# my pregnant mare is starting to shed?



## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

my suprise pregnant mare, who I just tested and discovered she was in foal (she came that way apparently, have no idea how far along she is) has started shedding, is that normal? not hair loss or patches like rain rot, but just like spring has come...what the heck?


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

Up here in WI, horses can begin shedding around the first week of Feb. It's the longer daylight that triggers it, no matter how cold the weather still is.

I wouldn't be too worried about your mare as long as it seems like normal spring shedding.


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## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

I think the days are continuing to get shorter this time of year, the shortest day is in February here I think..and none of the other horses are shedding at all


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

As the nights get colder, coats are getting heavier here.

The longer daylight won't start until March, I believe.

We're in Arizona.


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

Where do you live farmgirl? The northern hemisphere's shortest day is December 22 (or thereabouts). If you're in the southern hemisphere your shortest day would be around June 22. 

If your horse has been under artificial lights, they can shed earlier.


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

Rogo said:


> As the nights get colder, coats are getting heavier here.
> 
> The longer daylight won't start until March, I believe.
> 
> We're in Arizona.


In Arizona, your days have been getting longer since the solstice in December, just like us in WI. We're getting slightly more daylight and getting it slightly faster because of being further north. March is when the equinox occurs, for the entire planet, the daylight and night will be 12 hours of each.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

Afraid it's not happening yet. Sun goes down at 5:30 - MUCH too early!

We're in Arizona.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

No matter where you live in the Northern hemisphere, your longest night (and shortest day) of 2011 was December 21st at 11:30PM CST. After that, the days start getting longer. By a miniscule amount, of course. Takes a while before it is noticeably longer.


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

Rogo said:


> Afraid it's not happening yet. Sun goes down at 5:30 - MUCH too early!
> 
> We're in Arizona.


Our sunset tomorrow will be at 4:46pm, and we've gained several minutes of daylight since December!


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

With the weather being so warm this year I wouldn't be surprised if shedding is off. Especially if you've had her inside, blanketed, or anything like that. I haven't paid as much attention with my horses but my spitz breed double coated dogs don't shed _only_ according to sunlight. They will shed about 2 months before we first hit below freezing and again 2months before we hit about 50F. Approximately and this also approximately lines up with daylight since less and more daylight is impacting temps but it's never exactly the same if the temps from year to year aren't. This year one of them triple shed because of the odd weather and she's young. She shed for a hardy winter coat at the normal time but then when the weather stayed warm shed it off part way to a medium coat and then a month ago shed back to full coat just before the snow started coming off and on. I'm sure the horses have their own variations too that just aren't noticed as much. You don't have to suddenly clean the whole house when a horse sheds so we'd just casually note they were fuzzier on a cold day and shedding on a warm day and don't really ride them much in between with snow on the ground.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

I've had odd seasons where this animal or that animal will suddenly drop more hair at an unusual time or over a shorter period of time. Last spring one of my goats dropped pretty much all her hair over the course of a week or so and we had to make a jacket for her. She was pretty much bare skin over 75% of her body. Very odd! I remember one transitional season (fall or spring, I don't recall which) my allergic mare dropped a ton of hair all of the sudden and needed to be blanketed. Had very thin, short, downy hair till it grew in.


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## RLStewart (Sep 10, 2006)

In my experience sometimes pregnant mares shed early. Not sure why but my one mare would always start shedding in Jan/Feb when she was bred and not other years. If she got too bald while it was still really cold I would just blanket her.


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## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

I found online many other people with the same question and this answer quite a bit...makes sense but will ask my vet

Could hormones produced during pregnancy cause my pregnant mare to lose all of her winter hair?

Last Updated: April 21, 2006


Yes, this could be due to hormones of pregnancy. The hormone prolactin is involved with hair shedding in horses, and is involved in growth and development of the mammary gland in late gestation prior to foaling. The rise in prolactin prior to foaling is normal and should not be cause for alarm. This may be the cause for the hair loss that you report. If you have further concerns, you may want to have your veterinarian take a blood sample and submit it to a laboratory for a hormone profile analysis. This can tell you if any of the hormones are "out of whack".


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

malinda said:


> Our sunset tomorrow will be at 4:46pm, and we've gained several minutes of daylight since December!


Slowly we're creeping back to those long, glorious days of summer! Sunset here is at 4:23. Several minutes later than it was at the solstice. :goodjob:


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## ShyAnne (Jun 18, 2008)

A lot of animals will shed some to shed the soft fur around the udder. In minis it can be quite fuzzy under there. I had a mini I would give a pre foaling clip to so the hair doesnt get in the foals eyes , nose and mouth. It also helps so you can see how she is progressing.
When I clip, I just focus on the udder area and slightly forward on the belly, inside of legs. I dont clip bald just shorter. 
Because you dont know her due date range, it would be a good idea to start checking her daily for udder changes. ( if you havent been) 
And if you would like to know how to milk check to determine foaling let me know. I am more than happy to help


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

LisaInN.Idaho said:


> Slowly we're creeping back to those long, glorious days of summer! Sunset here is at 4:23. Several minutes later than it was at the solstice. :goodjob:


Yup.

Here in WI, I'm pretty close to the 45th parallel, which is the same as the Montana/Wyoming border (IIRC). The further north you are (in the northern hemisphere), the quicker you gain (or lose) daylight, and you'll have longer or shorter days in summer or winter. The closer you get to the Equator, the more consistent the day/night ratio is throughout the year.

If your shortest day is in February or March, I can guarantee you are not living on planet earth!

BTW, I noticed a client's horse beginning to shed her winter coat two weeks ago. I regularly see horses shedding the first part of February, but they begin shedding in earnest around mid to late March.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

> Actual Time 8:02 AM EST 5:32 PM EST
> Civil Twilight 7:31 AM EST 6:03 PM EST
> Nautical Twilight 6:56 AM EST 6:37 PM EST
> Astronomical Twilight 6:23 AM EST 7:11 PM EST
> ...


It's becoming very noticeable here, I don't get to see the sunset as I'm in the milking parlor from 4.30 -7.30, but I tore a glove the other night and went out to the office to get another, it was lovely to still see the light at 6pm!


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## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

I am in the deep south, well fairly deep, the coldest days are likely ahead of us, normally the chickens start laying before anybody starts shedding


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

That's why the saying goes: January - when the days get longer, the cold gets stronger. 

It's pretty normal for horses to begin shedding now. You're quite a bit warmer than here, and today I noticed my stallion and a client's gelding are both beginning to shed. And I'm fairly certain neither of them are pregnant.


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## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

Dec 22, 2011 6:50 AM 4:40 PM 9h 49m 40s < 1s

Jan 17, 2012 6:53 AM 5:00 PM 10h 07m 23s + 1m 15s

the day is roughly 17 minutes longer (sunrise was actually three minutes later than in Dec) here than it was the shortest day of the month...yeah, thinking hormones it is coming off pretty heavy...and I think it is about daylight less than temps. I will check with the vet Friday.


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

Tiempo said:


> It's becoming very noticeable here, I don't get to see the sunset as I'm in the milking parlor from 4.30 -7.30, but I tore a glove the other night and went out to the office to get another, it was lovely to still see the light at 6pm!


Do you work at a dairy?


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

farmergirl said:


> Do you work at a dairy?


I do, just for second milking until mid March, my neighbors' son is away in Germany and they needed help with him gone.


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## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

I asked the vet about the shedding thing, he said it is not a common indicator of pregnancy but with everything happening with hormones at this point in her pregnancy, it is possible. it has now quit for the most part as suddenly as it began, she still is retaining most of her coat... weird, weird, weird....


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