Dressage - how perfectly clean do we need to be?

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AshTay

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...and I'm not trying to be lazy - we will be clean and smart but as a grey who loves to roll in her own poo I find it difficult to get stains out in the morning before a competition (she can't stay out over night due to risk of lami). We've only been doing local RC stuff so far and I've had more time in the morning to get her cleaner (although she's still not clean enough to put in the show ring) but we're soon to be doing some Team Quest dressage and it's a step up for us and I'm fretting about how we will look. I'm trying to keep on top of rinsing out stains as they occur but that's everyday! And because of the type of yard I'm on, I also can't show up at 5am and spend two hours bathing before we have to set off.

I've considered some sort of rug but there doesn't seem to be one in existence that totally prevents stable stains.

People with conveniently dark-coloured horses that don't show the stains need not reply ;) (kidding - all opinions valued).

So how stressed do I need to be? I know our turnout isn't what's being judged but I want to look the part and show respect to the judge. Is there a compromise?
 
With a coloured horse, I feel your pain!

At the show yesterday we pulled him out of the box to find he pooed all over his tail bandages and then proceeded to swish the mucky tail all over his rump! I thought it was a lost cause until a lovely lady in the next horse box (once she saw we weren't in the same class! :) ) kindly helped remove the stains with Carr Day & Martin Stainmaster. It can be used on dry coats too!
 
You need to bath the day before, cover with a light rug something with a full neck is best, I have used fly rugs with a light turnout over the top the double layer seems to help keep stains off , use bandages overnight if not too hot, use plenty of extra bedding put in that day to soak up as much as you can, chalk on hocks and knees will help, plait tail at the bottom and skip out as late as possible, I have managed to pull some greys out next morning still really clean by doing this. Any minor marks can be washed off if 10 mins or covered with more chalk if required, it really shouldn't take 2 hours to bath if done well the night before, use a tail bag for traveling, leave tail plaited at the bottom, good bandages on the legs and they should stay clean on the journey.
All the above may not help so much if it is a hairy unpulled type with loads of feather, I would clip it all off to reduce the work!!
 
Thanks everyone.
Cowboy magic ordered.
If the weather was cooler I'd happily leave her in a turnout and bandage her but our stables are really warm at the moment. I should probably hope for some cooler weather!
She's an arab so not as much work as hairier types. Her knees and hocks are black (luckily) so not a problem. I do put extra bedding in but I might try even more!!!
 
A fly rug should not be too much for her, it does get cooler overnight and will help to some extent, the more bedding the better it really makes a difference, especially if you use shavings.
 
I find spraying the problem areas (for mine it is hocks and bum) with copius amounts of showsheen/silicone based spray. While it doesn't stop it completely, it makes it a bit easier then get off with cowboy magic or the likes :)
 
Liberal amounts of Showsheen will help repel the worst of the dirt. TBH if she's lying in poo, the a flyrug won't do much to stop the poo stains, as it will just soak through.

I would just wash thoroughly the day before and coat in show sheen, and then just touch up round the edges with a sponge and water for any stains on the morning.

However, that said, you are not being judged on your appearance and turnout when you are riding a dressage test, but how you ride and how the horse goes, so if you have a few green tinged bits, don't worry too much :)
 
Under-the-radar said:
However, that said, you are not being judged on your appearance and turnout when you are riding a dressage test, but how you ride and how the horse goes, so if you have a few green tinged bits, don't worry too much :)
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This, I have never had a judge comment on a horses turnout apart form one who had obviously not groomed at all (there was crusty mud everywhere (including under the saddle!)
 
Try to be well turned out, BUT do not worry so much that it takes any focus away from the riding. If you come into the ring sparkling clean, you still will get marked down if you forget the test or ride without purpose! :) A well schooled, well ridden horse will always do well, no matter what colour his hocks are!
 
Top tip for greenspot remover - spray it on and then wipe off with a flannel dipped in very hot water and squeezed out. Works a treat! The other thing I used to do with my grey mare -and can't get out of the habit now I've got a dun - is skip out continually. I appreciate you probably can't leave the yard too late at night, but make it the VERY last thing you do. Less poo = less stains.
Tailbags are also invaluable as I'm guessing she has a white tail! Wash the tail and let it dry then plait up and put the tailbag on. Only brush her tail out at the last minute before you go in the arena.
 
Batgirl said:
This, I have never had a judge comment on a horses turnout apart form one who had obviously not groomed at all (there was crusty mud everywhere (including under the saddle!)
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The only time I have had comments on my turnout was when I had forgotten my gloves at a show. I was going to borrow some out of the lorry, but I whacked my hand and it was bleeding everywhere, and the only ones in the lorry were really expensive looking leather ones! So I ended up going into my tests wearing bright purple magic gloves. Not my finest moment, I must admit! ;)

Ever since then, I always have at least 3 pairs of gloves whenever I go to a show! :D
 
My boy is an Appy X and pretty much white apart from his spots so I bathe him night before and wash tail.

I use quik silver shampoo, but any of those kind of shampoos seem good. I use carr and day stain master works wonders but I always rinse off with hose and brush. A lot of stain removers say, wipe off with damp cloth but that just doesn't seem to work for me.

It has been too warm to put a rug on him and he manages to get some stable stains over night too so in the morning I remove any stable stains with stain remover/shampoo and give legs/tail quick wash if needed.

I put his tail in travel bandage/tail guard and I use a tail bag.

I like to do my best to have him as clean as possible when he is going somewhere but if there is a little mark or a stain is very faded but not 100% gone I try not to worry too much.

He is a little divil though and likes to get himself grubby :)

It is ok in summer, pain in the neck in winter when too cold for baths!
 
UPDATE:
So I sidestepped the issue of stable stains by bathing her Saturday PM and leaving her out overnight in a flyrug. I did invest in some Cowboy Magic Greenspot remover and tried it on the (very faded but still detectable) stubborn stains but it didn't seem to make a huge difference if I'm honest!

It was certainly much less stressful pulling her in from the field with one tiny grass stain rather than peering over the stable door at a suddenly-skewbald purebred arab at early-o-clock on a Sunday morning!
 
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