Perfect Shine????

[NoviceNic]

I have a wee shetland cross pony and would like to take her to local shows this year. Her Winter coat is still shedding but what I would really like some advice on is what to give her to make her coat shine? At present she is only given half a leaf of hay every 2 days and small grazing as she can pile on the weight if not kept an eye on.

[makebelieve]

Solo's body was just a wreck when I got her, as she was a rescue and hadn't been properly groomed in ages! Start with a shedding blade and some scissors. Trim the feathering and a bridle path. Start pulling the mane and trimming it down a little. Then finally, when the weather is nice, give him/her a bath. I am not a supplement expert for the coat shining, but Solo's is gorgeous right now--even with her big belly.

It does take tons of time and work on your part though! I thought I spent 6 hours alone just with the shedding blade on her.

[galadriel]

One guaranteed method is lots of elbow grease--grooming grooming grooming!

Mine have been doing very well on a high-fat feed; they're quite glossy. The feed is made with rice bran and corn oil, either of which can be known to enhance the shine on a coat. (I'd imagine that you probably don't want to be feeding your Shetland a high-fat grain mixture ;))

I've heard recently of using whole sunflower seeds (in the shell and everything) as a high-fat supplement for weight gain, or in smaller doses for healthy coat. I wonder if a handful or so might be enough to make a difference in a tiny pony, but not enough to make her gain weight.

[NoviceNic]

We posh her up every weekend. Mane, tail etc. Then we regurlarly groom through the week as it is taking like forever to get this horrible tatty winter coat out. The only problem I have about bathing is that when I bath her she rolls constantly until she has a nice thick layer of mud on her body again!!!!:mad: Believe me I am not a happy bunny when she does this. Unfortunatley I do not have a stable to put her in as she lives out.

Galadriel

How many sunflower seeds do you think I should try?

[galadriel]

What I read was 1 cup a day for a horse. For a Shetland, maybe a handful?

[galadriel]

Originally posted by NoviceNic
The only problem I have about bathing is that when I bath her she rolls constantly until she has a nice thick layer of mud on her body again!

You know, the mud probably won't affect the shine of her coat for when you want it shiney, and rolling in mud makes horses happy :) Why not just let her be a happy muddy pony?

I can even see a potential benefit, which is that the mud probably clumps in her hair and helps loosen it, so that when you go to groom her again, you get more off. Not to mention that horses covered in mud are less affected by flies.

[Equisgurl]

they sell tons of sheen producs like farnam laser sheen, cowboy magic super body shine, etc. You can also get some detangler for mane and tail which makes horses look very posh:D

[Chip]

Linseed Oil is brilliant for shiny coats. If you add some to a very small amount of something like Hi Fi Lite daily, you can give it with no worries of excess weight gain. The oil is also good for joints and things. I understand you can also get linseed seeds to feed.

[Esther.D]

Trim the feathering and a bridle path. Start pulling the mane and trimming it down a little.

Depending on what you are intending to do with her I would be cautious about this - if you are thinking of doing mountain & moorland classes or anything like that I would leave her au naturel ;) Basically lots of grooming, and some shine spray on the day of the show :D I even use baby oil sometimes to get the tangles out of shetland manes, but you have to be cautious with this as it can get all over you and everything else if she rubs her head on your at the show:rolleyes:

[Showjumper]

A good bath, followed by a good groom once she's dried off in the sun (don't turn her straight out) will do wonders. It does for Dolly anyway! :D

Garlic is supposed to help keep a shiny coat...I don't know if it's true or not, but now Dolly's in proper work, she gets a feed with garlic in after riding, and she does look very shiny...