Paprika ? ever used for black horses

ssmith · Paprika ? ever used for black horses

I have heard that if you feed paprika to a black horse that it will keep them black. I have also heard to use grape seed oil abstract, has any one every heard or used ?

If so how much ?
Anyone ?

Scott

Cindyg

I read over on the Chronicle of the Horse forum, and a large number of people on that board recommend paprika every day. Not just for blacks, but to keep any dark coat dark.

They recommend about 2 tbsp a day, and they say you have to be feeding it to the horse when his new coat is growing in, while the hair is forming. In other words, you need to use long term. It won't darken his existing hair. They say this is the main ingredient in Blacker than Black (an expensive supplement).

There is also a large number of people on that board who swear by black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) for the same reason.

So I've been using both on my bay for more than a year. Honestly, I don't see a big difference. When I got him, he lived in a stall 24/7, and he was a very dark bay, nearly black. From a distance, you might think he was black. Now he's out 24/7. Despite the paprika and BOSS, no one would ever mistake him for black. He's a very red bay. Does it help him look a little less sunbleached? Eh...I dunno...maybe. But it looks nothing like he used to when he was a show horse who lived in a stall.

creekwood

If you have a palomino/buckskin/chestnut you can feed paprika & nutmeg & it's the same thing as Gold-as-Sun.

The paprika worked for my moms dapple gray. He's nine, and still pretty dark.

Blue Flame

I've heard that bleached out coats might be copper deficiency, which is sometimes caused by iron excess.

misstux

I tried feeding paprika to Dusty. His coat did stay darker; it also got a reddish cast to it. Balancing his minerals worked much better - he was actually black and did not fade at all.

brsflirt

scott paprika is the biggest active indredient in Black as Knight and will help keep black horses dark even if they are out in the sun all summer long. However it is important if you show to pull them off it I believe it is a week (its been awhile since I did the research) before showing as it gives a false postive for some other illegal drug. Make sure to use sweet paprika, not hot.

PasoBaby_CarolU

Don't forget that genetics is the biggest factor in coat color. If you black horse has a red gene (from a bay and definitely from a chestnut parent) it will be a 'fading black' and show red in the coat.

There also is a color with different names, seal bay, brown, brown bay, etc. that is mostly black with brown on the muzzle and flanks, and sometimes elsewhere. Nothing you do is going to change that horse's color. The horse is genetically a bay and not a black, even though they'll appear black at different times.