Top Tips for a Gorgeous Coat on Your Horse
Ever wanted your horse’s coat to be super soft and shiny day in and day out? By maintaining your horse’s coat on a nutritional level and utilizing these horse grooming supplies you can experience less time grooming your horse’s coat and more time having fun. Here are some tips on how you can achieve your horse’s best coat.
Check Your Feed First
Healthy coats start on the inside before you see it on the outside. Essential nutrients such as vitamin A, zinc, and copper all can have a significant impact on the quality of your horse’s coat. Most complete feeds are formulated with these nutrients but if not there are many supplements that can give your horse’s diet the boost it needs. If your unsure of what your horse may be lacking in their diet you may want to consult an equine nutritionist.
Oils, Wormers, Fatty Acids, Oh My!
Now that your horse’s diet is balanced you may find that it still isn’t as silky soft as you would like. A great place to start fine tuning the coat’s needs is to start adding oils to their feed. Sunflower seeds, full fat soybeans, and coconut oil are all oil based supplements that can improve the coat on your horse. It’s also important to check your horse’s worming cycle. Worms throw your horse’s diet off and will make their coat appear lackluster. Fatty acids such as omega 3 and 6 can also aid in a naturally healthy coat. These tricks are often overlooked and can have a huge affect on your horse’s coat.
Now for the Fun Part
Grooming is a super fun and enjoyable way to keep your horse’s coat gleaming. The basic tools are a curry comb, dandy brush, and soft brush. In brief, the curry comb is used first to lift any dirt or dead skin off the coat. The dandy brush is to remove the rest of the dirt off the coat, and the soft brush is to flatten and disperse the natural coat oils. Keeping the coat clean is something that you and your horse can appreciate and bond over.
One of the best things to use in your routine is coat conditioner. In selecting a coat conditioner you might want to consider one that is safe to use daily. Most conditioners moisturize and brighten the coat while others contain sunscreen for horses and color enhancers in them to protect the coat from bleaching and breakage. Conditioners for horses help preserve your hard work whilst grooming. Always remember to be aware about what you’re putting on your horse’s body. The more natural, the better!