I’ve got a horse that has been in full time training. He went to the trainer with a show coat and 30 days later he has now blown his hair coat and looks like he is in the middle of winter. We’ve run a CBC which shows a few low normal ranges, which we then gave him a PowerPac. My question is, what makes a horse blow his show coat in this manner? Tommy and Candice
Dear Tommy and Candice,
A physical examination, bloodwork, and treating for parasites is a good approach, but your horse may have suddenly lost his coat simply due to stress. Although hair grows in cycles that are related to daylight and temperature, the quality and quantity of a coat is also affected by nutritional plane, certain health conditions and even stressful episodes. Since your veterinarian is working on ruling out medical issues–and I’m assuming that the training barn is correctly feeding your horse–he may just be reacting to changing barns and starting a new exercise program.
Lydia F. Gray, DVM, MA SmartPak Staff Veterinarian and Medical Director Dr. Lydia Gray has earned a Bachelor of Science in agriculture, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), and a Master of Arts focusing on interpersonal and organizational communication. After “retiring” from private practice, she put her experience and education to work as the American Association of Equine Practitioner’s first-ever Director of Owner Education. Dr. Gray continues to provide health and nutrition information to horse owners through her position at SmartPak, through publication in more than a dozen general and trade publications, and through presentations around the country. She is the very proud owner of a Trakehner named Newman that she actively competes with in dressage and combined driving. In addition to memberships in the USDF and USEF, Dr. Gray is also a member of the Illinois Dressage and Combined Training Association (IDCTA). She is a USDF “L” Program Graduate and is currently working on her Bronze Medal. Find Dr. Gray on Google+
The same thing happened to my young horse last year, and he HATES being hot. He started bucking and we could tell that he wasn’t happy. In addition to the vet, he saw the dentist and a chiropractor–neither could find anything wrong. He was fine after we had the idea to body-clipped him.
I believe mother nature, training, stress, medical or other issues can all play a part. If the vet rules out medical, I would not worry
He could have adrenal exhaustion syndrome, which I understand is a fairly common but under diagnosed issue with a younger horse who is in work or under stress. Bloodwork taken over a 24 hour period to measure levels before and after exercise would confirm an issue like this. It is treated with either time off or with steroids. We have a young horse who had this problem.