How to degrease/de-sand a black winter coat

[BBP]

So the BBP has a public performance coming up this weekend and needs to look beautiful, but his black coat is full of sand and dust from rolling in the arena and grease from just being a winter pony. He looks fine if you whip his rig off and his coat lies flat, but as soon as you touch it or try to brush it all the grease and grime comes to the surface and he looks worse than when he came in! Same if he shakes himself, a cloud of arena sand rises to the top! He will be modelling saddles at a saddle fitting demo for equine therapists/vets so it would be nice if he didn’t grime up all their stuff! Is it just elbow grease or is there a sneaky hint? In California we used damp cloths and elbow grease but they were in their summer coats so a bit easier.

He has also got quite fat since clocks changed with a move off his track system and onto strip grazing, and not hacking so much, amazing how fast Spanish horses can gain weight when you change things, but that’s another story and one I’m working on.

 

[lamlyn2012]

First of all go all over with a rubber curry come using small circular movements. Then go over with a long brissled flick brush and finish with a body brush.
If the coat is still quite greasy go over with hot towels.

 

[Kat]

As lamlyn says really, but I would add some dettol or vinegar to the hotel water for hot clothing and if you have time repeat the whole process over a few days up to the event. On the night before use a drop of baby oil instead of the vinegar.

Use a clean sheet under his rugs to avoid getting him dirty from the rug.

 

[BBP]

Good tips, thanks! I do the curry/brush/body brush, but even with my lovely new haas brushes he can still look grimier than when I started, I’ll try the hot clothing with vinegar at the end and hopefully that will do the trick!

 

[meleeka]

I hoover mine if I need them to be clean! My cob with the thickest black coat loves it.

Agree with hot clothing if not.

 

[Widgeon]

I hoover mine if I need them to be clean! My cob with the thickest black coat loves it.

Agree with hot clothing if not.

I've never heard of anyone doing that before! Ingenious.

 

[meleeka]

I've never heard of anyone doing that before! Ingenious.

I saw it on a Budweiser documentary. It’s what they do with the Clysdales. I use my Dyson hand held which is perfect for the job

 

[HappyHollyDays]

We used to Hoover the riding school ponies when I was a Saturday kid. They loved it and it works a treat for getting deep down scurf out of the coat.

 

[pansymouse]

Feeding micronized linseed will help in the longer term; ours get a 50ml scoop a day and have lovely shiny coats. We can get a show shine with our Haas brushes in about 10 minutes. They live out so that includes chiselling mud off.

 

[BBP]

Feeding micronized linseed will help in the longer term; ours get a 50ml scoop a day and have lovely shiny coats. We can get a show shine with our Haas brushes in about 10 minutes. They live out so that includes chiselling mud off.

I think his diet is ok in terms of coat and skin health in general. He's got a lovely shine usually...its just that he fills it with sand from the arena when he is playing!
Summer

Winter (a bit stressed and about to explode here but only photo I have)

 

[Templebar]

Dont you have the HAAS brushes, they are designed for this sort of thing aren't they?

Seems like the perfect candidate to test them.

 

[Leo Walker]

Definitely hot cloth him. It sounds like grooming is bringing the dirt up to the surface but not taking it away. I've got a brilliant Haas brush with sheepskin in the middle that I use to take the last of the dust from the top of the coat.