[EventingMEF]

What products/supplements/daily routines do you guys use to keep your horses really really black? My guy has a stunning black coat that is beginning to fade and he just looks so much better when hes super dark...

Thanks!

[candysgirl]

There are several products that can help, but the easiest way is to keep him out of the sun. Be careful with supplements if you compete, most of them are illegal. They generally contain paprika which contains capsaicin.

Some people use fly sheets (some of them are meant to double as sun protection). Some use various sprays with sunscreen in them.

The only 100% thing is turn them out overnight and keep them in, out of the sun during the day.

[Grataan]

I use a shampoo, conditioner, and coat spray that contain sunblock, I minimize her sun exposure, and I feed her paprika.

[Guardian1]

Good Grain & Good Groomings!

[deltawave]

Own a non-fading one, or don't let them out in the sunshine, or accept that a healthy, happy horse is gorgeous no matter what color!

[wcporter]

what does paprika do?

[deltawave]

The pigments in the paprika family are supposed to help with coat color. The other substances in the paprika family are also closely related to capsicum, which is a banned substance as it is used as a pain blocker.

[BeanCounterPony]

Mine wears a UVA blocking flysheet in the summer...one with a neck. Fly mask with ears too. Anything that covers her as much as possible during the day. Id say leaving in during the day in the summer would be best but mine must be out.

Shampoos and supplements cant make up for sun bleaching. I dont think they work anyways. Maybe flyspray with a sunscreen but it doesnt last very long.

[deltawave]

My info might be outdated, but I was under the impression that some blacks bleach and some do not, and that it's a genetic thing. My black/white Shetland NEVER is anything but BLACK, while my black/white pinto will become a nice dark bay-ish color on his dark parts. I keep him covered to keep the white parts WHITE, not the black parts black.

[Cluck]

A copper supplement can help.

[JB]

My info might be outdated, but I was under the impression that some blacks bleach and some do not, and that it's a genetic thing. My black/white Shetland NEVER is anything but BLACK, while my black/white pinto will become a nice dark bay-ish color on his dark parts. I keep him covered to keep the white parts WHITE, not the black parts black.

Yes, there are genetics involved here. Fading and non-fading black, neither being related to being homozygous black as often thought

A copper supplement can help.

Absolutely. IME it's not uncommon to be lacking some copper, and this is ESPECIALLY true if the soil in the area is high in iron - that suppresses the copper and zinc in the forage, which means less in the horse. Also, the darker the coat, the more copper is needed, as copper is part of the melanin production.

I have greatly reduced - though will never eliminate - the fading since adding cu/zn. I use Poly Copper and Poly Zinc from Uckele, 1/2 scoop each. I mix one container of each together and just use a full scoop. It's a SMALL scoop.

[deltawave]

neither being related to being homozygous black as often thought

Makes sense, as my non-fading pony is not homozygous. Nobody knows what the big pinto is, genetically.

[dangerbunny]

I have heard from friends with dark horses that none of the commercial "stay black" supplements do much on a horse that always fades.

I have heard of the copper supplementation helping, though haven't tried it personally.

[rcloisonne]

Night turnout, extra copper (needs to be fed before the new coat starts coming in) and hosing sweat off at least once/day worked for me. Getting rid of sweat, more than anything else, is key. It acts like bleach.

Products such as "Black as Knight" (paprika) never did a thing to prevent fading in my experience. Waste of money.

[Cancara]

I've had some luck with restoring blackness using Black Oil Sunflower Seeds and a seaweed supplement.
Also intending to stable during summer sun and/or use a fly sheet to prevent bleaching.

[BarbB]

Mine stays black and lives out in the sun at 6000ft. I think a lot of 'black' horses are actually very dark bay and will bleach out eventually. I was told that paprika is good for keeping pigment in the coat. But I hate paprika and just got sick of handling and smelling it. I give her a little tumeric in her beet pulp as an anti-inflammatory agent and somebody just told me that it can help with pigment too. I need to find out if it tests as a forbidden medication.
I groom this horse with a little hair conditioner in a spray bottle of water and I think that may help combat sun fading also.

[joiedevie99]

Night turnout- or the best UV blocking flysheet you can find. Choose a fly spray with sunscreen for the parts that stick out.

I've never seen a 'black' coat supplement that doesn't contain paprika- and I won't put a horse on something they can't show on.

[Mouse&Bay]

I was a skeptic but am now a paprika believer.

Started feeding our black mare paprika (about 2 tbsp) with about 2 cups of black oil sunflower seeds every night about three weeks before her mare inspection. She needed to get shiny and dark.

It worked. Amazing to look at pictures and see how black she became in such a short period of time. This was September leading into the beginning of October. She was black and shiny!

It worked so well we decided to experiment on the dog - a german shepherd. I nixed the sunflower seeds (he wouldn't go for any of the vegetarian stuff!) and gave him about 1 tsp with his dinner. His pigment hugely improved and he got more of that deep copper/orange colour in his tan parts. <shrug>.

Paprika worked for us - just don't ask me to explain how/why etc.

[FLeventer]

I use a fly sheet almost year round. If they are still fading then I leave them in from 10am to 2pm. They are out the rest of the time.

[FatCatFarm]

I was a skeptic but am now a paprika believer.

Started feeding our black mare paprika (about 2 tbsp) with about 2 cups of black oil sunflower seeds every night about three weeks before her mare inspection. She needed to get shiny and dark.

It worked. Amazing to look at pictures and see how black she became in such a short period of time. This was September leading into the beginning of October. She was black and shiny!

It worked so well we decided to experiment on the dog - a german shepherd. I nixed the sunflower seeds (he wouldn't go for any of the vegetarian stuff!) and gave him about 1 tsp with his dinner. His pigment hugely improved and he got more of that deep copper/orange colour in his tan parts. <shrug>.

Paprika worked for us - just don't ask me to explain how/why etc.

Not saying this didn't help her color bloom, but your timing might have been more a matter of luck, since most black horses get blacker in the fall with their winter coat coming in. All the blacks I've ever owned do. I have a blue black Percheron mare who doesn't fade much, but still does to some degree when we go through a tremendously hot late summer like last year. Fall came though and her blue black color returned with dapples.