Supplement for dry skin, suggestions?

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Cayuse

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One of my minis has a pretty good case of dandruff on his shoulders. I discovered it working him today giving him some extra good scratches for his good behavior. I looked down and he looked like he had been standing in a snow flurry. He's black, so it was pretty obvious. I parted his fur (and it is super thick) and found the skin to be nasty with flakes. He gets groomed almost every day but his winter coat hid alot.

It does not look like rain rot at all but I washed the areas with medicated shampoo. Does anyone have suggestions about a good supplement that might help with the dryness?

He is on Remission and Vit E. He gets timothy pellets and good quality second cut hay. I can't feed ration balancers because they makes him "fizzy" both in disposition and in his belly (gas).

Last year he had the itchys when his winter coat came in but is was in early Oct. so I'm not sure if this might be related.

I'll be worming him with ivermectin too, I sometimes have good luck with that clearing up the odd skin issue that pops up, depending on what it is.

Thanks from me and Wee-nut.
 
Sometimes adding freshly ground up flax seed as a top dressing helps. It is full of omega 3 and awesome fats that make their coat shine. The key is to have a coffee grinder and grind the seeds daily because it will go rancid quickly once it is ground up. It does no good to feed the whole seeds, they will just poop them out. About 1/4 to 1/2 cup a day, depending on the size of your mini.
 
There are several varieties of stabilized ground flax for equines that are also suitable and can be more convenient than daily grinding. Omega Horseshine, Simply Flax, Omega Max Flax (triple crown), Su-Per Omega (it's a Gateway product, can't remember the name for certain). Omega Horseshine is the most common product used.

If by chance flax doesn't agree with him, then Chia Seeds are also a good Omega 3 source and will also help with the same issues that flax does.
 
I might try the chia seeds. How much would he get?

I did try the MannaPro flax last year and did not have much luck with it. They did not like it really and I'd find alot of it in the bottom of the bucket. Grinding it myself may be an option to consider. Maybe it tastes better when fresh.

Since I posted I got to thinking about rice bran pellets. Has anyone tried that? Or black oil sunflower seeds?

He dried well after his bath and his skin looks good now.

I'll look into where I can get flax or chia seeds around here. Agway might know I would guess. I'm a frequent flier there, the manager has minis, too!
 
Mine seem to like flax well enough to eat it all up. The couple I have that aren't fond of ground flax get Omega Nibblers, they are a cookie from the same company that does the Omega Horseshine; they come in regular and low carb. [The Manna Pro FlaxSnax are fairly well received too, but dang they are hard.]

I'll have to look up how much Chia seed a mini would get, don't know that one off the top of my head.
 
I couldn't find the information from my usual source, but one I found said 1/8 cup Chia seed for a mini, seems high when the same source says 1/4 cup for full-size horse. [i think it's 4 tablespoons per 1/4 cup, so maybe 1 tablespoon for a mini, 2 for a bigger minis.]

Chia seed is more expensive than flax, but it doesn't have to be ground, so may be a good choice.
 
I feed both flax and chia. Mine will only eat Omega Horseshine. 2-4 tablespoons per day. I feed 1oz by weight of chia seeds. Works very well for mine. I've been getting chia from Equine Chia.

Mine will also start to get skin issues if I feed them anything that contains grain...which means most commercial feeds, ration balancers and supplements are out. It looks like there's rice bran and trace amounts of corn in Remission, so that might be part of the problem. It might be worth replacing that. I use Platinum Metabolic Support (magnesium/chromium...nothing else), and it works well for my horses. You could see if he'll eat Horse Tech High Point Grass....the powder NOT the pellets, since that'd replace the other ingredients in Remission. Or find them individually elsewhere....which is what I do, since mine won't touch High Point.
 
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS). Easy to find. Feed them whole shell and all.
Can I use the same ones that are sold as birdseed? My feed store sells wonderful birdseed and they have BOSS in smallish bags, 5 pounds and up.

How much would I feed? A tablespoon or so?

Sayyadina, I will look into the Platinum Metabolic Support supp, too. It could be the Remission but he has been on it for awhile. I use one of their products on another mini and they are very good to deal with. I try to keep mine off of grain products as much as I can. I have one with an Oat allergy and other sensitivities. He is not the one on Remission.

Thanks to everyone who responded, it is good to have several options to choose from.
 
Usually BOSS is plain, but check and make sure the ingredient list only lists BOSS; some marketed for birds has BirdKote, a vit/min supplement for birds (I think it might also be a sprout inhibitor).
 
Thanks Chandab, SOMETHING was in the back of my mind about the birdseed and I bet the Birdkote was it. There are no labels on the bag, I'll steer clear of it just in case.
 
Thanks Chandab, SOMETHING was in the back of my mind about the birdseed and I bet the Birdkote was it. There are no labels on the bag, I'll steer clear of it just in case.
Usually the bag will say Ingredients: black oil sunflower seeds (and if it has birdkote it should be listed).
 

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