Could MTG cause itching?

I have a few questions actually. First of all my gelding's mane just won't grow the way I want it. The front half is long and gorgeous, but the back half is even shorter than my donkeys' manes. Anyone know why that is? He just got back from training and a few days before we brought him there, I used MTG on him for the first time. The back part of his mane was actually longer then than it is now. Well the first time I put on the MTG, he wasn't bothered by it at all. This time though (it has been about 3 months since the first), he seemed to be scratching his neck alot afterwards. Could he be allergic to it or something? I hope not because I really want MTG to work to make his mane grow. His scratching wasn't bad, he just did it a few times, but I don't want it to get worse. Any advice is appreciated! :)

Keep in mind that MTG is very oily and will be prone to dirt buildup wherever it's applied. If he's already a bit dirty/itchy in one spot, adding MTG may make that worse.

It's possible he's having a bit of a reaction to it, but my guess is that he was itching that spot before you even tried the MTG, and that's why he has less density to the hair in that area. I'd start by making sure his mane is nice and clean. Scrub with a good shampoo and rinse well.

Spot test the MTG in a small area on his body before continuing to use it any further on his mane. If he seems to be irritated by the spot test, then you might be able to narrow it down to MTG as the cause.

For hair growth, I much prefer a product that is purely moisturizer, like Healthy Hair Care. It doesn't have the sulfuric content that MTG does and is probably much more hypoallergenic.

MTG is known to cause many adverse reactions. I will never try it because of this.

Does your horse wear a blanket? Are other horses chewing it off? If they chew on manes it is usually the bottom half.

It's certainly possible. MTG makes my skin turn bright red and itch like mad!
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Thanks. I was thinking kind of the same thing, that he might have been scratching something else and the MTG just irritated it, because he was also rubbing his rear end on the hay bale in his pasture (it was quite funny actually) and I didn't put any MTG on his tail or anywhere on his rear end.

No, he doesn't wear a blanket and I'm not sure if other horses are chewing it. If so, it would have to be both my other gelding and another horse he was with at the trainer's place because it got even shorter when he was there.

Does anyone know a way to stop mane chewing if that's what it is?

Is hay in a feeder? If so, good chance he is rubbing it off as eats.

And best bet for mane growth is good stimulation of the flesh by massaging, and ACV on it. Oily things don't do anything good for it, and can cause problems like you are having.

Good nutrition too of course.

As for others eating it, can use light dose of mineral oil with cayenne pepper on the ends, not the root.

It is very possible for him to get itchy when using MTG. I have noticed a horse or two will be a little itchy and shed some dry skin scales then do fine and then I have had one that tore out more mane with using it not.

I also suggest a patch test to those using it the first time.

If he is itching everywhere I would venture to guess some sort of allergic reaction. Whether it may be something in his pasture, bugs or feed, your guess is as good as mine.

I've used MTG on my mare for the last couple months, with good results. So far there have been no bad reactions. I have read that some horses are allergic, but it sounds as if you've tried it before with no issue, so I doubt he'd develop an allergy in just a few months. It could be possible I guess, but I'd be looking for another cause if I were you.

Maybe the horse is rubbing to get the smell of that stinky stuff off of him! If you read the instructions on the bottle, it does say to pretest for sensitivity and to only use once a week, & not to mix with any other products. Personally, I can't stand the smell of that stuff!
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