Shedding Light On Shedding-Out

By MaryKay Ruble

Contrary to what some old tales tell us, it is not the warming temperatures in the early spring months that signal our horses to begin the shedding process. The cue to our horses to begin this sloughing of hair is the lengthening of daylight hours.

We can assure that this shedding-out progresses as intended with a couple of minor changes to our routines. On days that stalled horses cannot or will not be turned out, the simple act of opening barn doors early in the day, for as long as the sun is up, allows more natural light into what might otherwise be a dark hole. Frequent early-morning to late-day turnout also exposes these horses to natural light, and by leaving them out for as long as the day is, follows nature’s schedule.

To speed up the loss of a horse’s winter coat, some owners rely on artificial light. In some cases the lights already in place in a barn are sufficient. Increasing the amount of time that barn lights are left on by two to three hours of use daily up to sixteen hours is enough to stimulate the horse’s internal clock to begin shedding. In some barns that use this method, the light therapy may not be constant. Timers can be used to turn lights on during the middle of the night, when electric rates may be lower. Using the lights at night also makes the light that is radiated appear brighter.

Individual high output lights, each with its own on/off switch, installed above each horse gives the handler the ability to shed out one or two horses, instead of shedding out all of the horses in the barn or aisle.

In areas of the country where cold temperatures may still be hovering, a blanket may be needed to compensate for the loss of natural insulation by these horses.