How to Darken a Palomino Horse's Coat
One of the many things that horse lovers find attractive about palominos is the rich deep gold that their coats can achieve. However, exposure to the sun can undermine that gorgeous rich color and bleach it to a light straw-colored blonde. The sun also can dry the hair making it wiry and unruly. There are several things you can do to keep the dark gold color of your palomino’s coat.
Items Needed:
- Hose
- Coat-darkening supplement for food
- Salt block or salt lick
- Sweat scraper
- Rubber curry brush (optional)
- Hooded turn out sheet
- Stall your horse during the daylight hours. Since the sun is the number one culprit in stealing your horses color, try to keep your horse stalled or in a covered pen during the daylight hours. Limit your riding and exercising to nighttime hours or mornings before the sun rises.
- Rinse your horse after each ride. Salt is also a contributor to lightening the palominos coloring. Rinse with a hose thoroughly. Use your hand or a rubber curry to loosen the dirt and dried sweat as you rinse the horse.
- Use the sweat scraper after the rinse. This will continue to remove the salt from your horse’s coat. It will also remove excess water encouraging faster drying times.
- Use a hooded turnout sheet. If it is not possible for you to shield your horse from the sun using an enclosed stall or covered pen, use a hooded horse turnout sheet to cover it while it is out in the sun. The hood fits over the horse's head and pulls down over its neck. It attaches to the turnout sheet, which covers the horse’s body from withers to tail.
- Add a coat darkener to your horses feed. Darkening supplements are made just for horses like the palomino. These supplements can be found at many feed stores and help in darkening and enriching the gold palomino color.
- Use a salt block or salt lick. Many horses that suffer with a salt imbalance will have dull pale coats.