Dull Coat - What to Do?

[16_Hands]

My OTTB gelding for some reason has a very dull coat in spots. His neck and shoulders, are shiny but from there back is not. It’s very dull and the hair in the saddle area is a lighter color than the rest of him, he’s chestnut. He’s up to date on vax and deworming and is eating 50/50 grass alfalfa plus a pelleted feed that contains alfalfa, beet pulp, rice bran, and flax, no grain. My other horses on the same diet have beautiful coats and dappling but not my guy. The vet suggested adding a vitamin/mineral supplement and extra flax, which I did but this is just a few days ago.

Any suggestions or ideas on why his coat would be so dull?

[Texarkana]

My first , most basic recommendation would be identical to the vets.

Of course, there are a million factors to consider. Be prepared to play “20 questions” here for better recommendations, because it’s really impossible to know the best way to proceed without more details on diet and lifestyle.

[trubandloki]

I agree that it might be one of a million things.

Your horse lives outside, correct?

Some coats are more sensitive to the affects of sweat not being totally removed, which can cause that dull dry look.
Some coats just sun bleach more easily than others.
The list goes on and on.
I would do what your vet suggested.

[S1969]

I agree that if the saddle area is the most noticeable it may be from sweat not being rinsed off and/or rubbing from saddle pad (especially if there is dried sweat in the coat.)

Dappling isn’t really related to health - some horses dapple and others don’t. My chestnut mare does not; my bay mare does.

[16_Hands]

Yes, he does live outside at the moment. It’s probably just bleached, however, he is in full work and he does sweat a lot so maybe it’s the presence of sweat not fully rinsed or removed. But, if that were the case then his neck would look the same and he’s very shiny down his neck. How much flax is recommended? He’s getting roughly 1/3 cup a day of straight ground flax

[Raincityrider]

The extra flax might make all the difference, it did for my retired gelding who was absolutely gleaming at nearly 30. I would patiently wait for that to do its magic while implementing a good full groom and rubdown routine. The oils don’t protect the coat much if they aren’t distributed down the hair shaft. I consider it daily arm toning. If your gelding has a sensitive coat and he is out all day you might not see much of an improvement but if he is healthy and happy…mission still accomplished.

I’ll add the anecdote that my gelding had a strange distinct dull patch on his neck in his teens that might have been a fungus, no weeping or crusty scurf just dull hair. I treated it with Schreiner’s solution and it cleared up and did not return. This could have been coincidental but if you gelding’s patches are more distinct than salt or sun fading you might try washing them with a medicated shampoo.

[16_Hands]

I give him a good full grooming daily, however he is very sensitive across his back and sides and gripes when I use too much pressure. I think a medicated bath and/or treatment is in his future.

[JB]

@16 Hands

My OTTB gelding for some reason has a very dull coat in spots. His neck and shoulders, are shiny but from there back is not. It’s very dull and the hair in the saddle area is a lighter color than the rest of him, he’s chestnut.

Unless you are fastidious about not exposing his back to the sun after you ride, and before you wash all that sweat off him, the saddle area will look worse than the rest of the horse, all else equal

He’s up to date on vax and deworming and is eating 50/50 grass alfalfa plus a pelleted feed that contains alfalfa, beet pulp, rice bran, and flax, no grain.

What is the feed? How much?

Dull coats that bleach easily are IME almost always due to dietary deficiencies, specifically not enough copper and zinc. How much I would add to this horse’s diet depends on how much of each of those things he’s eating

[Jungle_Monkey]

Flax-My vet suggests never to feed more than one cup per day total.

[16_Hands]

It’s a feed called Haystack Special Blend. Especially formulated for hard keepers or horses needing weight. The vitamin/mineral sup is especially blended for the Northwest, in fact it’s called Northwest Supplement. Breakdown of nutrients:

Haystack: [TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]Crude Protien:[/TD]
[TD]Min 12%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ADF:[/TD]
[TD]Max 30.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Crude Fat:[/TD]
[TD]Min. 6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Crude Fiber:[/TD]
[TD]Max 28%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Calcium:[/TD]
[TD]Min. 0.8% ~ Max 1.2%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Phosphorous:[/TD]
[TD]Min. 0.2% ~ Max 0.4%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dietary Starch:[/TD]
[TD]Max 5.0%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sugars (ESC):[/TD]
[TD]Max 7.0%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Fructans (WSC-ESC):[/TD]
[TD]Max 2.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Water Soluble Carbs (WSC):[/TD]
[TD]Max 10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ash:[/TD]
[TD]Max 8%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Northwest Supplement: [TABLE=“class: wsite-multicol-table”]
[TR=“class: wsite-multicol-tr”]
[TD=“class: wsite-multicol-col”]
VITAMIN A…100,000 IU/lb
VITAMIN D3…40,000 IU/lb
NATURAL VITAMIN E,min…600 IU/lb
RIBOFLAVIN,min…70 mg/lb
PANTOTHENIC ACID,min…115 mg/lb
VITAMIN B 12, min…150 mcg/lb
THIAMINE, min…120 mg/lb
CHOLINE CHLORIDE, min…10,500 mg/lb
[/TD]
[TD=“class: wsite-multicol-col”]
MAGNESIUM, min…8500 ppm
MANGANESE, min…3800 ppm
IRON, min…445 ppm
ZINC, min…5500 ppm
IODINE, min…33 ppm
COPPER, min…900 ppm
COBALT, min…30 ppm
SELENIUM, min…17.60 ppm[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[EmilyM]

Make sure to rinse the saddle sweat off every time you ride. that will help (as opposed to just brushing). Also make sure your detergent is mild and no bleach is added.

Try to keep him from the sun (fly sheet and shade).

Try some flax oil.

[lesson_junkie]

Is there a minimum amount of that concentrate that you have to feed for the horse to get the full mineral package?
How big is your horse, and how much concentrate is he getting by weight?

[warriorhorse]

Dull coats happen sun ,fly sprays & sweat dulls coats. Rinse horse off after every ride, and bathe with shampoo weekly, to wash off all sweat and fly spray build up. Shampoo from santa cruz & their conditioner works wonders love the stuff horses gleam after bath. It’s the foaming shampoo hook bottle to hose, easy peasy fast way to give bath.

[JB]

Yes, we still need to know how much, not just of the HSB but all those things, he’s eating.

HSB is not a fortified feed. It’s just “Sun Cured Timothy Hay, Sun Cured Alfalfa Hay, Plain Dried Beet Pulp, Flax Seed Meal, Canola Oil, Heat Stabilized Rice Bran”

I’m guessing that supplement is fed in terms of a few ounces, so while the GA looks great, the actual amounts fed are small. So, I would bet a lot that this is all rooted in a copper and zinc deficiency.

[16_Hands]

The NWS is directed to feed one of the enclosed cups per day. The “cup” is about an actual 1/2 cup. The HSB if trying for weight gain is 1lb per 100 lbs. He receives about 8 lbs as additional forage. As far as hay, he has free choice grass/ alfalfa mix available at all times.

[JB]

Is there a reason you’re not using a regular feed? HSB is really just hay with some fat. You can do that a lot more economically with hay pellets and a fat supplement. The diet isn’t balanced, I guarantee, which means it’s either outright deficient in certain nutrients, or “deficient” in the unbalanced way. And assuming he doesn’t get any fresh grass, it’s very low in Vitamin E.

[newhorsemommy]

Mirra-Coat is cheap and makes them SHINY. The glossiest horse I’ve ever seen was this mare at a boarding facility I was at whose owner rarely came out. That mare lived out 24/7 and never got groomed and she was SO shiny. I finally snuck a peak in the boarder’s tack room one day and saw the Mirra-Coat :). I’ve used it on my mare with the same results. When I keep her on it regularly she looks wet sometimes even when it’s 100 degrees out and dusty. I’d love for my gelding to eat it, but he’s a picky old man and won’t touch it.

[JB]

Call me skeptical, but I can’t fathom how 1oz of the following ingredients

Soyflour with Soybean Oil added, Vegetable Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dextrose, Zinc Methionine, Calcium Silicate, Vitamin E Supplement, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Vitamin A Acetate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin.

With a GA of

Guaranteed Analysis [TABLE]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]Moisture, max[/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]6.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]Linoleic Acid (as glycerides), min[/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]8.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]Zinc, min[/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]0.1%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]Vitamin A, min[/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]36,000 I.U./lb.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]Vitamin E, min[/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]240 I.U./lb.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]Vitamin B6, min[/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]30 mg/lb.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]Biotin, min[/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 1”]1 mg/lb.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

has any effect on the coat.

I have a horse I rarely groom, he’s fed a ration balancer most of theyear, most years, extra E in the Winter, added copper and zinc, and most of the year he too gleams when he doesn’t have dried sweat or mud on him.

[16_Hands]

I’ve discussed this diet with my vet and she only added that he needs a vitamin/mineral supplement and the flax. I’m sure if it wasn’t balanced, she would have said something, don’t you think? The Haystack is actually very economical to feed and he does get hand grazed for about an hour a day every day. I admit I know very little about what creates a balanced diet and how much of each vitamin/minerals he needs and proteins, carbs, etc. etc. I took a horse nutrition course way back when in the 70’s and my only memory of it is pierson (sp?) squares.

[JB]

@16 Hands

I’ve discussed this diet with my vet and she only added that he needs a vitamin/mineral supplement and the flax. I’m sure if it wasn’t balanced, she would have said something, don’t you think?

I don’t think Given how many vets receive 1-2 courses of nutrition in school, and nothing beyond that, they simply don’t know what they don’t know. They know basic macro level information, and that’s about it. Not their fault, they just don’t have the education. Marketing has taught them that hay/grass + feed, or hay/grass + v/m is all horses need. Then add in “feed this coat supplement if the coat is dull” and “feed this hoof supplement if you’ve got cracks” and…

I guarantee if that diet was run through a proper nutritional analysis it would come up with several holes.

The Haystack is actually very economical to feed and he does get hand grazed for about an hour a day every day.

The hour/day isn’t providing anything of significant from either a calorie or nutrient perspective. It’s mental work, that’s all

I admit I know very little about what creates a balanced diet and how much of each vitamin/minerals he needs and proteins, carbs, etc. etc. I took a horse nutrition course way back when in the 70’s and my only memory of it is pierson (sp?) squares.

This is a good place to start
http://nrc88.nas.edu/nrh/

If you know someone with a FeedXL subscription maybe you can see if they’ll create a new horse and plug your stuff in. It’s not perfect, since for example it may tell you there’s enough overall copper and zinc, but not tell you that there’s not nearly enough relative to the iron, but it’s better than nothing, as a start. Or, you could contact someone like Summit Equine Nutrition with Claire Thunes who I have a great deal of respect for, and find out every detail and how she’d recommend you balance things.