Stalling under lights to prevent a winter coat?

[4horses]

Here in Florida, i have one mare that grows an excessive winter coat. She has a 3 ft long mane. So I’m certain this isn’t cushings, just her breeding for long hair. I typically have to clip her 3 times throughout the winter. She has a normal summer coat and has always been this way.

Someone mentioned they stall under lights to prevent winter coats in show horses. Thoughts? And how long would i need to stall? Sunset to 9pm?

I have florescent lights in the barn, but if she puts her head over the stall wall, will that matter?

It may just be easier to clip her, as that would save on stall cleaning. She is already shedding and i am starting to feel the fuzz start.

[Palm_Beach]

It will be easier just to clip her.

[JB]

You’d need 16 hours or so of light, and you’d have to have her in and lights on by dusk, not sunset.

Definitely easier to clip

But don’t assume that the genetics for a long mane also means an “excessive winter coat”. Lots of Arabians and ASBs grow crazy manes and tails, but are not woolly mammoths. If she’s over 10 I might really consider testing for Cushing’s, unless you know she’s been this way her whole life.

[Janet]

My personal experience-

Music has been “under lights” from Sept 1 to April 15 for many years (for other reasons). She grows a thick coat each winter, but it doesn’t have an undercoat. If I was trying to keep her coat short, I would have to blanket her AS WELL AS keeping her under lights. Both day length AND temperature are triggers for growing a thicker coat. And she sheds that coat later than the horses who are not under lights

Yes, 16 hours is the objective, and has to extend to half an hour before sunset or after sunrise. Since I am not home before sunset in mid winter, I work with “after sunrise”. I have my light on a timer so it comes on in the middle of the night (16.5 hrs before sunset) and turns off at 8:30 AM (even in midwinter, dawn is before 8 AM).

I am not sure why you think “long mane” means “not Cushings” At age 33, Music has been diagnosed with Cushings, and is now on pergolide. She did not shed out properly this summer, but she still has a long mane.

[sascha]

My experience is that light is less important than warmth. I live in the GWN and blanket early and often. My mare who loathes clippers has been spared being clipped the last half dozen years. Barnmates that have done similarly have achieved the same results.

You have to be diligent though - do not allow even one little hair to fluff up from a chilly night. Zero chilly nights (and days for that matter) is the key to a very, very short (omg, what a great clip job, um she’s not clipped!) winter coat. People in my barn used to laugh at me blanketing in September. I laughed at them having to cool out all winter or pay me to clip their horses and laughed even harder during shedding season

[4horses]

I’ve had her since she was a 2 year old and she always grows a very fluffy coat every year. My old mare has cushings so I’m familiar with the symptoms.

[findeight]

Are you sure thafs retarded growth from keeping horse extremely warm and not the hair being slicked down by the blanket? If it really stops the growth there wouldn’t be any fluff to stick up.

Anyway, IME, lights work. Some breeding farms use them to stimulate early return to estrus for January and Feb foals. Early birthdate is beneficial growth wise in Futurity breeds, racing too but don’t know how many use it there.

It has to be specific hours and a specific candlepower ( measure of the light created). Don’t think it works with fluorescent lights and you will see it in your electric bill if you get that light level that many hours for that many months. Whichi is why it doesn’t seem as popular as it used to be, too expensive for more then a couple of stalls.

[ryansgirl]

@4horses

I’ve had her since she was a 2 year old and she always grows a very fluffy coat every year. My old mare has cushings so I’m familiar with the symptoms.

My mare had NO Cushings symptoms other than she showed up lame one day on one front foot only - took her to the equine hospital where I worked at the time and xrays showed rotation in the hoof - mechanical laminitis was the diagnosis. Being in her mid-teens at the time we decided to test and sure enough she has Cushings. We test her again at least once a year (sometimes twice) just to stay on top of things. She is on Prascend. So other than the laminitis she shows no signs at all of having Cushings.

[JB]

@4horses

I’ve had her since she was a 2 year old and she always grows a very fluffy coat every year.

Great, that’s just her then

My old mare has cushings so I’m familiar with the symptoms.

Don’t assume every horse will present how your old mare does - there are so many symptoms that aren’t “classic”.

[S1969]

I’d rule out Cushings first. Then I’d probably just clip.

As for warmth and coat growth - it doesn’t work that way. The winter coats are already starting to grow in. Obviously it’s because of the decreasing daylight. Blanketing keeps it “slicked down” so it appears neater; but it’s still there.

[Sansena]

Test your horse for Cushing’s please.

[Palm_Beach]

@ryansgirl

My mare had NO Cushings symptoms other than she showed up lame one day on one front foot only -

That’s a symptom of laminitis not cushings.

[sascha]

@findeight

Are you sure thafs retarded growth from keeping horse extremely warm and not the hair being slicked down by the blanket? If it really stops the growth there wouldn’t be any fluff to stick up.

Anyway, IME, lights work. Some breeding farms use them to stimulate early return to estrus for January and Feb foals. Early birthdate is beneficial growth wise in Futurity breeds, racing too but don’t know how many use it there.

It has to be specific hours and a specific candlepower ( measure of the light created). Don’t think it works with fluorescent lights and you will see it in your electric bill if you get that light level that many hours for that many months. Whichi is why it doesn’t seem as popular as it used to be, too expensive for more then a couple of stalls.

If that’s for me - yes! I am sure. It’s the best thing ever. My horse’s winter coat is literally no more than half an inch long anywhere on her body. And it’s definitely not just her. When she came to me she had a 2" long winter coat. Bonus - in the long run, it’s way cheaper than lights.

[JB]

@S1969

As for warmth and coat growth - it doesn’t work that way. The winter coats are already starting to grow in. Obviously it’s because of the decreasing daylight. Blanketing keeps it “slicked down” so it appears neater; but it’s still there.

Temperature does play a role, just not as big a one as light.

@Palm Beach

That’s a symptom of laminitis not cushings.

Laminitis IS one symptom of Cushing’s. Not one that all horses will have, and of course not all laminitis is a symptom of Cushing’s. But look at any list of possible symptoms and you’ll find laminitis right in there. This is especially true of a horse who is not IR, not obese, no history of any laminitis at all, and them bam, out of the blue.

https://aaep.org/horsehealth/equine-endocrinology-cushings-disease-and-metabolic-syndrome
"Equine Cushing’s disease is a disorder of the pituitary gland that results in hormonal imbalances, causing a variety of clinical signs: a long, wavy haircoat that fails to shed according to normal seasonal patterns; excessive sweating; lethargy and poor athletic performance; chronic recurrent laminitis; infertility; weight loss; muscle wasting, especially along the topline; abnormal distribution of fat, with accumulations in the crest of the neck, tail head, sheath and above the eyes; consumption of large volumes of water and passage of large amounts of urine; delayed wound healing; and increased susceptibility to infections.

[Palm_Beach]

@JB

Laminitis IS one symptom of Cushing’s.

You are taking quotes out of context as usual. I stated that lameness in one front foot is NOT a symptom of Cushings. I did NOT state that laminitis is not a symptom of Cushings.

If you want to diagnose online, please READ FOR CONTENT.

[sascha]

@S1969

I’d rule out Cushings first. Then I’d probably just clip.

As for warmth and coat growth - it doesn’t work that way. The winter coats are already starting to grow in. Obviously it’s because of the decreasing daylight. Blanketing keeps it “slicked down” so it appears neater; but it’s still there.

Adding on to my message above.

Nobody said you can stop the shed/grow cycle. For example instance, my horse, who by mid-summer is bleached out to bay is now almost black again. What happens when you crank the heat with blanketing is you arrest the growth of the winter coat, speed up shedding of the winter coat and then bring on early shedding (mine usually starts putting her winter coat such as it is away mid-January). Nobody is saying you can stop the seasonal change of coats, but you sure can make that winter coat as short as a summer coat if you do it right.

A repeat - in a healthy horse, you can absolutely get fabulous results that look like a summer coat including zero guard hairs and very short hair length from blanketing alone.

[Guilherme]

For a period of time several years ago my barn was leased by a lady who showed Western Pleasure (among other QH activities) and kept her horses “under the lights.” It is light, not heat, that causes the increase or decrease in coat growth. We don’t get super cold in East TN but we can live in the 35F-50F range for extended periods, with occasional dips below freezing. Winter coat growth for her horses was very modest. She had to blanket her stock. My Brazilian horses usually “haired up” like Yaks!

The major downside of her program was her electric bill!!!

As far as blanketing alone doing the job…maybe so and maybe not.

G.

[sascha]

Another add on for Guilherme - we do get very cold winters. Water pipes inside the barn have to have heat tape running on them for weeks at a time or we get frozen pipes. Those of us that do the blanketing early and often thing are rarely able to ride indoors during the winter without minimum a heavy quarter sheet. I will often ride with a full cooler and I mean it stays on during the entire ride. So that’s a measure of how cold and how short our horse’s winter coats are.

[TCA_Arabians]

There is such a variation in how each horse’s coat grows out - so you have to match the regimen to the horse. Mom kept her show horses clipped, blanketed and under heat lamps in winter. SoCal, but where it went down to freezing. I know longer show. They’re brushed and blanketed.

[S1969]

@sascha

Another add on for Guilherme - we do get very cold winters. Water pipes inside the barn have to have heat tape running on them for weeks at a time or we get frozen pipes. Those of us that do the blanketing early and often thing are rarely able to ride indoors during the winter without minimum a heavy quarter sheet. I will often ride with a full cooler and I mean it stays on during the entire ride. So that’s a measure of how cold and how short our horse’s winter coats are.

That’s a little weird. Even in the Northeast people ride clipped horses in winter without a cooler on during the ride. Your horses can’t possibly need to wear a cooler for an entire ride if you only use heat tape for several weeks - that’s not really very cold. Obviously horses need to be warmed up, and a cooler might be useful. Or maybe they aren’t working very hard?