bald patches on mane.

Question
I have a half bred quarter horse, i,v owned him since he was six months old he is now 13, he has always being very well built with loads of muscle with a long thick mane but the last week iv noticed his mane has fell out in two big patches leaving his skin showing & the rest has thinned out as well. He has lost loads of weight & nearly all his muscle tone. I have being feeding him the same food & amount for the last thirteen years so i know malnutrition cannot be the problem. please can you help me as I'm now thinking the worst is wrong with him, But thought I'd ask your advice before calling the vet & looking silly. Thank you any help would be much appreciated

Answer
hi laura, well he could be rubbing his mane which is causing it to have bald patches and thinning. alot of horss do this. as for the weight i would suggest you worm him with ivermectin and have his teeth checked. they probobly need to be floated. when a horse cannot chew its food properly it cannot digest it properly. tohelp gain weight on him and give him a healthier coat feed him rice bran. this is all fat and makes his coat shiney. you can also feed him alfalf pellets. make sure you do all of this gradually so he does not colic. if he still looses weight have you vet do blood work. good luck and i hope your horse gets better.
amanda groff