Excessive Sweating

[Taylorsmom]

I have an Arabian/Quarterhorse gelding who is in his late teens. I have had him for one year and my daughter rides him several times per week. He is out in the pasture all the time, except in inclement winter weather. The entire time we have had him I have noticed that he sweats more than other horses. He begins to sweat after only a couple of minutes of riding. When we first got him he was a bit thin, but regular riding, extra food, and loyal worming seem to have him filled out and in great health otherwise. Is the sweating something to be concerned about? We are thinking about selling him to get a more competitive horse, but a potential buyer noticed the sweating and seemed concerned. Please help--I have no horse experience. Thanks,
Lisa

[aliw]

In the winter when they have a warm, woolly coat, horses tend to sweat. To stop them from getting too hot you can clip the fur off, and there are several types of clips. My horses live out too, and the best clip for horses that live out is a bib clip (the underneath of the neck and belly up to the girth area).
In your case, I don't know if it is a health problem, but to stop him losing too much salt when he sweats you could give him a salt lick.

[artemis]

Excessive sweating is one of the symptoms of cushing's disease. Does he have any other symptoms such as excessive peeing wooly,curly coat, fatty deposits above the eyes, lethargy , depression,laminitis?

[Taylorsmom]

Thank you both for your replies! No, he does not have any of the other symptoms that you mentioned. He is alert and energetic with good coat, etc. As for the clipping suggestion, I will discuss this with some "horse friends" of mine, but he has the sweating problem in both the winter and the summer. Could it just be something weird about him? Also, he sweats mostly around his neck and the front half of his body, if that means anything. Thanks again,
Lisa

[aliw]

Yes, the areas where you said he sweats is where my horses sweat.
In the summer when mine sweat I just hose them off.

[Bebe]

A horse on my yard has just been diagnosed (via blood tests) with the early stages of cushings disease. His only noticeable symptom was excessive sweating so it may be worth having bloods run just to rule this out.

[artemis]

Blood test for cushings can be very expensive! Ask for a quote first.