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Coat Supplements?

10K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  Waybueno 
#1 ·
Not sure if there is another thread on this, but if there is, I couldn't find it....


Anyway, do any of you use or have any experience using coat supplements? I have solid black horse, who of course bleaches in the summer. I've used fly sheets that have the uv-protection in them, only problem is he shreds flysheets in a matter of days, no matter what kind. He's a young horse that likes to have fun and bait his field-mates in to chasing him around and biting him. He also likes to walk through tree branches, which shreds the blankets too. Needless to say, I'm sick of spending a ton of money on flysheets only to have him rip them so quick.

I've seen the "Black as Knight" supplement in Dover and it has good reviews... but I wanted to see if anyone else had any other products they would recommend or advice!

Thanks!! :)
 
#3 ·
I use Black as Knight and it's given me amazing results. However since we show so often we haven't been able to actually keep him on it for more than a week.

This is him this year (at the beginning of the summer) without it:


and last year:

(middle of summer)


(end of summer after being clipped)
I literally just posted this. We also use coco soya, which has helped keep his coat nice and shiny and my little TB from being super skinny (the first picture shows him very thin, but since it was taken he has put on a lot of weight and this was after the hardest winter we've seen it years.)
 
#4 ·
I don't know how accurate this is, but an owner of a dark horse at our barn recently told us that giving them copper supplements helps with bleaching. We haven't tried it with our dark horse, but I will say that her horse is definitely far less bleached than our girl and both horses have been in the same amount of sun on the same farm.

I would be interested to see how much (if any) copper the Dark as Knight has in it.

As far as keeping their coats sleek, smooth and shiny, my favorite thing to feed is black oil sunflower seeds like you would give to wild birds. You can read more about their benefits in the link I provided below. We feed them to our horses every day with great success and the horses LOVE them!

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds for Horses
 
#5 ·
I've used both Black-as-Knight and Nu-Image Dark Horse. Black-as-Knight worked 1,000 times better for me, but I've heard good things about Nu-Image from other people.


I just started using Quic-Screen, which claims to block UV rays for 8 days after application (but you have to put it on a clean coat - no fly spray or anything - or it won't work).

Quic Screen Coat Sunscreen Spray - Statelinetack.com

I haven't been using it long enough to tell you if it's been helping, though.





Eolith - Copper acts as a natural sunscreen. A lot of black horses have a copper deficiency because they require a LOT more than lighter horses do. Copper has other benefits besides coat protection... Copper deficiency can cause serious bone and joint problems.

Good sources of copper include molasses, flaxseed and soybean. The main ingredient in BAK is soybean, and it also includes molasses. I don't think it has any flaxseed in it, but flaxseed is very cheap and can be easily added to the BAK.
 
#6 ·
i actually feeed my horse some stuff called dac oil. its good for all coat colors and makes the coats EXTRA shinny. i also keep him under lights so his coat doesnt grow out.
 
#9 ·
OMG USE GRAND COAT!!!!!!!!! its the best stuff ever!!!! I got a new horse and she is bay, when i got her she was kind of a dingy color but 1 month latter she is beautiful and has dapples and everything. Also my old morgan got sun bleached and weird colored, i gave him grand coat and he is all dapply and she is a chestnut, is prefect! They are both shiny and and soft and they have a super rich color. I saw my morgan ( i sold him) and his coat looked horrible cause they don't use grand coat. it works miracles! And its a supplement so it doesn't take a lot of maintenance.
 
#10 ·
My mom uses and loooooves Black as Knight. I use the palomino version Gold as Sun and have seen INCREDIBLE results! I absolutely recommend those products up and down.

See my attachments for before and afters :)

First picture was in March, second picture was in April/May and third was just a few weeks ago. Progress, I think :)
 

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#11 ·
Nu-Image is good, I've used it and my "hard to get dappled up" horse got 3 dapples on each side... needless to say I was ecstatic.

This year I'm just doing a very good Hoof Supplement and it has Omega 3 and Omega 6 in it and his coat has really bloomed.

The only problem with Black As Knight is if you plan to compete you have to pull them off of it a good amount of time before the show. They use paprika which causes the drastic change in the coat (frankly you can do it cheaper by just buying the paprika in bulk). But paprika tests positive when they are drug tested at shows as Capcasin. So be careful!
 
#12 ·
Yeah, the Paprika thing is a pain. You absolutely have to pull them off 7 days before a rated show because it will cause a false positive. It's really annoying if you go to multiple shows in a row. My horse has been to a show almost every weekend for the last 2 months so he's almost completely bleached out now.
 
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