# How do you keep your black horse (or mane/tail) black?



## Cinnys Whinny

So I finally got Cinny and did a nice thorough grooming of him today. His grooming has really been neglected, especially his tail so his tail has a LOT of orange in it. Does anybody out here dye their horses hair or do anything else to get the orange fade to go black again? And once you do, how do you KEEP it black? I would love any and all tips or advice.

I'm sorry if there is already a thread for this, I did a search and couldn't find one.


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## nrhareiner

My horse who have black manes and trails the tails are kept up in 3 tub tail wraps. The manes are kept clean braided and I use a spray with sun screen in it. works well.


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## TheCowgirlRanda

We use Quic Black on our black gelding and holy cow it works! and with my mare that I sold I would put a fly sheet on her during the day


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## Cinnys Whinny

Thanks I'll try those. I was just going to make a tail wrap for now because he's never had ANYTHIGN on him except a halter, bridle or saddle...nothing ever on his tail, legs, etc so I don't want him to rip something up the first day after buying it ha ha. Was thinking of working up to a UV fly sheet but we'll see. He will be in a paddock with other horses so I am cringing at the thought of tail chewers and blanket rippers


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## rocky pony

I love using Santa Fe by Absorbine on my bay's black mane and tail (or on any colour I don't want fading)
It has sunscreen in it and it works amazingly, even though I also use MTG (which tends to sun bleach easily) my guy's hair stays nice and black!
It works amazingly as a detangler and conditioner for mane and tails...by far better than anything else I've tried (and I've tried a lot of things!)
It takes out tangles with ease and leaves hair silky and smooth.
It can also be used over the entire coat as a sunscreen and coat conditioner.


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## Chella

For a fix to turn the orange black again use Aveda (for Humans )conditioner called Black Malva. It works on horses too. Put it in and leave for 15 minutes and rinse. Then keep a sunscreen on Mane and Tail . Might need to use a whole tube or two about $18 but it works nicely.


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## SarahHershey

I use Nu-Image on my guy, hes a black and white overo, so we have a lot of black.

I use nu-image suppliment(it makes them grow out a new blacker shinyer coat, and shed the old dull, bleached one. I get TONS of compliments on his color and shinyness everyday. 

I think I have some before and after shots... hmm...

Before=









After= ( this is one tub of nu-image later) Just over a month.

this one shows off his shinyness in the sun









And this one shows off his over-all black color without the sun on him( and his better jumping position... lol)









Its an expensive suppliment, but it REALLY works, fast, and amazingly.

You can also look into getting a uv fly mask, sheet, and tail bags.

Good Luck, and another note, the shampoos/conditioners with color deposit (like aveda)will temporarly re-blacken the orange. So I would only do it the week going up to a show or something.


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## sarahver

Thanks to the above post, I am sold on the Nu-image (not my thread I know!) Your horse looks amazing and what a pretty backdrop for an arena, I would probably fall off frequently as I gazed off appreciating the scenery ha ha


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## Cinnys Whinny

Thank you Sarah. I was thinking of using the feed suppliment Black as Knight because a neighbor swears by it, but she said it takes a while to work. Nu Image is actually a bit cheaper but I think either way I'm going to try one of them. I just figure his tail won't change with it though ha ha.


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## SarahHershey

Actually, They are owned by the same company! So either way its a great choice

And Sarahver- Its a nice place to ride! and unfortunatly pretty distracting. =( The other day we stopped a lesson for like 10 minutes to stare off and watch a stampede of horses and cows into the lake. lol


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## CloudsMystique

Here are some unedited pictures of my mare (yes, I edit my pictures to make her look blacker, haha)...



When I first got her: http://i42.tinypic.com/302753s.jpg
After a short time on BaK + blackening shampoo: http://i42.tinypic.com/339u4xt.jpg
After a longer time on BaK + blackening shampoo: http://i44.tinypic.com/zob28x.jpg
After BaK, blackening shampoo, and a short time on night turnout: http://i42.tinypic.com/2j0foxv.jpg
Now, after BaK, blackening shampoo, and night turnout: http://i43.tinypic.com/2re312p.jpg



That's really all there is to it. Diet is the most important thing. Make sure he's on a high-quality feed and is getting all the nutrients he needs. Black-as-Knight helps tremendously. Aside from helping color, it also improves the quality of the coat, skin, and hooves.

Night turnout is the second most important thing... and if you can't do that, get him a fly sheet that blocks UV rays and some spray-on sunscreen (I use Coat Saver sunblock).

The third most important thing is to make sure sweat doesn't dry on him. Hose him off meticulously after every ride, and if he gets sweaty in his stall or pasture take him out and hose him off. This is a good thing to do even if you aren't worried about fading because the salt makes them itchy and uncomfortable.

The fourth most important thing is blackening shampoo. I use Emerald Black and I love it. I will say, blackening shampoos don't seem to make brown horses black, but they do seem to improve the color on horses that are already black by making them jet black or blue-black.



The mane and tail are the tricky part. They're still orange on my mare. They don't fall out and grow back like the coat does, so once they're faded they will be for a LONG time. I use regular human hair dye on my mare's mane and tail, and it works great. Just don't overdo it or it can thin out the hair.


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## Cinnys Whinny

Than you CloudsMystique. Right now my trainer has him out grazing pretty much 24/7 and he's looking pretty good. I attempted to rinse or bathe him for the first time since I got him yesterday (I just got him last weekend) and well...I have opted to rinse him every day until he eventually gets used to it! He just won't stand for it and my trainer doesn't have a proper wash area so that doesn't help much. He will be moving to a stable at the end of the month and I am hoping that once I get him in a proper wash rack all will be good as he usually only has to deal with something once and then he's "so over it." lol.

After I did get him successfully rinsed however, I noticed something WONDERFUL in his coat. On his rear and sides he has DAPPLES!!! sooo happy.


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## mom2pride

Making sure he has an adequate mineral supplement is a huge thing, especially with dark colored horses; they can get copper deficiency, which also can cause a burnt orange coat. Aside from that I don't really have anything else to add to what's already here...you have alot to choose from; I think the key is to remember that a healthy coat comes from the inside out, not the opposite.


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## mls

A true black horse is a black horse. I have a gelding who salt bleaches in his tack area. The rest of him stays black. He is outside 24/7. No special feed, no special shampoo, no fly sheet,etc.

Horses that have to be inside at night so they do not fade are not 'true' blacks.

I also have a 'black' mare who is truly a smokey black. But since AQHA doesn't recognize smokey - she is considered black.

On property there is an APHA mare and an Arab cross that bleach out. Also a saddlebred and a fresian cross who do not bleach out.


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## CloudsMystique

mls said:


> A true black horse is a black horse. I have a gelding who salt bleaches in his tack area. The rest of him stays black. He is outside 24/7. No special feed, no special shampoo, no fly sheet,etc.
> 
> Horses that have to be inside at night so they do not fade are not 'true' blacks.
> 
> I also have a 'black' mare who is truly a smokey black. But since AQHA doesn't recognize smokey - she is considered black.
> 
> On property there is an APHA mare and an Arab cross that bleach out. Also a saddlebred and a fresian cross who do not bleach out.


Eh... what do you mean by "true" black? A black horse is a black horse. Some horses fade and some don't. Bays, chestnuts, grullos, duns, palominos, buckskins... almost any coat color can fade.


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## mls

CloudsMystique said:


> Eh... what do you mean by "true" black? A black horse is a black horse. Some horses fade and some don't. Bays, chestnuts, grullos, duns, palominos, buckskins... almost any coat color can fade.


A true black doesn't fade into a brown or bay or grulla color. It stays black.

You said it yourself- *almost* any coat color can fade.


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## CloudsMystique

mls said:


> A true black doesn't fade into a brown or bay or grulla color. It stays black.
> 
> You said it yourself- *almost* any coat color can fade.


But why does that make it a "true" black? It can't *actually *change into a brown or bay or grullo... a black horse will always be genetically black, and there's no genetic difference between a faded black horse and a non-faded black horse.

Sorry, your post just sounded a little condescending... as if black horses that fade are somehow inferior to black horses that don't.


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## Strange

There are two blacks, non-fading and fading black, though geneticists have not found any difference in their DNA as they both are Ee or EE. There's still dispute as to whether or not it's due to management that a horse never fades, despite being in the sun. Generally a "non-fading" black has a blue-ish sheen to them and are sometime referred to as "jet black" or "blue black" horses. *shrugs* I honestly don't think it matters whether a horse is non-fading or not, if it's Ee or EE it's black.

But back to the topic, I use a shampoo and conditioner with sunscreen in them to keep Willie's tail black. I only started having more of a problem with it recently since he's now turned out 24/7.


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## Ridehorses99

I have also heard that adding paprika to their feed as a supplement will help keep their coat black.


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## mls

CloudsMystique said:


> Sorry, your post just sounded a little condescending... as if black horses that fade are somehow inferior to black horses that don't.


Reread again. I have two horses that according to their registration papers with AQHA are black. One fades, one does not. Why would I feel my mare is inferior to my gelding?

I simply disagree with keeping a poor horse locked up due to the vanity of the owner.


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## Alwaysbehind

Ridehorses99 said:


> I have also heard that adding paprika to their feed as a supplement will help keep their coat black.


Paprika is what is in many of the supplements that claim they keep black coats black.

Paprika will test so you have to discontinue its use prior to showing if you show at the types of shows that drug test.


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## hhadavis

My walker Snap is Black but he can get sun bleached...so this year I started him on a smart pak supplement called "smartshine" to make his coat shine, my other two were on supplements from there and I felt he was feeling left out( I know Im nuts)  the added plus was that he no longer has his "sun bleached" blk hair..and boy does he look fabulous in the field now


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## CloudsMystique

mls;626104I said:


> I simply disagree with keeping a poor horse locked up due to the vanity of the owner.


There's no need to be insulting. You're making assumptions here. Not everybody is able to keep their horses out 24/7. If I turned my gelding out in the daytime, he would only get a few hours of turnout a day because he can't go out with any other horses besides my mare. It's hot and buggy during the day and I'm sure they'd prefer to be inside anyway, where they have shade and a fan.


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## roro

What's the use of changing/altering a horse's coat color? Coat health is the main concern.


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## Cinnys Whinny

roro said:


> What's the use of changing/altering a horse's coat color? Coat health is the main concern.


Of course I want a healthy coat, and I am not looking to "change" his color, just keep him a nice black for the show ring.

btw his dapples are spreading....yay


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## sarahver

SarahHershey said:


> I use Nu-Image on my guy, hes a black and white overo, so we have a lot of black.
> 
> I use nu-image suppliment(it makes them grow out a new blacker shinyer coat, and shed the old dull, bleached one. I get TONS of compliments on his color and shinyness everyday.
> 
> 
> Its an expensive suppliment, but it REALLY works, fast, and amazingly.
> 
> You can also look into getting a uv fly mask, sheet, and tail bags.
> 
> Good Luck, and another note, the shampoos/conditioners with color deposit (like aveda)will temporarly re-blacken the orange. So I would only do it the week going up to a show or something.


Ok so for everyone wondering, I went out to a barn I am training some youngsters for, and happened to notice what I thought was a 'new' horse that wasn't there last month. Well turns out I knew the horse, just didn't recognize him as he has been on Nu-Image for a month and is now jet black. I sound like some terrible midnight info-mercial but just thought I would let everyone who was interested know that it really works that quick!


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