FAQ
TIPS & FAQ
Q– My horse has been on Gold As Sun for 2 weeks now, when will I start to see a difference??
A– Give it time. Our natural coat enhancers are a feed, not a dye. Coat enhancer nutrients are incorporated into the hairs during the formation stage in the follicles under the skin. The built in sunscreen effect comes with new hair growth. The old hairs that are already through the skin when you start an enhancer, will continue to bleach, dull, and fade, unaffected by the enhancers; therefore, old hairs, already visible on the surface, should be worked off via active grooming. Depending on the season, customers notice a difference starting in about 6 weeks. Thereafter, the longer the horse is given the coat enhancer, the more color intense the result.
Q– How much should I feed?
A– Feed anywhere from 2-4 heaping scoops once a day. You will need to match your dose to your individual horse. Take into consideration variable fade factors such as weight, where you live, if you have a bad fader genetically, a series of really hot days, lots of sweat on the horse, use of brands of fly sprays or show polish containing silicone that causes fading, gender, or if you wash your horse frequently in chlorinated water. If you have a lot of these fade factors, double or triple the dose. We normally recommend using high dose all summer from February to October, then dropping down to 1-2 scoops per day to save money while preserving the build-up in the system during the remaining months. This maintains the benefits year round. For miniatures feed 1 scoop
Q– How long does a bucket of coat enhancers last?
A– For the average sized horse, a 7 lb pail lasts about 2 months during the summer and about 3 months during the winter.
Q– What is in Black As Knight/ other coat color enhancers/ how do they work?
A– Black As Knight, Chevals #1 product, is a combination of spices, natural oils, western South Dakota chopped wheat hay, multiple seaweeds, and other natural ingredients blended in perfect proportion. The result of this highly specialized mix is horses’ hairs grow in as if they had a built in sunscreen-richer, darker, shinier than ever before.
Q– Is it safe to feed Chevals coat enhancers to pregnant mares, young horses, and breeding stallions?
A– Absolutely All Cheval products are safe for ALL horses and compatible with one another. In fact, Cheval coat enhancers are very good for breeding and young horses. Horses bloom with health from the all natural ingredients.
Q- Why won’t my horse eat this stuff?
A- Most horses gobble our supplements right down! However, there have been a few picky eaters that will initially think it is way too strange to eat. If you put just a tiny bit in their grain (or directly on tongue) on day one, a tiny bit more on day two, etc. by about the time you are up to a full dose on day 10 they will love it so much they actually crave it. Some owners have told us their horses won’t eat their grain without it. Once they “acquire” the taste, they will gobble it down right out of your hand….then there is that time we accidentally set down a large bucket of Black-As-Knight to turn off the water and a pregnant mare ate the entire bucket. The joke around Cheval when the foal was born black (out of a bay stallion and grey mare) was that the bucket she ate turned the foal black. Of course it was just a joke. Genetics gave us the lovely black filly.
Q-I believe my horse has vitiligo do you have something that I have not read about to help him? Your Sharks Legs have made my old horse a new horse he can have his feet trimmed standing up not lying down – it used to be a guessing game if they would get trimmed or need to wait another time. Would a coat enhancer help or just mask vitiligo?
A– Although Black-As-Knight was not developed to do so, we have had multitudes of customers (often Appaloosa or grey Arabian owners – these horses seeming to suffer the most natural pigmentation issues) tell us it has totally reversed vitiligo on their horses. We suspect because we grow our own ingredients in mineral rich soils of Western SD, that this perfect balance of Omegas, Vitamins, Amino Acids, and Minerals that naturally provide for the healthiest skin and hair on the planet must somehow lead to the reversal of vitiligo type conditions. Although we cannot tell you why, Black-As-Knight seems to be an amazing help! Only positive benefits to all horses in 30 years have resulted from Cheval products. In any case, because it naturally gives horses very healthy joints and hooves, too, I would highly recommend you add this to your horse’s diet.
Q-Why is there ground hay in some of your products?
A- We are located in South Dakota specifically for the nutrient rich soils that we grow our hay from. Our hay contains the perfect balance of omegas, vitamins, amino acids and minerals for grazing animals. Better, it is NON GMO and is chemical free and pesticide free. Not only does this hay contain vital nutrients for the shine and health of the horse, but the length we blend it down to and the process by which we extrude all the other ingredients into this hay provides perfectly balanced nutrients in a form natural to the horse’s digestive system so it helps the other ingredients be absorbed and properly utilized.
Q– Why is the Inside Out wet?
A– One of the ingredients in our inside out that makes it so effective is the liquid apple cider vinegar (powdered is hard on the digestive system). We use a method we call “brewing” that makes the product moist. Yes, it should look a little like damp tobacco, smell like apple cider vinegar and taste like raisins!. The apple cider brewing process also makes the garlic we use very safe for horses so that it never causes anemia and is very gentle on the horses digestive system and unscented. No barns wreaking of garlic from urine from Cheval products – unlike the “other products” that attempt cheap or unhealthy knock offs.
Q- What coat enhancer should I use for Pintos and Paints?
A- The general rule of thumb is to look at the darkest color on your horse and use the product designed to emphasize that color. This will make the contrast with white really stand out. A bay and white paint, use the Black-As-Knight. A gold and white pinto, use the Gold-As-Sun. Any color enhancer you chose will make the whites snow blindingly white while enriching the shine on darker parts of your colored beauty.
Q- Does the paprika in the regular formula test at shows?
A- Always check all ingredients fed to any competition horse with appropriate drug testing agency well in advance of competitions to be sure you and your horse are in full compliance. All Cheval products are available in paprika-free SHOW FORMULAS THAT DO NOT TEST in same size and for same great price.
You should pull your horse off regular Coat Enhancers one week before a competition because they contain a small amount of paprika, which is forbidden. Since our enhancers depend on buildup in the system of all 18 ingredients to make your horse coat come in more and more glorious over time, many of our show customers chose to buy a large pail for daily use then a small SHOW formula for use just that one week prior to showing. People who show a lot very often do this. Others just keep life simple and pull show horses off Regular Formula Coat Enhancers for the week prior to the show and start them right back on it as soon as they leave the show grounds.