Icelandic horse Mæsa was itching and losing her coat

Mare Mæsa has suffered from excessive shedding of her coat every autumn. Mæsa’s coat has fallen off entirely, and she has scratched herself until she bled when she changes to her winter coat.  Her skin has felt hot and sensitive to the touch, and her coat has shed excessively. Mæsa’s owner Anette volunteered Mæsa to be part of a Nutrolin® HORSE test group when our product line for horses was launched in Sweden. Nutrolin® HORSE Skin & Coat was the natural choice for Mæsa.

Veterinarians could not solve Mæsa’s problems

Mæsa is officially known as Mæsa frá Stóradal, and she was born in Iceland. The mare arrived in the spring, and she has had problems with her skin every autumn since her first year in Sweden. Every time she shed her summer coat to grow a winter coat, she started to itch.  She shed so much hair that she had to wear a turnout blanket until she grew a winter coat.

Naturally, Mæsa’s owner Anette had consulted veterinarians about her problem. Veterinarians had told her that many horses had similar issues to Mæsa with sensitive skin and excessive shedding. Blood tests and skin scrape tests had not shed any light on what the cause might be.

Mæsa got help for her skin and coat problems

Mæsa started to take Nutrolin® Horse Skin & Coat in the spring, and she had no problems whatsoever in the autumn when she shed her coat.  The photo below on the left shows how her skin and coat looked every autumn before she started to take Skin & Coat. The photo on the right was taken at the turn of October in the year when Mæsa had been on Nutrolin® Horse Skin & Coat for about six months. In previous years at this time of year, Mæsa’s skin and coat had been in the worst condition. That year, her shedding had been normal, and her skin not sensitive or itching.

Nutritional supplement against skin issues in horses

Very dry skin is often the underlying cause of skin issues in horses. When the skin is dry, it often develops dandruff, and the quality of the coat deteriorates.  Dry skin is also susceptible to allergies and bacterial infections that cause hypersensitive reactions. Nutrolin® HORSE Skin & Coat is a nutritional vegetable oil compound that contains an ample amount of essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids, in particular, omega 6 linoleic acid, supports the development of the skin’s natural protective mechanisms, in other words, the barrier function of the skin. A functioning skin barrier maintains the moisture balance of the skin and alleviates skin problems due to dryness of the skin.

Nutrolin® HORSE Skin & Coat contains plenty of omega-6 linoleic acid. The nutritional oil supplement also contains other fatty acids to support the effects of linoleic acid, that is, alpha-linoleic acid, gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA). In addition, Nutrolin Horse Skin & Coat contains natural vitamin E.