Losing Hair - Paw Talk

johann · #1 03-30-2004, 12:00 PM

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the discussion forum and I need a little advise. I have a new horse--he is 11 years old. He was resued from slaughter so, he had some health issues from lack of care. The vet said he vetted sound, but he did need his teeth floated and he had an infected sheath from lack of care--all this was done last week. I have given him all of his shots, and a tetanus booster and penicillin for the infection. His feet have cracks and I have a great farrier that is working with the vet to get that fixed.

OK, so all those other problems are now on there way to being healed and he is loosing a great deal of hair. He banged his side getting out of the horse trailer and in this area it is now bald. He is very thin, but the vet told me it is from poor care. She/the vet had me worm him for tape worm, then use Quest in six weeks, then Ivermectin in six weeks, and keep up the six week schedule through four different wormers.

Any ideas about the hair loss--should he go back to the vet or is it just from no care then all this care at once. Is it that he bruised himself getting out of the trailer and now he is losing hair there? He has plenty of water, alfalfa hay and oat hay, 16 way protein John Lyons feed, bran--three days a week, quit chew, and a protein mix for his feet. He is still about 50-100 pounds underweight. But he is putting the weight on fast. Should I be concerned? He is lively and great to ride.

Thanks!

**Scarlette** · #2 03-30-2004, 03:37 PM

First of all, welcome to Paw-Talk!

It sounds like you are doing a fantastic job getting him back to health!

As far as the hair loss.....is the skin scabby in the bald area or around the bald area? If so, it could be that he cut the skin in that area, or, he might have a slight case of rain rot. If it is rain rot, keep the area clean and dry and make sure he's outside in the sunshine. You may also want to consult with a vet regarding a topical medication to put on it.

It also could be that he just scraped the hair off of the area, plus with the weather getting warmer horses are starting to shed their winter hair. That could be giving you the illusion that he is losing more hair in that area when, in fact, he might be shedding.

Plus, horses that are wormy and malnourished have alot of shaggy hair. Now that he is getting back to good health he could be losing that shaggy hair making it seem he is getting bald in that area.

Good luck with him. It sounds like you are a great horse owner and he is very lucky to have you!

johann · #3 03-30-2004, 03:58 PM

No the skin is not scabby at all just smooth as a baby's butt. And in Utah it is dry and sunny, very little rain. Which has been nice to help clear up his thrush. It might be shedding--he is doing that--and his hair is shabby from being wormy. But, I wanted to stick to the vet schedule--I have read that you can give Ivermetin at the same time as Pyrantel--should I do that?

johann · #4 03-30-2004, 04:31 PM

Thanks for the welcome--too by the way. Get so caught up in my horses I forget the human interaction. I have two horses JV Pleasure Ridge AQHA--the 11 year old who is losing hair and recovering and Bo (Bodaious Impressive Act) 11 year old in April reg Appy--he was free too and took a year to get healthy--I was offered $15,000 for him which is funny because when I got him he had a 50-75 lb tumor on him. But, I could never sell my baby Bo--he has never refused to jump or go down a trail for me. Two dogs both rescue--the Dalmation had heart worm--so the free dog was $500. So I love to save lost causes! I will post some pics so you can share in JV's recovery.

**Scarlette** · #5 03-30-2004, 04:39 PM

I don't think I would worry too much about the hair loss right now if the skin around the area looks good. If he continues to lose hair within the next week or two then I would definitely have a vet look at it.

As far as using Ivermetin and Pyrantel, call the vet and ask his opinion on that.

Don't forget to post in the introduction section of the forum so that everyone that doesn't visit our wonderful hooved animal section can get to know ya too!

johann · #6 04-01-2004, 11:59 AM

Looks like it is lice or some kind of bug. We are off to the vet at 4 pm today. I saw all kinds of little flying bugs around his ears last nigt--thank goodness for daily grooming I may have caught it early. Killed as many as I could and cleaned up his ears--put some spray and stuff on them until the vet visit this evening. She/the vet can look at the critters under a microscope and give me some medicine. I am also worried about the other horse. So, I may be treating two--the other horse doesn't show any signs so hopefully he is OK. I will keep you upto date with the diagnosis.

**Scarlette** · #7 04-01-2004, 10:02 PM

Thanks for the update! The little bugs flying around the ears might be no-see-ums. I don't know the scientific name for them but they are nasty little buggers. They bother my horses all the time. I just try to keep their ears sprayed to try to keep the pesky flies away.

I hope everything works out ok!

undercoverrats · #8 04-04-2004, 04:06 AM

Can't wait to see the pics. He sure is lucky to have found his way to you.
Marianne

johann · #9 04-05-2004, 08:56 AM

I've been so busy with his care that I keep forgetting to get his picture. The farrier said we should have taken shots of his feet, but you only think of these things afterwords. His feet were so long and they put shoes on the ends of them--it was just so cruel. He still has thrush so every night we have to clean his feet and spray on bleach. I got too sick of the smell of Copper Tox to keep that up for more than a couple of weeks plus the cost.

The diagnosis of the hair loss, lice, worms, and mal-nutrician. So, ivermetin, another dose of Pyrantel and yes it is acceptable in his case to do them together--even though I waited a few days in between. He is on special feed from the vet and needs to be feed multiple times a day. He also got a heavy duty antibotic. He is also to get plenty of exercise, send blood to his feet and increase the circulation, and rebuild muscle.

We went riding on Saturday and Sunday. He just absolutely loves it! I have never had a horse that wants to go so bad. But, it does remind you of when you have been sick and weak for a long time--he is a little stiff and gets winded real fast. I will get pictures soon!

**Scarlette** · #10 04-05-2004, 09:40 PM

Quote:


	I've been so busy with his care that I keep forgetting to get his picture.

Don't worry, we totally understand!

If you're using bleach for the thrush, you might also want to use a topical hoof conditioner on the top so they don't get too dry. Also, putting Biotin in the feed is wonderful for dry/cracked hooves.

I know what you mean about long hooves. My first pony had hooves so long that the curled right up and around in a circle at the top. It reminded me of rockers on a rocking chair.

How can people be so cruel to let that happen?!

Deja · #11 04-06-2004, 02:07 AM

I'm sorry I don't know anything about horses.... but -

I wanted to say- Welcome to PT!!

johann · #12 04-06-2004, 09:03 AM

Thanks for the great welcome!

On the hoofs--I have found a really cheap and great hoof conditioner--motor oil. My mom the great horse godess told me about it. It works great. And the new food the vet has him on has biotin in it so, I am hopeful that he will improve soon. I know it will take him 8mo-1year to grow new ones. Darn cruel people!

Any advice on a neighbor that I have who doesn't abuse the horses he has, but he doesn't take care of them either? I know it is not enough for any of the agencies to do anything about it, but it kills me. The mare has lost all the hair on her face, and she is bloated from worms so she looks fat, but then you can see her tail bone and hip bones protrude. They also have a colt and he is so dirty, never had his feet done, and I have my doubts that they will ever get him gelded. Any suggestions?

**Scarlette** · #13 04-06-2004, 10:00 PM

From your description of those horses it sounds like the owners need to be turned in. They might not get taken away right now, but at least the authorities will have a heads up on the situation and have a formal complaint against them. That might help when things get even worse for the poor things.

johann · #14 04-07-2004, 09:14 AM

Is the humane society the best place to start?

**Scarlette** · #15 04-07-2004, 11:01 AM

I would think so. If they can't do anything about it, they might be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck and let us know what happens.

A long time ago my neighbors had 2 Arabians that I could count every rib in their body. The poor things broke out one day and came down to my house and were trying to get in with my horses to get some hay. We didn't have a humane society in my county at the time so I called the police (again). The police came out (only because they were now on my property), saw the horses and made arrangements for the horses to be taken to another farm. While we were waiting for the trailer to pick them up I gave them a bale of hay and they were grabbing huge mouth fulls of it and were trying to fight over it. I carried water to them and they must've drank at least 5 buckets of water each. It was so sad. I saw the horses about 2 years later at another farm. I didn't even recognize them until the owner said that they had been my neighbors horses.