My Mare is loosing the hair in her mane, does anyone know why?

Question

She is about 16 years old, and the owner of the barn she is kept in says that she has been rubbing on various objects.

Answer 1

Sweet itch would be correct. I'm studying to be a vet. The hair loss may be part of the sweet itch, or she may have some sort of illness.

Answer 2

It could be sweet itch.  I'd check for ticks too.  My experience with sweet itch leads me to expect an overall hair loss.  Especially along the ventral line of the belly.  MTG a sulphur based topical has helped relieve pain and itch for both ticks and sweet itch.  You can try equispot repellent.  It is a long lasting product used like front line.  Your tack shop should have some.

Answer 3

How about mites or lice?? Have you checked really closely into the base of the mane to see if there are any creepy crawlys??

Try an ausuntol wash it kills ticks, lice well pretty much anything that moves.

Hope this was some help

Answer 4

That sounds like sweet itch. It's an allergic reaction to bug bites. A way to prevent the rubbing is to keep her inside during the hottest parts of the day, apply fly repellent liberally, and keep a fly sheet on her.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/he...

http://www.animalherbcompany.com/article...

Just a little more information about sweet itch.

Answer 5

sweet itch. dats wat my horsey has.

Answer 6

Whatever the cause, unless it is near the wither and she is turned out with other horses that are chewing it off... Mouth wash and baby oil take the itch out. DON'T use a cinnamon mouth wash, the red will dye the hair... :P

2 parts mouth wash to 1 part baby oil, rub it in daily but remember to thoroughly wash the mane regularly to avoid build up of this mix, or MTG, or whatever you decide to use.

Answer 7

The owner of the barn is probably right it is a common cause.  Use MTG on her mane weekly.  It will stop the itching and she will not rub anymore.

Answer 8

my horse does it to. its in the summer when it gets hot and he has allergys. he gets it from the flys. and he rubs his mane and tail out on the gates so what i do is i drench his mane and tail with baby oil and i also take a rag and buy wipe and lather him in it (wipes a very good fly spray) i take the rag and go against his fur

Answer 9

The fact is that none of us here has enough information to diagnose what the problem is with any degree of certainty.  The fact that she is rubbing on objects tells you it is either painful or itching.  Any number of causes produce those symptoms...if you want an accurate diagnosis you should have it looked at by your vet.