my horse has terrible dandruff(scurf) and i cant get rid off it

[xhorseygirl13x]

my horse has terrible dandruff,she has had it for a while and no matter how much i bath her she is always dusty and greasy. I am doing a few shows this year and i need to get rid of the dandruff but i dont know how x

[Ollie Bears mum]

You may be bathing her to much, so the counter production is for her skin to produce more oil, which in turn, turns to scurf. As long as she is protected by rugs if turned out, the best way is elbow grease from yourself with the grooming brushes as this will remove excess grease without adding more. Also wash your brushes at least once a week, this will also help to keep the dust and grease away.

[Showjumper]

My friend's mare was seriously scurfy in the summer. She changed her feed to Bailey's Lo Cal and within a month the scurf was gone. Not sure if the scurf was from an allergic reaction, or not enough vits/mins, but the food change worked :)

[xhorseygirl13x]

ok thank you i will try all of this as it may be the solution xx

[maverick927]

Get your horse blood tested. Some horses can natural lack a key mineral which creates scurf. If you brush daily, the problem is internal.

If you get a blood test and find a lacking mineral, then you can contact a homeopathy company who will supply you with tablets.

[Blitzen]

Get your horse blood tested. Some horses can natural lack a key mineral which creates scurf. If you brush daily, the problem is internal.

If you get a blood test and find a lacking mineral, then you can contact a homeopathy company who will supply you with tablets.

That is very interesting - never new this, I always assumed some horses were scurffy others not. Thats a really helpfull piece of info that will probally come in useful in the future!:D

[redcomet]

try feeding a sulphur tablet once a day or a supplement with sulphur in as it is v good for the skin, hence clearing up scurf, helping sweet itch etc....

[Siogfinsceal]

you could try giving her a a 'dettol bath' to clear the scruff out of her coat. add a little bit of dettol to a bucket of warm soapy water, scrub into her with a sponge and then hose off.

Id add a seaweed and garlic supplement and some oil to her feed.. If you want something to put on her coat try the aloe vera baby oil (green obe) its great

[Willow666]

try using hibby scrub, i use it for my horses sweet itch in the summer, just use one cap full of it in a bucket of warm water and scrub the main and tale. its not expensive only about £3.00, i also use it to scrub her meet sometimes.

[lachlanandmarcu]

also if she is fed any oil in diet, try stopping it/replacing with a non oil equivalent . 2 diff horse on our yard had oil stopped for unrelated reasons and 3 weeks later both owners independently noticed that the scurf was all gone, think the oil was too much for the skin...oil has stayed stopped and scurf never came back all year - had both suffered from it for 3-4 years (same period as fed oil for):)

[chunky monkey]

Thats interesting, do they scurff up more if they are rugged 24/7 and not groomed or if they are young horses. Only I took the rug of an 18 month horse yesterday and he was really scurffy. He hasn't been groomed for at least 3 weeks. His coat feels lumpy and bumpy, particularly on his chest. I know he hasn't been bathed at all. So I was wondering if its just an age thing or something else.

There's no oil being added to his food, only whats already in it. He's not mine so I can't do anything, but I was just curious, as my horse is in with him and I was wondering if mine might develop it.

[BecknSkye]

My bay horse gets a little scurfy looking as he's changing coats, I give him a Betadine wash and the iodine in it seems to dry up the excess oil and get rid of any skin-funkiness.