Do horses have dandruff? How do you get rid of it-also i'm not sure if it is or not!

[Lea]

Its just like white flakes or something!
How do you get rid of it?

[Medalia]

Horses get dandruff; lice and rain rot. I doubt that it is lice...so no need to worry there.

So, the best way to be rid of the flakes:
~Head and Shoulders™ shampoo
~vinegar
~Ordinary horse shampoo(if you can't get Head and Shoulders™)
~towel
~Sponge
~bucket
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--Okay, so take the bucket and fill it with warm water.
--Take the shampoo that you have and mix it in until it is really bubbly and you can smell the soap in it
--Wet the horse down lightly with the hose and PLAIN clean water.
--Start by sponging on the shampoo-ey mixture on the horses back and all over the body, making a later. You can also just squirt the stuff out on the back and scrub with the sponge as well.
--Make sure to clean the udder in mares and the OUTSIDE of the sheath in geldings and in stallions.
--They have legs, chests, and faces too, so do not forget these! Don't spray in the face with the hose though!!
--Dry off with the towel, or air dry.

***if you haven't used the Head and Shoulders™ then you must rinse off with VINEGAR.***

¤Hope that helps you out!!¤

[MistyEQ]

If you aren't sure if it is dandruff or not, it could be dried shampoo/conditioner that wasn't rinsed off the last time he was bathed.

I don't like using human shampoo on horses, it can dry out their skin and dull their coat.

The pony I free lease use to have the absolute best coat, now she has dandruff!!! Turns out summer camps has been washing her more than they should (you really shouldn't wash them often, I only do if she's filthy or for a show) and using humans shampoo and no conditioner (we have horse conditioner there, I need to buy some horse shampoo -they used all of mine! :-b). The barn manager also took the Clovite out of her feed (vitamins -the tack catalog also says it helps their coat).

Dandruff in a horse needs to be solved from the inside out, not the other way around. It stems from dry skin.

Adding oil to their feed is one way, oil also helps horses gain weight however. A coat supplement can be bought in the tack store -consult your vet first.
STOP WASHING the horse!!!! Bathing too often can really dry out the coat and skin! A simple hosing or sponging with plain water will get a lot of sweat, old fly spray, and dirt off -and cool the horse :) The top show barns will tell you, you don't bathe your horse all the time.

Good, frequent grooming is good for every horse. It massages the muscles and distributes the oils in their coat, while getting out the dander, dirt, and dead hair. Plus it's good bonding time :) Keep up with your grooming, don't bathe often, make sure your feed is complete, and your horse will have the coat of a show horse! And will probably be very happy too.

Also, I would NEVER use vinegar on my horse's coat plain like that. It would dry it out even more! Yes it is an ingredient in some fly sprays, but it is diluted with other things -skin so soft sometimes.

[CLAUDIA]

The PH of a horse's skin is different than ours and their shampoos and conditioners are formulated for their PH. I agree not to use "people shampoo" on any animal. I believe the barn management where I take lessons usually only bathe the horses if a show is coming up.

Oh, I did run across a horse that had lice just this spring! Check it out thoroughly. Those nasty things can really irritate a horse's skin which may actually cause flakes to appear. This horse I treated had a BAD case of dry, flaking skin around the mane area, and there was lice in it's mane too. Ugh. Those icky things give me the creepy crawlies. Anyway, it turned out the horse was exposed to the lice by a cat that visits its pasture.

I hope your horse is feeling (and looking) better soon! :)