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My morgan mare gets seasonal dry skin, so I always put her on Grand Coat during the late fall through early spring. She also gets the appropriate amount (one pound) of Poulin MVP daily mixed with an 8 ounce measuring cup of Poulin 10:12 (just to make the MVP taste better). She gets 12-14 lbs of second cut hay----we've had the hay analyzed in the past, and its really high quality hay. My other horse, who eats the exact same thing, doesn't have any issues with dry skin, so it has been concluded that my mare's skin is just a seasonal issue, rather than a dietary imbalance....
This year, I didn't start her on the Grand Coat until December. I guess I was hoping I could get away with not giving it to her this year----bad horse owner! So, her skin got very dry and flakey. One night, I brought her in for the evening to find that she had rubbed two raw spots on either side of her back----her saddle had been rubbing a bit on her long winter coat (because like most Morgans, she grows a fabulous winter coat), so I thought between the saddle rubbing on her winter coat and her dry skin, she must have been itchy. Finally (bad owner!), I bought her the Grand Coat and started her up on it.
She didn't seem itchy anywhere else, so I put antibiotic ointment on the two raw spots to prevent infection, and they healed up beautifully. The weather FINALLY turned wintery a few weeks ago, and I put blankets on both horses. I periodically checked my mare's skin, and the flaky, dry skin was gradually going away with the Grand Coat supplement.
Last night, I pulled her blanket off, and inspected her skin and its looks FABULOUS. Not more flakes, no more dryness. The raw spots on her back are growing back with fur, so that looks good.
HOWEVER, when I started curry combing at the point on her hip on one side, ALL THE HAIR came out in a 2-3 inch wide strip, about 12 inches long. And I mean, all the hair! Its like it would just fall out with the slightest of pressure! I went around to the other side, and the EXACT same thing happened! Bilateral, symmetric alopecia in a very localized area. Very strange....obviously I'm going to call my vet about this, but I was wondering if anyone has experienced this before??? Its so strange. The skin underneath looks perfectly normal. And its very symmetrical on both sides----at first I was thing mange or something like that, but then I saw it was exactly the same on the other side.
I'll take some pictures.....so weird.
This year, I didn't start her on the Grand Coat until December. I guess I was hoping I could get away with not giving it to her this year----bad horse owner! So, her skin got very dry and flakey. One night, I brought her in for the evening to find that she had rubbed two raw spots on either side of her back----her saddle had been rubbing a bit on her long winter coat (because like most Morgans, she grows a fabulous winter coat), so I thought between the saddle rubbing on her winter coat and her dry skin, she must have been itchy. Finally (bad owner!), I bought her the Grand Coat and started her up on it.
She didn't seem itchy anywhere else, so I put antibiotic ointment on the two raw spots to prevent infection, and they healed up beautifully. The weather FINALLY turned wintery a few weeks ago, and I put blankets on both horses. I periodically checked my mare's skin, and the flaky, dry skin was gradually going away with the Grand Coat supplement.
Last night, I pulled her blanket off, and inspected her skin and its looks FABULOUS. Not more flakes, no more dryness. The raw spots on her back are growing back with fur, so that looks good.
HOWEVER, when I started curry combing at the point on her hip on one side, ALL THE HAIR came out in a 2-3 inch wide strip, about 12 inches long. And I mean, all the hair! Its like it would just fall out with the slightest of pressure! I went around to the other side, and the EXACT same thing happened! Bilateral, symmetric alopecia in a very localized area. Very strange....obviously I'm going to call my vet about this, but I was wondering if anyone has experienced this before??? Its so strange. The skin underneath looks perfectly normal. And its very symmetrical on both sides----at first I was thing mange or something like that, but then I saw it was exactly the same on the other side.
I'll take some pictures.....so weird.
