He wasn't very fuzzy, was 'e?
I present you with Harry, the hairless Percheron horse.
Harry is one of a very small number of horses in the world born with the attribute for being bald. Harry is also the world's only known living, healthy hairless horse. Harry is not totally hairless - he grows a tiny bit of mane and tiny clumps of boar-like bristle in other places. Research has been done by various vets and universities who have found no real cause for Harry's condition. His hair follicles are present and healthy, but other than being arranged in an odd fashion, they simply don't work. Harry actually began losing hair while in the womb, and clumps of hair were found in the amniotic sac with him when he was born.
Harry is generally in good health. Because he has no hair, he suffers from fungal skin infections, sunburn, windburn, biting pests and obviously he gets pretty friggin' cold. His owner does not ride him anymore (but apparently used to), mainly because he suffers from a condition common to draft horses known as EPSM that causes muscle wasting, as well as arthritis. Also, there isn't really a way to ride him that wouldn't seriously gall his skin and cause lots of irritation.
Bald horses have appeared several times in the past, and generally were exhibited as sideshow freaks and curiosities, and examples in the past have popped up in draft-type horses, such as Blue Bell, the "India Rubber-Skinned Horse" seen below.
Hairlessness is seen more commonly in the Akhal-Teke breed. Akhal-Tekes originated in Turkmenistan, and are also the only breed of horse known to have metallic-colored coats. Naked Foal Syndrome is a well-known genetic defect that seems to affect only this breed. Nobody knows where it originated, but accounts of hairless Akhal-Tekes go back as far as the 1930's.
This "palomino" Akhal-Teke foal was born in April, 2005 :
And yes, they are fuglier than the day is long. Sadly, Naked Foal Syndrome is thought to be a lethal recessive genetic condition, and most foals born like this do not live longer than a few weeks after birth, though rarely some have lived as long as 2 years. Harry the Percheron remains the oldest, and healthiest, hairless horse alive.
Harry is one of a very small number of horses in the world born with the attribute for being bald. Harry is also the world's only known living, healthy hairless horse. Harry is not totally hairless - he grows a tiny bit of mane and tiny clumps of boar-like bristle in other places. Research has been done by various vets and universities who have found no real cause for Harry's condition. His hair follicles are present and healthy, but other than being arranged in an odd fashion, they simply don't work. Harry actually began losing hair while in the womb, and clumps of hair were found in the amniotic sac with him when he was born.
Harry is generally in good health. Because he has no hair, he suffers from fungal skin infections, sunburn, windburn, biting pests and obviously he gets pretty friggin' cold. His owner does not ride him anymore (but apparently used to), mainly because he suffers from a condition common to draft horses known as EPSM that causes muscle wasting, as well as arthritis. Also, there isn't really a way to ride him that wouldn't seriously gall his skin and cause lots of irritation.
Bald horses have appeared several times in the past, and generally were exhibited as sideshow freaks and curiosities, and examples in the past have popped up in draft-type horses, such as Blue Bell, the "India Rubber-Skinned Horse" seen below.
Hairlessness is seen more commonly in the Akhal-Teke breed. Akhal-Tekes originated in Turkmenistan, and are also the only breed of horse known to have metallic-colored coats. Naked Foal Syndrome is a well-known genetic defect that seems to affect only this breed. Nobody knows where it originated, but accounts of hairless Akhal-Tekes go back as far as the 1930's.
This "palomino" Akhal-Teke foal was born in April, 2005 :
And yes, they are fuglier than the day is long. Sadly, Naked Foal Syndrome is thought to be a lethal recessive genetic condition, and most foals born like this do not live longer than a few weeks after birth, though rarely some have lived as long as 2 years. Harry the Percheron remains the oldest, and healthiest, hairless horse alive.