Horse shedding too much?

Hi,
My appaloosa mare is shedding massive amounts of hair from her body and mane. Is that normal for the summer? I don't mean just a lot of hair, I mean like fistfulls just from wiping my hand from her withers to hip bones. This was normal in the winter but she has her summer coat now and I don't think its normal. She had little feathers on her front legs but they have fallen out and her mane hairs are falling out at the roots. She rubbed out some of her tail on the barn. Last summer she did not shed this much. She has also turned very white and has lost the majority of her orangey coloring this summer. She is up to date on all vaccines and has a negative coggins. She is my only horse right now and stays in my backyard. I feed her 3 big flakes of hay twice a day and she gets a scoop of sweet feed 10% protein grain in the morning. No supplements.
Can anyone give me an idea of what's going on? Are there any other horses that are shedding this much and from everywhere? Or is this normal for appaloosas?
Thank you for any advice.

Her grandsire is Impressive. Is this a sign of HYPP? I have not had her tested for it. She is also in heat right now, could that have something to do with it?

Attachments:

summer color.jpg, 147 KB
feathers.jpg, 220 KB
hair.jpg, 234 KB

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Geoffrey Pannell on August 1, 2009 at 5:14pm

I don't think I'd be too worried Meghan, it looks like the last of the winter coat coming out . If she starts to get bare patches then I'd get a vet to have a look. The hair you have in your hand in the pic is winter coat, and the feathers are ment to fall out. Cheers Geoffrey

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jan Jollymour on August 1, 2009 at 6:50pm

Hi, Megan:

Your horse may just be shedding her "summer" coat, in readiness for fall. Some of it depends on temperature, and a lot depends on hours of daylight, and specifically the number of lumens your horse receives per 16 hour stretch. Some horses are very sensitive to changes in light, and can start to change their coats well before others in their area (or even in their barn).

All our performance horses are shedding right now, and they routinely lose as much hair as you show in the photos. It would appear that your Appy mare has the "greying" gene, and she will likely become more and more white as she ages. There's nothing weird about it, and it's not something to worry about, it just happens to some of them, just like some chestnuts will suddenly develop birds-eye white spots all over their bodies.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Meghan on August 2, 2009 at 9:00am

Thank you for your replies. She isn't getting patches down to the skin, just tons of hair is coming off. She didn't shed this much last summer but we do live in Mass. and the weather is always changing and messing with everyone.
And yes, she has progressively got more and more white throughout the three years I've had her. She was born a chesnut. Thanks again for your advice, I really appreciate it.