How to speed up that winter coat???? HELP!

[bridlewise]

I have an OTTB gelding acquired this summer that is NOT getting the slightest hint of winter hair thus far in the season...which would not be so scary but he now lives in NORTH DAKOTA and much prefers to be outside!

Does anyone there know any tricks of the trade for encouraging winter hair growth? I've never seen a horse this slow to grow his winter coat...he came from Ontario but I don't think he's been on full time turnout since he was a yearling. He's on wheat germ oil and flax already...and while it is above freezing, he's been out 24/7 with a run-in...but if it gets much colder here, he's gonna be one sad boy and I hate to blanket and stall him (very active boy) if it can be gotten around!

HELP!

[spex4me]

hmmm... I believe hair growth is directly proportionate to the decreasing daylight. So it's a biological clock that I don't think you'll be able to tinker with too much. Might just go ahead and do the happy blanket thing this winter and see how he does. I shovel hay out the wazoo to mine. The others, TWH geldings, are fuzzy bears already and my TB is just sprouting a tiny amount of fuzz. I figure I can supplement hay to keep the internal heater on and then I blanket when it gets too chilly, normally when it's damp as she as no real defense.

[Jenny]

I blanket mine that live outside all winter with heavy waterproof turnouts and it works great!!
I have had horses from Florida before and it took about 2 or 3 winters before they started to even get a coat!!! We are in Ontario and it is freezing here in the winter. We get temps of -20C quite often and sometimes even as low as -40C so not much different than north Dakota.
Good luck.

[BridledObsession]

Hi bridlewise Good luck! Keep us posted - it will be interesting to see if/when he does get a winter coat. We had one OTTB that NEVER got a winter coat. Year after year in PA he kept a beautiful coat -- no furriness to him whatsoever. He never seemed bothered by the cold, but then he was always in at night. He also absolutley refused to keep a blanket on -- I think it insulted his manhood.

[Joltman]

I shipped from TX to VA in a blizzard and my guys did OK with almost no coats for a couple weeks but they grew them pretty quick. I was always told to leave the blankets off them and they would grow a coat naturally. Since then I have kept the blankets off them in all but the very coldest weather/icy weather. Usually this time of year they will get a little chilled but if they have plenty of hay or grass their gut will develop the heat internally to keep them warm.


jm

[zinn21]

The only way I know that prevents hair growth other than blanketing is to provide 16 hours of daylight per day using a 60 to 100 watt bulb, followed by at least 6 hours of darkness per night. This method will trick the horse into thinking that it is summertime, and the hair coat will either not grow or will shed early. So if you are either doing the previous mentioned by design or by accident the horse should be growing a winter coat naturally.

[bridlewise]

Thanks for all the great replies! We're working on the theory of plenty of food + exposure to weather (no blankets) = a nice winter coat in time! We shall see...