Vitiligo

Aug 9

8/9/21

“Does nutrition affect Vitiligo?”

What is Vitiligo?

I have been called for a handful of cases with horses presenting depigmentation in the areas shown below. This sometimes comes on suddenly, or is progressive over a period of time.

It seems to be most common in, although it can affect any breed. Usually nutrition gets the blame, but is that the culprit or not?

The condition is vitiligo and it is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks the melanin cells of the skin. The condition can come on suddenly for unknown reasons, although stress may be a trigger. Arabians are most commonly affected, indicating a possible genetic component (however the cause is currently unknown).

Some horses show repigmentation, to varying degrees, with supplementation of chelated copper. *This does not mean that copper supplementation on top of a balanced diet will keep this from occurring.* While the cause isn't well understood, a balanced diet is recommended for any horse to ensure optimal health and as a possible preventative measure. However, horses on balanced diets will still present with this condition.

Some horses develop other skin conditions that look similar. Always good practice to have this evaluated by your veterinarian.

Here are a few articles on vitiligo that I suggest for you to check out:

A published review article on the condition in dogs, cats and horses : https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/.../s12917-019-2003-9

An article from KER (shorter read, relevant info from the above article)

https://ker.com/.../answer/vitiligo-and-nutrition-in-horses/