Horse rubbing neck and mane

[Hopeless]

My boy had a beautiful mane when I got him last March, but in the spring started rubbing his mane off. I roached him for the summer and it looked like it was growing back. Late in the summer I noticed that he was rubbing the sides of his neck in addition to his mane. I read about neck thread worms and double dosed him for two round. I thought it was getting better but he is back to rubbing again.

He is pastured and has a hay bale feeder, that he was he is rubbing his neck on. I board so I have no control over the hay feeder that they use. I just want him to stop rubbing!

Any advice of what to try?

[Scribbler]

well, you need to find out the cause. I think that itching and coat problems can be reduced if the horse is getting all his nutrients plus flax for oil. Are there insects involved? does he have any fungal problems? is he itchy all over, does he love being groomed? Is he rubbing to itch or is he rubbing because that just happens when he uses the hay feeder?

[fjordmom]

All of what Scribbler said/asked.

I have one with Sweet Itch and sometimes the gnats will find their way into his mane area. So more bug spray then. When he rubs and it isn’t gnat season, I rub aloe vera gel into the mane base. Really get it in there. That seems to stop the rubbing quickly. I think he may just have dry skin sometimes and the aloe soothes that.

[Marla_100]

Can you bump up the quality of his feed and hay? Skin problems can be nutritional deficiencies. Ground flax in the feed can often improve the skin/hair. Plus I’d add a good vitamin/mineral supplement.

[TCA_Arabians]

All of the above and try rubbing some Listerine into his mane.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Isn’t there a specific worm that can cause severe itching in the mane/neck? A pinworm or hookworm or something? I had a horse with those same symptoms ages ago (like over 25 years ago), so I just don’t recall. Sometimes old age is really inconvenient! lol

[Hopeless]

Thank you for all the responses. The BO says it is just the feeder, but I feel that it is more than just that. I tried to have the vet look at it today but when someone from the barn mentioned that many horses are rubbing because of the feeders he sort of lost interest in that. Yes, I am getting a new vet.

He is on Safe Choice Senior feed because he had difficulties keeping weight on. He as been on Coco Soya and a vitamin and mineral supplement, but as i changed to the Senior feed I dropped those because he has gained weight and he is getting a complete feed. I did add Tri-Amino for muscle and Smartitch- Ease from SmartPak. He has gained weight, but muscle seems to be an issue, and the Tri-Amino was recommended to me. I added SmartItch-ease to help him not be do itchy.

Today, when the vet was out for fall shots, I asked him about some places that seem to be odd fatty deposits and he thought that maybe he had cushings. Tank is only 13 but seems to have several of signs. The vet said I should have him tested in the spring. I am rather uncomfortable waiting, but I guess it is harder to test for in the fall/ winter? I don’t know if that will play into why he is rubbing his mane or not.

Ugg Horses!

[PNWjumper]

Wish I had advice to give, but I’m in the same boat.

I have a pony who had no skin problems at all for the first 3 years I had him. Then last summer, started down the sweet itch path. Still getting the same food as the prior 3 years (high quality hay, out 24/7 with access to grass, and on good grain + supplements). I tried all sorts of things to no avail (including double dosing ivermectin). This summer I went back to the “bible” thread on neck threadworms and tried double dosing him with Equimax. He gets BOSS and flax (the flax is both in his Platinum Performance supplement and I feed a scoop of flax seeds on top). We’re now past the gnat time of the year and he’s been double dosed and he’s still rubbing his neck and mane on my 4-board fence in the pasture.

The only thing that ever seemed to make a difference during the summer was a liberal application of Equiderma lotion on his neck. I hate it because it’s oily and he’s grey and it makes him look so dirty. But I guess that’s a small price to pay in exchange for keeping his mane.

[fjordmom]

I have one (who is 12) with sweet itch who itched incesantly. I’ve had him 2 1/2 years. Made numeruos gradual changes in his diet and supplements. I noticed incremental improvement/less itching and rubbing after each of these changes. #1 adding MSM to his supplements, #2 adding flax to his diet. #3 came as a surprise, we discovered he had a low thyroid level; put him on low dose Thyro-L this spring and itching/rubbing has totally disappeared. Over time he has gone from bloody raw with a rat tail and hardly a mane to full, thick mane and a tail that now reaches the ground.

Rubbing aloe vera gel or witch hazel on itchy areas helped ease the immediate problem, as did a few days of benadryl if it was bug or allergy season.

When you test for Cushings, consider running thyroid test too. According to my vet all that hormonal cyce is inter-related. I have an older one (24) who is IR and low thyroid, but according to test, not Cushings. He has the fat pads too, if I don’t keep tight control of his weight and when he sweats, his hair get curly. Vet and I are both convinced he is pre-Cushings regardless of test results. We’re watching carefully for changes and testing yearly.