Getting to the Bottom of Chronic Idiopathic Anhidrosis
Chronic idiopathic anhidrosis (CIA) is a lifelong inability to sweat, with no known cause. Cold water hosing can help keep these horses cool. | Photo: iStock
Nonsweater. It’s the term we often give horses with anhidrosis, a condition characterized by the inability to sweat. Because horses are one of only three species that use sweat as their main thermoregulatory method, not being able to sweat is a big deal.

During the University of Florida Veterinary Extension’s 2020 Healthy Horses Conference, Laura das Neves Patterson Rosa, DVM, PhD, described this condition and what researchers are learning about it.

What Is CIA?

Chronic idiopathic anhidrosis (CIA) is a lifelong (sometimes seasonal, sometimes year-round) inability to sweat, with no known cause. Common signs include:

  • A dry coat;
  • Rapid breathing;
  • Decreased appetite and water intake;
  • Alopecia (hair loss); and
  • Depression.

“The risk is that animals with this condition can overheat, which can lead to heat shock, convulsions, and even death,” Patterson Rosa said

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