Unusual coat pattern - hair direction

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Bramblebear

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My new horse seems to have an unusual coat pattern in terms of hair direction. It is a bit like giant whirls all over his body. I haven't seen anything like this before and just wondered if anyone else has? And if there is any reason for it or it is just an odd variation?

 
My 6 yo old gelding has the exact same thing! It's most apparent on his neck and shoulders the same as yours. I asked my vet about it when he came do his vaccinations (was mildly concerned about Cushing's which would have been very unlikely with his age and no symptoms), he said he'd never seen it before but didn't think there was anything to worry about. Following with interest....
 
Pretty sure this has come up before on this forum - I can't remember what else they call it but if you search google for "crushed velvet horse coat" there's a few discussions and photos (before you get to the posh riding clothes) ;)
 
OP, I'd not worry about cushings just due to this. Cushings can present in other ways than the regular long hair that people expect but my vet told me its an unusual moulting pattern that causes concern. ie- my TB had a very fine TB coat but he'd be clipped once in Autumn and still look freshly clipped til July- literally!
 
My boy has this, only shows up in his summer coat. Called crushed "velvet" or "puzzlecoat" and I beleive is most common in friesians although my boy is reg sec D
 
Merlod said:
My boy has this, only shows up in his summer coat. Called crushed "velvet" or "puzzlecoat" and I beleive is most common in friesians although my boy is reg sec D
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My section D has a small amount from shoulder to neck and only appears in the summer.
 
Yep - crushed velvet. Alf has it too - it irritates me intensely! I want him to be smooth and shiny, and he has splodges on both sides of his neck!

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My cob has this all over his body. When his summer coat first comes through, it is only in tiny patches, but as the summer progresses, so does the pattern. I have groomed the coat in the direction it is meant to go, but it just goes how it wants to go straight away!
 
My Dutch warm blood has a similar thing. He grows a dense but not long winter coat. Never been a problem to clip.
 
rabatsa said:
I had a cob whose coat was every which way. It was hell to clip neatly.
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Auslander said:
Yep - crushed velvet. Alf has it too - it irritates me intensely! I want him to be smooth and shiny, and he has splodges on both sides of his neck!

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Bramblebear said:
Nice to hear there are others. I'm clipping him tomorrow so should be interesting!
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FfionWinnie said:
Never seen that before. What an education this forum is.
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Fascinating! I have never seen this before either. Glad to see I am not the only one thinking "Well his coat looks pretty and interesting, but I wouldn't like to try clipping it!"
 
There are some trains of thoughts that it is linked to skin tension and a good fascia release massage over time sometimes resolves it. - I'm not sure if I believe it or not though but worth putting out there.
 
I have a miniature shetland that has a sort of inside out winter coat but a normal summer coat.
The hair goes in the wrong direction and he ends up with what looks like a seam along his back (sticking up) and a seam on his flank whorls
 
_HP_ said:
I have a miniature shetland that has a sort of inside out winter coat but a normal summer coat.
The hair goes in the wrong direction and he ends up with what looks like a seam along his back (sticking up) and a seam on his flank whorls
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My shetlands do this too - its because they stand with their backsides to the weather and the wind turns it so it doesn't drive into the coat but skims across going in the same direction.
 
How interesting! Ive been involved with horses intensely for years and have never seen this!!! Wow!
 
Tnavas said:
It's a Heavy Horse thing. The majority of Clydesdales have this patterning, mine included. I've also seen it on horses known to have Clydesdale in their breeding.
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Ha well there you go. I have seen it then but I thought it was part of the weird rituals of showing a Clydesdale didn't realise they came like that!
 
Merlod said:
My boy has this, only shows up in his summer coat. Called crushed "velvet" or "puzzlecoat" and I beleive is most common in friesians although my boy is reg sec D
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My Sec D has it as well. Very pronounced in summer.. one year she had a perfect heart shape on her neck! So cute.
 
Damnation said:
Fascinating! I have never seen this before either. Glad to see I am not the only one thinking "Well his coat looks pretty and interesting, but I wouldn't like to try clipping it!"
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Clipped out, his coat is completely normal! Weird, eh!

He's got it this year, but the pattern/location is completely different - it's really odd!
 
Auslander said:
Clipped out, his coat is completely normal! Weird, eh!

He's got it this year, but the pattern/location is completely different - it's really odd!
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We have a cob type mare the coat pattern is like Alfs ,but only on the chest area the mare is 20 years old and the patttern appeared last summer . We thought it was something to do with medication she had antibiotics and steroids from end of April on wards ,she had an abscess in her airway ,and the vet had to do an emergency op in the stable to secure her airway ,this was followed by 11 days in hospital ,so we thought maybe it was caused by stress also. This mare has a lovely very shiny healthy coat , so yes it is very odd .
 
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