It’s really important to think about the health of your horse’s skin. Weather changes can wreak havoc on your horse’s delicate skin. So can being out in the pasture all day, where it is exposed to the elements. Luckily there are some simple things you can do to ensure your horse’s skin is protected.
Common skin ailments among horses
Before I talk about the ways to protect your horse’s skin, I want to talk about the most common skin ailments you may come across . It’s important as a horse owner that you know these ailments. That way, when you are grooming you can recognize any signs or symptoms before they become larger problems. Here are the most common skin ailments and what to look out for:
● Aural Plaques: Aural plaques are caused by a virus that causes white, flat lesions in the ear.
● Eosinophilic Granuloma: Eosinophilic granuloma is a breakdown of collagen, that is considered an allergy. It leaves large bumps about the size of a dime all over the body.
● Mange: Mange is a parasite that causes small bumps that lead to bald spots and thick, scaly skin.
● Primary Seborrhea: Also known as dandruff, causes small dry flakes of skin usually around the base of the tail or mane.
● Rain Rot: Rain rot is a bacterial infection that grows rapidly in moist conditions. It causes scabbing and matting across your horse’s skin.
● Ringworm: Ringworm is a fungal infection that causes round hairless patches with rough, scabbed skin.
● Warts: Warts are also caused by a virus that causes small, pea-sized cauliflower growths.
If you notice any of these signs or symptoms, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Seven ways to help your horse maintain healthy skin
Now that you know the common skin ailments that can affect your horse, here are seven ways you can help prevent them:
1. Feed Your Horse A Healthy Diet:
Horse health starts from the inside out. Just like with humans, horses need a variety of nutrients to maintain healthy skin. You want to feed them a diet that is rich in vitamins including A, C, E, proteins, essential fatty acids, minerals including magnesium, copper, and calcium. Feeding your horse a mixture of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, is a great way to ensure they get all the nutrients they need for healthy, strong skin. I recommend talking to your veterinarian for dietary recommendations. It’s also important that they stay hydrated. So make sure to always have fresh water available.
2. Protect Your Horse From The Sun:
Also like humans, horse’s skin can be damaged from sun exposure. This is a bit tough, since horses are the healthiest when they get to spend plenty of time outdoors. Make sure that your horses have plenty of shade available when they roam. On cooler sunny days, you can use blankets for protection. If your horse does get too much sun exposure, The Balm! Can help. The Balm! is a topical treatment to help relieve skin irritation.
3. Keep Bugs Away
A lot of the common horse diseases are spread by bugs. So one of the biggest horse health care tips is to keep bugs away. This is especially important when it comes to preventative measures for skin health. Almost every major skin ailment is spread by bugs. Beyond these diseases, bug bites can be painful and itchy causing damage to your horse’s skin. I’ve found that keeping the stable clean and using a light misting of Peppermint Summer Protection every day does a great job of keeping the bugs away during the warmer months.
4. Groom Your Horse Every Day
Daily grooming is crucial for your horse’s health and wellbeing. Grooming will clean off dirt, germs, and pathogens that can lead to skin problems. It also helps stimulate your horse’s skin’s natural oil production which wards against many of these problems as well. Make sure to also clean their hooves every day because a lot of the parasites and bacteria enter through the hoof.
5. Clean Your Grooming Tools After Every Use
After you’ve finished grooming your horse, you need to also clean your grooming tools. Grooming tools are a great vehicle for spreading skin diseases if they aren’t properly cleaned after every grooming. Also, make sure to never share your grooming tools among different horses as they can carry contagions from one horse to another.
6. Keep Your Horse’s Skin Dry
A little rain won’t do your horse’s skin any harm. However, when their skin is in a regular state of dampness, whether from atmospheric moisture or regular bathing, it can lead to problems. Skin that is constantly wet is prone to all kinds of infections and chapping.
7. Use Only Natural Skin Care Products
Many horse care products use harsh chemical ingredients. These ingredients can not only dry your horse’s skin and strip away natural oils, but they can also act as skin irritants and cause allergic responses. Your best bet is to use skin care products with only ingredients that your horse would interact with in nature. Natural ingredients also tend to work better for moisturizing than chemical ingredients, supporting healthy skin in your horse.
Ultimately, a horse’s skin is a reflection of their overall health. At Equi-Spa we put our horses’ health above everything else. All of our products are formulated to ensure the natural ingredients not only work, but support healthy skin and coat. If you’d like to learn more about how our natural products can support your horse’s health post a comment below or give us a call or email and I’d be happy to answer all your questions.
😁😁😁👍👍👍..very interesting..
Great Advice
A daily grooming keeps the horse’s hair
Didn’t know about keeping their skin dry! Thanks <3
I did not know that horse’s skin can be damaged from sun exposure.
cool
Vigilance is key
THANKS
Really useful info, I’m sure most horse owners have to prevent any skin issues with their horses
Really helpful – thank you!
interesting thank you
Useful information for horse owners.
great information
Great information – I will pass this on to my daughter
I knew about the blanket for warmth, but didn’t know about using it for the sun too! Thanks so much!
Great information! Thank you!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Great information.
Great advice. Thanks
This is such useful and helpful information! Thank you!!
I wasn’t aware that weather changes can wreak havoc on a horse’s delicate skin. Good to know.
Love the way this article was written, bullet points are always an easy way to follow! Thanks for the great information! 🙂
Great article and advice, thank you!
Spraying Original Listerine on horse’s feet/hooves after cleaning to protect & keep healthy.
I really didn’t know all these little details about their skin but it totally makes sense!
Use sunscreen on the vulnerable areas
You have to care well for a horse’s skin, it’s the largest organ of the body and as with humans a lot can happen/go wrong with it.
Good advice for a working horse, show horse or a pony the kids or grandkids ride
Great tips. Very important information.
Fabulous tips! Thank you so much
Useful information: diet, daily grooming, and natural products help keep skin healthy!
Most of these tips are common sense and using Equi Spa products, with their all natural ingredients, is a sure way to keep your special friend as healthy and happy as possible.
very important to protect the horses skin, some great advice here thanks
that’s interesting
Grand Advice !
Thanks for the info
cool article
This article was very informational, I was not aware of most of this information.
Awesome Tips! Thank you!
Good information
great information thanks!
This information is very useful A lot of things that I didnt know
I never knew you had to protect a horse’s skin – very informative.
Thanks a bunch for the tips!
My daughter wants to be a vet and loves horses, she loves this article! Thank you!
Lots of great information to protect your horse
Great post, thank you!
Thank you for the great tips
Great tips and learnt a few things too.
Very good info. I was unaware of needing to protect their skin
These are great tips. I will have to check out The Balm!
Never realized that horses need protection from the sun!
Thank you for these important tips
Learned some new tips here
Hydration is so important!
Horses are as complicated, as any other animal. Brushing every day is key and you can see f there is anything wrong. Thanks for the information.
Strong looking horse! Good Stuff.
Great article, didn’t know horses could get sun damage!
good information
Information that all horse owners must know and act on as well.
Another great article!
Very informative! ✨
I learnt a lot. Thanks
Grooming is great not only for cleaning the coat but bonding with your horse.
Good info and tips. Thank you.
It’s a lot of work, but it must be so fulfilling too.
Did not know so much affected their skin thanks.
Nice to know they have eczema like allergies/sensitivities too
A lot of good advice some of which I had never heard of or thought of.
Grooming soothes me too!
Great read!
good advice
I never realized that horses need protection from the sun!
Taking care of their skin is so important!
Good golly miss molly informative
thanks.
GOOD TO KNOW!
good to know
Nice information
Very informative article with great tips! thanks
I found all the information very useful. I too agree that grooming needs to be done every day.
I knew most of these but didn’t know about using natural products. Thank you!
Great advice.
Great Tips!
Thanks for the info
Great information! Especially cleaning the grooming tools after each use.
Definitely a good reminder to keep any eye on your horses skin as a sign of how their health is .
Very good recommendations! learned a lot!
Great information!
All good to know! Love this! Thanks for sharing!
super important
that is true i watch the show who rescuse horse form poeple who do not take care and they go thorugh one by one
Great tips
nice useful ways thank you
Lots of good info
Wow, I had no idea so many things can go wrong with horse skin. Thanks for posting!
I always thought their skin was super tough. Good to know it is not impenetrable.
Gotta be careful!
Great tips thank you!
I love the tips on natural remedies. It’s important to me that I use these methods before considering commercially synthetic solutions . Thanks
Great info vigilance and prevention is key
So scary being worried about horses getting these, but definitely information that is needed! Thanks
I love the product suggestions and simple solutions provided!
Every horse deserves great skin. All horse owners should read this!
I was wondering and this has answered a few things for me thankyou
super informative! Thanks for sharing!
Very interesting.
Great information its definitely important to look after any animals
Your info is always helpful.
i real need those tips thank you
Good info.
This is some great information, thanks
So many important tips thanks!
Wow that’s very interesting advice!
Its always so good to get information like this to educate people how to care for there animals ty
Very useful information in this article! Thank you sooo much 🙂
Easy read and very informative. Thanks for the information!!
Yes yes you are right have to keep your horse healthy and keep them groomed and everything a Healthy horse is a happy horse
Again thank you for the insight into the world of horse ownership!
Always good to know all we can. Thank you!
A horses skin is so incredibly important. This is really great and helpful info!
I love that you mention peppermint to help! We’ve used it for years and it works great
People forget how important diet is.
That reminds me I have to take care of my own skin.
Great information thanks for sharing
Great info, I had know idea sun would effect their skin, Awesome to lean new things thank you for more info
Thanks for writing this blog post and informing readers of it what are some common skin ailments that may affect horses and what readers can do to prevent horses from being affected by skin ailments. While I don’t own any horses or even take care of any, I found the blog post to be extremely helpful and if I do happen to find myself spending more time around horses in the future, I will definitely come back to it.