Apr 29 2009
Harry the Hairless Horse
Was he born hairless, or did this develop later?
He was born mostly with hair..patches missing, the the loose hair was in the sack with him when he was born.
Does he have any hair on his body, mane, or tail?
The larger follicles do get the occasional hair, like some mane, some tail, few whiskers and some longer hairs on his chin, neck, some on his legs..just here and there, every 5 or 6 inches…and it is long, stringy, wirey hair..like pig hair almost
Do any of his ancestors or siblings, as far as you know, have hair loss? Is this believed to be genetic?
I have heard that they had at least one other foal and it was normal. The mare did have a uterine infection several weeks before she foaled, that could have caused it, or the vet that treated Harry for his septic knee when he was born said that she thought, maybe the antibiotics that she used may have caused it…the university said that would not be possible.
Can he be ridden at all, for example, bareback or with a pad?
I used to ride him, with a saddle..but now he is to sore because of arthritis in his legs etc. He has never been able to go far..maybe 20 minutes and he would get very tired and would stumble..he also has EPSM that is pretty severe and without being on the high fat/low carb diet..he would not be able to move..much less survive.
Because of his condition, does he need special care, or is he prone to any skin problems?
Tons of special care. He gets fungal infections, he is prone to respiratory problems, muscle problems…can’t be out in the sun to much, he will burn his white spots, and also can have heat stroke (he was really bad at falling asleep in the sun when he was younger and getting much to hot, so I called him the bat boy and put him in during the day, and out at night) He gets dry skin if it’s windy, and we use different ointments on him. Also, he gets a lot of greasy spots on his blankets from his skin oils and tends to go through blankets alot..I used to call him shredder. He requires lots of blankets of different weights that we layer on him etc.
Do you think Harry knows he’s different? Does he act any differently because of his condition?
He is low man on the totem pole..even babies will chase him. He has kicked at another horse maybe three times in his life. HE is super mellow and sweet and wouldn’t hurt anything. He lets a cat ride on his back…and will follow anyone anywhere. He is really an amazing animal and will do anything for me..even if it causes him pain. He suffered from laminitis last year and was down approx 23 hours a day..and would lay there while I bandaged his feet. He would hold them up for me as long as he could..then almost collapse. I actually ruptured a disc in my neck..working on him…requiring my neck to be fused. He would do anything for me, and I would do anything for him. I would sit there crying working on him..finish then go to the chiropracter and get worked on so I could make it another day.
Have any studies been done on him to try to determine the cause of his condition? If so, what did they find?
He has skin biopsies all over the country and has had several papers written about him in veterinary text books (mainly in the dermatology texts). Basically, they found that he most closely resembles a “baldy” calf. The follicles are in tact, but are arranged in an odd manner. They really do not know why…and said that it is a worst case scenario..it won’t happen again….so why study it further is what I was told.
Do you take him to any shows or horse events? I can imagine the look on a judge’s face if he was entered in a halter class!
I did take him to one show when he was a baby…I wanted him to get out and get used to going places..so we went in and schooled at a schooling show (I turned my number over so I wouldn’t upset anyone) and they had to announce that he was not contagious.
Does Harry live with other horses?
Yes, and he has been my “weaning buddy” for years as he is great with the babies. We have quarter horses