[my2geldings]

I know this come up before but I want to hear from those of you who have actual experience with various diets and or supplements that help keep Black horses stay dark during the sunny months. I know some people keep their horses indoors during the day and out at night, some people keep a sheet on horses that ar outdoors etc, but what about supplements or diets that you've actually tried and seen work? Sun bleaching is my nemesis and the horses all have sheets on during the summer months so that helps a little.

We have clipped our youngsters who are in training this winter because of how hairy they are. They always end up a dark chocolate brown once clipped, which is fine. I can't expect miracles there, but what could I try now to boost their metabolism in trying to keep that coat dark?

 

[k9kenai]

My ISH gelding was a smoky black and I had trouble with sun bleaching at first. I tried dietary supplements at first and didn't have much luck to be honest.

About a year after buying him I discovered the Eqyss products (which I had been using on my dog but had not considered them for horses...duh). I used the Eqyss Marigold spray daily and it REALLY helped with the bleaching as well as the dullness and dryness of his coat. He lived outside 24/7 in New Mexico sun and heat. I noticed a HUGE difference in his coat after only using it for one summer, and even my B/O commented on the change. Bonus is that it helped repel flies so I didn't have to buy a separate fly spray, and it repels dust and dirt.

Only downside is it is kind of pricey.

 

[Smilie]

If you read the article by Dr Elleanor Kellon, I believe, on this subject, sun bleaching is due to a mineral imbalance
I'll see if I can find the info

https://www.balancedequine.com.au/nutrition-articles/9-minerals-and-coat-bleaching.html

 

[my2geldings]

Thank you so much. I’ll look up that product and read the article as well. Trying hard to educate myself more on this and prep the horses for next spring and summer season


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dehda01]

I found the best think for bleaching coats was a good omega 3 fatty acid supplement/vitamin package and paprika if you weren’t going to be showing at shows that test(paprika will test positive for capsaicin so you need to have them off if you are showing rated shows).

Add on being careful with sweat burn and sun damage...

I personally like my black horses on Glanzen3 and blackenall... though will be trying their newish combo this spring called Black3 which combines to two produce with a slightly smaller dose of glanzen.

I still need to make sure sweat is hosed off immediately, and when the temp is over 85 I tend to bring them in out of the sun for the worst part of the day.

 

[Mareness]

My oh my do I have experience with this topic!

I think I've tried just about everything with my bleaching-black mare. IME, paprika does truly make a difference. I purchsed it at Costco and fed 1 Tbsp/day. For sure it made a noticeable difference. SmartPak now has a supplement called "Smart Dark and Handsome" I believe. While I haven't tried this particular supplement myself, it does contain both Omega 3's and paprika. It seems to have pretty positive reviews. If drug testing isn't a problem it might be worth checking out.

Just for comparison, here is paprika vs. no paprika:

NO PAPRIKA: taken middle of summer, not restricting outside time but wearing a "micromesh" fly sheet (check out the stripes from the sheet straps!).

PAPRIKA: around the same time of year, same fly sheet, same turnout schedule (lighting is a bit different). She definitely still got a brown tinge to her coat but overall stayed MUCH darker:

And as a "control" here she is mid-summer kept inside during the day.

One really important thing to remember is that sweat bleaches. Make sure to hose them off after they get sweaty, as that will stop areas like flanks, ears, etc from extra bleaching.

Good luck!

 

[Smilie]

balanced minerals are key

https://www.balancedequine.com.au/nutrition-articles/9-minerals-and-coat-bleaching.html

This is one of my former broodmares. No blankets, just a balanced dietand minerals,out in sun all day

 

[farmpony84]

My Old Black Horse never bleached. He could have stayed in the sun day in and day out and still never changed colors. Never any sign of red tint on him. He was just black as night but my bay -Riley... He bleaches some kind of bad in the summer. He'll start out a dark, almost black bay and end up almost the color of his mother, who is more of a blood bay. I tried supplements with him but the only thing I could get to work was a flysheet worn 24/7. It was actually kind of nice though because he stayed clean!

 

[my2geldings]

Great information everyone. For showing, if paprika is given a go, do you know how long they would have to be clear off of it for their urine to come out clean if tested? I do plan to event his year and want to make sure that if I decide to try the paprika suggestion, that I don't end up throwing all our work down the drain.

 

[QtrBel]

I've also found using a conditioner with a UV protectant on manes and tails keeps the tips from showing sun damage.