I really looked forward to bringing the horses home to a more controlled environment where they'd be mud free. However, despite the lack of mud, the dry lot contributed quite a bit of dust to their otherwise clean coats. This dust dried out their coats and gave them a dingy appearance.
In an effort to offset the effects of the dust and stay budget-friendly (because horses are expensive, yo), I scoured the internet for DIY coat conditioner recipes. I modified what I found to my own tastes and settled on the recipe below. It's shockingly affordable, smells great, and works just as I hoped by putting life and shine back into the horses' coats all while helping to repel dust/dirt. Added bonus? The horses love the extra quality time spent grooming.
DIY Coat Conditioner
You will need the following ingredients and one 16-oz. spray bottle. Cost per bottle ~$1- 2 Tbs. fractionated coconut oil (cost per use $0.78; 16 uses/bottle)
- 2 tsp. vegetable glycerin (cost per use $0.09; 129 uses/bottle)
- 1 tsp. witch hazel (cost per use $0.04; 96 uses/bottle)
- 10 drops lavender essential oil (cost per use ~ $0.03; 265 uses/bottle)
- 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil (cost per use ~$0.03; 265 uses/bottle)
- Distilled water to fill remainder of spray bottle
The essential oils could certainly be modified to suit whatever scent pleases you.
At ~$1 per bottle, this conditioning spray is stupid affordable. Purchasing all of the ingredients off-the-bat only cost me ~$45. As far as budgets go, I imagine this would be well within most people's. It also doesn't take any time to throw a new batch together. I've got all of the ingredients in my tack room and simply toss each into the bottle when I run out. It seriously takes me 2-3 minutes MAX to make. And I love how good the tack room smells after!
Let me know if you try it out!
I love this and am absolutely going to try it, thank you! Do you spray it on and then brush it in, basically?
ReplyDeleteYep. Simple as that.
Deletethanks for posting - was just about to buy more coat conditioner but maybe i'll MAKE some instead! The only thing is it doesnt have SPF in it which I love in the coat conditioner especially owning a bay that bleaches to dun now...
ReplyDeleteOohh yes, SPF would be a great addition.
DeleteInteresting that you post this a day after I saw a doctor on my local Chicago news station. He talked about a study of kids (both boys and girls) under 8 years old who had developed breasts. They scrutinized everything in their environments and found that they used products with lavender essential oils in it. Didn't say anything about its use in adults or animals, but for me that's creepy enough to never use!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. As a scientist I'd be apt to want to see a lot more repeated studies that suggest the same thing before coming to any conclusions for myself. A sample size of 1 is never conclusive. Hundreds, and better yet, thousands, would be much more telling.
DeleteSo here is my stupid question... You spray it on and then brush? I'm embarrassed to admit I have never used coat conditioner...
ReplyDeleteTo the best of my very limited understanding, yes!
DeleteI love a good, cheap DIY! I've never used a coat conditioner either, what differences do you see? Do you think the essential oils add more than nice fragrance? (I'd have to eliminate the essential oils, I can't stand any fragrances).
ReplyDeleteTheir coats look richer, healthier. The dust/dirt also doesn't seem to as readily cling to them and comes off much easier when it does. re: essential oils, for me, it's just fragrance/aromatherapy. Q has always, always been exceptionally relaxed when I've used lavender oils around her. The eucalyptus just adds a bit of a refreshing scent that I'm partial to. In the summer, I could seem myself changing them to tea tree and citronella due to their bug repellent tendencies. You could certainly omit them though!
DeleteGood to know!
ReplyDelete