Hair Loss Help

For some reason my horse is loosing hair. It started just above his left eye in a patch about 2" by 2". Now it seems small patches are falling out in several locations. His skin seemed really dry and has had excessive dandruff that I had assumed was due to the cold dry air we had a few weeks ago. The skin where he is balding looks nice an healthy and the dandruff seems to have subsided but he is still loosing hair. I thought maybe rain rot but there isn't really any scabbing. I haven't changed his diet an he gets brushed out 4-7 times a week. The brushing now seems to irritate him. Any thoughts? I'll try an get some pics up soon.

This is a helpful Website for health issues of horses. I hope it helps.
Merck Veterinary Manual

Are the spots itchy?
It could be
Seasonal Alopecia
Sometime in the spring occasionally other seasons a horse or pony can experience seasonal alopecia where large patches of hair shed and the new hair growth is not present yet, this leaves bald patches on the animal and new hair will grow within a month.
It seems to be occurring quite often this year and can occur in any season.
If you have live Aloe vera plants try rubbing the juice on the bare skin to moisturize and induce the new hair growth.


Seasonal Alopecia is due to the sudden change in climate, the horses have started shedding before the summer coat has started growing in. If you watch after a few days you will see very fine and thin hair growing in the bald areas. That is the start of the summer coat. It will be very thin for a while, but it will continue to grow and cover the areas. There is no treatment needed as the hair will continue to come in naturally.
Here in Colorado we are having a mild winter so far with occasional snow days but mostly 50's and 60's temps a lot of horses are already shedding off their winter coats.

If you are feeding corn that would also cause the premature shedding as corn helps produce body heat that triggers the shedding.

What his is current diet like? If his skin is dry and flakey but not scabby he might be deficient in some vitamin or mineral. You could try treating the spots with tea tree oil- it certainly couldn't hurt anything, just make sure whatever you use isn't going to drip or run into his eye. Best of luck!

Always verify any diagnosis with a vet to be sure tho.

Rocky Trails that seems to fit. Went from very cold to spring like for two weeks. Now temps are dropping again... May have to blanket him if he keeps loosing hair.