Seven Ways to Avoid Dull Coats
Seven Ways to Avoid Dull Coats
While the summer sun can bring about a dull, faded coat that lacks its normal sheen, a lackluster coat can happen at any time of year. A good-looking, shiny coat is not only good for your horse's health but also beautiful to look at and never hurts in the show ring. Let's look at seven ways to avoid dull coats all year long.
1. Prevent UV rays.
Why does ample sunlight cause coat fading in the first place? It's actually the same culprit behind your sunburn: UV rays. UV stands for ultraviolet, and it's merely an invisible form of light (or, more technically, “radiation") that is slightly stronger than visible light.
If you could see ultraviolet on the rainbow, it would sit just above violet, hence the name. While UV rays do some good, like stimulating the body's production of vitamin D, they contain a bit more energy than regular light, so they can do some damage if there's too much exposure — cue your sunburn and your horse's faded coat.
Keeping your horse in the barn all the time would probably work, but of course this isn't a good idea. Some horse owners in very hot regions experiment with turning their horses out overnight and stabling during the day to avoid harsh temperatures. A side benefit of this practice is that their horses also avoid daytime UV rays. If you suspect UV rays are causing your horse's coat to fade, a simple UV-blocking nylon fly sheet is an easy remedy. You could also apply Vetrolin® Shine to your horse's coat, which contains PABA sunscreens to help prevent bleaching and protect the coat from wind, weather, and sun.
2. Provide good nutrition.
Coat health is often an indicator of a horse's overall health and diet. A quality coat is like a final barometer that may help indicate the horse is healthy. One way to avoid a dull coat is to ensure your horse's diet is as good as possible. And a good diet begins with quality forage (hay). Besides avoiding forage with obvious problems — hay rained on before baling or subsequently stored improperly — you also want to avoid feeding hay cut too late.
Make sure you're feeding your horse the proper amount of concentrated feed (grain) for your horse's activity level and target body weight. (Be sure to work this out with your equine veterinarian.) And as many horse owners know, nothing quite puts a “bloom" on a horse's good looks than quality pasture grass and plenty of turnout time to enjoy it. Access to pasture isn't always an option for all horse owners, but it can be very helpful when available.
3. Choose high-quality supplements.
After you've ensured that quality nutrition is helping your horse's coat from the inside out, add a nutritional supplement specifically designed to promote a rich, glossy coat and a strong mane and tail, like Laser Sheen® Skin & Coat Supplement. Laser Sheen includes a proper balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids and ceramides to maximize skin hydration.
Adding a straight fat source to the diet is also possible. Horse owners have long used fat sources like vegetable oils, rice bran, or roasted soybeans to safely add calories to a thin horse's diet. Or choose something like Weight BuilderTM supplement that helps promote healthy skin and a shiny coat while helping to maintain your horse's weight or energy for performance. But even if your horse is in good weight, you can try a small amount of equine-safe fat sources to add just a bit of sheen and shine back into a horse's coat. Ask your veterinarian for advice on the most appropriate choice and quantity.
4. Use a coat-brightening shampoo.
Sometimes, a coat is healthy and has all the attributes in place for it to look great, but it just needs a helping hand. That's when a coat-brightening shampoo can work wonders to bring out the coat's natural sheen. Vetrolin White 'N BriteTM equine shampoo cleans the coat well and offers coat-brightening attributes to lighten greys and white markings. The product also enhances dark coats, helping bring out the natural shine that contrasts nicely with a black or dark bay coat.
5. Remove sweat often.
Sweat is simply moisture a body releases to evaporate on the skin and remove heat. But the body must move a lot of water for this to happen, so it uses salt gradients to help. Some of the salt is released onto your horse's coat with the sweat. But instead of evaporating, it stays in the coat, adding yet another element to the puzzle of dull, faded coats. Prolonged exposure to the salt can have a detrimental effect on your horse's coat, so it's a good idea to remove it when possible.
If your horse is particularly sweaty after a workout, you might opt for a quick bath, spraying water around the main areas where sweat can collect on a horse: the chest between the front legs, the back, and the hindquarters. But even a light workout can cause sweat under your horse's saddle pad, so this is an area to work on consistently. Even if you don't have time to get out the hose and bathe the saddle area, you should still try to remove most of the sweat with a quick grooming session. If you do have time for a longer bath, try Wonder BlueTM deep-conditioning shampoo that deodorizes and helps remove flaky, dry skin.
6. Perform regular brushing sessions.
Besides removing sweat stains, routine grooming sessions help stimulate the natural oils in your horse's coat. It's two sides of the same coin — you’re supporting the coat's condition by removing dust, dirt, and manure stains, but you're also helping to bring out those natural oils present in the coat and help them do their job better. Vetrolin Green Spot Out is a great spray-on, dry shampoo ideal for colder weather or when you don't have time for a full bath. You can also use this time to check for and treat any insect or tick bites that your horse may be scratching, which irritates his coat at the same time.
7. Lock in that shine.
Finally, when you're all done, and your horse's coat looks great and shines in the sun, lock in the good looks with a grooming spray. Laser Sheen Dazzling Shine & Detangler can help add that extra finishing shine to your horse's coat while helping to repel dust (very handy!). It pulls double duty as a mane and tail detangler, which is awesome for those last-minute grooming sessions just before going into the show ring. Try to avoid spraying directly on the saddle/girth area because the spray can be a bit slick to the touch, and you don't want your tack slipping.
Your Horse's Coat Can Shine All Year Long
Your spirited, adventurous horse is anything but dull, so don't let a dull summer coat give a lackluster first impression. With a few simple steps, your horse's coat will look bright and shiny all summer.
Vetrolin, Laser Sheen, Weight Builder, White ‘N Brite, and Wonder Blue are trademarks of Farnam Companies, Inc.
About AQHA Corporate Partner Farnam
Founded in 1946, Farnam Companies, Inc., has grown to become one of the most widely recognized names in the animal health products industry and one of the largest makers of equine products in the country. No one knows horses better than Farnam. That's why no one offers a more complete selection of horse care products. Farnam Horse Products serves both the pleasure horse and the performance horse markets with products for fly control, deworming, hoof and leg care, grooming, wound treatment, and leather care, plus supplements.