Coat condition

[smartie]

I have a Dales x ID 5 year old gelding, dapple grey with white mane and tail. I am planning to show him in hand and under saddle. What can I give him to enhance his coat, give it condition and also maintain his mane and tail. Which I clean nearly every other day because he like mud and poops in his tail!

What can I give him to give him good foot condition. Is there a good book for tips on showing Dales/Cobs in hand and under saddle.

[palomino22]

I really want to see that photo now that I read he is a Dales x. What does the ID stand for?

I adore dales ponies, and used to ride one for my lessons, he was a real gentle giant, only 14.2 but very broad. I love all their feathers and chunky legs.

[lisae]

Irish Draft?

[judyl]

Hi Smartie

I use canter spray on Shade's tail and it makes it lovely and silky and really easy to brush. I put sunflower oil in her feed and that helps her coat look really shiny and healthy.

I think there's a few books on showing by people like Lyn Russell (who shows cobs) and Robert Oliver (who shows all sorts of horses). They might have some good tips in them.

Something like Farriers Formula or something like that is meant to be good for feet. I've never had a problem with Shade's feet so I'm not too sure about other things that can help. But I bet somebody else can!

Good luck with Winston!

Judy

[Gracie]

Baby powder adds great shine to your horses coat or mane and tail!! It keeps it looking GReat! And it's not too pricy! Also I think people said rubbing alchol gets out stains. Anyways those are the tricks I know!!
Good luck!

[Showjumper]

Have you heard of Blue Chip Pro? It’s a food balancer which encourages health without fizz and shine in the coats. My friend uses it on her ex-gypsy pony and he looks wonderful. He’s not a good-doer but all winter, he kept condition, and now is looking fit and ready for the shows which will no doubt happen once FMD is cleared up.

[Allie]

ID means Irish Draught (Draft)

Adding oil to his feed wil improve his coat condition (there are a couple of recent threads about this you might want to read) but it will also add calories. Daily brushing is the best thing to improve coat quality. Shampoo him as little as possible (just hose him with plain water if he is really sweaty or dirty) because it strips the oil out of the coat and it will become brittle if you shampoo too frequently. When you start showing, shampoo him the day before and then but a sheet on him to keep him clean, as that will give his coat a day to replenish some of the oils. As for show day, Show Sheen is a great product for adding shine as well as detangling and condition manes/tails. Spray it on his coat after you are completely down grooming, and then wipe in the direction of the hair with a soft clean cloth. Don't put it on the saddle area if you will be riding though, because it makes the hair coat slippery. Do this right before you go into the arena. Spray it on his mane and tail and give it a chance to dry and they will be really easy to brush and shiny too. Baby powder is good for brightening whjite spots like socks or blazes, but it really works best on clipped areas. It will work on unclipped areas, just not quite the same affect. *Do this before you paint his hooves or there will be white powder dried into the hoof polish* Baby Powder will make the white brighter but it will not make it shiny. You can also use baby oil to highlight dark areas on his face (around the eyes and nostrils mostly). Once again this has the greatest affect on clipped areas, but still works on unclipped. If he has an unruly tail, rub baby oil into the tail head to help the hairs lay down flat.

A lot of people reccommend a biotin supplement for improving feet quality, but I have never tried it myself.

Allie

[smartie]

Originally posted by Showjumper
Have you heard of Blue Chip Pro? It’s a food balancer which encourages health without fizz and shine in the coats. My friend uses it on her ex-gypsy pony and he looks wonderful. He’s not a good-doer but all winter, he kept condition, and now is looking fit and ready for the shows which will no doubt happen once FMD is cleared up.

That is spooky, just bought horse and hound and saw the advert for Blue Chip and ordered some yesterday. Spoke to a few people and they have recommended it too. However, I am a little concerned he may put more weight on, will this effect his weight?

[Showjumper]

I’ve never heard of Blue Chip causing weight gain as it’s generally only used in small quantities on hard-working horses or those who don’t tend to keep condition. It certainly hasn’t made Prince fat, but he gets a lot of exercise to balance out his feed and as I’ve already mentioned, he is a poor-doer.