Third summer with my horse. First time we have had this issue. Rub spots behind her ears and this week brow band too. Same bridle, same halter… same fly mask.
I rinse her face every day after work. Bridle and halter gets cleaned every ride, as usual. What else can I do?
Wrap offending pieces of bridle in moleskin?
Assuming things fit well, try baby powder where she’s getting rubbed. If it’s already lost the hair or if it’s a sore, dress with something like vitamin E to keep the skin soft.
People always want to put goop on things.
Rub spots are from pressure and dirt.
Remove halter when no 100% necessary.
Wash fly mask regularly and realize its shape changes and collapses over time. Just had to toss one for my guy b/c it was causing a rub on the bridge of his nose.
WASH with antibacterial soap and water and RINSE well her face, not just the spots where you’re seeing rubbing.
It’s possible as horse is aging she’s developing sensitivities, but my first approach would be to make sure she’s super clean and remove anything you think is rubbing.
Yeah… I washed the rub spots with bacterial soap when they first happened, last week. The fly mask is the same size as last year, but new. All leather gets cleaned daily. She is 13, so not too old. Her routine hasn’t changed. She only has the halter on for walking in and out. I am ready to ditch the fly mask for a month to see if that would help.
Hmm, that IS puzzling… are the rub spots definitely where something else is touching her? Is she a chestnut by any chance? She may have developed a seasonal allergy.
I’ve got one in my care that years ago suddenly became greasy, for lack of a better word. All the usual treatments didn’t help the fact that she would go bald under and above her eyes, behind her ears and some spots on her chest. Horse only wore a halter as yours does. No fly masks. Nylon halter (washed weekly) w/leather crown piece cleaned weekly) and wasn’t being ridden.
Started giving her baths with Selsun Blue weekly (and only Selsun Blue) and she stopped with the bald patches.
So weird.
She is a dark bay… the vet (who has a horse at our stable and was riding today) said the heat has done skin sensitivity problems to lots of horses this year… maybe allergic reaction or sweat or rubbing from both or either…
I can pick up Selsun Blue for her after ride bath tomorrow. I will try just about anything (my sister always jokes about monkey spit).
Can you try a different brand of fly mask that might sit differently?
We have a horse who decided this year that her face really itches and she rubbed her fly mask so much it created lesions. No more fly mask.
My horse does best in an earless fly mask. Ones with ears can rub on the back base of his ears, annoying him.
I use “head and shoulders for men (!) 2-in-1” for baths. I use an antibiotic and antifungal shampoo occasionally. I try not to shampoo much and I groom extensively, but sometimes you just have to wash crud away.
Honestly I curry these spots and then use a baby wipe a couple times a week. If I don’t curry it, the hair gets like fungusy or falls out. Currying makes all the differences.
It’s just sweat, grime and pressure. Take the halter off when you can like others said, curry it and let it dry. Even if you’re washing it, if you’re tossing the halter back on you’ve got the same situation of wet hair under pressure.
OP, please update us to tell us if anything particular seems to be working. Thanks.
Often during this time of year - well into the summer coat shed and before the new coat comes in - the hair on the face and head gets very fine and sparse.
My chestnut mare’s face becomes bald in August!, thus is more vulnerable to rubs from the halter or fly mask.
Keeping the skin clean is key (and don’t curry too hard); things will improve when the winter coat starts coming in.
So I washed the poll area, the browband area and instead of putting “goop” on I tried something different. I had read another article about using the stuff runners use to stop chafing… but that is ‘goopy’. I used to run, a lot, marathons, lots of them. What I decided to try was the product that I used on myself to cover open blisters, “Nu Skin”.
After the skin skin was clean and dry I painted the Nu Skin on. I will admit the smell and whatever it felt like made my horse a little upset. I think it chills the skin as it dries fast. It left a scab-like coating that was a bit shiny. It has only been a week and I only had to reapply once. It is water resistant (great to be able to shower after open blisters) and fairly durable. I peeled off the browband area yesterday and the poll area today as they were starting to break up a bit.
The browband area looks healed, skin okay and some tiny hairs that I can feel but not really see. The poll area looks better then last week but I repainted more Nu Skin, but a smaller area. Might have to re-update next week, but this looks like a REAL solution.
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