# Feeding Black Horses Paprika?



## krissy3

I would stay away from it myself, but I am a little funny about feeding pepper to animals after a friends dog died from eating a chilie pepper...however flax seed ground in a coffee grinder , and whole black sun flower seeds are amazing for bringing out a natural shine, and it really shows on a black horse. No risk at all , I give 3 table spoons a day of flax, and my black mare looks like she is dripping wet from the shine.
Good luck


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## starsx

Where would I be able to get the flax seed? And just normal black sun flower seeds? shell and all? How much of that would I give to her?


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## Deerly

They make Black as Knight without paprika so I'm not sure that's the only ingredient that produces such amazing results. I use the palomino version Gold as Sun and it is AMAZING! Absolutely worth the money the results have been stunning in a very short period of time. My mom uses BasK on her horses and loves it. 

Personally, I like using the proper formulas and dosages than trying to make my own version just to be on the safe side.

Before:










After:


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## Unwoven

I used Paprika on my bay paint and trust me it did WONDERS.


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## starsx

Really? Do you have before and after pictures? I'm leaning more towards the paprika and sun flower seeds - a lot cheaper than BaK! ;]


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## mls

I feed my black gelding nothing special and he stays black. My mare is a 'smokey' black and bleaches due to sweat.

My husbands two golden (vs creamish) palominos are very gold - nothing special fed.

It truly depends on the horses 'real' color.

Can YOU eat anything that alters your hair color? Miss Clariol would be out of business.


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## Supermane

I use Black as Knight and it's given me amazing results. However since we show so often we haven't been able to actually keep him on it for more than a week.

This is him this year (at the beginning of the summer) without it:









and last year:

(middle of summer)









(end of summer after being clipped)


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## Unwoven

hes reeeeeally dark red now. And his points are darker. I approove Paprika. Its harmless !


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## Deerly

mls said:


> Can YOU eat anything that alters your hair color? Miss Clariol would be out of business.


It doesn't change the hair color but it enhances their natural color and brings out the best in their coat and richness. You sure can eat things that will improve your hair and nails and possibly even protect your growing hair from sun damage which is mostly what they claim. 

I've seen it work. I don't care why but I've seen it with my own two eyes so it's worth my money because I'm quite happy with the results.

Edit: In fact, the vet came out yesterday and had a lot to say about how wonderful his coat and color looked. He said he looked great and it was a big difference.


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## yukontanya

Unwoven said:


> hes reeeeeally dark red now. And his points are darker. I approove Paprika. Its harmless !


How much do you feed? Paprika has many other health benefits as well, at least in people.


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## krissy3

I am really a big fan of the flax. I get big bags of it at the feed store , and grind it up in a coffee bean grinder, and give about 2 table spoons a day to them... even on my gray horse I see a difference, the hair is soft and shines like its wet. This also keeps the pipes clean and food moving. My black mare changes colors depending on when she is clipped , how often, and what the sun factor is .. She also has some white hairs on her belly, and a few white hairs along her sides, so she is not a true black.


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## helovesus

I have a bay gelding what would giving paprika to him do??


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## FoxyRoxy1507

im subscribing bc i was just thinking about this since my dark bay gelding is bleaching out


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## Kayty

Anyone feeding paprika, just be aware that it is swabbable.


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## yukontanya

Kayty said:


> Anyone feeding paprika, just be aware that it is swabbable.


swabbable? What ya mean?


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## Kayty

If you compete the horse, and there is an on site vet drug testing random horses, you will be picked up if your horse is on paprika as 'drugs' in it's system, which will appear via a blood test. Thus you will be eliminated from the competition and depending on how bigger competition it is, you can also be banned from competing for a certain period.


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## yukontanya

Kayty said:


> If you compete the horse, and there is an on site vet drug testing random horses, you will be picked up if your horse is on paprika as 'drugs' in it's system, which will appear via a blood test. Thus you will be eliminated from the competition and depending on how bigger competition it is, you can also be banned from competing for a certain period.


OOOOOOO ok lol thanks, thats not a problem for me. Hey there ya go I learned something today :lol: How much should I feed?


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## helovesus

I have a bay gelding what would giving paprika to him do??


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## kmacdougall

krissy3 said:


> however flax seed ground in a coffee grinder , and whole black sun flower seeds are amazing for bringing out a natural shine



Researchers have discovered links between flax seed and hypothyroidism, bad behavior, and also infertility in horses.


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## Supermane

helovesus said:


> I have a bay gelding what would giving paprika to him do??


It will keep him dark... possible make him darker. Mine is a dark bay and he's almost black on BaK.

On some horses there doesn't seem to be much of an effect at all.


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## helovesus

Supermane said:


> It will keep him dark... possible make him darker. Mine is a dark bay and he's almost black on BaK.
> 
> On some horses there doesn't seem to be much of an effect at all.


 
how much should I give him and how often??


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## Hukassa

My grandma told me once that back when she competed in high school, one or two days before the comp. she would put one raw egg in the horses grain and it would make the absolutely glow, but I don't really know if thats even safe to do let alone if the horse would actually eat it. Doesn't really have anything to do with making a horse more black just thought I'd add my 2 cents .


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## paint gurl 23

kmacdougall said:


> Researchers have discovered links between flax seed and hypothyroidism, bad behavior, and also infertility in horses.


Ive heard of this as well.


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## Unwoven

helovesus said:


> I have a bay gelding what would giving paprika to him do??


 
It'll prob make his bay part richer in color and make his black points darker as well...

I started with a small amount and then increased it. Like a couple spoons.


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## Oakley Eastern Miss

I've never heard of feeding paprika, has anyone got any links to feeding tips or research on using it? Those of you that use it, what made you try it or was it just advice from friends?


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## Quedeme

I've heard about the paprika thing as well and was actually just about to ask this same question when I saw this thread!!! lol.

I know that BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) do AMAZING things for coat color and health, as well as mane and tail and hoof health as well. It gave my usually 'plain' looking sorrel dapples!!! I'd feed about a quarter of a scoop of seeds to about a half scoop of grain once a day it worked WONDERS!!! I'll probably be picking that up again as well.

However, I was curious about the paprika because I'll be caring for a black and white paint, and his black is currently kind of...well...shabby...He's been well taken care of as far as basic needs (food, shelter, water, farrier ext) but hasn't really had the best of pampering (like grooming every day lol) so I was curious about the paprika and just how much (measurement please instead of 'just a few spoon fulls') to feed a horse by weight. This horse is about 14.2-14.3 and probably weights a good 700-800 pounds. He was a stud for a LOOONG time so most of that is muscle that he hasn't lost yet and he has really good bone mass as well, so I know it's not 'just' fat (though his owner feeds him liberally lol)

Note-I have permission from his owner to feed him anything I like as I am working towards owning him.


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## arasumi

This is very interesting to me since my black with no dilute (tested) colt fades so much he looks like a bay, even during winter. 
Here is a silly question: I am in Argentina and have not heard of the Black oil sun flowers seed, are those a different kind of sunflower seeds? do they look black? I was wondering if it would also work if I use regular sunflower seeds. 

Those of you who have actually fed paprika, exactly how much do you use?.

Thank you!!!


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## Eliz

You have to be careful when using paprika if you show... take them off of it a week before or you'll fail a drug test.

I feed about 3 tbs morning and night.


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## arasumi

I don`t show so that is not a problem for me. TThank you, I will try this.


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## gypsygirl

feeding paprika did not work for my horse....

when she wore her uv protected fly sheet she stayed dark though ! [unfortunately i had to have her stop wearing it because she was fighting in the pasture A LOT]


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## armydogs

Quedeme said:


> I know that BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) do AMAZING things for coat color and health, as well as mane and tail and hoof health as well. It gave my usually 'plain' looking sorrel dapples!!! I'd feed about a quarter of a scoop of seeds to about a half scoop of grain once a day it worked WONDERS!!! I'll probably be picking that up again as well.


With the BOSS, do you feed them the shell too? Or do they come without the shell? How much do you feed them? I have heard of using them, but have never personally tried them.


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## mls

It's all hearsay - there is no scientific proof:

HorseAdvice.com Equine & Horse Advice: Paprika.



Deerly said:


> Edit: In fact, the vet came out yesterday and had a lot to say about how wonderful his coat and color looked. He said he looked great and it was a big difference.


Yes - BUT did the vet say the paprika was due the credit? I am willing to bet - no.


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## Oakley Eastern Miss

mls said:


> It's all hearsay - there is no scientific proof.


Thanks for that, I have been hunting for non-existing research for a while, will save me wasting more time looking for something thats not even about. I think I will pass on feeding it for now I think and stick to more proven methods, will definately keep and eye on this thread though to see if there is any progression.


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## arasumi

This is a good point!. I have been looking for scientific papers on the subject with no much success. Only found two that may be relevant, I will try to get them full text tomorrow from work. 

Anyway, just wanted to say that if there is nothing published on the matter it doesn`t mean is not true (i.e. paprika does not help to darkening the coat), it just means we don`t know if it is. 

I have consulted a horse nutritionist (sp?) on the internet, as soon as she answers, and if she says is safe I will start my horse on it. 

Tomorrow I will look for more papers on it and tell you if I found some.


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## Oakley Eastern Miss

arasumi said:


> Anyway, just wanted to say that if there is nothing published on the matter it doesn`t mean is not true (i.e. paprika does not help to darkening the coat), it just means we don`t know if it is.
> 
> I have consulted a horse nutritionist (sp?) on the internet, as soon as she answers, and if she says is safe I will start my horse on it.
> 
> Tomorrow I will look for more papers on it and tell you if I found some.


Thanks, it will be interesting to see what is said about it. I suspect it will turn out to be a hit and miss product that works for some horses but not others. I'm not even sure how reliable the research would be, unless they can eliminate all other possible factors. Is that possible? :?

My mare can get fussy with her feed so unless there is a very good reason for using it, I try and limit the amount of supplements I add. She will just have to stay the colour she is for now :lol:


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## arasumi

Usually scientists try to control all other relevant factors, of coarse is not always possible but an effort is made. 

Regarding you mare, if she is the one on the picture she is very pretty as she is!.


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## Oakley Eastern Miss

arasumi said:


> Usually scientists try to control all other relevant factors, of coarse is not always possible but an effort is made.
> 
> Regarding you mare, if she is the one on the picture she is very pretty as she is!.


Very true, I don't know how they manage it, I wouldn't know where to start.

Thank you, that photo was taken just after a bath. The shine only lasted about five minutes though, she went straight out in the field and rolled!! :lol:


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## arasumi

_he shine only lasted about five minutes though, she went straight out in the field and rolled!!_ 
doesn´t that means she is happy horse?. I confort myself by thinking all those horses with fantastic shinny coats are not that happy, they are stabled all day, only go out at night, and so on, probably not true, but...:lol:​


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## ShadowSpazzz

kmacdougall said:


> Researchers have discovered links between flax seed and hypothyroidism, bad behavior, and also infertility in horses.


Just curious, what are your sources and where did you find this out?? I don't want to possibly hurt my horse by feeding flax :shock:


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## Solon

You need to start the paprika prior to their shedding winter hair.

Is there a reason you want to keep the horse black even though you don't show?


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## Solon

mls said:


> It's all hearsay - there is no scientific proof:
> 
> HorseAdvice.com Equine & Horse Advice: Paprika.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes - BUT did the vet say the paprika was due the credit? I am willing to bet - no.


I think it works for some horses, we had a lady that showed but didn't want to keep her horses in all the time or keep them wrapped up in a sheet. She got the info from her vet, started using it in winter and it worked just fine. Her horse stayed very black, my horse (not fed paprika) bleached out.


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## arasumi

Well, here is my update:

I spent a great deal of time today searching for scientific evidence on the use of flaxseed and paprika. I also e-mailed a equine nutrition researcher, she sent me one article and answered a couple of questions.

My conclusions:

1. there is no evidence of a negative effect -i.e. hypothiridism (sp?)- of feeding flaxseed to horses (except one case reported on a horse that had a lot!) nor to humans 
Flaxseed and flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum): MedlinePlus Supplements

2. also, there isn`t any evidence of an effect on hair and hooves, same goes for paprika. 

As I said before, it doesn`t mean there is no effect, just that nobody bothered to prove it yet (or disprove it!). 

That said I will start two of my horses on it tomorrow, low quantities and gradually, of coarse. 

Hope it works! :wink:


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## ShadowSpazzz

arasumi said:


> Well, here is my update:
> 
> I spent a great deal of time today searching for scientific evidence on the use of flaxseed and paprika. I also e-mailed a equine nutrition researcher, she sent me one article and answered a couple of questions.
> 
> My conclusions:
> 
> 1. there is no evidence of a negative effect -i.e. hypothiridism (sp?)- of feeding flaxseed to horses (except one case reported on a horse that had a lot!) nor to humans
> Flaxseed and flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum): MedlinePlus Supplements
> 
> 2. also, there isn`t any evidence of an effect on hair and hooves, same goes for paprika.
> 
> As I said before, it doesn`t mean there is no effect, just that nobody bothered to prove it yet (or disprove it!).
> 
> That said I will start two of my horses on it tomorrow, low quantities and gradually, of coarse.
> 
> Hope it works! :wink:


Awesome!! I might put my horse on flax


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## mls

Solon said:


> I think it works for some horses, we had a lady that showed but didn't want to keep her horses in all the time or keep them wrapped up in a sheet. She got the info from her vet, started using it in winter and it worked just fine. Her horse stayed very black, my horse (not fed paprika) bleached out.


It's truly the horse. Out last six weeks have been very hot and humid. My gelding is still 100% black, my mare is quite bleached out. Per their AQHA papers - they are 'black'.


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## mumiinek

Help, PLEASE!

I'm really considering feeding my horse paprika as he's a terribly bleached friesian. However I have NO clue what paprika to feed. Only recently I found out what paprika actually is (the spice, right?) and I would hate to give him the wrong product. So far I understood there are two kinds of paprika - spanish and hungarian and from what I've read people largely prefer the spanish one. I've searched really thoroughly but there's nowhere to get it where I live (unless I buy it online where it costs quite a lot), would the hungarin paprika be ok? There's huge amounts of it everywhere in basically every grocery shop. Also I make sure it's the sweet one, right? And my last and most important question - am I right the paprika you feed your horses is the red powder spice made of peppers, the one you use everyday in the kitchen when cooking?? I still can't believe it would be that simple :lol: 

PLEASE, anyone who has experiences (or knows somebody who does), answer me, I've asked on many places, I don't know if it's the fact my questions may seem über dull but people just never seemed to care to respond =/

Thank you!


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## Solon

My understanding it is from the spanish - but hopefully someone else will respond!!!


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## arasumi

Hi Mumiinek,

I am in Argentina and have your exact same problem. I am assuming there is not much difference between where the peppers are grown (Spain, Hungry, Chile), but I do hope we are talking about the powder of the same kind of peppers!.
We have something here called Pimentón and something called paprika, I started my horses on pimenton because paprika is hot, so I am guessing that was the right one.


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## soileddove

mumiinek said:


> Help, PLEASE!
> 
> I'm really considering feeding my horse paprika as he's a terribly bleached friesian. However I have NO clue what paprika to feed. Only recently I found out what paprika actually is (the spice, right?) and I would hate to give him the wrong product. So far I understood there are two kinds of paprika - spanish and hungarian and from what I've read people largely prefer the spanish one. I've searched really thoroughly but there's nowhere to get it where I live (unless I buy it online where it costs quite a lot), would the hungarin paprika be ok? There's huge amounts of it everywhere in basically every grocery shop. Also I make sure it's the sweet one, right? And my last and most important question - am I right the paprika you feed your horses is the red powder spice made of peppers, the one you use everyday in the kitchen when cooking?? I still can't believe it would be that simple :lol:
> 
> PLEASE, anyone who has experiences (or knows somebody who does), answer me, I've asked on many places, I don't know if it's the fact my questions may seem über dull but people just never seemed to care to respond =/
> 
> Thank you!


I use the Hungarian paprika for my horses.. They seem to eat it just fine and it appears to work. I'm from the states. Yes, make sure it is the sweet/mildest form you can find. And yes, it is simply the red powder made from peppers you use for cooking. Paprika gets hotter when it is heated (cooked in a dish). 

I know that the sweet/mildest form is not hot just straight from the container. Try it. If its hot to you, it will be to your horse. It is important that you store the paprika in a cool place so it does not get hot..


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## mumiinek

arasumi said:


> Hi Mumiinek,
> 
> I am in Argentina and have your exact same problem. I am assuming there is not much difference between where the peppers are grown (Spain, Hungry, Chile), but I do hope we are talking about the powder of the same kind of peppers!.
> We have something here called Pimentón and something called paprika, I started my horses on pimenton because paprika is hot, so I am guessing that was the right one.


Pimentón is exactly what I wanted to get for my horse as that's the mild spanish one but it's just not possible to obtain it here. I've also read that paprika (hungarian kind) is supposed to be hotter than the spanish one but it's not true, there are many kinds of hungarian paprika, you can choose from any "hotness degree" you'd like. The only diference to my knowledge is that the spanish paprika is smoked and has a better taste so horses are more likely to eat that one. So I hope that really is the only difference and I will not do any harm by feeding the hungarian one


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## mumiinek

soileddove said:


> I use the Hungarian paprika for my horses.. They seem to eat it just fine and it appears to work. I'm from the states. Yes, make sure it is the sweet/mildest form you can find. And yes, it is simply the red powder made from peppers you use for cooking. Paprika gets hotter when it is heated (cooked in a dish).
> 
> I know that the sweet/mildest form is not hot just straight from the container. Try it. If its hot to you, it will be to your horse. It is important that you store the paprika in a cool place so it does not get hot..


Thank you so much for your answer. At home we use sweet paprika basically every day (my bf loves the taste of it, he's able to put it into _anything_) so I know how to recognise the sweet one very well. Let's just hope our horse will love it just as much as we do 

Also, does anyone here have experiences feeding it with anything else, mixing it together? I'm also about to start feeding my horse BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) and as I kinda doubt he'd like to lick the paprika just like that I was thinking about mixing the BOSS and paprika together, splashing it with water slightly so it's not dusty and feeding it like that. I'd appreciate if anyone could tell me their opinion about feeding it this way


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## soileddove

mumiinek said:


> Thank you so much for your answer. At home we use sweet paprika basically every day (my bf loves the taste of it, he's able to put it into _anything_) so I know how to recognise the sweet one very well. Let's just hope our horse will love it just as much as we do
> 
> Also, does anyone here have experiences feeding it with anything else, mixing it together? I'm also about to start feeding my horse BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) and as I kinda doubt he'd like to lick the paprika just like that I was thinking about mixing the BOSS and paprika together, splashing it with water slightly so it's not dusty and feeding it like that. I'd appreciate if anyone could tell me their opinion about feeding it this way


I use corn oil in my feed along with the paprika to get it to "stick" I guess. I use the corn oil (formerly linseed/flax, but it got too expensive) for the same reasons you'd use BOSS-- shiny coat, weight gain. What else are you feeding for grain? I think it'd work just fine to mix the two, and a small amount of water might help. You shouldn't be feeding too much paprika that its too dusty, so that shouldn't be an issue, but I can see that your horse might not be getting it all so a liquid would help.


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## Shalani

I have been feeding performa3 oil all winter and my horses got a brilliant shine . They have just started shedding so I will be able to update you to say weather the color is better/ Darker.
My black mare bleaches out from sweat & sunlight. Last year she was on Sunflower oil it didnt improve her color . 


MITAVITE PERFORMA 3 20L


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## mumiinek

Sunflower oil will not improve the colour, it's only used to add shine to it (and to put some weight on the horse, which mine needs badly too). For improving the colour of the coat (and preventing sweat and sun bleach you mentioned) many people use Black as Knight or paprika which is much cheaper. I would believe the oil you use on your horses adds shine and makes the coat appear healthier but are you sure it prevents it from bleaching? I don't think an oil could do that but then again I don't know a thing about these things. My horse has also a perfect black shiny coat after he changes hairs but it bleaches out by time and loses the shine quite quickly.


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## FriesiansAndBasenjis

I heard somewhere that a shiny coat does prevent bleaching (or at least for the most part) because the sun reflects off the shine. Don't know how true it is, though.


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## charlicata

I haven't had any luck with the sun not bleaching my guys out because of shine. As far as the oil goes, I've always thought that corn oil could make the horse "hot". I was told to add a little canola oil to Rook's feed help him pick up weight. I also add a little to Rose's to make the powdered MSM stick to her feed. I tried the black oil sunflower seeds in the summer, but Rook didn't seem to like them. I may try them again now.


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## Supermane

FriesiansAndBasenjis said:


> I heard somewhere that a shiny coat does prevent bleaching (or at least for the most part) because the sun reflects off the shine. Don't know how true it is, though.


I doubt that's true. My horse is very shiny year round and he fades. It's a weird shiny fade...


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## ArabianAllie

try the paprika, I'm not sure on dosage, but instead of sunflower seeds just add a capful of veggie oil everyday to the feed. It really helps with shine!


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## mumiinek

charlicata said:


> I haven't had any luck with the sun not bleaching my guys out because of shine. As far as the oil goes, I've always thought that corn oil could make the horse "hot". I was told to add a little canola oil to Rook's feed help him pick up weight. I also add a little to Rose's to make the powdered MSM stick to her feed. I tried the black oil sunflower seeds in the summer, but Rook didn't seem to like them. I may try them again now.


I always mix BOSS with paprika and give it to my horse together, you can try it. Since paprika is sweet he'll be more likely to eat it.


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## charlicata

Thanks mumiinek!!! I'll have to give it a try. He seems to really like the paprika!


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