Flaky Skin?

[Shannon]

My horse has been having an issue recently with flaky skin. She has gray (she's bay) skin flaking off predominantly on her neck, mostly towards her throat. She had it a while back and a passing vet commented that it looked like contact dermatitis. It went away after I tried a bunch of different medicated shampoos. It recently came back after I trace clipped her. I am almost positive that it's a reaction to a Rio Vista shampoo that's supposed to make the horses a more burgandy bay.

Can anyone recommend anything to clear up this problem? She's had it twice; the second time confirmed the Rio Vista shampoo was the "perp". Thanks!

[Sue B]

First eliminate the cause....then I would recommend applying something with oils in it. Straight vit E oil can be found in your local heath store/section of Walmart. Flax or fish oil would also be helpful. There are also certain equine specific products such as Calm Coat or MicroTek spray. Both of these contain oils that will heal as well as relieve the dry skin situation.

[WhisperingStar]

I have this problem with my 2 yr old QH filly. We have since cut the sweet feed out of her diet and she gets oats, milled flax, mineral and another supplement ( can't remember the name right now ) she is doing better now.

I agree with Sue, you need to elimate the cause. With our girl it looks like it was an allergy to the sweet feed.

[No1Dazy]

There's a product on the market called Calm Coat that has worked wonders on my filly's skin allergies. (She develops HUGE rashes in the summer...)

[Shannon]

Awesome, thank you. I wasn't sure what it was exactly that was causing it, so I used the Rio Vista again. Now that it came up after using it the 2nd time, I'm obviously not going to use it again.

I'll try that Calm Coat. I bought this Mane and Tails medicated shampoo, and also this tree oil that's supposed to help with skin conditions. Ha, I even tried Head and Shoulders!

Does anyone know if this can be caused by flies? We had a recent warmer week and the flies got really bad again, and I had just trace clipped her. It seems to be mostly on the areas where she's clipped.

[horsegent]

You might want to avoid shampooing her quite so often whilst she has this condition as shampooing will inhibit production of serum and oils.

DO NOT use human dandruff shampoos on animals as it contains a product (Pyrithione) which can actually cause dry skin.

Finally ensure your clippers are sterilised and always meticulously clean and whilst your horse has a skin condition never use them. Again its not uncommon to experience this sort of thing immediately after clipping.

[Shannon]

OK, I'll toss the Head and Shoulders and tell whoever recommended it to me.

Actually, I used brand new, right-out-of-box clippers. I've trace clipped two more horses with them since then, and they are fine. I wouldn't clip her while she has this-- not only because it might be contageous, but it would give the clippers the run of their life!

This time around, I've only used the tree oil, and only once. The Mane and Tail stuff didn't seem to help.

So basically, just let it sit and it will go away?