Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Thin mane and forelock

From: Julie Irvine

Dear Jessica:

My 12 year old Appalosa horse's mane and forelock are very thin and seem to be getting thinner. I know that Appalosa's have fine hair, but he almost has no forelock anymore and his mane is getting thin also. This I don't understand because he has a beautiful tail and his winter coat is coming in good too. I do not braid his hair for I was afraid of more hair loss. He is on sweet feed and he eats high quality hay. Is there anything that I could put on his hair to spark some growth? Or a supplement that he can take?

Any imput that you have would be apppreciated!

Thanks,

Julie

Hi Julie!

You're right about the Appy tendency to have thin manes and tails, but there may be a few things you can try. I'll suggest two possible solutions, one external and one internal.

External: don't comb or curry your horse's mane or tail -- ever. Even when you wash and condition them, separate the hairs gently with your fingers, or use a soft brush when the conditioned hair is dry. Every time you use a comb or curry, you pull and break hairs -- over the course of a few months, this can make a big difference to the horse's mane and tail.

Internal: you won't be able to feed your horse so that he'll grow hair that he isn't genetically programmed to grow, but I've seen some amazing results when horses with thin manes and tails have been given a good-quality biotin supplement. Talk to your veterinarian before you add ANY supplement to your horse's diet -- in fact, talk to him anyway, because you need to find out whether your horse's diet is balanced and whether he needs a vitamin and mineral supplement formulated for your particular area. If he needs one, your vet will be able to tell you, and can probably tell you exactly which one he recommends.

You can also ask about biotin supplements -- although most veterinarians, unless they've had personal experience with such supplements, will tend to put them in the "can't-hurt-might-help" category. ;-) If you decide to try this, you'll want to find a supplement that provides at least 15 mg of biotin in each daily dose, and that offers methionine and zinc along with the biotin. The horse that showed the most improvement WAS an Appy, by the way, and was being fed biotin to improve his shelly hooves. Over the course of a year, his hooves got much better, which is what his owner had wanted -- and his mane and tail got much longer and thicker than they had ever been before. That was a little bonus, but the owner was very happy about it! ;-)

Jessica

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