What to do with 5 month old with very dry skin?

My almost 5 month old colt has a very dry coat with lots of dandruff. He is on pasture and is getting some hay because the pasture isn't quite enough. He is in the process of being weaned.

Is 5 months to young to start getting some supplements, such as Omega 3 or something like SmartShine for those of you who know what it is? Is there anything else I could do to make his skin healthier? Thanks.

Anyone.....?

Not at all too young, especially if his mother didn't have adequate nutrition & he's only on grass/hay. FeedXL.com is a fantastic resource for nutritional specifics. Adding flax seed(fresh ground) or it's cold pressed oil will be beneficial for the omega3s too.

I am not really sure at what age you should start adding supplements, but you should ask your vet about feeding electrolytes (I prefer the 707 brand) and paprika, although don't feed the paprika if you plan to show the horse in the next 2 months as it is illegal in the FEI, because it can also, besides being able to help a horses coat, it can relieve pain.

Thanks. I will try mixing some flax seed oil and paprika in with some grain. Do horses normally mind the taste of paprika?

I wouldn't be feeding grain & the appropriate supps will also depend on what's in his diet, so a pasture/hay analysis would be best before just giving him whatever. Eg. Why Paprika? What about everything else?

IME horses with excessive dandruff are deficient in Vit A and can be on their way to rain rot. Does he have goopy eyes too? This horse on hay only? Horses on hay only/no green grass are at risk.

Im pretty sure Farnams Grow Colt has pretty high Vit A. I know the Mare Plus does. Id use one with 100,000 UI and also do the flax or an omega supplement.

No, he doesn't have goopy eyes. He is on pasture and hay. He started to get a dry coat when to weather turned and he got his winter coat, so that probably has something to do with it.

For an adult horse, I'd suggest putting him on a ration balancer or vit/min supplement, but avoid putting him on grain, since hay/grass are almost never offer complete nutrition. I'd think this would be especially important for a growing youngster, but I don't know which of those types of products are designed/recommended for foals that young.

Yeah^. That was what I was wondering. There are a lot of supplements at my local Grange, but none of them say how old a horse has to be before you feed them.