Summer Shedding
Aug 18,2015 | Kim Horton
Most of us are acutely aware what happens towards the end of winter when horses start to lose their coat as great tufts of it fall freely to the ground when grooming, stick to your eyelashes and get up your nose! But this happens at the end of summer too, when the horse starts to get rid of the summer coat to prepare for winter.
It is important to understand how a horse’s hair grows. It’s influenced primarily by the changing levels of daylight throughout the year. In early to midsummer, hair growth is dormant. This is technically known as the ‘telogen’ phase. As the amount of daily sunlight diminishes in late summer, the horse's hair starts growing. This is known as the ‘anagen’ phase. This phase continues until the full winter coat has grown. Through the winter nothing much changes until early spring, when increasing daylight triggers the new hair to grow as the old coat sheds out.
The hairs of a horse’s summer coat are much shorter and thinner. They give a really healthy horse a sleek and shiny coat. These short, fine hairs protect your horse from overheating in the warmer weather. However even as early as the beginning of August in the UK, the hours or rather minutes of sunshine each day, gradually diminishes, little by little. To start with you certainly wouldn’t notice, but by the time the harvest is taken in, you’d probably notice a change in your horse’s coat.
Occasionally warmer than normal temperatures slow or halt the growth of the winter coat but temperatures have to be significantly warmer and not just for a day!
Grooming can help to remove the loose summer coat from your horse, helping them to prepare their coats for winter. There are many tools and brushes available to help make this easier, leaving your horses coat in great condition. Take a look at our Moulting Collection and see some of our favourites below.
Smart Grooming Smart Coats Thinner Rake
The Smart Coats can be used to quickly rid your horse of excessive fur without clogging up your clippers.
Betty's Best StripHair Gentle Groomer For Horses
This innovative tool can be used to groom, curry, add shine, de-shed, massage, and can even be used with shampoo for an extra stimulating bath.
The Groomi is a coat shedding assistant for horses, dogs and cats. This unique product is easy to use and works by gently pulling through the animal's coat to remove loose hair, dirt and dandruff in an effective yet humane manner.
This grooming block removes loose hair and dried mud - and brilliantly it works it's magic on bot eggs too. An old favourite for many horse owners. Leaves a clean, slick coat.
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