Is it normal to have to clip NOW?

[Kellie in OR]

Sorry if this is a silly question. I am a long time horse owner, but a first time miniature owner.

We are having a heat wave right now in the PNW, it was over 100 today. All my horses (big & small) have lost their summer hair and winter hair is coming in. BUT, on everyone the hair is still short, except for Billy. He was getting dang near wooly and sweating just standing still. So I body clipped him today (and a bath) and he feels better. My other miniature shed out earlier this spring and is not near as long hair as Bill right now. Bill didn't shed 'til late, and that was after I clipped him in late June. Both were equally fuzzy this winter. Should I be concerned about Bill and have blood work done when I have his teeth done? He does not have a cushings horse look to him, hair is healthy....there is just SOOOO Much of it.

Thanks!

 

[Matt73]

Have you got a pic? My new colt came freshly clipped 3 months ago and now has a coat that my home horses get in winter! Mind you, it's a thoroughbred's winter coat (but that's all mine get). He came from further up north and is young, so that's what I'm attributing it to. My guys are in at night and very very spoiled

If there is a hint of thunder they're in their stalls. So I'm sure that helps. Anyhoo, I'm not clipping my furry boy. Glad he's not black LOL. He'll be ready for winter. I wish his "wife" had his coat; I'm ordering a blanket for her %#! this winter, her being in "the way" and all LOL.

 

[jleonard]

Our vet often prescribes Thyro-L for horses like this, also if he is a bit over weight. Though he may not have cushings, he may have some type of metabolic disorder that it will help with. I have had a lot of trouble with mine not shedding well this summer, asked my vet about it, and started the one on the Thyro-L to see if it helps some. It might be something to mention to your vet the next time he's out and see what he has to say.

 

[Kellie in OR]

Billy is an easy keeper and I am struggling to get weight off him. I'd hopped to have in the cart by now for daily exercise, but between getting a horrable virus last month and now the heat....well it is delayed. Bill is an unregistered gelding that is about 7 years old and 31 inches. I will talk to the vet when we have his teeth done in two weeks.

This is him in June the first time I clipped him. He is still a chunk!

Thanks!

 

[MountainViewMiniatures]

He is such a cutie!!

 

[Equuisize]

Kelly, where did your boy come from, the same type climate you are in now?

I've found that usually this time of the year the kids start shedding big time,

in preparation for their winter coats.

That said, I've a mare in for breeding and she looks like she is getting her winter

coat and our new mare (in avatar) that came from a cold winter locale is looking

fallish already, too.

The other six kids that are used to our NW winters are still slick.

 

[CrescentMinis]

Kellie,

I think it's the strange spring and summer weather we've had here this year.

I had to re-clip 3 of ours late in July because in spite of a late spring clip, they had regrown thick coats. Their hair wasn't more than an inch long (looks like Billy's legs in your pic), but it was woolly and they were hot.

Our new pair came from Montana and the mare had already shed out beautifully slick and shiny.

 

[Minxiesmom]

Kelly,

I am down in Medford, so experiencing the same weather that you are, except here it was 108!!!!!!!!!!! My boy is growing in thick hair already also. He was last clipped the first week of July and I am going to clip in one more week for a show. His coat looks like he is ready for October. He is in good condition, not fat. I think some of them genetically grow more of a coat. He also will lay down with his belly stretched out in the full sun to sun bath a little, so apparently the heat is not bothering him.

Diane in OR

 

[wildoak]

I'm in Texas - no serious winters - and my horses are also putting on hair like crazy lately. Maybe they know something we don't.

It's really pretty normal this time of year for them to start growing winter hair, silly as it seems in 100 degree weather. I clipped a yearling filly yesterday, and will do another today, as they have months of warm weather to go before we see winter.

It's worth mentioning to your vet because he is on the heavy side, but I'm betting it's a normal thing for him - and some do grow a heavier coat than others. I have a few who grow a thinner winter coat like my big mares but most look like yaks in the winter.

Jan

 

[maestoso]

Hair growth has nothing to do with heat. It has to do with the amount of daylight, and since the days are now getting shorter, it triggers hair growth as they prepare for the colder months. The fact that your one horse has thicker hair then the other is just because all horses have different types of hair, just like people. Some have thicker, some have thinner, some grow fast and some grow slower.

 

[Riverdance]

I saw this thread and though I would respond. I was noticing how much coat some of my horse are grownig. I clipped down 3 foals that I plan to bring down to the AMHA world show.(want them to hae good coat color by the Worlds, so clipped them now and agin then.) I was surprised how much coat they had on as they had been clipped about 2 months ago for the first time. It was such a cold spring, that I had to wait longer than usual.

Then I went to clip my driving horse for a show next weekend. I could not believe the amount of coat he had on. I had shown him in May, so was quite surprised by the length of his coat. I sure hope that this is not an indication of the type of winter we are going to have.

 

[Ashley]

By the look of his pic I would for sure look into his thyroid. He has very thick neck and other spots that remind me of my thyroid gelding here.

That said, I am in MN today it has to be pushing 90 and been warm for a long time. All my horses still have there sleeked out some look.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I'm not saying he couldn't potentially have a thyroid issue (he does appear to be the body type that is prone to that) but I live in the Pacific NW too and Kody was well on his way to a winter coat when I clipped him with a fifteen this week for a show. It'd only been five weeks since his last clip (also with a fifteen) and I swear he had at least 1/2" of fluffy hair going!

I should have used a thirty this time as four days later he's already growing out again.

Leia