My horse's face is bald. :-/

[HeyJealousy]

I have a super sensitive chestnut gelding who loses all the hair on his face every single summer. He is in a stall during the day with two fans and goes out in the evening with fly mask and fly sheet on. At first I thought maybe the fly mask was contributing but last summer he did not wear a fly mask and this still happened. I give him a good rinse every time I ride, and I’ve tried using a combination of anti-fungal shampoo and then either MTG or Equiderma on his face with no changes at all. He does get a little face crud especially in the middle of his forehead and right under the forelock but the bald patches are all over his cheek bone area as well where I haven’t noticed any gunk. He seems comfortable, we haven’t seen him rubbing his face at all, and the hair just isn’t growing back.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Both for the hair regrowth and preventing the hair loss in the first place so maybe I can get a jump on this next year?

[fourfillies]

Not sure the cause but my vet recently recommended a shampoo with benzoyl peroxide as the active ingredient for the same “condition”.

[HeyJealousy]

@fourfillies

Not sure the cause but my vet recently recommended a shampoo with benzoyl peroxide as the active ingredient for the same “condition”.

Oh, interesting! Do you happen to know the name of the shampoo?

[Laurierace]

Give these a try. http://www.doversaddlery.com/derma-cloth/p/w1-c22993a/?eid=X18A00U1000&utm_source=google&utm_medium=PLA&utm_campaign=NB_PLA_Retail_Mid-Atlantic_GOOG&adpos=1o2&creative=194456253759&device=c&matchtype=&network=g

[HeyJealousy]

@Laurierace

Give these a try. http://www.doversaddlery.com/derma-cloth/p/w1-c22993a/?eid=X18A00U1000&utm_source=google&utm_medium=PLA&utm_campaign=NB_PLA_Retail_Mid-Atlantic_GOOG&adpos=1o2&creative=194456253759&device=c&matchtype=&network=g

I have heard good things about those…plus they might be easier to use than trying to coat his face in the Equiderma lotion. Thanks

[Laurierace]

@HeyJealousy

I have heard good things about those…plus they might be easier to use than trying to coat his face in the Equiderma lotion. Thanks

You are welcome. They are pricey but I have reused them several times by just using part of it at a time and putting it back in the package then using a different part of it for the next use. Most of the time this us caused by sweat but the sweat can set up an infectious situation that is either fungal or bacterial so this will help take care of that.

[stb]

Does he sweat well? I have a horse with anhidrosis and if he is not well controlled his face gets bald. Thankfully, this year the supplement I have him on is working and his face looks fine.

[HeyJealousy]

@stb

Does he sweat well? I have a horse with anhidrosis and if he is not well controlled his face gets bald. Thankfully, this year the supplement I have him on is working and his face looks fine.

Very interesting! He actually sweats a LOT. He is a very, very proficient sweater, haha. To Laurierace’s point above, it makes sense that the sweat may be causing this issue. I’m glad your boy is doing better this year!

Laurierace, would it be okay to use the cloths after he gets his post ride shower? I do towel his face pretty well but do the cloths need to be used on a perfectly dry face? Just want to make sure I do it correctly.

[Laurierace]

I haven’t needed to use them in many years so don’t know for sure but I would think it is ok to use them after washing and towel drying.

[IPEsq]

I think it’s from sweat. Be sure you also wipe down your bridle regularly in addition to wiping his face. To really cut the sweat, dilute a little ammonia in some water, wipe down tack, then follow with glycerin soap. I think the fly mask may do a little bit as well insofar s it can contribute to some sweating. I used the riding style fly mask last year (lighter, thinner) and didn’t have a problem but am starting to see face crud this year using a traditional turnout one. Might need another to rotate in the wash more regularly.

[ShotenStar]

My chestnut mare is the same. Though it started with her face and has now spread to her back, neck, and shoulders. The vet and I have discussed and researched and can find no specific, identifiable, treatable cause. So we just deal with the symptoms – SPF 50 on her face and a UV resistant sheet for the rest of her.

star

[skipollo]

My horse does the same thing. Starting in mid-May every year, he gets some crusty gray bumps under his forelock area and on his forehead. If I don’t take care of it ahead of time, it spreads all over his forehead and around his eyes down to his cheekbones. I tried washing with medicated shampoos, medicated sprays, flymask vs no flymask, etc. Some things helped but never really took care of it. It was starting to go down the crest of his poll/neck. The rest of his skin and coat was fantastic, shiny, and smooth.

I started giving him Omega HorseShine (it’s ground flax seed) in his dinner and that cleared his face up really fast. I don’t do anything else for it now–just the supplement. I give him 1cup/day (approx. 1200 lbs 16.2hh OTTB.) It’s pretty cheap as well.

[Color_of_Light]

Since it’s seasonal, it could be from allergy to certain grass pollens, bacterial or fungal infection. Or, could be all three, or started with hair loss from allergic reaction, then bare skin grew bacteria and fungus…I had a horse who had something similar that was biopsied. Showed degenerative changes of neutrophils, which indicates bacterial infection and also noted that this inflammatory pattern was consistent with bacterial, and/or fungal infections. Treatment: wash with chlorahexadine, let sit 7-10 min. Wash with anti fungal shampoo. Best treatment we found was with anti seborreic shampoo, which treats fungal and bacterial infections and removes oil scaly build up around hair shaft, and cleans up hair shaft so new hair can grow. Comb to remove oily scale.

I used this product with great results.
https://www.target.com/p/veterinary-formula-clinical-care-antiparasitic-antiseborrheic-medicated-shampoo-pet-insect-treatment-16-oz/-/A-50298908

[HeyJealousy]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I’ve taken note of everything and am going to start trying things. I really appreciate it!

[btswass]

I’d definitely give this a try.
https://www.argentoeq.com/collections/grooming/products/leovet-bio-skin-oil
It will not only help the hair grow back but heal the skin to help prevent it. I agree the sweat is most likely the culprit and would really scrub the face with a wet sponge well every day, dry it, then apply the bio skin oil. You should see the hair start to grow back within the week!

[fourfillies]

DermaBenss from Chewy is the benzoyl peroxide shampoo. On sale at Chewy

[TwoTrickPony]

One of my poor mares is having a bad time this year. She got eaten alive all along her midline, and then in the last few days, she’s having some kind of weepy, allergic reaction on one side of her face and neck where it was a little pussy, and the next day all of the hair was gone.

I’ve been cleaning all of these areas with Chlorhexadine and putting on a homemade mixture of antibiotic cream, desitin, lanolin, moisturizer, good skin stuff form the Dollar Tree and fly spray.

[IPEsq]

@btswass

I’d definitely give this a try.
https://www.argentoeq.com/collections/grooming/products/leovet-bio-skin-oil
It will not only help the hair grow back but heal the skin to help prevent it. I agree the sweat is most likely the culprit and would really scrub the face with a wet sponge well every day, dry it, then apply the bio skin oil. You should see the hair start to grow back within the week!

Doesn’t St John’s Wort cause photo-sensitivity? That’s one of the last things I’d want to put on a balding chestnut face.

[btswass]

@IPEsq

Doesn’t St John’s Wort cause photo-sensitivity? That’s one of the last things I’d want to put on a balding chestnut face.

You are correct. That is interesting as someone used it on their grey horses face where the hair was rubbing away and saw really positive results in just a few days. I’ll have to get in touch with my rep regarding that as I certainly don’t want to be recommending a product that could cause more harm!

[Chestnut_Mare1]

My chestnut mare also loses most of the hair under her eyes and the more bony areas on her face each summer. I don’t think it is necessary a fungal skin funk issue, just the way they shed out. I use a facecloth dampened with water and just wipe the sweat off gently after each ride or if she gets dusty/dirty.