# Anhidrosis (Horse won't sweat)



## jumpwhat007 (Apr 10, 2009)

My horse has Anhidrosis, which means in the summer, he cannot sweat, which means he has no way of cooling his body. Does anyone have or have had a horse with this condition? If so, what do you do about it?


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## sandsarita (Jan 20, 2008)

My old show horse had this, and it is tough to manage. If at all possible, try to keep them inside during the day with good ventilation, especially fans. Some people will even put a mister over them. Make sure they do not have a thick hair coat - if your horse does, try to body clip them. Do not work them in the heat of the day - early mornings, late evenings will be your friends. Wet them down before you work them, during, and afterwards. You may have to stand them under a hose for 10, 15+ minutes to cool them down.

A supplement that I used was called ProSweat. It's not perfect, it won't make them normal, but it helps. There is another medicine, but I can't think of the name and for my horse, when I had to use it, it was around $100 a week.

The most important thing is to use common sense. If they start overheating, get them cooled off. Pay attention to them. They take extra work, but can be managed. Let me know if you have any other questions, and I'll try to help.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Yep, management is the biggest thing. Provide him with plenty of shade and ventilation. Fans and misters my be needed in the worst of the summer. 

We used to hose down my boss' gelding at least twice a day in the summer here in East Texas and then put him in his stall under fans or leave him out in a shady paddock if it was a breezy day. 

go to www.thehorse.com and look up anhydrosis---they have lots of info


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## melinda27858 (Dec 27, 2007)

I use a supplement called Equine Leg Magic for my gelding's stifle issues. Last order I made, a friend split with me to try on her ottb who doesn't sweat. One of the claims made by the product is that it MAY help non-sweaters. She fed it to him for five months and we all definitely noticed that he had begun sweating more than he ever has before. It worked on him. I should add though that the five months that she tried this supplement were not during the heat of the summer.

Of course it is not a guarantee that it would work for yours, but the supplement costs less than many others I have seen and for my friend was def worth the try!

www.equinelegmagic.com if you are interested in checking it out.


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## countrygirl88 (Jun 26, 2009)

We have three horses right now that have anhidrosis. fans and misters are all helping but not fixing the issue, we have only been dealing with it for a few days so we still doing dome research. one thing that a number of people swear by is feed the hrse a beer made with dark hops once or twice a day to induce sweating. Our vet also said that one ac and misting them with rubbing alchohol will help. has anyone else heard about any of this?


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## countrygirl88 (Jun 26, 2009)

our vet also informed us that he has had 17 horses develope anhidrosis in the last 6 days


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

The beer thing isn't proven in the least and beer is not something that you just want to be giving a horse--too many sugars and carbs much less alcohol.

Since we don't fully understand why anhydrosis occurs there hasn't been a foolproof cure found. One AC appears to help some horses, providing a loose mineral and electrolytes seems to help some horses, some horses recover and some don't. 

Try the One AC. Provide loose minerals. Add electrolytes to your horse's grain or provide a bucket of water with electrolytes added along with a bucket of plain water. 

We fought the same fight with my boss' thoroughbred at the equine hospital. Part of the daily routine during the summer was about 3 baths each day and stalling in front of a fan. In the worst part of the summer heat, she arranged to have him boarded with a client who actually had an air conditioned stall.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I was really glad to see this post. I've been so worried about our girls the last few days. I hose them down and bring them into lot with shade and a run in. Its been hot here and unusually humid, heat indexes in the 109 range. 
We finally got them a fan yesterday since they don't get much of a breeze in the run in. The wind isn't blowing much either. We have been under high heat warnings all week and continue until tomorrow night. 
Here they are enjoying the fan (I posted a photo in pictures too)  Note, I braided Vida's mane to get it off her neck :lol:


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Yeah, it gets miserable here too. My husband is going to mount a ceiliing fan in the horse's run-in shed. He built it really tall so he could do this safely.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

The July issue of Practical Horseman has an article on sweating and mentions your horse's condition. I didn't read it yet, so I'm not sure how much it has to offer. Might be worth a look.


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