# Abnormal/Premature Shedding



## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

I was hoping someone could confirm for me that the shedding my mare is experencing is "Normal". I got her on March 11th, she was semi-starved during the Winter. I was feeding her out of my own pocket on someone elses farm until that owner sold her to me in March. She came to me with a thick but shedding Winter coat:

March 11th:










This picture was taken a couple days ago, she has since lost nearly all of her hair:










I have her on a normal diet of straight oats, a Vit E/Selenium supplement and free choice hay that is timothy/orchard grass. She is also on some pasture now - something she hadn't seen in a couple of years.

She's put on some weight, and is doing well but I'm wondering is this extreme shedding the result of the starvation? My other two geldings are just beginning to shed their Winter coats, in a "normal" rate, not accelerated rate.

Opinions on what else I should/could do to help her regrow this coat? It is coming in though is peach fuzz and thank goodness the weather has cooled down as the bugs would be eating her up even with a fly sheet on.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Possibility of lice I think. I'd dust her heavily with louse powder probably at least twice two weeks apart and see if that helps. Does she seem itchy? Rubbing on fence/trees?


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

She _might_ have lice, can you see any eggs very close to the skin where there is hair? Is there any damage to the skin where she's lost all the hair?


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

She's been bathed in Betadine to fight any fungus (and she did have Ringworm on her belly) and there is no lice to be found anywhere. She has no skin damage, just no hair. I groomed her yesterday and she showed no aversion to pressure or the brush on her coat, such as it is. It simply all fell out in 3 weeks time.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

Did you have the abnormally warm weather recently? Did she sweat a lot? My TB mare is doing something like your mare but only in the areas where she sweat (chest and shoulders for the most part) I've been keeping on eye on her and can't find any lice eggs either.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Could be she is allergic to the Betadine... or

They can also loose large amounts of fur due to stress.. Not much one can do for the fur I am afraid, other than wait for it to come back in.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

O yeah, it got really hot for about a week, and she did sweat a lot and the shedding did start in the "hot" areas (belly, front legs, neck, etc.) Maybe that combined with the stresses of being starved did it?
I was thinking of adding some corn oil to her daily grain (and she doesn't get much) to help with the new coat coming in. Her skin is awfully dry in some areas.
The Betadine was used just between her front legs and on the chest to eliminate the ringworm.
I also did give her a dose of Ivermectrin a week after she arrived. This is the only change she's had medically.
I do have the vet coming out next Tuesday to float her teeth and give her the once over. I just got alarmed at the rate she's shed that coat off!


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I actually had a bull that was very allergic to Ivermectrin and he lost all his hair - right at the onset of winter so I'm going to suggest that would be a strong chance that your horse could be too.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

Never thought of that (allergy). I'll have to remember not to give that - OMG, that could've been catastrophic. I do know that the previous owner (when he did worm her) used Panacur, rotated with Ivermectrin. However, I'm not discounting that she could have had an allergic reaction.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Firstly, good job on feeding her up but I think you can stop with the oats now. She's starting to get a little heavy. 

Secondly, I've occasionally had an animal dump its coat all at once. While alarming, it has never seemed to do any of them any harm so long as you provide them with some additional protection if they need it. In the last couple of years one of my mares did it once and one of our goat does did it as well. Not sure what caused it but they were not itchy and were in good healthy and weight. Had to make a jacket for the goat because we had a late cold snap come in and she was just shivering like crazy, poor thing. Put my mare's heavy winter turnout on her a few times because a cold rain would set her to shivering pretty heavily as well.

Lice tend to show up under the neck, along the crest and at the poll. I wouldn't suspect lice in that hair loss pattern and in the absence of any itching. Lice are very itchy and you'd see evidence of rubbing if the horse had any energy to spare to do so - i.e. not miserably in pain or starving.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Nice stout horse, BTW. Love her wide chest.

The mare of mine that dumped her coat all at once actually got a bit sunburned one day, so watch out for that as well.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

Thanks! I have Saddlebreds normally, so she's built like a bulldozer in comparison. LOL. She gets 1 lb whole oats, 1x a day. Vit E/Selenium supplement in that. That's it.
Her weight gain has been more rapid since she has been allowed some pasture time, (2 hours a day), and its not the grain, its the grass.
I'll watch her for sunburn. She does have a run in shed and I have a fly sheet I can put on her, but I'm afraid it will make her sweat.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

If the oats are just a bribe to get her to eat her vitamins, then I guess you'll have to hang on to that. I bribe mine to get their supplements down em, too. Maybe a grazing muzzle? She looks like she might turn out to be an easy keeper. Those can be such a mixed blessing. But they need to be "athletes", not "market weight". :grin:


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

I don't think she looks heavy, no fatty deposits at her tail head or shoulders nor does her neck look cresty. 

I've got a gelding that's shed like that the last couple of years. Don't know if it's because we've gone straight from winter temps to summer temps with no inbetween or because he's getting old or what. When I use the shedding blade on him and see there's no summer coat in yet I stop. He looks all nasty and furry and sweaty but since he's retired I figure it's better than being bald since we've now returned to spring-like weather with cool nights.


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## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

My pervious neighbor was a "resue" that needed to have all her animals removed, yet somehow never got them taken away. Any horses of mine that got exposed to hers and about 50 % of hers would shed like that, and my vet said it was caused by lice. Since her kids would ride up to my place and let the horses "visit" I would have to treat mine several times a year. And I never saw any lice, but I guess the vet must have.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

I agree with Jennigrey, she's in great shape right now and we're not even into grass season yet. I'd stop the oats and you may have to use a grazing muzzle if she's going to be on pasture a lot. 

She really does look great and you've done a good job.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

Teej said:


> I don't think she looks heavy, no fatty deposits at her tail head or shoulders nor does her neck look cresty.


Once you've got fat deposits and a cresty neck you already have problems, it's best to head it off before it gets to that point.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Irish Pixie said:


> I agree with Jennigrey, she's in great shape right now and we're not even into grass season yet. I'd stop the oats and you may have to use a grazing muzzle if she's going to be on pasture a lot.
> 
> She really does look great and you've done a good job.


Yep, she's more than filled out enough, and with summer coming, she could get fat pretty easily. My kids' 4H club just learned about the Henneke Body Condition scoring system and they gave her a "6" from this picture.  Of course, as we discussed at length - pictures can be deceiving, so she may not be as heavy as this one picture makes her appear.

I would not add corn oil to her diet because I doubt a tiny glug of oil will make a difference. If you find that it is not a lice issue, and you are still concerned with her skin, I would look to find a skin/coat vitamin supplement instead. It's unlikely that just a tiny bit of fat will make a huge difference, but if she's deficient in something a small amount can make a difference.

And, I know that everyone has different opinions about grain, but my vet suggests feeding commercial grains (not straight grains), especially to horses that need weight gain, because they provide a full complement of vitamins and minerals. Especially in winter when the horses is on hay only - they usually cannot get everything they need....if I recall...particularly Vitamin E? Which helps skin condition? (Could be wrong....and didn't look it up). 

Good luck!


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

Ohiogal said:


> I have her on a normal diet of straight oats, a Vit E/Selenium supplement and free choice hay that is timothy/orchard grass. She is also on some pasture now - something she hadn't seen in a couple of years.


She needs a source of vitamins and trace minerals, if you are feeding just oats and hay as the main feedstuffs you are not providing adequate nutrition, especially if you are refeeding her after starvation. I'd get her on a quality feed or at least a free choice mineral in the form of loose minerals or a low moisture block such as Stabylx from Crystalyx.

Jim


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

I don't agree that all horses need a grain based source of vitamins and minerals, LazyJ most horses need no supplementation at all unless in hard work or nursing. The possible exception is selenium depending on the amount found in local soil. Here's a map of selenium levels in the US: Selenium in Counties of the Conterminous States

I have good pasture, 10+ acres and 2 average size mares (1200 lbs) even the TB has to wear a grazing muzzle in the summer because she becomes dangerously fat. I do supplement with grain in the winter only when needed but even then it's at much lower levels than the bag indicates. I only feed mixed grass hay and provide a mineral block.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

In my area, Selenium is very depleted. That is why I supplemented with her immediately - and Vit E. I only feed oats, I do not like sweet feed as I don't trust the feed suppliers with the additives - I feed mostly organic to all my animals - and they don't need the added carbs from the molasses and they don't need the corn. The biggest thing is a high fat multi-vitamin pellet which she will get daily to restore a balance - I had stopped feeding that for a few weeks because early on we had a bout of hives that I had to treat her for with antihistamines. The diet will be changed based on needs. She has access to mineral and regular salt, but she is not licking it. I figure the vet I'm working with can advise me - she'll be out next Tuesday to float her teeth.
She was starved over a longer period of time than just a few short months.  The worst was during Jan/Feb of this year, but her rations were minimal for a few years prior to that from what I'm told. I spoke with my farrier last night who trimmed her up and he said that the nutritional issues were clearly stated in her hoof horn. He was not concerned about the haircoat, said that it would recover and in fact pointed out that the new hair coming in was very dark colored.
I don't have worries about over feeding her - all my horses get a diet tailored to their needs. I had a mare I supported with Cushings for years, so I understand the IR issues and feel like I know enough to get this mare back into working condition. She gets limited pasture along with the rest of my horses. And its not 24/7 - not even close to it - up to 3 hours a day in the evening right now, since the grass is Spring green and juicy (a lot of fructose). The rest of the time its on mudlot with grass hay to combat the boredom.
The photo does make her look heavier. She's really not - she can stand to gain a few more pounds slowly, I think, in muscle. When I got her she had zero chest muscle and a big povertly line down her haunches, along with a lot of ribs showing.
I too think she'll be an easy keeper. This fits with my other horses, who balloon out at the drop of a hat on grass. I guess I have a knack for picking those types, seems like even the hard keepers convert to easy keepers after being in my care a few years. LOL.


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## qwertty57 (Dec 18, 2010)

Looks like It could be a copper Deficiency. (Not sure)


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

Irish Pixie said:


> I don't agree that all horses need a grain based source of vitamins and minerals, LazyJ most horses need no supplementation at all unless in hard work or nursing.


The OP Stated that the horse was "Semi Starved" this past winter. If that is the case then I suspect she is deficient in fat soluble vitamins and trace minerals. If you read my comments I suggested she use a vitamin supplement such as a loose mineral or a mineral tub.


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## AugustRED (Apr 18, 2010)

Really cute mare, just love her face! I saw a mini shed out similar once, just lost most of her hair in big globs all of a sudden. She did have lice but in the end the vet felt it was Cushings related (she was around 20) & they've since put her on the common drug for that and she now sheds normally. I was surprised at the diagnosis as I thought Cushing horses always just wouldn't shed but turns out it can cause a variety of odd shedding patterns. Don't know how old you mare is may be something to look into...


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

Lazy J said:


> The OP Stated that the horse was "Semi Starved" this past winter. If that is the case then I suspect she is deficient in fat soluble vitamins and trace minerals. If you read my comments I suggested she use a vitamin supplement such as a loose mineral or a mineral tub.


I did read your comment and was responding to this statement, "I'd get her on a quality feed" and my statement was "I don't agree that all horses need a _grain based_ source of vitamins and minerals."


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## KareninPA (Jan 7, 2010)

I wouldn't worry about the wierd shedding. Mine have done that. It's like they shed faster than their new coats can grow in, but before you know it they're gorgeous in their new summer coats! I always add fats through the winter (rice bran and corn oil) and continue until they have their shiny new coats. Then it's mostly pasture through the summer.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

She's about shed out now, and the new coat is coming in. We had a couple days here of 40-50* weather at night, but dry. Its amazing to see the transformation.
She is just seven years old - I don't think this is Cushings just lack of nutrition.
I'll take a pic of her on pasture so you can see the results of the shedding. She's gorgeous!


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I have a mare that is from the south. She doesnt grow much for a winter coat and sheds real early most springs. She actually gets huge bald spots like yours. She is just shedding before the new coat is coming in, is all my vet said. 

Pretty mare you have btw. Dont worry....


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

She's nearly all shed out, have had her teeth done, shots and wormed, is picking up a little more weight. This is 3-4 days ago. She seems very content. Vet said the quick hair dump is typical this time of year with horses - seeing a lot of it. Also, there are distinctive 'growth rings' on both front hooves, they date to Nov/Dec of last year based on the measurement, so the starvation began about then.










She's a lovely mare. Very nice to work around and though I don't trust her yet, she seems to be willing to try to please me all the time.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

She has a beautiful and very sweet face. Looks like she's doing great.


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