Dull coat to shiny coat?
 

Hey guys! Does anyone have any tips on getting a horse's dull, winter coat to have more shine in it? I have a friend who has a horse that she's taking to a horse show at the end of the month, but his coat was looking a little dull, so I wanted to give her some suggestions on what she could do to make it a bit more presentable. He's definitely in pasture condition, and rarely has a blanket on so after a good bath he should look a lot better. But does anyone have any good recommendations for topical products (like shampoos/conditions) that are really good at bringing the luster back into the coat? Thanks a lot! If it helps he's a medium colored chestnut. Does anyone know how to make a chestnut coat really stand out in the show ring? Thanks for your help! I look forward to your responses. :-)

Winter coats are not supposed to look shiny and good. Good coat condition doesn't just happen over night. A wash won't fix it. He needs to be rugged ect... To make my mares coat nice, she is rugged, groomed nearly every day. I start trimming about 1 month before the show and start to hood her and make her coat nice. I also feed her coat and hoof conditioner. It helps and strengthens hooves as well, which is a bonus.

Going to disagree with PintoTess here and say that a winter coat can and should still look shiny and healthy. It comes from proper nutrition and good old fashioned grooming.

Feed her oil...Just normal vegetable oil will do. But apparently Flaxseed oil or corn oil is the best. I am using carbon oil! It is great!

lots of daily grooming !!

Ground flax seed is supposed to help a lot (with coat shine among other things). I just picked up a bag, so I can't speak of results just yet.

Flax takes about a month to put shine in the coat. I didn't know winter coats aren't supposed to be shiney. My two, a black and a bay are shiney and dappled in their long woolies and they basically live outside. All they are getting is timothy hay, loose salt, and water.

Okay cool thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely pass them along. I think a lot has to do with the fact that he is just so dirty and dusty. I think all that dirt and grime is just making it look dull. Does anyone have suggestions of a really good shampoo or conditioner that can really get all the grime out of the coat? He looks like a walking dust cloud at the moment. I know about the oils, and I think I will tell her to start supplementing with some corn oil. Thanks a lot! :)

Ok what I said, I missworded it lol :D I have a habit of doind that. What I meant was, unlike the summer coat, it is long and fluffy so doesn't look as good as the summer coat.

Sorry guys! lol