What Can I Feed My Horse To Make His Coat Shiny?

Coat condition is a marker of your horse’s health, so before changing the diet, you should evaluate your horse’s overall health.

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You should check for worms with a fecal egg count, make sure his teeth are in good shape and assess his general health status. These are all things that must be addressed prior to changing his diet.

In terms of improving the coat using nutrition, the first thing you need to check is that you are feeding enough forage. Forage is the foundation of a healthy diet, as it promotes digestive health in the horse. Without good digestive health, a change in diet will have limited impact. Ideally, forage should be provided ad-lib, but your horse should never be receiving less than 15g (dry matter) per kilogram of his body weight.

Next up, you need to look at the balance of your horse’s diet. This is likely to involve the assistance of an equine nutritionist, as some of these calculations can be complex. Nutrient deficiencies can affect coat condition, so providing a well-balanced diet is key to not only a healthy horse on the inside, but also a healthy coat on the outside.