Homemade/cheapo tricks for getting competition shiny?

kc100

kc100

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So I may have been talked into taking baby horse to his first showing show (in hand) in a few weeks time. Cue me spending a fortune on stuff....think I'm sorted in terms of my gear and his in-hand bridle etc but I'm trying to avoid spending even more on show sheen/millions of potions to get him shinier; so does anyone have any good tips for homemade/cheapo alternatives to get him looking super shiny and gorgeous? Coat and hooves?

Obviously brushing and he's on good feed & grass anyway, but just those finishing touches on the day so he looks his best. He's chestnut with white socks (of varying sizes!) on 3 of his legs. He's pretty slim (I dont want a fat WB at 2 years old!) so I'm under no illusions we wont win anything as he's not showing fat, but its just a local show and YO is kindly transporting him so thought we might as well go to our first ever party for the experience rather than aiming to get any frillies.
 
its probably a little too late now but one of the best things to ensure a coat in good condition is to add a UV filter to your coat shine botttle to stop a bleached dry coat.

add a drop of either avon skin so soft dry oil or this to your final rinse water to replace the natural oils in the coat:
http://www.arabianemporium.com/inde...oducts_id=52&zenid=f1kstvc8thu3t98e064jo0d3b3

you do literally need a cap full per bucket so will last ages!
 
Sparkly white socks - wash the night before, towel dry well. Then get chalk powder and give a good rub into the legs, be careful not to get any in the chestnut part. Smooth down. Leave overnight to dry and hope horse does not scratch his nose too much on his white legs!! In the morning use a soft brush to brush out the dry chalk, DO NOT use this brush for any other job! Any overnight stable/grass stains should come out quite easily, and you will have sparkly white socks.
(Owner of liver chestnut with 2 stockings!) :)
 
Microfibre cloths. Can pick them up v. cheaply at the supermarket, quick wipe over before going in removes any dust etc. very nicely!
 
Traditional hot clothing is a very good way of getting good shine, add a cap of Dettol and cap of baby oil to the hottest water you can stand to put your hands in!
Make sure your cloth isn't wet only damp and work over your horse in quarters i.e. head neck shoulders on off side, belly and quarters on off side etc.
Use a clean and decent body brush, regularly clean with a metal curry comb. You'll find you will get a lot of grease out, with a good amount of elbow grease!
 
gingerlegs said:
Traditional hot clothing is a very good way of getting good shine, add a cap of Dettol and cap of baby oil to the hottest water you can stand to put your hands in!
Make sure your cloth isn't wet only damp and work over your horse in quarters i.e. head neck shoulders on off side, belly and quarters on off side etc.
Use a clean and decent body brush, regularly clean with a metal curry comb. You'll find you will get a lot of grease out, with a good amount of elbow grease!
Click to expand...

Thank you - with the dettol, I've seen that mentioned before but then other people's horse's have had reactions to it, now with my lad as he's a chestnut he is a typical sensitive skinned type, always getting lumps and bumps and generally being a bit fussy with his skin; do you think it would be wise to use dettol? Would baby oil in hot water be enough and just leave out the dettol?
 
kc100 said:
Thank you - with the dettol, I've seen that mentioned before but then other people's horse's have had reactions to it, now with my lad as he's a chestnut he is a typical sensitive skinned type, always getting lumps and bumps and generally being a bit fussy with his skin; do you think it would be wise to use dettol? Would baby oil in hot water be enough and just leave out the dettol?
Click to expand...

I have used vinegar before in place of dettol, does a good job of bringing the grease/scurf out!
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
its probably a little too late now but one of the best things to ensure a coat in good condition is to add a UV filter to your coat shine botttle to stop a bleached dry coat.

add a drop of either avon skin so soft dry oil or this to your final rinse water to replace the natural oils in the coat:
http://www.arabianemporium.com/inde...oducts_id=52&zenid=f1kstvc8thu3t98e064jo0d3b3

you do literally need a cap full per bucket so will last ages!
Click to expand...

PS, i have a very dark brown/black horse, who this summer has gone gingery, presumably bleached from the sun, would a UV blocker prevent this? If so what would you advise and how often/how should it be applied?
 
Corn oil in feed is a good long term way to get a shiny coat :) and for coat shine I use hairspray :) works way better and doesn't make them so slippy I just wipe it in with a microfibre car duster thing aha :)
 
The shine comes from within, linseed is the show horse's friend, I feed it all year round. Wilkinsons 99p for a litre shampoo, a clean natural fibre very soft body brush and this is the result. No oil on the coat for daytime showing. For evening championships under lights dilute pig oil used sparingly.

Wilko's 50p hair gel is useful for plaiting and smoothing the pulled tail and their own brand baby wipes are useful for touch ups. Milk and saddle soap bring up top boots nicely. Blemished can be hidden with waterproof mascara carefully blended in. This horse has white scars on his cannons, a combination of mascara and marker pen worked a treat.

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stop brushing! Yes shoot me down for it but I always get compliments on how shiny my horses are and I only brush them locally when there is dirt present for tacking up purposes, bushing just remove natural oils that give you horse the shiny healthy look!
Then I wash the day before competition just with any shampoo really to remove dust and dirt and hey pronto blinding results!
 
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