Soo, I thought last year when my gelding "rubbed" out his tail over the summer it was just some weird occurance. I had never had a problem before. It cleared up only after he was pretty bald and I washed his tail out everyday. Over the winter his it all grew back. Now its begining to get hot again and I noticed a small bald spot starting out right at the base of his tail. I guess he is just alergic to the flies and "no see-ums" all of a sudden. Basically I am posting this to see if anyone has any suggestions to try to nip this in the bud before I end up with an uncomfortable horse with a ratty tail He also has some thinning of his main, too. Right now I'm using Eqyss Metro-tek shampoo.. and he is fly sprayed everyday. Is there anything else I could do now to prevent anymore hair loss? Topicals? Would a fly sheet help? Help! I'll add that he is pasture boarded now, but I will be moving him up to full board next week so he will be inside 1/2 the day. Maybe that will help?

Wrap his tail.

I know this sounds funny, but Listerine mouth wash. Each time you ride pour it at the top of the tail and rub it in really well. If your horse is out with others get the regular otherwise any flavor will do - mainly because some horses like the flavor of the mint and will then chew on your horses tail! This worked wonders for my horse.
Good luck.

MTG, I use it even tho it stinks like heck. It has sulfur in the compounding, and that both kills the mites and the fungus that lead to hair loss.Yeah, get some, shake it up good, and rub it in... beware it stinks! Orrrrr... try the listerine, it works for a lot of folks with hair loss problems.( besides it doesn't stink!)
Steve

Oh yeah.. disinfect your brushes too. The mites and fungus can be reinfecting the tail if you don't.
JMHO..Steve

Chiv and Steve, I've heard of using Listerine for rain rot and it seemed to work well. Also, I tried using the MTG last year and it was just too gross, lol. I think it made it worse.. but it could have been just because I was turned off by it. I've heard a lot of people swear by it. I tried some Apple Cidar Vinegar as a bath rinse today and tried adding a little bit to his grain with garlic. I dont think he liked my cooking much I think I may have added too much. Anyways, I'll keep trying. I will wash my brushes though! Thanks guys

One of my trail riding buddies has an Icelandic horse, who's quite prone to sweet itch. She's done quite a bit of research on the topic, and says that Fly Gone 7000 is the most effective spray for keeping the gnats that her horse is reacting to off. Jeffers carries it http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&mscssid=PTHVK53CU9F98MJ4ASBWN7FQPU1A4L6D and so do several other retailers.

She also uses the Eqyss, too, and sometimes SWAT on any areas that are actively bothering him.

Antihistamines can help also, but that's something you'd want to discuss with your vet.

I use 1 part listerine and 1 part baby oil and rub it in with my fingers. Works wonders.

I'm thinking about putting an order in to Jeffers so maybe I'll try that spray. I was looking at a fly sheet they have on sale, it only comes in dark colors though and I wondered if it would make him too hot attracting the sun. I'm going to my local bargain barn this week to see what I can find there. Thanks!

Sweet Itch is nothing to let get out of control. According to things I've read, in the UK Sweet Itch will get a horse quarantined.

I had to have the vet out two summers ago for one horse. I can't remember the link that shows what a bad case of sweet itch looks like and I'm at work so don't have access to my Favorite folder.

Here's a link that describes it. Sweet Itch

While it's true that Sweet Itch is on-going and is an allergy, it isn't necessarily true that it won't go away. I have two horses that get sweet itch.

1. The Arab is on-going and I keep SWAT on his tummy line and spray him lightly with Repel-X mixed at 1:4 ratio.

2. The one Walker was so bad and out of control I had to call the vet and I put him on steroids until he healed and used Prep H Gel on his open soars because Listerine contains alcohol and would have burned those open, seeping sores.
2.1 Co-incidentally, I had him acupunctured for a low-grade kidney infection. Not only did the Sweet Itch go away, but the hive type allergy bumps he sometimes gets in the summer disappeared within 24 hours.

Evidently his low-grade kidney infection was enough to giggle his immune system enough out of whack that he got these other allergies. That was two summers ago and knock on wood, he's been fine ever since

There is a better product - it is called Tail Therapy. It stopped my horse from rubbing his tail immediately. I used their other product Braid Therapy on his body and mane last year when he started itching - it worked great - they sent me a sample of the Tail Therapy when I reordered Braid Therapy and I was hooked.

It is new and I didn't see it on their website (www.jozinc.com) but I'm sure if you email them they can help. They also make a great brush cleaner that cleans, and washes away bacteria and fungus - you can buy that from them, most tack stores, Dover or Smartpak.

Great link Walkin,

So far it hasnt gotten too bad yet. Last year, long story short, he was pasture boarded and supposed to be grained twice a day at that time he was also fly sprayed. The lady running the barn decided that she wasnt going to grain the pasture horses anymore, which meant no fly spray. I was only able to get there once or twice a week, but he had been there for over a year at that point and his care was good, so I didnt worry. So I wont ramble, her place went down hill, I moved him only after he had lost a bunch of weight, his tail fell out and his belly was raw. I felt like a terrible mom. So where he's been now I was able to get there everyday and got on top of the flys, bathing, etc the rest of last summer and his hair grew back. I thought it was just because of the neglect last year, but I guess he is just starting with the allergies. I hope it doesnt get so bad that he will need medication. I'll add too that this is his 3rd year in the south, we are originally from NY. I know this year was the 1st the pollen really got to me!
I'm glad to hear that your guys are doing better, especially after the acupucture. I like hearing about the success of alternative medicines.
I am moving him AGAIN next week because the barn I am at now is closing, developers bought the land. At the new place he will be in a stall part of the day, so hopefully it will help. I just want to make him as comfortable as possible. Thanks for your reply!

jumper,
Everyone has had so many good suggestions. I'll have to check that stuff out, Thanks