How to get your whites sparkling white?????

[crazystevie]

K, so we have Byron. He is the most stupid colour horse EVER. He is fleabitten grey but white more or less.

We've had him for 3 days, and he was absolutely filthy when I first got him.

Obviously, cuz it's cold, i;ve had to do my best with a sponge, warm water, and white horse shampoo, and although there is an obvious improvement, there are still a few yellowy stains which I can't budge. therwise he's gleaming. Anyone got any ideas on how to budge these stains?

The most white i've had to deal with, is a few socks on coco and a blaze - and she always seems to keep herself clean, and Murphy is Bay all over.

[stellah]

I don't personally have a grey but my friend has one which is basically white and she swears by the Tesco Blue shampoo thats something like 27p lol

[S.H.O.W.J.U.M.P]

You can try dark shampoo like brown and purple theres a horse named Ivan at our barn and hes white and he always rolls around in the mud,but we used purple shompoo on him twice and then he was very clean only stain was on his leg, but it was unnoticable.

Or you can try horse stain remover.
Heres a link to horse stains and bathing.http://www.equusite.com/articles/other/otherWhiteMarkings.shtml

[crazystevie]

I used dark shampoo the forst night, as thats all I had, but the white shampoo probably did work better e thinks -might have been better shampoo.

I liked the baby powder idea on that website. This horse is gonna be so high maintence! :rolleyes:

[dophi_arno]

I too have a fleabitten grey.
I use Equinade Glo White shampoo which is purple in colour, and find that normally does the trick :)

[Shadowlark]

For Splash's sox I use Sunlight Laundry soap in bar form, I forth it up with a wet toothbrush and scrub it in then rinse it off with a damp towel - does the trick for grass and those much yellow stanis without a full bath

[Lori B]

I have always had chestnuts with just socks and blazes to keep white, but recently have bought two greys, one of which will be snow white soon. Well when i say snow white i mean technically she should be. Why is it that greys always lie in poo, even in a complete new shavings bed, especially soiling around the neck and head. :rolleyes:

[crazystevie]

Lori - it's so truw, he can be spotless one night, and then the next day has pooh stays under his belly, and all down his elgs. Byron is the kind of horse that likes to lie down all the time as well - I always catch him passed out snoring :rolleyes:

Murphy on the other hand, who has no white whatsoever, is always careful to poop all around the edges of his stable, and always wees at the back, so he never ever gets mucky. Same with coco. How come my bay horses are cleaner than my white one? Murphy doesn;t even like rolling in mud - he always picks a clean dry spot :D

[S.H.O.W.J.U.M.P]

I used dark shampoo the forst night, as thats all I had, but the white shampoo probably did work better e thinks -might have been better shampoo.

I liked the baby powder idea on that website. This horse is gonna be so high maintence! :rolleyes:
I've used baby powder on my horses socks before it worked, until I got into the show ring and it got all dusty.:o

[Bacharel]

I use orvus shampoo its for livestock and horses. It comes in a tub that would probably last you 5+ years. Its get my horses mane and body sparkling, but not her yellow stain tail....any tricks for that:o

[colettybetty]

lemon fairy liquid is great stuff, and Dirtybeastie shampoo (from tackshop) is best shampoo out, lasts ages as you dilute it.... and the chalk groundsmen use on tennis courts is really good, mix it into a paste and put it on socks , leave it on overnight and wash off next morning, can finish off with a fine dusting of powder before a show.
can use net curtain whitener too, but have to really rinse off well, otherwise you end up with purple skin !!

[ColouredChaos]

I used gritted teeth!

i.e. I try and ignore the fact that my grey pony has a yellow neck and off green legs all winter by telling people he is in fact a very rare palomino with darker stockings! no-one believes me but it gets a laugh!

It could be worse - one year he turned pink! the dye from his rug leaked!

[kirsty-chuk]

I don't personally have a grey but my friend has one which is basically white and she swears by the Tesco Blue shampoo thats something like 27p lol

That stuff's great! I used to use it on Chukka's socks until I discovered some purple shampoo designed for white horses, it's called silver something I think. A big bottle of it costs about £5, and you only need to use a tiny bit and scrub away. Get's them amazingly white! The tesco shampoo is good for stains too though, and it smells nice :) happy cleaning!

[crazystevie]

Thanks! I scrubbed him AGAIN this morning, but after he dried I bandaged him up. He is now in stable bandages, his tail is plaited, and he has a neck rug - hopefully, that should help :D Poor horse. He still has yellowy stains despite many shampooings. Gonna have to get some tescos stuff I think.

Is that silver stuff human or horse shampoo?

[kirsty-chuk]

The silver stuff is horse shampoo. I'll find out the name of it when I go down the yard tonight. I've used purple human shampoo on her before (left over from when I was very blonde!) and it also worked, I think it's designed for white hair too though, it just gets rid of the brassiness. That was by KMS, it's a couple of pounds dearer than the horsey one though.

[kizmet]

Champion tails shampoo makes the white on kizzy gleam:)

[SA rider]

I looked at this thread for info (have chestnut with white back stockings... always yellow stained...) ended up falling around chuckling at some of your stories... love the idea of horses with purple skin from net curtain whitener etc.

[Emz]

Net curtain whitner on mane/tails only.
Then HorseHealth Purple Shampoo - worked wonders!!!

Lots of scrubbing tho - try and buy a rubber grooming mit or a rubber bristle brush for scrubbing!!

Once he's clean, keep spraying where the yellowy bits go with coat conditioner - helps stop the dirt sticking!

[LouHarvey]

Equine Blue is really good, its like the old Dolly blue bags women used to use to get the laundry white. You put a 1/4 of a teaspoon into the rinsing water and it makes them super sparkly white.

[NoviceNic]

I swear by tesco's pink shampoo. it really does do the trick. I have the most disgusting yellow piebald cob coming out of winter but one bath in tesco pink shampoo and you would never guess he was the same horse. Even my RI couldnt believe how clean he came up. And it is only about 30p. Bargain.:D

Below are some links to show you the difference.

mucky

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/novicenic/horses/captain1.bmp

clean and ready to go

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/novicenic/horses/captain.bmp

[sidesaddlelady1]

K, so we have Byron. He is the most stupid colour horse EVER. He is fleabitten grey but white more or less.

We've had him for 3 days, and he was absolutely filthy when I first got him.

Obviously, cuz it's cold, i;ve had to do my best with a sponge, warm water, and white horse shampoo, and although there is an obvious improvement, there are still a few yellowy stains which I can't budge. therwise he's gleaming. Anyone got any ideas on how to budge these stains?

The most white i've had to deal with, is a few socks on coco and a blaze - and she always seems to keep herself clean, and Murphy is Bay all over.
Don't know if you can still buy it (try old-fashioned ironmongers and hardware shops or possibly John Lewis's household department) a swish of "dolly blue" in the final rinsing water used to enhance the white coat of a grey I rode as a girl. (Ask your granny if you don't know what I'm talking about :) )

[sidesaddlelady1]

lemon fairy liquid is great stuff, and Dirtybeastie shampoo (from tackshop) is best shampoo out, lasts ages as you dilute it.... and the chalk groundsmen use on tennis courts is really good, mix it into a paste and put it on socks , leave it on overnight and wash off next morning, can finish off with a fine dusting of powder before a show.
can use net curtain whitener too, but have to really rinse off well, otherwise you end up with purple skin !!
Whilst it is cheap, washing up liquid is very harsh on the horse's skin which can be quite sensitive. If you must use it please kep your eye on it.

[Bay Mare]

I like 'Daddio' from Lush. It's purple, for grey hair and smells .... lush :)

I occasionally use Head and Shoulders on the mane and tail but it is quite harsh so always condition REALLY, REALLY well afterwards (using Retread or Marilyn from Lush).

I'll have to go down to John Lewis tomorrow and check out the 'blue bags' :D

[colettybetty]

yes, absolutely right, fairy liquid is harsh stuff, should have explained that is best used only on the ends of white tails and yellow stained feathers on back legs and then I finish off with a good dollop of conditioner and lots of rinsing.
by the way, Avon-skin-so soft range is great for softening tails and manes- and has the added bonus of midges hating it for some reason.

[stormandsummer]

novicenic- wow you got those brilliant results from tesco value shampoo ? Id thats the case i am off to buy a ton of it :D My boy suffers so bad with stable stains, and as much as i brush and try and remove them with horse shampoos it doesn't work :rolleyes:

YO suggested daz washing powder but i am not keen on this seems far to harsh for a horse :eek:

Just off to tesco now LOL :D

[LORRI]

Is that silver stuff human or horse shampoo?

I think you're thinking of quick silver, it's horse shampoo that works wonder! We have a grey showjumper. In the winter we use that sparingly for his tail and legs, chalk for his hocks and "canter" coat whitener for his stable stains so he doesnt get cold :D :p

I def recommend both, you'l have a gleaming horse in no time!:D

[LCQH]

I used White N Brite on my pinto pony and I use it now on my flea-bitten gray mare.

Of course, since on our way to a show, she magically turns her entire rump greenish brown which is where baby wipes and water come in!

White N Brite works great, but be sure to get it all out or both you and your horse will be purple.

What White N Brite looks like: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0006Q0BWK.01-A10K9XESHUEG9E._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Good luck with cleaning up your horse!

[Skye08]

i use talc mix it with cold water into a past and then slap it on their white bits. Bandage them up put them in the stable then in the morning of the show. I brush the feathers out and bandage back up and put on travel boots. The at the show brush it all out :D It works!!!

[Emerald_city]

i have 2 coloureds and a flea bitten grey and even the coloureds are mostly white lol so we have alot of cleaning to do in the winter and summer lol i have always swarn by fairy liquid on manes / tails / legs and there body with a really cheap shampoo for blonde hair they always look dazzling white after ........until i turn them out lol i also use a cheap blonde conditioner on mane/tail/ legs(on a feathered horse) to make them super soft and it seems to make them a little whiter too. :D

[Kanuma]

tresseme deep cleansing shampoo to get the stubborn stains out, then tescos citrus 2 in one shampoo. works wonders.

[BecknSkye]

Not really helpful, but amusing - At a show I was watching the Clydesdale class and this big mare with almost fully white legs came trotting in late with white dust(either chalk or talc) billowing out of her voluminous feathers! :D
I showed a 2yo grey last season and I used Glo-White. One of my friends swears by Sunlight liquid for getting stains out of greys and her snow-white pony always looks beautifully white once she's washed, but I haven't tried it because I think the detergent would be quite hard on the skin

[amandal]

Another vote for Tesco's Blue shampoo, it's great and so cheap. Hilton Herbs Blue stuff is also good.

My mare also does a good impression of a rare palomino - yellow neck all winter, odd coloured legs normally too. This year she's also had a fetching blue stain on her neck from a rug that ran !!

[Whatanejit]

Didn't someone mention Cowboy Magic in another similar thread?

xx

[dilaika]

with some stains you just have to scrub and scrub.... I once showed on a horse w/ a green leg! This horse (grey, of course!) a couple of weeks before the show got kicked in the knee during turn-out, and a bad kick - not only did it swell up, but there was a big abrasion. It got treated w/ Iodine and an antibiotic powder that was bright blue...which mixed and dripped down his leg and died it green! I spent hours for the week before letting him graze while I scrubbed, but it was still pale green when I showed. I finally got it totally off about two weeks later.

(Just FYI - he was lame for awhile but luckily was sound a week before the show, and we weren't doing anything too huge that would have been so hard for him)

[CrazyMare]

Another vote for Tesco's Blue shampoo, it's great and so cheap. Hilton Herbs Blue stuff is also good.

My mare also does a good impression of a rare palomino - yellow neck all winter, odd coloured legs normally too. This year she's also had a fetching blue stain on her neck from a rug that ran !!


Is that for for humans or horses!?:confused: :p

[benslieblue]

swerve - the powder is actually baby powder ie johnsons on clydesdales - its quite funny when they are trotting seeing big puffs of powder and love the smell too!
they use soft soap to whiten the feathers too which works too (can guarantee after using it on my boy) after using it on my own clydesdale this week. Also use white sawdust to try their legs too.
got to get him whiter than white for show on saturday am bricking it:o

[RachelBraz]

The horse I'm trying to buy is a fleabitten grey - apparently when her owner used to do local shows with her she used Daz to get her white! I can reccommend the Hilton Herbs ocean blue shampoo too, my friend uses that on her dapple grey whose greatest ambition in life is to turn herself chestnut! :rolleyes:

[mister jones]

i used to use Cowboy Magic on my ver light palamino pony, it worked wanders i swore by it! dont have the problem now i have a black horse and he is sooo clean :p

[freespirit]

FAIRY LIQUID IS AMAZING


fabulous miracle worker- i have a grey aswell

also cant remebre the name but i use a specially for greys shampoo and its purple and smells of bubblegum ....showmans or newmans is the name metihnks

[coverblown]

the horse my girl hires for showcross and hunter trials is hardly ever cleaned at the RS. He is a chestnut and - mostly - (very very dirty) white, which is so so thick, even in the summer.

Obviously he isnt ours so we cant clip him or pull his mane or anything but its really hard to know how to clean him. Product tips on this thread are great, but do you actually wash all his coat? enough to get a big lather? And the same with his mane and tail?, and then condition it.

How long d'you reckon all this will take, on the morning of the show?

A. xx

[Wally]

I have been using Fairy for 30 plus years, and Ariel bio on tail ends.

Never a problem so long as you wash it and rinse well.

I do the whole body early in the morning on the day of the show, or the day befoer and leave them in overnight.

Yes, get a good lather all over, mane tail and body, between back legs under belly, between front legs, all over. Do face with a sponge and keep a dry towel to dry face and keep suds out of eyes.

I start with a bucket of warm water with lots of fairy in it as a wetting agent. Bosy brush and really work it into the coat all over, then using a jug I go over with another bucket of warm water and more fairy on the stubborn bits. Scrub right down into tha mane and tail dock with your fingers. Then rinse and scrape and rinse and scrape until not a sign of a foam or bubble is left. If you are a cheat use show sheen in the mane and tail. NEVER put oil in the mane and tail as it will attract dirt.

I mark down the over use of showsheen in turnout classes. Bit in the mane and tail is okay, but some horses are plastered in the stuff. I know a lot of judges too who see it as a short cut to proper grooming and turnout.