can any horses get all dappled and pretty? i want dapples on my boy…
any miracle supplements? he’s got a decent coat but no dapples…
If he doesn’t have the gene to allow him to dapple, there is nothing you can do to get them.
Most horses don’t keep them very long, but they usually show up in the Spring, immediately after shed out.
all around good nutrition and elbow grease.
[QUOTE=bugsynskeeter;8607734]
If he doesn’t have the gene to allow him to dapple, there is nothing you can do to get them.[/QUOTE]
This. There is a genetic component to dapples. Some horses will never have them no matter how good their nutrition or how much elbow grease you apply!
Skinny horses can get dapples, “fat and shiny” horses can be dapple-less.
It is totally about the genetics, even including when they appear during the Spring and Fall sheds.
Hormones can do it too - my previously undappled mare, other than the seasonal coat changes, was INSANELY dappled the Fall of the year she was pregnant. Not since 
If the genetic are there, good nutrition and elbow grease can help bring them out.
If you want dapples for sure, buy a black silver who’s already proven to produce the dapples common (but not guaranteed) with that color - there’s a reason it’s also called Silver Dapple 
Or buy a palomino or buckskin, who is very likely to have a dappled Winter coat.
[QUOTE=JB;8607840]
Or buy a palomino or buckskin, who is very likely to have a dappled Winter coat.[/QUOTE]
Have 2 palominos neither dapple anytime of the year,never have, owned the one 26 years,other one 12 years.
“very likely to have” - not guaranteed 
I have a bay that dapples, a chestnut who dapples, and a silver bay that does not. I’m guessing the new pinto won’t either.
IF your guy is the type to dapple, I’ve found this supplement works really well, but it tests (it has capacin and paprika in it):
http://www.doversaddlery.com/select-dark-horse-nu-image/p/X1-220032/
my guy didn’t dapple when I got him but he does dapple now - all he is on is a roundbale, mineral block, and Poulin FiberMax
here’s my post from a few years ago regarding dapples:
Cheap option to try is BOSS (black oil sunflower seed)
I feed 1/4 cup (2T twice daily).
Coats come in shiny & soft no matter the season & dappling is visible in thick Winter coats, dazzling in shiny Summer.
Evident in both dark bay & buckskin.
I pay about $20 for a 50# bag.
I had a dk bay/brown TB. He was obscenely dappled, even when he was retired. I claimed to have been working for hours each day on his coat, when he barely got brushed at all.
Genetics are a wonderful thing.
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8608780]
I had a dk bay/brown TB. He was obscenely dappled, even when he was retired. I claimed to have been working for hours each day on his coat, when he barely got brushed at all.
Genetics are a wonderful thing. :)[/QUOTE]
Yes I was just going to say - if they dapple, you will probably know already, elbow grease or not. I have two that do, and 3 that don’t. One is a silver dapple pony, so he looks dapply much of the year with no effort on my part.
My current gelding, a darker chestnut, has gorgeous dapples in the spring/early summer.
He is a ‘shag-a-muffin’ all winter long, but so pretty in spring, summer, & fall when he loses that winter coat :yes:
My old gelding was a beautiful SORREL RED in summer, but never dappled like my current horse.
They are both bred so similarly to each other, but oddly,
their coats are not quite the same color, and there is definitely a difference in the dapples ‘department’.
Yep. Dapples come from genetics, not feed or grooming. I’ve had horses get fed the same and groomed the same, all with dazzling coats. Some dappled. Some didn’t. Not much you can do to change genes!
I never brush my horses. The bays dapple like crazy. The black just looks shiny.Flax helps a lot.
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8608780]
I had a dk bay/brown TB. He was obscenely dappled, even when he was retired. I claimed to have been working for hours each day on his coat, when he barely got brushed at all.
Genetics are a wonderful thing. :)[/QUOTE]
Yep, nothing better than taking credit for a dappley horse when you know they haven’t seen a brush in a month. :lol:
I also have a mule who GLEAMS: https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/559328_10151917045585215_1011362075_n.jpg?oh=67afbea717e394b9432484c271f070ad&oe=5773D7E3 with literally not an ounce of effort from me. It’s just a mule hair thing.
[QUOTE=TrailRides4Fun;8609012]
My current gelding, a darker chestnut, has gorgeous dapples in the spring/early summer.
He is a ‘shag-a-muffin’ all winter long, but so pretty in spring, summer, & fall when he loses that winter coat :yes:
My old gelding was a beautiful SORREL RED in summer, but never dappled like my current horse.
They are both bred so similarly to each other, but oddly,
their coats are not quite the same color, and there is definitely a difference in the dapples ‘department’.[/QUOTE]
I’ve never seen a really dappled red chestnut.
Healthy dark bay TBs tend to have modest dappling, very pretty in the sunshine.
One of our horses when I was a kid was a dark bronze sooty palomino, and he had very nice dapples in the summer.
With the Dark Horse Nutrition supplement, is it the omega fatty acids and the amino acids doing the work, or is it the paprika? If the former, then other boosts to the diet (flax, BOSS, alfalfa) should also help.
BTW, when I was a kid we thought alfalfa made the palomino turn green :). Now that I have a chestnut paint, I do think the alfalfa increases her sooty/black hairs and gives her more ben d’or spots. So maybe we were seeing more sooty on the palomino; he definitely had the ben d’or spots as well.
Scribbler, here is my handsome chestnut boy with his gorgeous dapples
:yes:
[QUOTE=TrailRides4Fun;8609836]
Scribbler, here is my handsome chestnut boy with his gorgeous dapples
:yes:
http://s42.photobucket.com/user/redboy949/slideshow/Dapples[/QUOTE]
OP,
I actually think this horse is one of the only horses I’ve ever owned that has
had such pretty dapples.
These pics were from last spring, I can’t wait to see them again this year! :winkgrin:
