My daughter insists I ask to see if any of you know what is going on with our horse. She's noticed today that about a foot of his mane has disappeared. For some reason, the long mane is gone and it's only the full 2" neck mane that is left. (no, he hasn't left it on any fence) We don't see any signs of ring worm or lice on him. Got any suggestions as to what is going on? Also, the yearlings' chest hair is thinned out from rubbing and has lost the winter coat. Is rubbing normal for this time of year? We're in Wisconsin and it still is cold up here. There are NO bald spots on either horse, however now that I'm thinking about it, the cows across the fence either have ring worm or lice. It's round bare spots the size of a fifty cent piece. Got any suggestions? THANKS !

-- Pat (mikulptrc@aol.com), March 07, 2001

Answers

Well, from the symptoms, the cows have ringworm, which is a fungus that Betadine kills quite nicely (get it from your vet or from an animal supply catalog or store, KV Vet Supply or Jeffers are good ones). Since it is cold up there, it must be ringworm, as opposed to some type of insect infestation. Are you sure that the other horses are not chewing it? But this sounds like classic ringworm, get some Betadine and use that, rubbing is normal with spring shedding, but not to this extent!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), March 07, 2001.

hi my cow loses patches of hair every year about this time cold out or not here in michigan. she doesn't have ring worm or lice.she has done this every since she was little.it's like that for a month or so then the hair grows back.i was told it is winter itch. cindy

-- cindy young (cin_sue63@webtv.net), March 07, 2001.

We live in IA and this year our horses are getting scaly stuff and bald patches. We had to take one into the horse vet for another reason and ask him what it is. He said it is rain scald and will go away once it gets warmer and drys off. Personally I plan on treating it with gentle iodine or betadine just to be sure. The other thing with the mane that we have problems with is when we have horses in with the cows and they eat from the cow bale ring, they rub their necks and lose most of their mane. We have a horse bale ring, but at times must separate out a horse or two and put them in with the bulls. I know that they will lose their mane when I do that, but we don't have enough lots right now.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), March 07, 2001.

It sounds like you may have a lice or ringworm problem. You can't see any creepy crawlies? Ringworm leaves a round bare scaly spot.

It doesn't sound like rainrot to me but you never know. Rainrot is where the hair comes out in small circles and leaves a weepy pink open sore.

Sounds like your cows are nice sharing bovines (grin)

Stacy Rohan in Windsor NY--more snow on the way--shoot me now!

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), March 08, 2001.

First - what breed of horse is the one with the mane problem? Some shed their manes once, maybe twice per year. Other than being seasonal, I really couldn't say. Never seen this in the more 'common' breeds.

The foal sounds like ringworm to me. Watch to see if the skin gets raw or scales. Its about worming time anyway, so when if you have a vet do it, you can ask him then. Ringworm will take a while before it becomes very serious....

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 08, 2001.

Sue,

What breed of horse sheds it's mane? Horses will shed out their coat seasonally but I've never heard of a horse shedding it's mane.

Stacy Rohan in Windsor, NY

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), March 08, 2001.

This sounds like ringworm, which is very contagious. I suggest giving your vet a call and describing whats going on. Most vets will just advise you over the phone. You and your family can catch this from your horse. SOOOOOO, wear gloves that you use ONLY on the horses. It sounds like they may have got it from the neighbors cows. If thats the case you're going to have to make sure they cannot "visit" or otherwise contact each other again or they'll just get reinfected.

I had a yearling who happily chewed alot of the mane off one of my other horses. This sounds like its being rubbed off tho, which is how you get the 2" mane. Treat for ringworm would be my suggestion and treat any other animal that has come in contact with them also. My sister caught ringworm from a stray kitten she picked up, who then gave it to me. So treat ASAP.

Good Luck

-- Stacia in OK (oneclassycowgirl@aol.com), March 08, 2001.

A friend of mine has a horse who stands happily by while the goat in the next field trims his mane for him, and tail too!

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), March 08, 2001.

Fiona the naughty Nubian will try to chew on the horse's tails. She started on my TB mare's tail the other day, I saved her from being booted over the barn.

Stacy Rohan in Windsor, NY where we have 4" of new snow. Yuck. Plus no school for the third time this week. I'm going to need a tranq.

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), March 09, 2001.

Part of horses' social behavior is grooming each other, and I have seen our horses nip each other around the withers and mane area, and bite off pieces of each other's manes. We don't always find them, either, as they do it in the pasture area, too. Do the horses have the round bare spots like the cattle? "Ringworm is has a distinctive red ring, with normal skin in the center" according to the vet book I have. Different from losing part of the mane. Can you check the yearling's skin closely on it's chest to determine if there are lice causing itching, in turn causing the horse to rub? Sometimes a vet is the only solution, and they can't always tell over the phone. May take a scraping or a close check with a microscope to see if it's lice, mites, or a skin condition. Let us know what you find out! Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), March 09, 2001.

Do you use a hay ring with the large round bales of hay.. ?? we had the same problem with both of our horses.. our vet told us it was from the horses sticking their heads into the hay ring.. the hay ring would rub off the mane hairs.. they lost it just on the wither area .the mane is still long up close to their head where it doesn't touch the hay ring..

-- cheryl (guesswhat57@hotmail.com), March 12, 2001.

Yes, they are eating out of a cows' round hay feeder. I can't believe I never thought of that! Thanks guys!! Next time I need someone to think for me, I know where to go !!

-- Pat (mikulptrc@aol.com), March 12, 2001.