Hair doesn't fall out for no reason. The pattern of where your horse is losing it — mane, tail, patches, fading — points straight at the cause. Often, it's a mineral story your bloodwork can't see.
Equine alopecia is the partial or complete loss of hair from the mane, tail, body, or face. It can be local (a single patch) or generalized (thinning across the body), gradual or rapid. The visible pattern is a clue — patterns are the body's vocabulary.
Some hair loss is normal — seasonal shedding moves a horse from winter coat to summer coat every spring. Pathologic hair loss is different. It shows up in patches, breaks at uniform lengths, doesn't grow back, or pairs with other signs (dull coat, brittle hooves, behavior changes, weight loss).
The first two categories usually have a vet's diagnostic path — culture, scrape, allergy panel. The last two — endocrine and nutritional — are where horse owners get stuck. They're systemic, not local. Bloodwork helps for some endocrine issues. For mineral and toxic causes, hair tells the story bloodwork can miss.
Horse owners and vets often look in the wrong place first. Once you've ruled out infection and parasites, the next conversation should be about minerals — because the mineral causes of hair loss are some of the most common, the most overlooked, and the most fixable.
The textbook story. Long hairs of the mane and tail break off at the same level — the classic "bobbed tail / roached mane." Hooves develop horizontal cracks. Source is usually high-selenium soil, accumulator plants, or oversupplementation.
Zinc builds keratin — the structural protein in hair, hoof, and skin. Deficient horses show patchy alopecia, dry crusty skin, dull or sun-bleached coats, brittle hooves, and slow regrowth. Often paired with copper imbalance.
Copper drives melanin production. Deficient horses show coat color fading — bays go reddish, blacks turn rusty, depigmentation around eyes and muzzle. Brittle hair and slow growth typically follow.
Lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium compete with essential minerals for absorption. Chronic low-level exposure shows up as poor coat quality, slow regrowth, and unexplained skin issues — long before bloodwork would flag anything.
Many horses are oversupplied on iron from feed, water, and soil. High iron blocks absorption of copper and zinc — meaning even a "complete" supplement can leave the horse functionally deficient in the minerals coat health depends on.
The structural building blocks of keratin. Gaps here show as brittle, slow-growing hair and hoof — and typically respond to targeted supplementation within 60-90 days once the gap is identified.
Before you go down the mineral rabbit hole, your vet should rule out the obvious infectious and parasitic causes:
If those are negative — or if your horse has been treated and the hair is still not coming back — the mineral conversation is where the answer often lives.
$49.99 kit ships in two business days. Lab-grade analysis. Plain-English report.
The hair you're worried about losing is, ironically, the perfect diagnostic substrate. It's a 90-day record of what your horse has been absorbing — and what's been blocking absorption.
| Tier | What It Measures | Why It Matters For Hair Loss |
|---|---|---|
| Essential Minerals | Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Copper, Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Selenium, Cobalt, Chromium, Boron, Molybdenum | Zinc, copper, sulfur, and selenium are the direct inputs to keratin and melanin. Gaps here show up as the hair loss you can see. |
| Mineral Ratios | Zinc/Copper, Iron/Copper, Calcium/Phosphorus, Sodium/Potassium, Calcium/Magnesium, Sodium/Magnesium, Calcium/Potassium | The Zn/Cu and Fe/Cu ratios are the hair-loss ratios. They reveal whether absorption is being blocked even when individual levels look okay. |
| Toxic Heavy Metals | Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Aluminum, Antimony, Beryllium, Uranium | The hidden burdens. Selenium toxicity is the textbook hair-loss case, but lead, mercury, and arsenic exposure can show in coat quality long before any other system flags. |
Long hairs breaking off at uniform length on mane and tail is the visual signature of chronic selenium toxicosis. A hair test confirms it within days — and identifies the source so you can remove it.
Coat color fading or sun-bleaching, especially on dark horses, often points to copper deficiency or iron blocking copper absorption. The Iron/Copper ratio in the report tells you which.
Zinc deficiency hits skin, coat, and hoof at the same time because all three depend on keratin synthesis. Hair test confirms zinc levels and the Zn/Cu ratio in one shot.
Four steps. About a week of total elapsed time. No needles, no vet visit required.
Order the $49.99 hair & mineral analysis kit from Mane Metrics. Resealable collection bag, pre-labeled return envelope, plain instructions.
2 business days to arriveSnip about 1.5 inches of mane hair close to the crest — from a healthy section, not the patch you're worried about. Drop in any mailbox.
~5 minutesPartner lab runs ICP-MS analysis across 42+ elements — essentials, ratios, and the heavy-metal panel.
5–7 days at the labEmail-delivered report with color-coded findings, plus a follow-up phone consultation to walk through results and supplementation suggestions.
Email + voice debriefSample from a healthy section of mane, not from the affected area. The hair you sample reflects what your horse has been absorbing systemically over the past ~90 days — not the localized condition of any one patch. Take from intact mane near the crest. If only the tail is affected, mane sampling still gives you the full mineral picture.
Roughly 9 to 12 calendar days from the moment you click order to the moment you have answers.
| When | What's happening | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | You order the kit on manemetrics.io | At checkout, list "hair loss" as your main concern so the lab interprets accordingly. |
| Day 1–2 | Kit ships to your address | Watch your mailbox. Kit arrives in ~2 business days. |
| Day 2–3 | You collect the sample | ~1.5 inches of mane hair, near the crest, from an intact section. Seal the bag, drop in any mailbox. |
| Day 4–5 | Sample arrives at the lab | Nothing — you're done with the work. |
| Day 9–12 | Analysis complete (5–7 days after lab receipt) | Watch your inbox. Email report lands first. |
| Shortly after | Voice debrief with hair-loss-focused recommendations | Bring questions about your horse's diet, environment, water source, and any current supplements. |
The test gives you answers in days. Recovering the coat takes longer. Mineral-driven hair loss typically begins responding within 60–90 days of correcting the imbalance — but full recovery as new growth replaces damaged hair takes 6 to 12 months. Selenium toxicity recovery can take 12–18 months, since the source has to be removed before the body can clear what's stored.
Order the kit now. We'll handle the rest. Questions? Call (972) 284-1878.
The mineral connection to hair loss — across species, including horses — is one of the better-established links in the veterinary and dermatology literature. Here are the studies and references worth knowing.
The questions horse owners ask most often before they order a test.
Equine hair loss has many possible causes including parasites, fungal infections (ringworm, rain rot), allergies (sweet itch), Cushing's disease (PPID), stress, and — frequently overlooked — mineral imbalances and heavy-metal exposure. Selenium toxicity, zinc deficiency, and copper deficiency are well-documented mineral causes of equine alopecia. Identifying the underlying cause requires either elimination diagnostics with a vet or a hair mineral analysis to rule mineral status in or out.
Selenium toxicosis (also called Alkali Disease) produces a classic, recognizable pattern: the long hairs of the tail and mane break off at the same level, creating what veterinarians call a "bobbed" tail and "roached" mane appearance. Hoof deformities and rough coat often accompany the hair loss. The pattern is so distinctive it's considered nearly diagnostic on visual exam.
Yes. Zinc is critical to keratin synthesis — the structural protein that builds hair, hoof, and skin. Zinc-deficient horses commonly show dry skin, dull or sun-bleached coats, brittle hooves, slow hair regrowth, and patchy alopecia. The zinc-to-copper ratio matters as much as zinc levels alone — typically 3-4:1 zinc to copper is considered ideal.
Yes. Copper is a cofactor in the enzyme tyrosinase, which is required to produce melanin — the pigment that gives a horse its coat color. Copper-deficient horses often show faded coat color, a reddish or sun-bleached appearance (particularly noticeable on bays and blacks), and may lose pigmentation around the eyes and muzzle. Hair brittleness and slow growth often accompany the color changes.
Take the sample from a healthy, unaffected area of the mane — close to the crest. The hair you sample reflects what the horse has been incorporating systemically over the past ~90 days, regardless of where you sample from. Avoid the actively shedding or balding patches; you want intact hair shafts that have grown out enough to read.
Recovery timeline depends on the cause. Mineral-driven hair loss typically begins to improve within 60-90 days of correcting the underlying imbalance, with full coat recovery taking 6-12 months as the new growth replaces damaged hair. Selenium toxicity recovery can take longer — sometimes 12-18 months — because the source of exposure must first be removed.
A hair mineral analysis does not diagnose disease. It is a wellness and nutrition assessment tool. It can reveal mineral imbalances and heavy-metal exposures that may be contributing to hair loss, providing actionable information for your veterinarian and nutritionist. For diagnosis of skin conditions, parasites, fungal infections, or endocrine disorders like PPID, partner with your vet directly.
Approximately 9-12 calendar days from order to results: 2 days for kit shipping, 5 minutes to collect, 5-7 days at the lab. You receive an emailed report plus a follow-up phone consultation to discuss findings and supplementation suggestions.
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