Anyone who has a black horse will know how important coat care is from the inside and out. I have received many messages over the last few days for assistance of how to keep the black coat shiny and black and what one can do to get sweat off a horse. Before I answer that question, there are a few things to consider. Keeping a horse stabled or blanketed to keep the colour from fading is not advisable for the sake of the horse. Its a quick fix or often covers up a greater problem. Coat care has to be looked at holistically and as far as the black horse is concerned, genetics also plays a large role. I don’t know as much as I would like to about colour genetics, however my take on it is that their colour is set prior to their little feet hitting the ground and nothing you feed them will change that. You get a variety of different shades/colours of black. Blue black, jet black, smokey black and a variety of diluted blacks and others. Many believe that blue and jet black are the same, but to my knowledge, blue black is born mouse grey and jet black is born pitch black. A healthy coat begins inside. If the horse is getting good nutrition, herbs and spices to assist in preventing fading and the vitamins and minerals are not unbalanced and lacking, a horses coat will shine from inside out. If a horse is blue black or jet black and has been that colour before, fading would represent a lack of something or due to coat care. This can be corrected by feeding – adequate minerals, vitamins, herbs, spices etc. and very importantly, if the horse sweats, make sure that the sweat is removed or he will most likely bleach. If a horses coat has faded, the coat will come right when the coat sheds and the new coat grows if you have dealt with the greater cause. If a stallion paces and sweats and therefore bleaches (as mine did once after we moved and he couldn’t see his mares for a while), then rather give him calming herbs till he has settled. His coat will come right again. Isolating and stabling him will only lead to other problems and to keep a blanket on him while he sweats is in my opinion not an option. Let your horse live a natural life and correct all that is necessary to help him to maintain his colour. If a horse is not blue black or jet black and is a dilute or the pitch black coat is not in his genetics, then nothing you do will change that. What the herbs, spices, vitamins and minerals will do is feed the coat to the extent that the genetically set coat will be a rich, lovely colour that shines from the inside out. Accept that a horse that is not genetically blue black or jet black will never be so let them live a natural life and help them to attain a beautiful coat colour of their own. I have two different colour black horses. My mare I have reason to believe has some kind of dilution due to the colouration on certain areas of her body. She is not a blue or jet black and she does not fade in the regular spots. She also gets the same products and minerals etc as my stallion who is blue black. She will never be his colour. She is however genetically black. I would love to look more into the colour genetics of her as together they produced a golden flaxen that has the look of silver on certain parts of her body. My stallion is never clipped, has choice between going into a shelter or not 24 hours a day, he does not wear a blanket and can stand in the sun as much as he wants to - there is also always shade for him to choose if he wants. He spends most of his time in the sun. He normally rolls in sand several times a day. His shine and colour comes from feeding the coat from the inside. If he has sweat on him, I add a very little bit of a mild shampoo to a bucket of water and wipe the sweat off him, making sure no residue of soap remains. Then I wipe him down with a herb infusion to which I have added essential oils. It feeds the coats, softens the hair, gives him a lovely shine and helps to protect him from the sun. This photograph was taken before being groomed and after he had rolled (you can see the grass and sand in his mane).
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:52:35 +0000
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