Very hairy foal!?

[JoZ]

Situation: colt born end of February with quite a long coat. If anything it has gotten longer and does not seem to be shedding out. It is fine and dull and... well, it's not a very NICE-LOOKING long coat... but he gets sweaty and dirty so what do I expect? He is otherwise thriving... living outside 24/7, romping and playing, eating and drinking well.

My vet saw him when his dam was having her teeth floated earlier this week and suggested clipping him. Vet was out again today to geld my 2009 colt. She said "I've been thinking about your hairy foal and I am concerned. I would like to pull blood." So we did.

But she didn't want to tell me what she suspects -- she said it was quite a wild guess (and she probably knew I'd google till the cows come home until I had myself in a tizzy!). She said the thing she wants to rule out IS treatable. I noted she did not say curable, but TREATABLE.

Any ideas? Or do I have to wait for the results to solve the mystery? I know that anything you come up with will be an even wilder guess, not having seen the foal, but it will help to pass the time, even if I do worry myself! And if there is, by any chance, a unanimous opinion -- I would love to say "so let me guess, were you testing for X?"

[Elfe]

Thyroid ?
Cushings ?

[Foxtrot's]

I do expect my vet to be up front with me and communicate. Even if she has to say it is an outside chance but I want to check it is not XYZ. Why leave you worrying about the worst.

[classicsporthorses]

I had the same thing with a colt, an orphan we rescued who was born in December. We got him when he was 6 days old(dam died). Anyway, that spring, my Lord it looked like we had a wooly mammoth baby in our pasture. I brushed, curried, wormed him etc...nope that hair was not coming out. I oculd pull handfuls out of him and I swear it was growing right back.

Well he's gone through his second winter now and this spring, even with the cooler weather we've been having in NYS he's shedding out just fine.

[TKR]

Has he been dewormed regularly -- check his fecal, too.

PennyG

[Mozart]

Congenital hypothyroidism springs to mind. But if that was the case I would not imagine a colt born at the end of Feb with that condition would still be doing as well as you describe. I guess you will just have to wait...or call your vet and say you need to know!

[mswillie]

Seems to me that if it's your foal and you're paying for the blood work the vet has no business playing guessing games.

Just my opinion but I'd call it unprofessional at best.

Hope nothing is really wrong and the little one just happens to be a bit too hairy.

[Sobriska]

My vet would not have been able to get away with that. LOL!

Call your vet first thing tom. Ask what the suspicion is. And when results will be available. Even if the vet is a worry wart, you should know their thoughts.

Jingles for your hairy wilderbeast.

[columbus]

I have know a few foals and yearlings with coats that overstayed their welcomes. I have clipped a filly who was very miserable and as the hairs we clipped...she stood dead still for the clipping...you could see her resusitate. That was very happy filly and I was so sad we made her wait so long hoping she would shed naturally. You can get many wonky sheds in youngsters and usually by three they have an adult shedding pattern. If I had other reference points be normal I wouldn't worry about the coat...other than clipping the coat. If she were two I might start to get worried or if younger she didn't seem normal in several ways I would check her thoroughly with a good vet who sees lots of foals. In Minnesota this year we have had major funky weather and that confuses the issue as well. If the weather isn't normal I don't expect normal shed outs. PatO

[JoZ]

I'm not excusing my vet since I was/am surprised and a bit perturbed that she didn't want to tell me. But I do think it was like columbus said -- so many things can make a coat go wonky that are perfectly benign.

I have already emailed her one guess that I came upon via googling: Vitamin A deficiency. If nothing else she will learn that I am NOT going to put it out of my mind.

[JMurray]

Apologies but I can't abide a vet that treats me like I have no brains. A vet I used for awhile would tell me he was going to give my horse some "medicine". I asked what "medicine"? He said "some medicine and don't worry myself about it as the horse would be better soon". How much more cloyingly condesending could he get? I told him if that was the case then he could pay the bill for it, I fired him and brought in another vet service.

So OP get your vet to discuss everything with you and not keep you in the dark like a mushroom...you pay the bills. Your vet should be discussing and consulting with you as a member of your 'team' that helps you manage your horse(s). They need to be a team player or get off the team.

IMHO

[RyTimMick]

My guess is the Vet has no clue as to what the problem is and that is why they are running diagnostics. No vet will admit they don't know until they try. It is perfectly normal to run dex suppression test, cortisol and a full chem panel with electrolytes to determine what the cause is. However, if the foal is healthy otherwise then it was a waste of money in my opinion. Some vets just want to know. That does not give them the right to run expensive test to satisfy their curiosity. JMHO

Tim