we have a 25 year old appaloosa who has problems shedding out in the spring...
he still hasn't shed out and i am continuing grooming him but it's just not working!
up by his withers i can literally grab handfuls of hair, and it leaves a big bald patches but it comes out easily ( so i'm not hurting him)

is this normal??
what else can i do?

im pretty sure this is common in appaloosas, especially older ones. most of them loose their manes and tails, so its probably normal to loose their actual coat as well.

i have a pony who sheds his super heavy coat very slowly. i give him a body clip and lightweight waterproof blanket in the spring before he even starts shedding and he eventually grows in a nice healthy looking summer coat. I have had a few horses shed so fast they look a bit bald before the summer coat grows in, but it is typically on the legs or the face, not the body. Since your horse is older, i would talk to your vet about it.

I too have an older appy- 21 years old and I also have a quarterhorse thoroughbred-24 years old. Both are very slow to shed out and grow tons of hair. I do believe it is common and could be due to body functions not up to par. Cushings is also a consideration. Lots of hair on the cannon bone is one indicator of this problem in older horses. Sometimes an extra dose of wormer will help.

I have a 25yr old quarter horse mare and she has not shed on her own in 2 yrs. We usualy clip her right before she starts to shed so the hair doesn't have a chance to get matted and we turn her out with a blanket until it warms up. I have had her tested for cushings 3 times now and nothing has come up. The thing with her though is that even when we shave her she will grow a full winter coat in the middle of summer. I would just continue to clip your horse in spring and again in summer and get the vet to do a blood test for cushings. There is medication for it but it is mostly for the other symptoms of cushings rather than for just the hair itself.

My 25 year old OTTB doesn't want to give up her winter woolies anymore either. I've been doing a complete body clip every April for 4 years now to keep her cool and happy. We play with different blanket combinations to suit the weather until it is warm and dry enough to let her stay naked. I've had her tested for Cushings as well and it has come back negative. It's just a part of aging and is easily managed. It's also highly satisfying to see your sasquatch turn into a horse when you break out the clippers!

i was thinking about clipping him but didn't know if it was a good idea...
i think i may try that!

hi,
you may also want to ask your vet about this too. Slow shedding may be a result of hypothyroid condition. You would find this out with a blood test. But if it isn't that, feel free to break out the clippers! ;D

Some horses start shedding super early and others super late. I think it has to do with their metabolism, myself. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to happen more to horses that are more easy going or even lazy. Right we do have a mare at our barn that is very quiet gentle and she is still shedding out..... Thoughts?

the pony i clip is a small pony who is quiet enough, but i wouldn't say he is the quietest in the barn by a long shot and it i hadn't clipped him he would still have quite a bit of hair judging by the heart shaped patch i left him on his bum :P He will probably be tested for cushings at some point this year, just because i have noticed the hair on his legs has gone curly, but he has no other symptoms of cushings and is quite healthy and active otherwise.

Horseofflame, your quieter horses are probly shedding out slower than your "hot" horses because the more the horse sweats the faster they shed out, thats why the hair always comes off the neck first and the ribcage area last.

hmmm, i've never heard of a horse sweating causing shedding. i thought it was all ocular which triggered a hormone?

Well its not entirely the sweating but the horse is already shedding out all over his body and the sweating just helps with the loose hair, I notice that when the sweat dries and you curry that area a lot more hair comes out. So I guess I should have re-worded that, sweating dosen't cause the hair to shed but just helps get rid of the loose hair faster.

Nope. My mare is definately not quiet or slow or what have you - she earned teh nick name "Dragon" for a reason and still sheds slowly. That's like equating your hair growth to your activity level. By that logic athletes would be getting hair cuts every week.

It is tied into age, physical conditiona and is linked to certain health conditions.

well, i didn't think it would be a sure fire rule, but i have noticed it seems to occur more often in those types of horses.

But anyway, Emmie, I think you should consider getting your horse tested for cushings and thyroid, just in case.

well, with alot of work and persistence monty is all good now
he hasn't got any diseases (thank god!)
he got a bath and he looks quite handsome with his summer coat