Dry Coat in horses/ie: a horse that doesn't sweat?

[westover]

Does anyone have any experience with this? My friend has a horse in his barn (race horse) it comes back to the barn after training blowing like a train but no sweat. Its thyroid has been checked and is normal. Temperature is consistently normal. The horse looks great. They are in Florida so obviously the temperature is warm+. Any thoughts, experiences or what to do about it???

Thx.

[Rushtawin]

Anhydrosis. Good luck.

[jumper77]

Yup. Anhydrosis.

Cool water hosings, electrolytes. Very close observation during exercise. Limited exercise in warmer months.



Sometimes they will start to sweat again. It can come and go. Talk to your vet about it.

[westover]

Thank you for that. I probably should have been a little more specific. We know thats what it is, but are wondering if anyone has ever had a performance horse with it, dealt with it first hand and how difficult or easy it was to manage the disease. As we have never dealt with it before it would be nice to know from a realistic stand point how someone else has dealt with it. The horse is in Florida and we know that practically speaking a colder climate is better however, its hard to change everything around and move for one horse. Anyone who has experienced it first hand.. would love to hear how the horse handled it ... while in training etc.. or when racing or competing and if you were able to manage it or did you have to retire the horse. Thank you!

[Rushtawin]

From what it looks like, in some horses it's manageable. What I've heard from other people is that each case varies in severity, and thus will be more or less expensive or manageable accordingly. I personally haven't worked with horses who don't sweat - but I do know that even in Upstate, NY - where Saratoga Racetrack is - summer time temperatures can exceed 100*.

So what I'm saying is that even a cross country move might not help all horses - and from a management standpoint, fans on the stalls suggested help all horses during the summer - not just those who can't sweat. I would think that providing shade and/or hosing these animals down after exercising might also help cool them - but with my luck I'd be giving you the wrong advice.

I guess what it really comes down to is who's managing the barn and whether they're willing to accomodate a horse who takes a (little) bit of extra care. Some barns I've been at during summer or whenever the horse gets sweaty would go the extra mile and hose them and/or take the time to properly cool them down. Others I know won't even wrap a leg if you pay extra for it.

Sorry this reply didn't help much since you already knew about all that, in all likelihood.

[jumper77]

I've had a couple of horses that didn't sweat. We did just what I stated before.^^^

The first case was a pony, and he had to be kept out of the sun, and he got hosed off 3-4 times daily, just to bring his body temp down. He was not mine, but another boarder's, so I'm not sure what happened to him. I think he was sold; don't know what happened to him after that. I think it's relatively safe to say he was either sent to a cooler climate or put down.

The second case was a TB, and he was a girl's equitation horse. When he stopped sweating, she stopped working him. I rode him once, very lightly, with several walking breaks, at least 10 min. per. He actually started sweating a tiny bit during that ride, so everyone got very excited. It took him 2-3 hours to cool down from that ride. He was on the walker for about 30 mins, then hosed off, walker, hose, walker, hose. He was on electrolytes. He was essentially retired, and went out for very light rides on cool days. I moved away at that time, so I don't know what happened after that.

I'd imagine our weather is very similar. Stall fans are pretty much a given here in the summer. You should get a vet's opinion, but I'd think that it would be hard to manage in such a hot climate. I bet one of those water misting fans would help in the summer.

See what your vet says. They may have some better treatment options. I wish I had more positive info for you, but I hope this helps you a little bit.

[westover]

Thanks a lot for that. It is a help. My husband is a private trainer and the horse is in his barn so ithe poor guy will get anything and everything he needs. Its just something neither one of us has ever encountered. Its tough as you want to train the horse regularly but you worry about over heating. The horse will come back blowing like a train but won't have one drop of sweat on him. They all get cold hosed, bathed, ice boots.. you name it, so he will get everything but he is in Florida and you how hot it gets there esp. by March. The horse looks great. He had everything else checked, thyroid etc.. all is good. Just don't know if he will be able to train normally, therefore race, or if he will have to retire and have a career change - he is young 3 and unraced to date.

Thanks again i appreciate you taking the time.

[westover]

Jumper 77 Thanks a lot. That is exactly what i was wondering. Its a tough one for sure. I have doubts the horse will be able to have a racing career. He was speaking to the vet today so i'll ask him when i speak with him what the vet recommended.

Thank you so much for responding.

[ak1]

I worked with a thoroughbred hunter like that...fans in his stall, no daytime turnout in hot weather, when we rode him we watched his body condition (breathing rate, pulse) to make sure he was not over heating, and carefully cooled him out. I was asked to give hum short rides in the Virginia summer heat and humidity. The idea was to slowly acclimate him to it and to try and get his body to sweat. It did work, he did start to sweat, though in odd places. I don't know what type of meds/supplements he was on, but he was used in a college equestrian program successfully.

For what it is worth, he did let you know when he was at his limits...if you did not pay attention to what his body was telling you, he would slow down of his own accord. He was also real good about being super quiet during the hot daylight hours....loved being brushed while he snoozed!

[jumper77]

Hmm, I actually gave some decent advice!

Yeah, I'd definitely talk to the vet. Because what I know about it only covers second-hand info from the owner or trainer. I've never spoken directly to a vet about it. Maybe there's more options, treatments, etc. that I don't know about.

[Intrinsic Worth]

My horse stopped sweating a few years back due to excessive heat. He was put on One Ace and was fine afterwards, no problems with sweating.

[jumper77]

I googled and only found a bunch of card games. What's One Ace?

[Intrinsic Worth]

It's a powder and your vet should have it. I found out later from another vet that if you give your horse a beer, it will have the same results as One Ace.

[westover]

Do you give them a whole beer and 1x a day or ..? how much how often?
He ran the filly and she was last and is def. suffering from the heat down there. She ran at Woodbine last year and is a nice /and talented race horse.. Let me know re: the beer.. good suggestion. Thanks

good question re: one ace did the same thing and got same thing on Google!!!

[Sky Beauty]

The product you're looking for is One AC, and it works far better than beer. It's best if you can give the horse about two weeks off, or extremely easy training when you first start giving the powder.

Some studies done by the inventer have also shown that it works best if given in conjunction with a series of RVI injections.

You should be able to get it at nearly any decent size tack shop in Florida. Certainly any one that caters to racers.