Observation
What you see. The starting point for addressing any equine health related issue is your observation.
YOU ARE OBSERVING
Foal is Losing Hair
Summary
SUMMARY
Foals lose hair for reasons that range from completely normal to a sign of serious illness. The most common cause is not a problem at all: between about two and four months of age, foals shed their soft fuzzy birth coat, and this usually starts around the eyes and muzzle, giving the foal a "spectacled" look, then spreads over the body. It is even, symmetrical, and the skin underneath is normal. Beyond that, foals are especially prone to ringworm, which is contagious to other horses and to people, and shows up as round or irregular patches of hair loss with scaly or crusted skin. Rain rot causes crusts and hair loss along the back and rump in wet weather. Lice are common in foals and weanlings in winter and cause itching, a mothy coat, and hair loss along the neck, mane, and topline. Foals with diarrhea lose hair on the hind legs and under the tail from scalding. Orphan foals fed from a bucket often lose hair on the muzzle and face from milk soaking the skin. A foal that was sick with fever or a serious infection as a newborn may drop much of its coat a month or two later as the hair follicles recover, and sick recumbent foals lose hair over pressure points. Weanlings and yearlings kept in groups chew each other's manes and tails. Rare inherited skin diseases exist in some breeds and cause the skin itself to slough, not just the hair, and are usually obvious in the first days of life.
Foals lose hair for reasons that range from completely normal to a sign of serious illness. The most common cause is not a problem at all: between about two and four months of age, foals shed their soft fuzzy birth coat, and this usually starts around the eyes and muzzle, giving the foal a "spectacled" look, then spreads over the body. It is even, symmetrical, and the skin underneath is normal. Beyond that, foals are especially prone to ringworm, which is contagious to other horses and to people, and shows up as round or irregular patches of hair loss with scaly or crusted skin. Rain rot causes crusts and hair loss along the back and rump in wet weather. Lice are common in foals and weanlings in winter and cause itching, a mothy coat, and hair loss along the neck, mane, and topline. Foals with diarrhea lose hair on the hind legs and under the tail from scalding. Orphan foals fed from a bucket often lose hair on the muzzle and face from milk soaking the skin. A foal that was sick with fever or a serious infection as a newborn may drop much of its coat a month or two later as the hair follicles recover, and sick recumbent foals lose hair over pressure points. Weanlings and yearlings kept in groups chew each other's manes and tails. Rare inherited skin diseases exist in some breeds and cause the skin itself to slough, not just the hair, and are usually obvious in the first days of life.
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Code Orange
Call Your Vet at Their First Available Office Hours- If the foal is not as bright as normal or not nursing normally.
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Code Yellow
Contact Your Vet at Your Convenience for an Appointment- If a skin lesion is larger, growing or causing pain or itchiness.
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Code Green
Contact Your Vet to Obtain Useful Advice & Resources- If you are confident that your foal is healthy and thriving other than this sign.
your role
What To Do
Look at the pattern. Even, symmetrical shedding starting at the face in a healthy foal of the right age is normal foal-coat shed. Anything else needs a closer look. Note where the hair is missing, whether the skin underneath is normal or scaly, crusted, thickened, raw, or weeping, and whether the foal is itchy or rubbing. Part the hair along the topline and under the mane and look for lice. Check under the tail and down the hind legs for diarrhea staining and scald. Assess the foal's overall condition: is it bright, nursing well, keeping up with the mare, and gaining weight? Take a rectal temperature. Check whether other foals or horses on the place have similar patches, since ringworm and lice spread. Wash your hands after handling the foal, and keep children away from any suspicious patches until your vet has ruled out ringworm. Photograph the areas and contact your vet with your findings.What Not To Do
Do not assume every bald patch on a foal is normal shedding. Do not put a foal with unexplained scaly or crusted patches in with other foals, or share brushes and blankets, until ringworm has been ruled out. Do not treat with medicated shampoos, sprays, or antiparasitic products before your vet has looked, since treatment can hide the diagnosis and some products are not safe for foals. Do not overlook the rest of the foal: hair loss in a foal that is dull, thin, or has diarrhea is a whole-foal problem, not a skin problem. Do not scrub raw or scalded skin.your vet's role
Your vet will examine the whole foal, not just the skin, because a foal's general health matters more than the hair. They will look at the distribution and character of the hair loss and the skin beneath it. Skin scrapings, hair plucks, and fungal culture are the usual tests for ringworm, lice, and mites, and results from culture can take a couple of weeks. If the foal is unthrifty, has a fever, or has diarrhea, blood work and further workup for the underlying illness come first, and the hair loss is treated as a sign of that problem rather than as the problem itself. If ringworm is confirmed, your vet will talk with you about isolating the foal, treating it topically, disinfecting brushes and tack, and protecting people who handle it. Most causes of hair loss in foals resolve completely once the cause is addressed.
Vet_Questions
How old is the foal?
Where exactly is the hair coming out, and is it symmetrical or in patches?
Does the skin underneath look normal, or is it scaly, crusted, thickened, raw, or weeping?
Is the foal itchy or rubbing?
Is the foal bright, nursing well, and gaining weight? Any diarrhea?
What is the foal's temperature?
Was the foal sick, treated with antibiotics, or hospitalized as a newborn?
Is the foal on the mare or being bucket-fed?
Are other foals, the mare, or other horses on the property showing similar patches or itching?
Have any people who handle the foal developed skin lesions?
Have you applied anything to the areas?
Is the foal in a group with other weanlings or yearlings?
Observations (I Might Also Observe)
CONFIRM #608 Hair Loss, Multiple Areas — 7
CONFIRM #223 Hair Loss, One Location Anywhere on Body or Back — 6
CONFIRM #956 Hair Loss on Head or Face — 7
CONFIRM #640 Hair Coming Off in Clumps or Crusts — 6
CONFIRM #588 Mangy-Looking Widespread Hair Loss & Poor Coat — 5
CONFIRM #411 Multiple Sores, Crusts or Scabs on Skin Anywhere on Body — 6
CONFIRM #584 Tiny Insects, Lice or Mites Visible on Horse — 6
CONFIRM #369 Dull or Poor Haircoat — 5
GAP Diarrhea in Foal — 6 (need id)
GAP Foal Rubbing or Itching — 6 (need id; may fall under a general itching record)
GAP Fever, Elevated Temperature — 4 (need id)
GAP Foal Weak, Dull or Not Nursing — 4 (need id)
GAP Tail Rubbing / Tail or Mane Hair Chewed or Missing — 4 (need id)
Diagnoses
CONFIRM #246 Dermatophytosis, Ringworm — 9
CONFIRM #245 Dermatophilosis, Rain Rot — 7
CONFIRM #679 Louse or Lice Infestation — 8
GAP Normal Foal Coat Shed — 8 (PROSE unless you want a "normal variant" record; I'd argue it earns one — it's the #1 reason owners will land here)
GAP Urine / Diarrhea Scald (Contact Dermatitis) — 6 (need id or CREATE)
GAP Foal Diarrhea, Generally / Foal Heat Diarrhea — 5 (need id)
GAP Hair loss following fever or illness (telogen effluvium) — 5 (CREATE or PROSE — same gap as the shedding record)
GAP Neonatal Septicemia / sick-foal history — 3 (need id)
GAP Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa (Belgian, Saddlebred) — 1 (need id or CREATE)
GAP Congenital Hypotrichosis — 1 (rare; DROP or CREATE)
GAP Mane & Tail Chewing by Herdmates — 3 (PROSE or CREATE)
GAP Mange / Mites — 3 (need id)
Diagnostics
CONFIRM #66 Skin Scraping — 8
GAP History & Physical Exam — 9 (need id)
GAP Fungal Culture / Hair Pluck (DTM) — 7 (need id or CREATE)
GAP Wood's Lamp Exam — 3 (PROSE or CREATE)
GAP CBC & Chemistry Panel — 4 (need id)
Treatments
Depends on Diagnosis
Skills
GAP Assess Newborn Foal (#51 per skill notes — CONFIRM; leads on foal records) — 8
GAP Perform Whole Horse Exam (#146 — CONFIRM) — 8
GAP Take Rectal Temperature — 7 (need id)
GAP Assess Foal Nursing / Udder Check — 5 (need id)
Topics
CONFIRM Topic #112 Equine Skin Conditions Part I — 6
CONFIRM Topic #217 Care & Management of the Growing Foal Part 1 — 5
Vet_Questions
How old is the foal?
Where exactly is the hair coming out, and is it symmetrical or in patches?
Does the skin underneath look normal, or is it scaly, crusted, thickened, raw, or weeping?
Is the foal itchy or rubbing?
Is the foal bright, nursing well, and gaining weight? Any diarrhea?
What is the foal's temperature?
Was the foal sick, treated with antibiotics, or hospitalized as a newborn?
Is the foal on the mare or being bucket-fed?
Are other foals, the mare, or other horses on the property showing similar patches or itching?
Have any people who handle the foal developed skin lesions?
Have you applied anything to the areas?
Is the foal in a group with other weanlings or yearlings?
Observations (I Might Also Observe)
CONFIRM #608 Hair Loss, Multiple Areas — 7
CONFIRM #223 Hair Loss, One Location Anywhere on Body or Back — 6
CONFIRM #956 Hair Loss on Head or Face — 7
CONFIRM #640 Hair Coming Off in Clumps or Crusts — 6
CONFIRM #588 Mangy-Looking Widespread Hair Loss & Poor Coat — 5
CONFIRM #411 Multiple Sores, Crusts or Scabs on Skin Anywhere on Body — 6
CONFIRM #584 Tiny Insects, Lice or Mites Visible on Horse — 6
CONFIRM #369 Dull or Poor Haircoat — 5
GAP Diarrhea in Foal — 6 (need id)
GAP Foal Rubbing or Itching — 6 (need id; may fall under a general itching record)
GAP Fever, Elevated Temperature — 4 (need id)
GAP Foal Weak, Dull or Not Nursing — 4 (need id)
GAP Tail Rubbing / Tail or Mane Hair Chewed or Missing — 4 (need id)
Diagnoses
CONFIRM #246 Dermatophytosis, Ringworm — 9
CONFIRM #245 Dermatophilosis, Rain Rot — 7
CONFIRM #679 Louse or Lice Infestation — 8
GAP Normal Foal Coat Shed — 8 (PROSE unless you want a "normal variant" record; I'd argue it earns one — it's the #1 reason owners will land here)
GAP Urine / Diarrhea Scald (Contact Dermatitis) — 6 (need id or CREATE)
GAP Foal Diarrhea, Generally / Foal Heat Diarrhea — 5 (need id)
GAP Hair loss following fever or illness (telogen effluvium) — 5 (CREATE or PROSE — same gap as the shedding record)
GAP Neonatal Septicemia / sick-foal history — 3 (need id)
GAP Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa (Belgian, Saddlebred) — 1 (need id or CREATE)
GAP Congenital Hypotrichosis — 1 (rare; DROP or CREATE)
GAP Mane & Tail Chewing by Herdmates — 3 (PROSE or CREATE)
GAP Mange / Mites — 3 (need id)
Diagnostics
CONFIRM #66 Skin Scraping — 8
GAP History & Physical Exam — 9 (need id)
GAP Fungal Culture / Hair Pluck (DTM) — 7 (need id or CREATE)
GAP Wood's Lamp Exam — 3 (PROSE or CREATE)
GAP CBC & Chemistry Panel — 4 (need id)
Treatments
Depends on Diagnosis
Skills
GAP Assess Newborn Foal (#51 per skill notes — CONFIRM; leads on foal records) — 8
GAP Perform Whole Horse Exam (#146 — CONFIRM) — 8
GAP Take Rectal Temperature — 7 (need id)
GAP Assess Foal Nursing / Udder Check — 5 (need id)
Topics
CONFIRM Topic #112 Equine Skin Conditions Part I — 6
CONFIRM Topic #217 Care & Management of the Growing Foal Part 1 — 5