A hairy situation

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Dottyspotty
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:09 pm
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A hairy situation

Postby Dottyspotty » Wed Mar 09, 2011 12:29 pm

Hi there

I have an Appaloosa gelding who is rising 3. He is out of an Appaloosa mare who had really poor skin and hair quality unless she was being fed Oestress which seemed to improve it. The vet said she had a hormonal condition that affected her skin and hair growth, a bit like alapecia. The gelding's sire has full mane and tail and beautiful skin and hair. When the gelding was a yearling, he had the same lovely skin and hair quality of his sire, but as he's turned two and three, he is losing his mane and his coat quality through the winter looks moth-eaten and scruffy like his dam's. Have you any idea what this might be and whether there are any nutritional requirements that may be affecting this? Surely he can't be suffering from the same hormonal condition as his mare? He is living out in a big paddock with plenty of grass in the spring and hay all throughout the winter. I'm waiting to see what his coat will turn out like when he gets his summer coat through.

Expert_NAF_Nutrition
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 11:59 am
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Re: A hairy situation

Postby Expert_NAF_Nutrition » Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:06 am

Hi There,

Thank you for your enquiry. I would agree that your gelding is unlikely to be having the same problem as the mare. However Appaloosas do tend to be a little sensitive with their dermis, that is, the mane, tail, skin and hair. As your chap is still growing his system is under a lot of demands, and it's likely that his diet just isn't quite meeting those. The dermis is the largest organ in the body, and therefore often the first to show stress - particularly in breeds like Appaloosas. I would suggest that you supplement his diet with a good general purpose supplement, such as NAF General Purpose or NAF Pink Powder to ensure he's getting all the vitamins and minerals he requires - remember, pasture and forage alone tend not to be a good supplier of all micronutrients.

As he's particularly showing signs of a stressed dermis currently I would also recommend supplementing with NAF Profeet. Profeet is our five star product for all things dermis related, so don't be put off as it tends to be marketed at the hoof which is, after all, just a specialised part of the dermis. Hopefully you should find that once he's had a few months on both then he'll be looking fab again, and it should be possible to maintain him on the broad spectrum supplement alone. But, particulalry given his breeding, should you find any reoccurence don't be afraid to keep him on Profeet for maintenance.

I hope this has answered your question. Any further queries please do get back to us and we'll be happy to help you. Please let us know how you and your chap get on - remember, we always love to see pictures!

Kind regards,
Kate

Kate Jones, Snr Nutritionist.


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