How to Identify Different Equine Skin Conditions

Equine Skin Conditions can make the difference of a sleek shiny coat or a dull dingy coat in your horse or pony. Equine skin conditions can develop for many reasons. Although most of them are not serious or life threatening, if not taken care of, they can develop into more serious problem. One example of this is parasites in the horse. The initial symptom of a internal parasites is dry, dingy and loose hair particularly on the rump by the tail. If the parasite problem is not corrected, the entire coat of the horse will begin to look shaggy. Parasites like worms feed off the horse and if left untreated can do damage to the intestinal system of the horse. If this goes on too long, the horse may become weak, ill and sluggish, often leading to other equine skin conditions or health issues.

Equine skin conditions can develop slowly or they may come on all at once. Fortunately, most horses have short hair so it's easier to find equine skin conditions than it is on dogs and cats and animals with long fur or hair. With daily grooming, many of the skin conditions can be spotted right away and taken care of quickly and easily. Equine skin conditions usually fall into two categories. There are those that exhibit itching and hair loss and those that have hair loss with not itching. Read more in How to Identify Different Equine Skin Conditions