The Missing Link?

Every little girl has their dream horse, and pretty much every dream horse has one thing in common.   

You got it, an amazing mane and tail...the longer the better.

Just look at these My Little Pony toys.

My sister and I had countless horse toys growing up and most of them came with a brush and comb to keep your ponies groomed to perfection!

Some horses are lucky enough to grow long, healthy manes and tails naturally, but for most owners it's a constant effort to keep them growing out and looking nice.   

Many factors work against this effort...horses rubbing their manes out (ahem, Rowdy!), rolling (Sadie ALWAYS rolls on her mane side!), other horses chewing on their mane and tail, weather causing dryness, mud etc. which leads to breakage. The list goes on!  

There are countless hair products for horses, seriously, Sadie has more hair products than I do!  From shampoos, conditioners, detangling products, miracle products meant to grow faster and thicker hair.   One Google search for "growing out your horses mane" brings thousands and thousands of results...forums, videos, home remedies.  

I was one of those searchers, Sadie has a long gorgeous tail, but I couldn't resist the urge to try and get a long and flowing mane to match that tail!  

Horse lovers just love spending time with their horses, whether it's grooming them, riding them, just hanging out in the barn, and when you're not with them you are probably online researching something to do with them.  This is a perfect example of that!

Sadie shortly after I bought her

I did my homework and it seemed that Shapley's MTG product was a crowd favorite. It was reported to be a bit greasy with a weird smell, but the results were well worth it.  

Now, I'm sure this product is fantastic for horses with a dark mane, I've used it on Rowdy since he rubbed his mane out, but for Sadie this is what we ended up with...

It was terrible, her greasy mane was dirt brown within a day of using it.  

After ruling out MTG I decided to just keep Sadie's mane braided regularly and always use a conditioner and detangler to eliminate as much breakage as possible.

Sadie will probably never have the long flowing mane, but we definitely seemed to be making progress!

When we moved to Colorado I now had a partner in crime to obsess over details such as these, my Mom :)

As Penny was shedding out her winter coat, we expected to see the nice shiny coat emerge that comes with summer and the loss of that shaggy winter coat.   With Penny that didn't happen, so my Mom went to work researching skin and coat products.   

Penny in January 2014

We ended up trying Ultimate Equine Skin & Coat by Missing Link.  This product not only promotes healthy skin and coat, but also lists the following benefits:

- Omega fatty acids help the absorption of fat soluble vitamins which nutritionally        support: intercellular health, energy levels, the immune system, and muscle,            tendon and ligament function.

- Nutrients work together to grow strong, tough hooves.

- Dietary fiber to promote a healthy digestive system.

- Photo (plant) nutrients to support general health and nutrition.

After just a couple weeks we saw a big difference in Penny.  Her coat shined up and looked much healthier.  I also noticed her mane was growing like crazy.  

After seeing what a positive impact it had for Penny I decided to start giving it to Sadie as well.  

The girls have been on it for about 2 months and we have definitely been happy with the results! If their manes are any indicator, this product does it's job!  Not only are we seeing a lot of growth, but Sadie's mane is coming in much thicker and healthier.  

Penny this evening

Sadie this evening

Sadie may not have a mane down to her hooves, but even as a little girl I couldn't have envisioned a more perfect dream horse :)