as he lives on fresh air and even managed to put on weight during the winter even without a rug! (never had a rug in France either)

Thanks again :-)
 
Well if you have too much iron it would give him a problem with copper, which would affect both his skin and his feet - I see he is barefoot, have you also noticed that he is footie on stones at all this spring?? Can you ask your farmer if he has had an analysis done, or if he already knows that his grass is high in iron, just to be sure before you start supplementing something that he may not need?

You can feed Copper Trition but it is expensive and it contains manganese which you don't really want, but it will very likely be fine - a friend of mine used it and got a good result. There is no warning on Copper Trition that feeding it to a horse who is not copper deficient will cause any harm. I believe, because of that, that it is pretty safe to supplement copper even if they haven't got a problem.

Or you can buy Copper Bioplex from forageplus.com which will cost you about £30 for a kilo, but you only need three quarters of a gram a day, so it will last you 3 years if you keep it dry. If you go this route be very careful to weigh it accurately and find a tiny spoon as a measure (a salt/mustard spoon works for me), 3/4 of a gram is a tiny amount and copper in too high an excess definitely IS poisonous.

You will read in places that you must supplement zinc if you supplement copper, but if you research zinc you will find that most of the stuff horses eat is naturally high in zinc, soI don't bother. But if your fellow doesn't get anything but grazing then you might need zinc. Again, forageplus.com sell it but I have no idea what quantity it should be fed in.

If you want to go the whole hog and get an analysis done yourself, in case there are other imbalances, then forageplus.com will do that too, and so will local agricultural merchants.

Watch him like a hawk with that grass - lack of copper disrupts insulin use in some way and can cause issues with dealing with the sugars in the grass.

Lovely honest looking pony!
 
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Thanks a lot cptrayes! (and for the compliment on Bilto!)
I'll ask the farmer about the grass next time I see him :-)
He is not footie at all on stones even though I ride him everyday at the moment.(or when I don't my sharer does)
I have started putting him in a small Paddock paradise I have set up since Saturday except since then I find him back with his friend mare in the main part of the field everyday...goes underneath the tape even though they are 3 tapes and electric grrr!
OH and I have put a fourth tape today and will see tomorrow if he is out, very annoying but as we say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence! (+he hates being on his own-even if he is next to where the mare is- but no one else at the yard want there horse to be in a PP!)

Thanks for your help :-)
 
Looking at the photos the hair loss may be connected to vitamin/mineral imbalance and before you start to give any supplements why not actually get Bilto's blood tested ?
This would give you a clear indication of the mineral and vitamin content in the blood.

Excess iron compromises liver function which in turn can cause skin conditions. Copper is important to many of the enzymes involved in metabolism. In adult horses a deficiency of copper in the equine diet may cause thinning of the bones, swelling of the joints and possibly even limb deformities.

A lack of copper in the diet can can lead to anemia as the horse fails to absorb iron properly. Some horses that have a copper deficiency will have a dull, discoloured coat with possibly a reddish tinge to it.

Good feed sources of copper include molasses, linseed and soyabean meal and also mineral licks contain the correct balance of minerals and vitamins.
 
Sorry to everyone...
I did worry for nothing as his Summer coat has now come through and you can't notice anything anymore like on the pictures I posted!
-except where the girth is but it looks like the hair has started growing there as well :-)
I'm so glad it wasn't anything serious!!!

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Thanks!
 
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