my horse

Question
my horse is loosing hair on her belly could you tell me what i should do? three spots hair just rolls off also has two knots on stomach.

Answer
Hi Larry,
I do apologize for the delay, I didn't get your original e-mail for some reason.  About your horse,  I've never heard of a horse loosing hair because of dietary problems.  I do know that horses can have a dull nasty coat because of being wormy or not enough biotin in their diet.  Horses do get a fungus called "rain rot", however, they tend to get that on their back and a fungus much like it called "scratches" on their legs.  I have seen horses go to shed their winter coats in the spring in patches rather than evenly and almost be bald in those patches until their summer coat starts to come in.  As for the knots on her stomach, if the knots are under the skin and not on the skin then you may want to have a vet look at that.  In that case that would have nothing to do with a skin problem.  If the knot is on the skin, that could indicate a skin allergy, which can also cause the hair to come out.  Some horses are allergic to certain types of shavings and will welt up on the part of the body that touches the shavings when they are laying down.  She could also be allergic to fly bites, if you have flies out in your area already, or could have been stung by bees or other types of insects where she has had an allergic reaction.  If the knots are on the skin, I would suggest bathing her in an iodine scrub every other day until they are gone, or any other kind of anti-fungal/anti-bacterial shampoo.  If, that is, it's warm enough in your area or you have access to warm water.  If this is an allergy you may also want to get your vet out to look at it as the vet can put your horse on a steroid to get rid of the inflammation and knots or welts.  Some vets will put horses on antibiotics if it's a bacterial skin infection.  You can add a biotin supplement or corn oil (1 cup 1xday) to a horses diet to help their hair coat, however that will not fix the problem just make their coat shinier.  Hope this helps, good luck!  

Regards, Jessica