So maybe my horse is shedding normally but it feels like it’s lasting forever this year. Any tips to help him shed out faster? My friend always vowed that worming them in the spring helps their horses (they are also apparently done shedding already as well), I have yet to give my horse his this spring, it’s pyrantel (what our vet has our schedule as) will this help him shed out? I’ve given him two bathes so far this year, still continues to shed a decent amount everyday. I groom as often as I can with our shedding blade but I’m a college student so it’s about 3-4 times a week sometimes less.
Be glad he is shedding. Mine is still shedding around his belly and legs, but it’s still low 60’s here so I’ll worry if he’s still shedding in May.
Never heard of wormer helping shedding, just elbow grease.
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I like my hands on grooming gloves better than a shedding blade. Might try them if you’re so inclined.
I body clipped mine. Or you could stall under lights.
Maybe OP just means that a dewormed horse has more energy to deal with shedding. For me this kind of brush was a game changer. As nutrition doesn’t work over night I think a lot of supplements only help the purse of the seller. 
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I always think it “is taking longer this year”…every year. 
I don’t think there is any trick - their body will let go of the hair when it is ready. The work is done in their brain. You can bathe and brush, but that’s about it.
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I keep track of when horses start and finish shedding --for me in N Indiana, they are on schedule based on previous years. Yesterday, the last horse to start shedding (dun --always has the thinnest coat and keeps it the longest) started to “blow his coat” —comes off in big patches after not coming off at all --and good owner that I am, I worked on him for an hour or so with the various shedding tools (like a shedding blade better than anything else). I got his loose hair off --looked nice. Yesterday afternoon, it snowed. I think he hates me now.
The roan gelding starts to shed about a month before the others (end of March) but slowly --seems like his white belly hair comes out first. Right now he’s slick looking --but he was raised “under lights” so he’d never have a thick coat --and I’ve had him four years in a natural setting --so might be still adjusting to it.
And always the one to finish last --I think --Pig Pen insists on rolling in the mud --I think he’s shed out pretty nicely, but until it is warm enough to suds him up, I won’t know. He’s got a layer of mud an inch thick —I chip off enough to ride him, then let him roll. He’s from ND and has his own way of doing things. He has the thickest coat --like a buffalo.
I once heard that rubbing the entire horse with MAYO letting him sit for a day, then washing him will speed shedding. We did that with an old Morgan --worked great one year and not at all the next. I think timing was everything --but then the daughter that owned him was 10 and had a great time with a giant jar of MAYO making him look all pretty! Miss having kids and horses --now just me.
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That had to have been the grossest thing ever… 
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I don’t have time to thoroughly de-shed my horses every day, so they both get a head-to-toe deshedding once a week, and otherwise I just try to get the bulk of it off where the saddle pad and girth will go before I ride.
I’d say both of mine are “on time” this year.
FWI, the likelihood of pyrantel pamoate doing anything against strongyles is close to 0.
It also doesn’t kill tapeworms (unless double-dosed), or bots.
Quest Plus or, if the horse can’t have that, Equimax, is a far, far better dewormer
My horses don’t fully shed until early-mid May. Hair tends to hand on in the mid-section. It takes the time it takes, and that is largely dependent on where you live and how much time they spend outside
Yes, exactly!
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So funny, because for me the surprise every year is how early mine starts shedding. This year, aroung the first of the year, she was starting to shed! And it is almost May, and she is STILL not done. She is a Morgan, but doesn’t grow the woolly mammoth coat typical of the breed. Her shedding comes in waves – a lot for a few days, and then almost none, lather rinse repeat.
I am currently using a StripHair Gentle Groomer on her, and actually finding it more effective than a shedding blade, and easier to use on smaller areas like the backs of her legs. But everyone has their favorite tools and tricks.
(And no, she doesn’t have Cushings or any metabolic issues other than being borderline insulin resistant.)
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The Winter Solstice is Dec 22. After a few weeks of slowwwwly but steadily increasing daylight hours, horses start to shed. Some faster than others because skin temperature also plays a role, just a smaller role than daylight hours (which is why blanketed horses don’t develop as much of a coat, their skin stays warmer)
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My 3 each shed at their own pace.
Hackney Pony is usually 1st to be done.
Followed by TWH.
Last is the mini.
I joke (near truth 
) the mini is done by July & starts regrowing his Winter coat in September.
A COTH friend tipped me to a dog grooming tool that is a game-changer for shedding out.
Huge payoff for minimal effort.
TSC carries it for $8.99:
Undercoat Rake 
Also untangles manes & tails.
Lifesaver for trolldoll mini!
Caveat: makes a horrendous ripping sound on mane/tail, but zero hair left in the rake.
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@islgrl --re Mayo for 24 hours to speed up shedding ----a long time ago, as teenagers, putting mayo in your hair then washing it out was a “thing” —mayo is oil and eggs --so that hair came out of the process less dry and more shiny makes sense. The Morgan we experimented on, the first year --did immediately shed out the following day and had a lovely, shiny black coat. The next year, our success wasn’t as profound --probably due to picking a week to early or too late . . .
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While my three do shed at somewhat different paces . . . because I live in NorthWest Iowa - they are usually not done until the middle of May. Right now they are about - oh -65-70% done. This is normal
for our geographical location. So I would imagine that the rate at which a horse sheds will depend on where it lives.
One horse is done shedding, one hasn’t “blown” his coat but it’s coming off steadily, and the third already had a coat blow and is shedding at a normal rate. None of them are under lights although the TB and the Paint were blanketed during the coldest part of the winter.
I had a horse that on December 22, he’d start shedding. Albeit slowly but you could tell.
Dr Kellon’s blog just had a write up about how exercise helps a horse shed. Appears to be helping over at my place. A nice 15 min of trot and canter and voila the hair wants to fall out. Try it and report back.
Every year I always say that some day someone will invent a hair laxative. Give it to the horse on an evening in late spring, and BINGO! in the morning is a pile of hair next to a sleek horse.
My fluffy pony seems to be slightly ahead of last year’s shedding rate. His shoulder area is almost normal but his legs still look like he’s wearing leg warmers from CATS. And still really long hairs on his belly. I wish I could teach him to lie on his back so currying and scraping his underside would be more comfortable for me.
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My horse shed out late Jan/early Feb (in LA), spent Feb in FL, then came back to LA and grew her winter coat back! Just body clipped her today, because while we’ve had cooler than usual weather lately (and darker, because it has done nothing but rain!) we do still get close to 80, and will be surpassing 80 soon, and she was just getting too sweaty, with no signs of that long hair coming loose.
I think a lot of it was that she was at my house, where I don’t turn off the barn lights until night check (9-10pm) before she went to FL with my trainer. Then when they came back she went to my trainer’s barn, where the lights go off at 5 pm. She must have thought that month in FL was the shortest summer ever!
Makes sense - pores open up with heat. Best time to pull manes is after exercise.
