After all the hard work you put into preparing your horse, show time is the time to shine!

There is more to preparing for a show than just grooming. Many steps must be followed in order to ensure a healthy shiny coat.

One of the signs of good health in a horse is a bright, shiny coat. And if you plan to show your horse this summer, he should gleam like a new penny. You won’t bring home the ribbons if your horse’s coat looks scruffy and dull. Read on to find out how to bring out the bloom in your show mount’s coat.

Aside from standard grooming, Young Rider magazine suggests several other means of maintaining a healthy, shiny coat.

Good Nutrition

A horse needs to be fed properly if you want his coat to sparkle. He needs the proper amount of feed for the amount of work he’s doing, his body type and the climate in which he lives. Talk to your veterinarian or the equine nutrition expert at your local feed store to develop an appropriate feeding plan for your horse.

Most concentrated feeds (pellets and sweet feed) contain fat; horses need fat in their diets to produce enough oil in their skin. This oil is what makes a coat shine.

You can also add a coat-shine supplement to his feed. These supplements usually contain Omega-3 fatty acids found in flaxseed and fish oil or Omega-6 fatty acids found in rice bran.

These supplements usually come in powder or oil form. Just mix them into your horse’s daily feed.

Cover Up

The summer sun can bleach a horse’s dark coat, making it look dry and dull. After a few days in the glaring summer sun, your shiny bay horse may look like a buckskin.

If your horse stays outside every day, invest in a fly sheet that blocks ultraviolet rays, and his coat will stay darker and shinier.

Slip the sheet on him every morning and take it off at night. You can buy a fly sheet that covers his neck, too.

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Stable Solution

If you have a large, cool, well-ventilated stall, you can keep your horse inside during the day and out of the coat-bleaching sun during the summer months.

Make sure he has plenty of water to drink and hay to munch on; he may even need a fan to keep him cool.

Horses don’t like being inside by themselves, so you’ll have to bring in a pasture pal to keep him company. You’ll also have to make sure there’s lots of clean bedding in the stall so he’s comfortable if he lies down.

Spray It On

If you’re going to a show and you want your horse to look extra shiny, you can use a spray-on shine product on him.

You can buy these shine sprays at the local equine supply store or order them from a catalog or website. There are even coat shine sprays for specific coat colors.

Spray the shine on your horse and then brush him or buff him with a clean cloth. These products help keep dust from building up on your horse so he stays cleaner for longer.

Trevor Ashcraft
AQHA Youth Intern