Itchy, sweating, miserable horse, coat not in synch with season, not cushings or parasites. At wits end. Help!

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Loughlin

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Hello everyone,

I have a lovely 23 year old ISH I've owned for 18 years, and I don't know what to do for him. He didn't drop his winter coat last year properly following the death of his field mate. He is very sensitive, the mare was his wifey. By this winter, he was intensely itchy and the coat was still there so obviously called in the vet and had a cushings test - negative. Not parasites, and not rubbing like sweet itch. He's now cycling through sweating, itching, a filthy coat I cannnot get the clippers through (could seem a good idea to get it off). He looks awful. Eating well, and we're trying to get the right companion. Number three is on the way in a couple of weeks. It's not been easy. I feel like I'm letting my horse down badly. Tonight, I brought him in, groomed and plucked at the coat as best I could, left him for one hour (he has company over talk bars) and returned to find he had rubbed himself into a huge sweat. Rugged up in light rug to stop him overnight. I am baffled, exhausted and the weather is filthy. Any non-judgmental help welcome. I've begged my farrier to come and share his wisdom with me. In tears.
 
No help with the cause, but if you can get livestock blades for the clippers (like this https://masterclip.co.uk/products/a2-lister-compatible-livestock-blade) you might find they will go through his coat.
I use them on the mini Shetland who also gets a very thick coat (too thick for normal blades) every winter. He gets clipped as his coat is too thick for our mild winters and he sweats up by early spring. I've also used them to dag sheep, so they're pretty tough.
 
Thanks guys, will chase both those suggestions up. I have a Wahl Avalon, so I'll give a clip a go if I can get the coat clean and dry. Life's mission! I have Prascend here actually from another pony (sadly died of cancer at 27, this time last year), so surely cannot hurt. Will call the vet Tuesday and bleat for help first. Lovely to have some kind voices. Much cheered. :). Thank you.
!
 
Loughlin said:
Hello everyone,

I have a lovely 23 year old ISH I've owned for 18 years, and I don't know what to do for him. He didn't drop his winter coat last year properly following the death of his field mate. He is very sensitive, the mare was his wifey. By this winter, he was intensely itchy and the coat was still there so obviously called in the vet and had a cushings test - negative. Not parasites, and not rubbing like sweet itch. He's now cycling through sweating, itching, a filthy coat I cannnot get the clippers through (could seem a good idea to get it off). He looks awful. Eating well, and we're trying to get the right companion. Number three is on the way in a couple of weeks. It's not been easy. I feel like I'm letting my horse down badly. Tonight, I brought him in, groomed and plucked at the coat as best I could, left him for one hour (he has company over talk bars) and returned to find he had rubbed himself into a huge sweat. Rugged up in light rug to stop him overnight. I am baffled, exhausted and the weather is filthy. Any non-judgmental help welcome. I've begged my farrier to come and share his wisdom with me. In tears.
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Stop rugging it's overheating him. Get him fully clipped to break the cycle. This is likely a metabolic issue; ask your vet about thyroid and a more sensitive Cushings test. You're doing all the right things.
 
I think clipping will be really helpful in the long-term and maybe not rug? In the short-term look at Hedgewich essentials oil: they do a shampoo for itchy horses. Non chemical but I've found their products very good on my hairy beast. Surprising how it knocks them off kilter when they lose a companion so hopefully he'll pick-up when he gets a buddy again.
 
Earlier in the year when it was weirdly warm my cushings pony was hot and sweaty. I couldn’t clip him because he was never dry.
Someone told me to go over him in the wrong direction. Looks hideous but gets a good chunk of coat off. It gives the hair see a chance to dry and out easier to brush, then you should be able to clip properly. 🤞
 
poiuytrewq said:
Earlier in the year when it was weirdly warm my cushings pony was hot and sweaty. I couldn’t clip him because he was never dry.
Someone told me to go over him in the wrong direction. Looks hideous but gets a good chunk of coat off. It gives the hair see a chance to dry and out easier to brush, then you should be able to clip properly. 🤞
Click to expand...
I do this on our yak of a Cushing's horse. It takes around three hours to clip if she has a full coat. First layer off the wrong way, then brush through and clip again. If she's very sweaty, the blades jam and pull so I clip in patches to allow the sweat to dry off as she cools down from having some of the coat off.

I'll always use the newly sharpened blades for a yak clip.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Earlier in the year when it was weirdly warm my cushings pony was hot and sweaty. I couldn’t clip him because he was never dry.
Someone told me to go over him in the wrong direction. Looks hideous but gets a good chunk of coat off. It gives the hair see a chance to dry and out easier to brush, then you should be able to clip properly. 🤞
Click to expand...
Thanks for this tip. I don't care what mine looks like either. Just want him comfy. :)
 
Beausmate said:
I do this on our yak of a Cushing's horse. It takes around three hours to clip if she has a full coat. First layer off the wrong way, then brush through and clip again. If she's very sweaty, the blades jam and pull so I clip in patches to allow the sweat to dry off as she cools down from having some of the coat off.

I'll always use the newly sharpened blades for a yak clip.
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Thank you. Great idea.
 
FieldOrnaments said:
Do a stim test, it's (a lot) more accurate.
If results are equivocal rather than outright positive it's worth trialling prascend anyway, especially in a symptomatic animal
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I agree to a point but for me that would not be enough. I would want to know for sure and that would be a TRH test. Whilst having prascend to hand is useful to trial I would want a definite diagnosis to rule cushings in or out.

as for the coat then I was in this position with a cushings horse. Sorted the prascend bit but was left with the very long coat that had not shed and on a horse difficult to clip. I didn't bath him as I would never have got him dry I just got the clippers and basically hacked a little at a time, day by day. Looked awful but I got it off. We had clipping lines everywhere as I went through the range of clips from just under the neck to all off.
By last March I was still left with the saddle patch. It started to shed but only a couple of hairs a day. I gave up by April and clipped that was well little by little.
The clippers were not amused at my efforts and horse looked weird but once all the coat had gone he became normal and shed and grew coat in normal amounts. I did learn that even with prascend a cushings coat does not necessarily go and shed on it's own, I had to get rid of it and start again.
 
paddy555 said:
I agree to a point but for me that would not be enough. I would want to know for sure and that would be a TRH test. Whilst having prascend to hand is useful to trial I would want a definite diagnosis to rule cushings in or out.

as for the coat then I was in this position with a cushings horse. Sorted the prascend bit but was left with the very long coat that had not shed and on a horse difficult to clip. I didn't bath him as I would never have got him dry I just got the clippers and basically hacked a little at a time, day by day. Looked awful but I got it off. We had clipping lines everywhere as I went through the range of clips from just under the neck to all off.
By last March I was still left with the saddle patch. It started to shed but only a couple of hairs a day. I gave up by April and clipped that was well little by little.
The clippers were not amused at my efforts and horse looked weird but once all the coat had gone he became normal and shed and grew coat in normal amounts. I did learn that even with prascend a cushings coat does not necessarily go and shed on it's own, I had to get rid of it and start again.
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Stim test IS trh
 
This is not her full length coat, this is just her summer coat. She's actually black, but she hangs onto her coat for so long it fades.
 

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And once it's all off. Like I said, takes about three hours but it does come out nicely in the end and is much easier to keep on top of.
 

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