Ideas Anyone?

It's April tomorrow and down here it's only a month or two until winter. My thoroughbred has recently turned a beautiful black colour, considering he isnt a true black. It's taken alot of work and being rugged 24/7 to get him to look the way he looks now.

To my dismay, when I took of his rug today he has started to grow his winter coat. I've only had him for roughly 10 months, when I got him he was clipped. He was a disgusting mushroom colour, so theres no way I'm clipping him again.

I'm rugging him as much as possible without letting him get hot. I can't stable him or go to the extreme of keeping him somewhere with lights, which supposedly keeps them from growing a long coat. Does anyone have any Ideas of what I can do to try and keep his coat from growing very long, so he doesnt look like a mammoth at shows. Any Ideas are appreciated.

Don't TB's coats not grow to long generally anyway? I may be mistaken here though.

I'm not sure really, I'll have to ask a few of my friends that have tb's. His old owner said he gets pretty hairy. If he's already fluffy won't it get worse as it gets into the beginning of winter?

I'm not really sure - as I am approaching the first winter with my horses now. Go Australia! I'm pretty sure that my friend has never had her TB's get overly furry during winter.

TB's generally don't grow winter coats very well. I have a cross who greatly takes after the TB characteristics and has yet to grow a full winter coat out of the 9 winters I've seen him in. Perhaps what you saw before was a full body clip? Horses who are clipped will have different colored coats. Sometimes a winter coat will grow in a shade different, but nothing too drastic.

He shouldnt get too hairy as he is a TB. As long as you keep him rugged and warm he shouldnt need to grow too much coat.

Yes lights stop hair growth, but its a hassle if you don't have the facilities.

All I can suggest is keep doing what your doing and don't wash him right before a show as that takes away the oils in the coat, which results in fluffiness.

Haha I am laughing my butt off here. But only because We have finally gotten rid of the horrid winter weather, and my pony is sheding out his terrible winter coat. HAHAHHAHA! This makes me unbelivably happy. Don't know why. Its SPRING! And we are going to open our pool soon...I hope!

Lol. What I consider a winter coat is probably alot different to what most of you consider a winter coat. I'll have to take pictures of him and show you what I'm complaining about. . Now that I think of it, it really isn't that bad...yet. But I still hate winter coats.

I know what you mean coz my boy gets like a polar bear- he normally gets full body clipped in winter, coz I don't have stables and lights. Normally TB's don't get too hairy- but if a horse get's full body clipped once there hair grows more than if they aren't clipped(i've heard- don't know if it's true?) ? Maybe rug alittle more because at the moment the nights are really cold!

What you mean is this right???



^^winter coat (this was two months ago)




^^currently shedding out (this is just a couple days ago.)



^^Summer Coat (this is last summer.)


You must keep in mind that we are on differant sides of the earth, when its winter for you I am going into summer.