Grow/Create Beautiful Coats, Manes, Tails, and Hooves! -- Horses, Horses Horses!!

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 19:55:08 01/18/04 Sun
Author: Briana Ellsworth
Subject:

Grow/Create Beautiful Coats, Manes, Tails, and Hooves!

Hey everyone! Briana here! I have a 12 yr old dark/black bay Arabian mare named Monique A Mi and she gets lots of supplements and stuff for her coat, mane, tail, and hooves...and I'm constantly getting compliments about how beautiful her coat is, or how gorgeous her long mane and tail look, or what a nice coat she has (My friend Chloe asked what I used to bathe her because she had such a wonderful coat, when...I haven't bathed her in over 3 months!). I like to use MTG and lots of detanglers in her mane and tail, and I braid her mane about twice a month for about 3-4 days then unbraid it. My personal favorite detanglers/products happen to be Showsheen (rated #1 in the Horse Journal), Shapleys MTG, Hi Black Burgundy shampoo by Rio Vista, Sunshield Products, Mane n Tail shampoo and conditioner by Straight Arrow, and Cowboy Magic Detangler and Shine. Also, she has a ton of supplements in her feed! First, she gets Right Balance biotin treats and Grand Hoof. Biotin, Methionine, and Zinc are very very effective at creating the building blocks of a healthy hoof, tail, mane, and coat. And she gets Black As Knight, flaxseed meal, lots of GOOD corn, olive, safflower, and flax oils, and also importantly, as much dry seaweed as possible...she gets SOURCE seaweeds and dry seaweed I purchase at a local health food store (Sun Harvest), as well as the seaweed Black As Knight provides. And no, Black As Knight is not a rip off. It is very useful because it provides seaweed and paprika, as well as a special type of hay. And everyone, seaweed may sound strange and sometimes smell unusual, but it is extremely useful. It has a TON of micronutrients and is very healthy and really benefits the mane and tail...as well as coat and hooves. Also, flaxseed has always been a staple of my mare's diet. It is one of the best supplements you could ask for, in my opinion. It made my mare dapple with health, absolutely GLEAM, and it restored a lot of natural oil to her coat. And there isn't really a limit to how much you need to give...but you don't really have to give a ton of it, a little will usually go a long way. It works for all animals and humans too! But for horses you need to get the ground kind (flaxseed MEAL), because the whole seeds present more of a risk of making a horse choke, and also just pass right throught the horse's digestive system and are a waste of money. Another proven supplement is a good oil. There are many horse-friendly types, such as flax, corn, safflower, olive, soybean, and most vegetable oils. But make SURE to avoid Canola oil! WARNING! Very bad for the horse and studies showed that in England they used it on all animals and humans and most of them went mad and had to be shot. The reason is because it is derived from the rape seed, which is very toxic. But anyways...the reason good oils and flaxseed work well is because after a short while, the oils go to the skin and are secreted through the pores and when regularly groomed and/or rubbed, spread through the coat and make a healthy glow on the coat, as well as putting weight on underweight horses and providing essential fatty acids. But do not give too much corn oil to a horse because it can give excess energy and put a little bit too much weight on the horse. But other than that, the oils are an extremely wonderful way to put a gleam on your horse. Try flaxseed.....it REALLY works! And paprika for some reason darkens the coat and has a positive effect. My girl gets roughly 1 tablespoon a day. Also try the seaweed, you will most likely be impressed. You can get some at the Chinese section in a store or at a health food store. Also, the horse supplement SOURCE is seaweeds. Also, to obtain a good shine and a content, happy horse....groom, GrOoM, GROOM!!! Brush your horse whenever you have time! It strengthens the bond between you and your equine friends, and spreads the natural oil of the skin (sebum) around. If you want a longer tail...avoid brushing it. Just put lots and lots (I can't exaggerate enough) of detangler and conditioners on it, then when you go to a show, spray a liberal amount of detangler (my personal favorite for detangling and a nice shine is ShowSheen) on and brush gently, starting at the tips and working your way up. At the top of the tail you can brush it a lot since the hair isn't as long, and it may stimulate growth a little. You also may want to try rice bran in your horse's feed, which puts on weight and adds a little shine and positive effects in/on the coat. Also, when you shampoo your horse's tail, condition it A LOT! Then if you wish you can put it in a tail bag...it works but sometimes your horse may not love the idea as much as you do. My mare always manages to get her bag off, no matter what I try! But most horses don't mind. If it is fly season, spray/spot/wipe on a very liberal amount of fly repellent on so your horse won't go crazy trying to swat flies with the tail bag. A very good idea is to condition the tail a lot and then put the tail up in a bag for the whole winter, taking it out and re-conditioning it about every week, when annoying flying insects retreat. If your horse's tail gets very long to where you're afraid he/she will step on it, but don't want to cut it, apply ShowSheen and it will slip so that it is very hard to pull out or step on. This also works for fake tails, or tie-in tails if you choose that option. Makes sense if you think about it. With the tips I've shared, you may end up having to trim the tail 4-6 inches in the summer to keep your horse from stepping on it, or if you do dressage and like the traditional banged style. If anyone ever needs any information on tips for growth of the mane or tail, or a healthy coat, PLEASE contact me! You can e-mail me about anything horse-related though, since one of my trainers is Number one in the country and one is in training with the Parellis and the O'Connors. I've got a lot of tips and info I'm very willing to share! I will GLADLY return your e-mails! My e-mail address is ShakinBacon4eva@aol.com. PLEASE feel free to contact me anytime, anywhere, 24/7...I'll be there!!!!!

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Re: Grow/Create Beautiful Coats, Manes, Tails, and Hooves! -- Alice Reynolds, 16:15:33 11/27/06 Mon