Foal Coat

vallygirl927 · Postby **vallygirl927** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:09 am

My 5 month old filly seems to be hanging on to her foal coat longer than most foals. She's on a regular deworming schedule. 1st deworming of Panacur, 2nd of Strongid, 3rd will be Panacur in 2 weeks each spaced 6 weeks apart. It's been warm, around the 80's, but the only areas that have shedded out have been her face and her legs. I feel bad for her as mom loves to stand in the sun, so she has no option but to take naps in blazing sun as well. Any ideas why it could be taking longer than normal? Or this that fairly normal for some foals? At what point what you do something about it, i.e. clip her?

LB · Postby LB » Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:57 am

We have had two foals that held onto their foal coats longer than most, and in both cases they were born early in the year and with not a lot of baby fuzz. Both then grew a "winter coat" when they were turned out which seemed to take a long time to shed in the spring.

One we let shed naturally (it took him until late July when he was almost 6 months old). The other we clipped in early June. If your foal is still fuzzy and hot because of it, I wouldn't hesitate to clip. Our filly was delighted when we clipped her and she didn't mind the process at all.

Derby Lyn · Postby **Derby Lyn** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:49 pm

My filly was born August of last year, and hung onto her foal coat this spring. I ended up clipping her b/c she was getting too hot. It was long soft baby fur. Not sure why she was dewormed regularly. She loved the clipping though. Thought it was like a massage or something.

vallygirl927 · Postby **vallygirl927** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 4:07 pm

I don't object to clipping her, but I would like to get some conformation photos of her in 2 weeks with a photographer for an interested buyer. If I were to clip her this week in the areas where she still has her foal coat would that ruin her coat underneath? Any ideas to help her shed the coat quicker or clip without making it look obvious?

griff · Postby **griff** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:41 pm

I think your filly might have tape worms.

If she has you need to be careful as killing too many tae worms at one time might form a dead mass of worms that will block her gut.

My recommendation is to hit her with a 1/2 or 23 dose of Ivermectin, wait 30 to 45 days and hit her with a double dose of Iverectin or better yet Equimax [just in case]

Fecal sample might tell you what you have but fecal samples are not ery reliable with tae worms

THE HORSE has some excellent articles on equine tapeworms

griff

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:43 pm

Ivermectin doesn't kill tapeworms. You need a double dose of pyrantel pamoate, or one of the new ivermectin/praziquantel combos.

vallygirl927 · Postby **vallygirl927** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:24 pm

I've wormed her with Strongid (pyrantal) and pancur.

photofinish · Postby **photofinish** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:51 pm

You could just clp her right away. You've heard the old joke? "What's the difference between a good clip job amd a bad clip job?" Answer "10 days" :wink:

When I clip I mix up a spray with baby oil and alcohol and a little witch hazel and spray them down thoroughly right after clipping, seems to help the coat come back faster.

aurora · Postby **aurora** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:36 am

That baby hari also protects foals from the bugs. I'd weight the benefit of a shot hair coat that would be cooler against possibly making her miserable with any bugs you might have.

Laurierace · Postby **Laurierace** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 10:33 am

I deworm foals with a double dose by weight of strongid or safegard every 30 days for the first year. Anything less that a double dose of either of those drugs is ineffective and anything over 30 days is too long at that young of an age in my opinion.
I have body clipped both my foals these past two summers. It has just been too hot for too long to let them shed out on their own.

Mood Swings · Postby **Mood Swings** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:37 pm

I agree that if you haven't already been doubling the dose for Pyrantel pamoate and fenbendazole then you need to. Praziquantal and Pyrantel Pamoate are the only dewormers that kill tape worms. It wouldn't be a bad idea to collect a fecal, despite your regular deworming parasites can be insidious.

If your filly is five months, I would therefore assume she was born in march. I can tell you that I work with several TB's and all of our March foals have shed out completely. It might be prudent to draw a CBC and/or profile to see if she if fighting an infection of some sort, especially if you think that her body condition is less then ideal. How does the mare look? If she doesn't look great its possible that she is not passing enough nutrients through her milk to the foal. If I'm dissatified with a foals overall condition and I'm confident that the foal is receiving proper nutrition and has normal bloodwork and is parasite free then I will treat for ulcers. Ulcers are more common then people think in foals. Sometimes it is cheaper just to treat for a couple of weeks and see if you notice any improvement. Ranitidine is inepensive and effective although it is dosed three times a day. Omeprazole is much more convenient in that you only need to give it once per day and really it is not that expensive when you consider what the foal is worth.

Good luck!

docjocoy · Postby **docjocoy** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:11 am

Valleygirl,
I am also in Calif and I also have a march foal. He hasn't completely shed out yet and neither have the other march foals that are in the pasture with him. He has been regularly wormed, his mother is in good health, the pastures are nice, the other moms are healthy, the vet checks are up to date, he and the other foals are vigorous, alert and healthy. I would give your filly time and not worry about it. I'm not sure I would clip her however. They can look awfully naked when clipped.

vallygirl927 · Postby **vallygirl927** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:41 am

Thank you everyone! Yes she is a March foal. Mom and filly are in excellent body condition and health. Filly is alert and happy and looks awesome. Pastures are great and are rotated with cattle. Weather has been extremely mild for us though. Its normally not unusual to see 90's and 100 where they are located and it's been 80's at best. I will do another worming as suggested and give her a bit more time.

griff · Postby **griff** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:45 am

What is the best or several best commercial wormers that contain Pyrantel Pamoate?

Wormed with Equimax in June and again with Ivermectin in July and one yearling is still pot bellied and I don't want to hit him with another Ivermectin three months in a row.

griff

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:03 pm

Pyrantel pamoate is what is in Exodus or Strongid. The two horse tube of Exodus is usually a pretty good deal, like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/Exodus-Pyrantel-Pam ... 5d2ff1bd02

It is nearly ALWAYS less expensive than Strongid.