Skin Problems and Climate

We recently shipped a horse to Montana. His coat is taking a beating with the cold, dry air. How can we help him?
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

We recently purchased a horse in Kentucky which we shipped to Montana to be a ranch horse. His coat is taking a beating with the cold, dry air. He has little hair on his face, and his coat is thin and flaking. Are there any supplements or ointments that would help? Does brushing help?

AIt is most unusual to see horses with dry, flaky skin solely due to a move to a drier climate. Scaly skin in horses is most commonly the result of infection and/or inflammation of the epidermis and/or hair follicles caused by bacteria, fungi, or skin parasites. These conditions are sometimes accompanied by itching. Less commonly, systemic disease, genetic predisposition, ingested toxins, or dietary deficiency might cause generalized scaling. I recommend that you have your veterinarian examine your horse and perform appropriate diagnostic tests (deep scrapings, fungal culture, cytology, and biopsy if indicated) to diagnose or rule out common problems and systemic disease before attributing your horse’s skin problem to climate.

Brushing helps by removing scales and loose hair. Brushes used for this horse should not be used on others to avoid spreading infection, and should be cleaned and disinfected regularly. Bathing with a shampoo targeted at the primary cause of the scaling would be useful. However, it is not recommended in winter unless you have a well-heated indoor facility where your horse can be kept until completely dry.

Blanketing might be required until the winter coat returns to a more normal thickness. The only supplement recommended at this time is corn oil–100 to 200 mL per day in the feed–to help restore skin health while the primary problem is being identified and treated

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Joy Barbet, DVM, Dipl. American College of Veterinary Dermitology, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!