Changes of coat cover in primitive horses living on a reserve

Abstract

Changes in the coat cover are important for mammalian thermoregulation. This is especially true where variable environmental conditions exist throughout the seasons. Coat cover shedding is the replacement of old coat hair with new hair. The process differs in various equids. The aim of the study was to examine the changes in the coat of primitive Polish Konik horses living on a reserve in southeast Poland (50.6319° N). The reserve is located in a temperate climate. The mean temperature is below 0°C in winter (December 8 to March 9) and over 15°C in summer (June 8 to September 8). Five adult mares were included in the study. The study used a specific methodical approach to quantitatively assess coat cover changes. Photos were taken once every 2 wk throughout the whole year to document the state of the mares' coat. MultiScanBase software was used to analyze 260 photos. The percentage of the skin surface covered with short hair in relation to the surface of the body (without the head, neck, and limbs; short hair body [SHB]) was determined. To assess the topography of coat changes, surface parts covered with short hair within 6 regions of the body (shoulder, back, chest, loins, belly, and hindquarters; short hair part [SHP]) were considered separately. The regression coefficient was calculated for the SHB and the air temperature. Correlations in SHP and SHB between the left and right sides of the body were determined. The correlations within the right side of the body concerned particular SHP. As the results show, the coat changes take place at the same time on both sides of the horse's body. In spring, the winter hair is shed, and in the fall, the winter hair grows in longer. High regression (0.901; < 0.0001) proved that air temperature strongly affected the coat changes. The most important increase of SHB occurs in April and the first half of May, whereas the main decrease of SHB takes place in September. Changes between SHP are highly correlated (0.967-0.994; < 0.05). Spring and fall coat changes demonstrate that the shoulders, back, and loins require the winter cover for a longer time than the chest and belly, whereas the hindquarters are the least demanding in this respect. The phenomenon may be associated with, among others, the stronger effect of rain and snow on the upper parts of the body.

Dermoscopic analysis of the skin of healthy warmblood horses: a descriptive study of 34 cases in Italy

“…The winter coat is characterized by longer and thicker guard hairs and a fine undercoat. Horses in temperate climates such as in northern Italy will shed during the spring and have a short, fine, summer coat until September . In horses, outer hairs and underhairs, also referred to as primary and secondary hairs, have different lengths and thicknesses, with the former reported to be longer and thicker than the latter .…”

Length of winter coat in horses depending on husbandry conditions

“…Similar views are presented by Reiss () and Stachurska et al . (), who found that a more abundant winter hair coat in horses is correlated with an earlier coat shedding, especially for individuals kept in nature reserves.…”

“…It should be emphasized that modern husbandry conditions are most often distant from the natural conditions for this animal species (Kiley-Worthington 1990;Rivera et al 2002). Horse riding centers that have recently become popular are set in limited suburban areas or sometimes even within urban agglomerations and thus they maintain a stable-like or stable system of keeping horses in which animals are not provided with sufficient access to pastures and paddocks and the stable facilities are intended to create an architectural landscape rather than proper conditions for horses (Houpt 1981;Stachurska et al 2015). Such systems should not be implemented, as it makes it impossible to maintain the welfare of horses (Cymbaluk & Christison 1989).…”

Clinical Approach to Commonly Encountered Problems

“…Evaporation is also an important mechanism of heat loss in horses. [9][10][11] It has been demonstrated that horses voluntarily select shelter, especially under wet, windy conditions and that shelter selection is affected by breed, body condition score, and hair coat weight. However, even when the animal is not sweating, water evaporates insensibly from the skin and lungs, resulting in continual heat loss.…”