Filly isn’t shedding?

[HannahC]

My filly isn’t shedding… I own three horses and they are already shedding.
She has a super long coat and isn’t shedding any of it! I bought her a project earlier this year and she lost some weight during the winter. She hasn’t put much on in the past couple of months.
my first thought was worms, I dewormed her heavily (she had a small colic hiccup wayyy before this.) so I worked all this down to worms.
but now I’m concerned that.

1. She hasn’t put on weight.
2. she isn’t shedding her very scraggly coat.

people want to have their say?
Im open to any criticism! lol

[GraceLikeRain]

How did you approach deworming? Have you done a fecal?

[HannahC]

@GraceLikeRain no, haven’t done a fecal… I used ivermectin, I’ve use it on all my horses, I heard it works wonders on horses that struggle with tapeworms.

[GraceLikeRain]

I’d pop over to this thread and especially focus on the posts by JB. Ivermectin is a good dewormer but it doesn’t kill everything so you may still have a horse filled to the brim with worms.

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/horse-care/9683667-best-deworming-schedule-what-do-you-do

No weight gain over several months would make me pretty nervous. I’d have the vet do a fecal and a basic blood panel. It isn’t cheap but you could have something larger going on.

[HannahC]

@GraceLikeRain alright, thank you!

[Montanas_Girl]

How old is she? And what is she currently eating (hay and grain, in pounds)?

[S1969]

It’s important to figure out the deworming situation, but all horses don’t shed at the same time. I have 5 and they are all in different stages of shedding - from dropping a lot of loose hairs to almost no change from the winter.

Where do you live? I’m in NY so it’s not super warm and while days are getting longer it’s still early.

I think if you do a COTH search you will see this thread every March. It’s usually “My horse normally sheds by now but isn’t this year” which makes me think that they really never shed fully yet but it’s easy to forget unless you keep very detailed records.

[JB]

@HannahC

@GraceLikeRain no, haven’t done a fecal… I used ivermectin, I’ve use it on all my horses, I heard it works wonders on horses that struggle with tapeworms.

Ivermectin has never killed tapeworms. You need either a double dose of pyrantel pamoate (ie Strongid), or use praziquantel, which only comes combined with ivermectin (Equimax in the US), and moxidectin (Quest Plus in the US).

Where are you located?
How old is the filly?

What have you dewormed her with in the last 6 months, and when?

[Simkie]

@HannahC

@GraceLikeRain no, haven’t done a fecal… I used ivermectin, I’ve use it on all my horses, I heard it works wonders on horses that struggle with tapeworms.

Ivermectin has no activity on tapes. At all. None.

To kill tape worms, you need praziquantel (Equimax, don’t use Zimecterin Gold) or a double dose of Strongid.

If you could detail how you’ve dewormed this horse, that’ll help to paint the picture of what you might need to use to get her going

[NancyM]

I have one who does not shed out until June. He’s homebred, this has been going on all his life. He’s a liver chestnut, which, when the winter hair is dead in late spring, looks “horrid”. I was concerned about him, you know, cushings etc… in a young horse LOL?. Everyone else all shed out and shiny, and him still looking like something the cat dragged in, covered in long dull shaggy dead winter. Then, he sheds out- to the most brilliant rich shiny short beautiful summer coat, in June. Go figure. That’s just HIM.

If you are unsure about the effectiveness of your worming program over the winter with a young horse who isn’t thriving like you would expect and hope she would, you may need to get your vet involved, your worming updated, and other issues checked out… powder for lice, teeth checked, bloodwork if necessary. Good luck!

[merrygoround]

I would treat all three horse with Quest Plus, as it gets the encysted ones as well.

How are your horses fed,in individual stall, or in separate containers in an open paddock.?

[Simkie]

@NancyM

I have one who does not shed out until June. He’s homebred, this has been going on all his life. He’s a liver chestnut, which, when the winter hair is dead in late spring, looks “horrid”. I was concerned about him, you know, cushings etc… in a young horse LOL?. Everyone else all shed out and shiny, and him still looking like something the cat dragged in, covered in long dull shaggy dead winter. Then, he sheds out- to the most brilliant rich shiny short beautiful summer coat, in June. Go figure. That’s just HIM.

FWIW, I have one that started this when we moved to the midwest. Really held on to her coat, and it looked awful–burned and dry and with hooked ends.

Her need for copper and zinc is higher than my other horses. I started them all on it, but she’s my canary when something is amiss. Once she was solidly supplemented, she shed as normal and as long as I address her nutritional needs, she is fine and sheds with the rest of the herd in the spring. But she’s always the one that goes “off” first when something isn’t right.

My horses are all about the same size and all get about the same amount of feed, so there’s nothing obvious to explain why her needs are higher. But horses aren’t all the same so… <shrug>?

Anyway, it might be worth trying some copper and zinc with your stubborn shedder.

[JB]

@Simkie

Ivermectin has no activity on tapes. At all. None.

To kill tape worms, you need praziquantel (Equimax, don’t use Zimecterin Gold, or Quest Plus) or a double dose of Strongid.

If you could detail how you’ve dewormed this horse, that’ll help to paint the picture of what you might need to use to get her going

[candyappy]

Just because your other horses are shedding now it doesn’t mean the filly will. My daughters mare has consistently shed out later than my mare for the past 9 years. She is good weight with a healthy, shiny coat.

Last year I started feeding a RB to both and lo and behold this Spring she is shedding along with my other 2.

If your mare is not holding good weight and hasn’t gained any since you got her a vet check and advice from the one who has seen her in person may be in order.