My Horse's Winter Coat Is Very Odd?

[Spandale]

I was working at training facility where I keep my horse and assist in training other horses. Here in Australia we are nearing the end of Winter. We get new horses in nearly every week and I've noticed not a single one of their winter coats come even close to that of my horses'. Their coats are fairly matte, they're very fluffy, even the hot blooded Arabs have short but still fluffy coats. They tend to have a bit of shine to them but not much, they're also very thick, their winter coats look and feel like a completely different type of hair to their summer coats. My horse on the other hand, his winter coat is basically a really long summer coat. It isn't fluffy at all, it all sits down flat whether he is rugged or not and it's unusually soft and shiny. I haven't bathed him all Winter because it's too cold so it's not conditioner or shampoo that's doing it. We're in the middle of the worst drought of the Century so it's not like he's getting much nutrition to make his coat look amazing. It's really weird! On his neck he also has these areas where his coat changes direction. I'm stumped, on one hand I'm ecstatic that my horse has a beautiful, shiny and soft winter coat but then on the other hand super worried there's something wrong with him. Is it too good to be true?

This is what the other horses' coats look like:

This is my horse:

 

[Apercrumbie]

What breed is he? To be honest that doesn't look far off many thoroughbred winter coats I've seen so I imagine there will be other breeds that tend to have thinner coats. Obviously you'll get variation within a breed so this is generally speaking.

 

[cowgirl16]

My boy grows a winter coat like yours does. Just like a summer coat but thicker. Shiny and soft. No fluff at all. He also has bits of coat growing in a different direction. I consider myself very lucky indeed! My old pony used to look like a giant fluffball! This guy is so much easier to look after - and I'll never need to clip him. Interestingly - he doesn't seem to feel the cold any worse due to his lack of thick fur. My boy is an American Quarter Horse - maybe something to do with the breed?

 

[Spandale]

What breed is he? To be honest that doesn't look far off many thoroughbred winter coats I've seen so I imagine there will be other breeds that tend to have thinner coats. Obviously you'll get variation within a breed so this is generally speaking.

I have no idea what his breed is since he's a rescue. He's only 14.2hh so he isn't a TB. We've had TB's here and even they have fluffier coats than him, it's really weird

 

[shortstuff99]

My horse has a winter coat even thinner than yours has (PRE x TB) it is what it is, means I don't have to bother clipping. I also wouldn't discount TB just because he's 14.2 you can get TB's of that size.

 

[Spandale]

My boy grows a winter coat like yours does. Just like a summer coat but thicker. Shiny and soft. No fluff at all. He also has bits of coat growing in a different direction. I consider myself very lucky indeed! My old pony used to look like a giant fluffball! This guy is so much easier to look after - and I'll never need to clip him. Interestingly - he doesn't seem to feel the cold any worse due to his lack of thick fur. My boy is an American Quarter Horse - maybe something to do with the breed?

I have no idea what his breed since he's a rescue but he's 14hh and resembles a QH a bit. Could be the case? What do you think? Does his conformation resemble your horses'?

 

[Spandale]

My horse has a winter coat even thinner than yours has (PRE x TB) it is what it is, means I don't have to bother clipping. I also wouldn't discount TB just because he's 14.2 you can get TB's of that size.

Very rarely do you find TB that are under 15hh, I've never met or heard of one. He's also too stocky to be a TB, he's more stationbred. He has a big chest, a mane that goes past his shoulders, getting close to his knees and is still growing, a thick muscly neck and short legs. None of those are TB traits I highly doubt he is a TB

 

[gryff]

My Welsh cob's coat looks very similar. I absolutely love it, especially as he turns a dark chocolate colour. With his flaxen mane, he's beautiful. His summer coat is then shorter, but exactly the same texture, but a very pale chestnut colour. Wish I could add photos...have totally lost the knack 😂

 

[eggs]

My chestnut boy (Dutch wb x TB) grows a very similar coat. It is quite dense but not at all fluffy. He also has the same type of patches - only more of them - where his coat grows in different directions. His summer coat has the same type of patches.

 

[shortstuff99]

Very rarely do you find TB that are under 15hh, I've never met or heard of one. He's also too stocky to be a TB, he's more stationbred. He has a big chest, a mane that goes past his shoulders, getting close to his knees and is still growing, a thick muscly neck and short legs. None of those are TB traits I highly doubt he is a TB

A big shoulder can be a TB trait, but I digress your latest picture makes him look less purebred TB he looks like he could have some in there, plus Arab and Welsh perhaps.

 

[Spandale]

A big shoulder can be a TB trait, but I digress your latest picture makes him look less purebred TB he looks like he could have some in there, plus Arab and Welsh perhaps.

Yeah, definitely

 

[Apercrumbie]

Gah I shouldn't have mentioned a thoroughbred - it was an example of a breed that sometimes has thinner winter coats. Quarter Horses are another and there will be many more!

 

[teddypops]

I don’t think it’s odd. My Welsh Dx Welsh x TB and my TB all have winter coats like that.

 

[Pinkvboots]

My Arabs have totally different coatsone has a much more dense thick type hair so he can look fluffy once his coat starts to change, yet my other one has a much finer silky type hair so even though the coat is growing it doesn't look fluffy for ages.

All horses are different regardless of there breed the coat can vary so much.

 

[conniegirl]

I had a warmblood who didnt bother growing a winter coat at all

 

[Midlifecrisis]

I wonder what weight of rug your pony wears - if he doesnt feel cold he wont grow lots of fluff. I have come across people who over rug to reduce hair growth over winter so that they dont have a huge moult to face in Spring.

 

[JJS]

My Thoroughbred's winter coat was the same. Some of them do just grow less.

 

[conniegirl]

I wonder what weight of rug your pony wears - if he doesnt feel cold he wont grow lots of fluff. I have come across people who over rug to reduce hair growth over winter so that they dont have a huge moult to face in Spring.

cold has very little to do with it, all heavy rugging does is lay the coat flat and make it appear thinner, its daylight that dictates winter coat growth, which is why most showing people will have thier horse under daylight bulbs in the run up to HOYS.

This was my warmblood at a show in early december, he had been left completely unrugged untill mid october, he had a medium weight rug on in december and had not been under lights as I was not intending on showing him that winter

I could have happily taken him to HOYS with his full winter coat!

 

[JFTDWS]

Looks very similar to my QH's winter coat to me!

eta, this was around January / February time...

 

[Caracarrie]

Very rarely do you find TB that are under 15hh, I've never met or heard of one. He's also too stocky to be a TB, he's more stationbred. He has a big chest, a mane that goes past his shoulders, getting close to his knees and is still growing, a thick muscly neck and short legs. None of those are TB traits I highly doubt he is a TB

My friend had a 13.2hh 'pony'. Both his parents were TB racehorses standing over 15.2hh.

 

[Northern]

Very rarely do you find TB that are under 15hh, I've never met or heard of one. He's also too stocky to be a TB, he's more stationbred. He has a big chest, a mane that goes past his shoulders, getting close to his knees and is still growing, a thick muscly neck and short legs. None of those are TB traits I highly doubt he is a TB

There are PLENTY of TBs around under 15hh, you just don't see them race or generally sold as TBs. If they are small from birth some studs may not register them at all and will give them away. A lot of the smaller TB mares are used to inject TB blood into galloway breeding programs. Your horse will probably have some TB blood in him. Regarding his coat, looks like a normal winter coat to me. Look at human hair variations, horses will form an individual coat too. He'll start shedding soon and will have a nice short shiny summer coat!

 

[cowgirl16]

I have no idea what his breed since he's a rescue but he's 14hh and resembles a QH a bit. Could be the case? What do you think? Does his conformation resemble your horses'?

Hmm - not really - my boys backside is 4 times bigger - and he's shorter in the back and bigger in the shoulder - but having said that all breeds come in different shapes and sizes! I'm tending to agree with others and say there's possibly some Welsh D in there.

 

[Mule]

There are PLENTY of TBs around under 15hh, you just don't see them race or generally sold as TBs. If they are small from birth some studs may not register them at all and will give them away. A lot of the smaller TB mares are used to inject TB blood into galloway breeding programs. Your horse will probably have some TB blood in him. Regarding his coat, looks like a normal winter coat to me. Look at human hair variations, horses will form an individual coat too. He'll start shedding soon and will have a nice short shiny summer coat!

What are galloway breeding programs?

 

[Northern]

What are galloway breeding programs?

Galloways are show hunters between 14hh and 15hh (And cows, but not in this instance!)

 

[Mule]

Galloways are show hunters between 14hh and 15hh (And cows, but not in this instance!)

I had heard of the cows but figured it couldn't be those