Grooming a white-grey horse for show?

fiwen30

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Hi everyone, sorry if this is in the wrong place!

I'm taking my first set of Pony Club tests (D and D+) on Wednesday, at the ripe old age of 23 :) Trouble is, I'm despairing over my grey horse! Lola is 14, and has matured to pure white all over - pretty, but apt to stains. She's kept in a very lightweight rug almost 24/7, which spares her body from getting grubby, but her legs and neck are a sort of funny, mottled cream :/

The weather doesn't look to be great between now and Wednesday, so a full bath is out of the question. I should be able to clean her tail well enough with a hose or a bucket, but what about the rest of her? A damp brush or sponge seems to spread the stains into a larger patch, so does anyone have any suggestions for a shampoo or stain removing spray for greys, that don't involve all-over bathing?

Thanks!
 

STRIKER

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If a horse can get wet in the rain and then get dry, a horse can be bathed when its raining and dried off with a cooler and walking in hand, it will survive so go for it. It would be a shame for you to,fail just because you didnt have a clean whit horse, if you get what i mean.
 

L&M

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I would also opt for a full body wash!

I have a blue and white cob who is a muck/mud magnet and the only time I don't bath him for parties is in mid winter. Fortunately by then he is well rugged so can usually get away with a leg and tail wash.
 

fiwen30

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That's true, unfortunately the forecast is grey and possibly rainy! Northern Ireland for you!
 

be positive

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That's true, unfortunately the forecast is grey and possibly rainy! Northern Ireland for you!

You can still wash her even in the rain, as long as you scrape her off well and use a rug while she dries you will be fine, I would do legs and tail really well the night before then get up early on the morning and do the rest then, I have often bathed in the pouring rain, no option when showing a grey.
 

Mrs B

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I feel your pain! This is how I found Merlin one afternoon two summers ago, with a dressage competition in the evening :
attachment.php


No choice but a bath and although not pristine, here he is two hours later:
attachment.php


Not much else to be done, really! Good luck :)

ETA - actually, you can tell from his expression in the 2nd photo that he FAR preferred the first 'look' ...
 
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PolarSkye

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Wash him . . . it's not cold out and if, as the others say, you hand walk him and then rug him appropriately (a cotton sheet) he will dry. I have what is possibly the dirtiest, muckiest, stinkiest grey around . . . if there is an ounce of poo in his stable he will lie in it and smear it EVERYwhere.

I have tried every shampoo known to man and the very best combo (for him) is . . . Waitrose blue washing up liquid for the first couple of washes (cold water is fine for this) and then Wahl Diamond White with a warm water rinse as a final wash . . . and he gleams.

I also keep his mane and tail sprayed with (funnily enough) Mane & Tail because it makes both slippery which makes it harder for dirt to stick.

Best of luck.

P
 

rara007

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We have 6 :eek: white greys- if its bad weather out they get bathed under cover for our comfort not theirs! A full bath with blue shampoo with cooler after (As they roll without fail anyway in any weather) (And you still won't be happy if they're not bathed all the time/naturally clean as they'll have stains that can't come off :p )
If you're plaiting don't use mane and tail or shampoo the mane/dock unless that's really dirty!
 

Laafet

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I rarely groom my grey horse during the summer time, there is little point, I just wash him! I learnt that a long time ago. In between shows I do let him get grubby, just knock the dirt of the saddle and bridle area. I used to wash my old boy a lot more often, but I only put Nickel through it the day before the show, thankfully he is such a clean boy in his stable, he rarely has a stable stain. The worse time of year is when we are starting to or finishing with rugging, where you get the tide mark, with a white body under the rug and a creamy neck and head. I don't use neck covers as he gets too hot and his mane falls out, so we rock the tide mark look for about 6 months of the year. Good luck with your test :)
 

PorkChop

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I will give a full bath, even in the middle of winter, happy days when I used to hunt. Don't hang about, do half the horse at a time, you will be fine. I do love a grey though, the only thing I never mastered was getting a pristine tail (unless I used a tail bag).
 

mirage

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As a Pony Club mum with 2 greys who live out,I feel your pain.However,all the instructors know that my two love to roll and we don't have stables and have never,ever commented on the state of them.I do my best,but there are limits and I can't imagine you'd be failed because of stable stains,otherwise my daughters would never have passed any PC tests.Good luck!
 
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