Recomendations please- coat gloss for show ring

[Spottyappy]

We are off to rather large show next weekend, and horsey is looking a mess, still losing winter woollies. I have rugged in a thin rug,but I am not keen to "play the game" and start making him sweat buckets to moult, or clip at this time fo year!
So, has anyone any recomendations of a spray on coat gloss that would help his coat look abit more shiny! Have been also feeding linseed which is helping,but not quickly enough inspite of starting it months ago! I didn;t expect to still be having frosts in may!
I have looked at NAF HORSE SHINE AND SHOW COAT GLOSS and CARR & DAY & MARTIN DREAMCOAT COAT GLOSS in particular but any help would be very much appreciated.Thanks.

 

[3DE]

I have the same problem as you and first show at the weekend. My friend has said to sponge on veg oil all over the day before the day before. Leave it on overnight and then bath the day before the show as normal. Never tried this before so not sure if it will work. I'll let you know

 

[MissSBird]

As much time as you can possibly spend with a shedding blade every day this week, then a really good bath the day before. There is no substitute for elbow grease.

After that, the best I have found is absorbine show shine, but even then you need to spend time buffing the coat after use.

It is perfectly possible to get a good shine on a winter coat that is casting:

 

[skewby]

Colour Glow is really really amazing, from a showing person. http://www.highdalestud.co.uk/HobbyHorseHerbs.html

 

[Janette]

If you have got a lyrca body, that will lay the coat after a bath. I bathed Star on Saturday and she looked like a woolley bear. I left her with a rain sheet on overnight (to stop the white bits going green) and the coat was smooth and shiney. A lycra will do the same trick. (Or you could just put a rain sheet on....... )

 

[Paddockornament]

Show sheen!!!! Fab stuff, used it all the time when I worked in a top showing yard (and still do) Feed wise (obviously won't be for next weekend) I feed copra for weight gain without fizziness and I consistently get comments about his coat and how fab it looks. Get the comments all year round, including two weeks ago when he is in his winter coat (tis autumn here).

 

[Spottyappy]

Thanks everyone. Miss Bird yours looks fantastic! Mine usually looks much better than how he is now, shedding blade used loads, coat is dimishing, thankfully! Will get cloth/leatehr and start buffing like mad then! As he is an Appaloosa, he isn't ever going to be like Miss Bird's bay, but he usually has a subtle shine! I have a snuggy rug so will putt hat on couple of nights before hand to lay the coat some more, so thanks for that Janette.
Skewby the colour glow looks great, but assume it will take some time to get into the system, it's not a kind of quick fix? Typically me, left everything til the last minute!! lol!

 

[minesadouble]

Can't beat Supreme show products for me. Would also thoroughly reccomend their 'easy plait' spray!

 

[Spyda]

I like to hot cloth with hot water with a splash of Dettol and vinegar, first.

Then I like to use good old Canter Coat Shine, and particularly the Mane and Tail conditioner. Seems to work best on mine.

Beware of using anything too oily, or leaving a residue of oil on the coat after washing. It's a *&%$ for attracting dust and just makes things look worse.

Good luck

 

[only_me]

nothing beats good old elbow grease! 30mins grooming a day will soon sort out a coat!

You could also feed oil in his feed; my horse gets a dollop of cooking or vegetable oil (bought from tescos!) in his feed at night

tbh, I found that all the coat shines leave the coat glossy for 10mins and then goes all sticky!
Hot rag with lavender in the water always gives a great shine

 

[skewby]

Skewby the colour glow looks great, but assume it will take some time to get into the system, it's not a kind of quick fix? Typically me, left everything til the last minute!! lol!

How long have you got? Um it actually works pretty quickly, I gave it to my coloured to keep his red bits red (they are a lush suffolk chestnut) and I remember looking at his (white!) legs one day and going, omg, even the white bits are shiny??! And that was v quick, like a week. They love it too, all horses adore it. Got lots of other good things in it too.

Also I give mine really good quality haylage and I have found that makes him GLEAM too! And feel v well in himself. But yeah another longer term solution sorry lol! xx

 

[cronkmooar]

My friend has said to sponge on veg oil all over the day before the day before. Leave it on overnight and then bath the day before the show as normal. Never tried this before so not sure if it will work. I'll let you know

I do quite a bit of showing - at a decent level - I have never heard of anyone doing this - I have certainly never seen anyone do this - and I would suggest that you make no attempt at doing this !

 

[3DE]

I do quite a bit of showing - at a decent level - I have never heard of anyone doing this - I have certainly never seen anyone do this - and I would suggest that you make no attempt at doing this !

What is your reasoning?

 

[Umbongo]

Hot cloth with hot water, splash of baby oil and dettol.
Works a treat for our racehorses.

 

[Kenzo]

Lincoln Total Groom, wonderful stuff, you can either use it as a spruce up show shine on the day, or you can what it says on the bottle and use about 3 times a week when grooming, or for emergency use, spray all over the body area (not saddle area though) then groom in, another spray over the top then stick a clean rug/summer sheet over night and the next morning your horse will look like you’ve spent 10 hours grooming it, the evidence will be left on the inside of your rug (but that is cheating and won't get you that showering shine)

Personally I would not bath the day before the show because it will dull the coat and could (depending on your horses skin and coat) bring it up a little scurfy, I'd say bath 3 days before the show and keep grooming the horse a every day to bring back the natural oils in the coat, then you can use the above product while your grooming and once again before you go in the ring, obviously legs/face/tail may have to washed again the night before the show but bays and blacks benefit more when bathed earlier on in the week I think.

Its only about £6.00 odd and it for lasts ages.

Also just to add, if you start feeding Argo Vit Min (its an all round vitmin supp including cod liver oil) within a few weeks your horse will have a natual shine, without any need for baths or sprays (well depending on what colour your horse is) but its fantastic stuff.

 

[Spyda]

nothing beats good old elbow grease! 30mins grooming a day will soon sort out a coat!

Quite so! But for people working full time, with a family and keeping their horses on DIY livery it's tough finding that extra 30 minutes every day to dedicate to a thorough grooming. During the week, mine gets a quick brush off with a long bristled Dandy brush and more time spent caring for her feet.

You could also feed oil in his feed; my horse gets a dollop of cooking or vegetable oil (bought from tescos!) in his feed at night

I agree diet absolutely helps, but you really need to start before the moulting starts to get the best result. I personally use FF linseed meal through out winter. The result is amazing. An early summer coat, in the softest and glossiest condition which needs the minumum maintenance.

tbh, I found that all the coat shines leave the coat glossy for 10mins and then goes all sticky!

Must admit, that's what I like about the Canter range. I really don't find that with it.

 

[Twizzel]

Dreamcoat is brilliant stuff for after a bath and applied just before going into the show ring, but diet also really helps- we found Bailey's Outshine to be the best, everything fed it just shines, even the coloured boy!

 

[Theresa_F]

I have the problem at the end of the season, Stinky is going fluffy - he lives out in summer, and I won't rug him up and have him sweat.

This gets him look good enough to show at high level.

I feed all year round instant linseed and black sunflower seeds - these are great for the coat, digestion, joints and feet.

I do groom for 15 minutes three times a week to keep the oil coming through.

The day before a show he is bathed. If it is cold, I use hot water with soda crystals and hot towel him. I then when the dirt is out, go over him with alva coat conditioner, brush the coat hard so it is flat and put on his lycra suit to keep it flat.

Next day, I apply Alva show spray to really get a gloss on and groom like mad and then polish the coat.

This is Stinky in mid September with his coat starting to get very fluffy.

I now clip him out in January apart from front of his head and below his knees so he has a very nice summer coat by early April and ready for the start of the season.

 

[LittleSoph]

Another vote for Absorbine Show Sheen!

 

[millimoo]

I use Cowboy Magic Super Show Shine - Fantastic, none oily, repels dust. Just don't try and put a saddle over the top of it because it will move.....

 

[JenHunt]

I like the dreamcoat gloss, it's quite good value for money. But I prefer the Alva range. They are more expensive, but a little goes a long way, and if you follow the routiney thing you get a fab, long lasting result. It even keeps the mud off!!