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Coat is the nature and quality of amammal'sfur. In theanimal fancy, coat is an attribute that reflects the quality of a specimen'sbreeding as well as the level of the animal'scare, conditioning, and management. Coat is an integral aspect of the judging at competitions such as aconformation dog show, acat show, ahorse show (especiallyshowmanship classes), or arabbit show.
The pelage of a show animal may be divided into different types ofhair,fur orwool with a texture ranging from downy to spiky. In addition, the animal may be single-coated or may have a number of coats, such as anundercoat and a topcoat (also called anouter coat or, sometimes,overcoat), which is made up ofguard hair. The state of the coat is considered an indication of the animal'sbreeding and health.
Animals might have different coat quality for different seasons. Normally, animals with fur or hair body coats may develop a thicker and/or longer winter coat in colder times of the year, which will shed out to a shorter, sleeker, summer coat as the days lengthen into spring and summer. This process may not occur in a noticeable fashion in climates that are warm year-round, though animals may nonetheless shed their coats periodically. The process may also be minimized by artificially keeping the animal blanketed, or, in the case of small animals, housed indoors.
Pinnipeds andpolar bears have longer guard hairs forming the most visiblefur;[1] polar bears' guard hairs are hollow.
Some considerations in judging the quality of an animal's coat: