How to Make Your Horse's Coat Shine

Step 1 Nutrition
A beautiful coat starts with what is on the inside of your horse. No amount of grooming will make your horse look beautiful if he isnt getting the proper nutrition. A diet rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids is the first step in achieving a healthy coat. There are numerous ways to accomplish this and you should consult a vet prior to making any changes in your horses diet. Your horse should be fed a high quality form of forage generally either alfalfa or timothy hay along with a concentrate grain that contains at least 7 percent fat and 14 percent protein. I recommend a pellet with 9 percent fat if you can locate one.

To this you can add daily one cup of black oil sunflower seeds one cup of brown flax seed onehalf to one whole cup of corn oil and one to two tablespoons of paprika. Warning Paprika can cause a false positive on some drug tests so utilize with caution. Paprika serves the purpose of preventing your horses coat from fading in direct sunlight so a horse that is not turned out to pasture during the day may not need this supplement. In addition to these dont forget to provide your horse with a trace mineral block containing zinc and copper both of which affect coat condition. If your horse is eating only timothy hay it may be helpful to add a small amount about a half cup of alfalfa pellets to your horses feed ration.
Step 2 DeWorming
No horse can have a shiny coat if his stomach if full of parasites leeching away his nutrients! It is critical that all horses be kept on an appropriate deworming schedule. Your vet can assist you with developing a parasite control program appropriate to the