Rubbing his mane out?

Question

every summer my horse rubs his mane out. i shampoo and condition his mane almost every day to try to prevent it... is that a mistake?

Answer 1

About the worst thing you can do to a horse's skin is to put any kind of soap on it.  You are removing all of the natural barriers on the skin when you do this.  I'm so conscientious about this, that I will find anything I can to use other than soaps and detergents if cleansing is needed.  I'm guessing that if you stop using shampoo on him, the problem will be solved.

Answer 2

Tacking on to Bobbi's answer - it's most likely your washing is drying him out.  If you stop washing him all the time, allowing his natural body oils to return and he still rubs, try some topical solutions to perhaps take care of the problem.  There's an all natural product called Calm Coat that we sell in the tack shop where I work that I know people have had success with.  It's Lavendar and Camomile and other good natural stuff.  There's also a product called "MTG" - I believe it's by Shapley's - that is good for restoring the natural oils to help lubricate the skin.

My yearling filly rubs her butt.  I've done everything to figure out why and I've come to the conclusion that she just likes to rub her butt.She used to rub it against a closed stall gate - removal of the gate, no problem which tells me she's not actually itchy because if she were, she'd rub on something else - she just liked that gate.  she's stopped this now that she's grown a little more mature.

Good luck

Answer 3

is your worming schedule up to date?? pinworms can cause intense itching in manes and tails. If your horse is outside all the time its hard to maintain a nice mane and tail. Good luck I know it can be frustrating.....maybe you are also using a soap that irritates your horses skin and are washing too often, try just rinsing out with plain water everyday, then back off and only shampoo once a week also try MTG.

Answer 4

He could be allergic to the shampoo and conditioner, my horse was.  I heard that if you feed a horse a clove of garlic a day, they wont rub out there tail but I'm not sure a bout their mane.

Answer 5

he probably has sweet itch. get a full fly rug- http://imagebank.ipcmedia.com/imageBank/...

fly spray

and special sweet itch shampoo(ask your vet)

Answer 6

Yes, the mane is becoming dry and itchy...better to keep it clean by washing it less often, use a comb and brush on it and treat the hair roots and skin with Listerene or something similar.  I like to use a homemade solution that is one part Listerene, one part baby oil and one part hot water  (this just helps emulsify it, using the water hot while you are mixing it )  you will see almost immediate results..I also use this on hot spots on my dogs, works wonders.  Adding a mane tamer (sleezy) may help train the mane, but your horse can still rub at his mane.  Does he use one special place that he goes to rub on?  If so, pad it for a while.  An infestation of pin worms can cause your horse to rub his tail head, but I've never heard of it causing them to rub their mane because of it.  You are certain that nothing else is chewing it, right?

Just as a reinforcement of what I am saying, think back to what you are doing in the Summer that you are not doing in the Winter?  You are washing more, right?  Nothing says that you can't wet the area down, or use the solution that I mentioned, but you should rarely have to use shampoo on your horse's mane and tail up by their body, plain water does wonders, then add shampoo on the longer part of the mane and tail..won't dry out the roots...and, by the way, baby shampoo is not mild...we all think that because it doesn't make a baby's eyes burn and tear, right?  It works that way because there is an additive in the shampoo that actually tends to deaden the burning sensation in the eyes, but it isn't a mild shampoo and I wouldn't use it on my horses..

Answer 7

Get a sleezy and don't wash his mane every day.

EDIT**** I found a website with very cheap nice looking sleezys... http://stores.homestead.com/SweetSwamis/...