Change of coat: tips to support your horse during this season
Its only February but Spring is on its way!
Our horses have already started to change their coat. This already happens when the days start to get longer. The pituitary gland registers the amount of daylight and releases hormones to stimulate their hair follicles to grow.
Their circadian rhythm is synchronized with light and dark but also climate changes and available nutrition throughout the year.
The whole process of changing their coat costs a lot of energy and nutrients. So there is an increased need of nutrients.
Especially horses with health problems such as sweet itch, mud fever, mallenders, sallenders, allergies and a cough, will need the extra support.
What can you do to support the horse?
1. Optimize feeding
Support the horse by feeding ad lib good quality hay
Avoid food high in sugar
Make sure your horse is getting the right minerals and vitamins by providing a mineral feed Such as Okapi minerals or seaweed.
Add seasonal herbs to their diet such as Okapi springtime herbs
2. Support the liver
Spring is the prime time to support the liver to help get rid of toxins. During this time the coat changes, horses are wormed, get vaccines, dental treatments, change of feed and many other factors can strain the liver. You can support the liver with certain herbs, spirulina powder, wild seeds but also with certain homeopathic remedies.
It is important that you make sure that the liver is able to handle the detoxification process. If not then detoxing the horse can cause more trouble and health problems.
3. Support skin regeneration
For this you can add zinc and sulphur to the diet. But also wild seeds, hemp seeds, or linseeds.
4. Support the immune system
Especially horses with metabolic issues such as sweet itch, cough, mud fever will need a boost of the immune system. For this we recommend adding rosehips to the diet, wild berries, immune support from horseflex which consists out of herbs and L-Lysine. vitamin E to help as an antioxidant and Bee pollen. If possible get them local. The bee pollen support the immune system and helps fight allergies.
Early markers that indicate issues with the change of coat
Things to look out for that can indicate that your horse is struggling to change coat or has other underlying metabolic problems:
1. Coat
Dull coat, black horse that turns brown, vertical stripes on the body, delayed moulting, poor winter coat
2. Skin
Sweet itch, hives, dandruff, sarcoids, lice and skin fungus
3. Oedema
cresty neck, swollen legs, cellulitis
4. Hooves
Trush, abscesses, laminitis, week horn, footiness
Does your horse have any of these symptoms and you feel that it needs the extra support during this season then please contact us.
We are happy to create an individual feeding plan and customized therapy treatment for your horse.