How to get white-white Greys? Tips, remedies and shampoo brands wanted :D

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QueenDee_

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We all know the feeling of walking down the field and seeing your horse caked in filthy wet mud, but somehow having a grey horse makes it that much more tragic :p

So I was just wondering what are your preferred ways of getting yout grey horses white? What shampoos you use, how you wash them, etc :) Because no matter how much I scrub Chalky, his legs always seem to stay slightly yellow :mad: One of my friends even said they use Daz washing powder and warm water, but as Chalky is an itchy beast, I think this would irritate his skin :p

So feel free to share all your smug secrets for making your Grey horse that tiny bit whiter than anyone elses :D
 
i have used almot everything there is hehe
NAF wash and show greys seems to work nicely just as general shampoo
gallop whitening shamoo is great on manes and tail that go yellow
dung away stain remover works well to get all the yellow and tough stains out
my new fave thing for whitening i get a bucket of warm water add a few drops of purple spray and whatever oils etc you like (i add anything - citronella, lavender, mane and tail conditioner, show shine) i leave tail in for a while until it goes nearly purple then it dries white and just chuck the rest over- it is the most amazing thing ever you have to try it!!!
 
if you do a search on the forum there have been a lot of posts about whitening grays!. Diamond Wahl got such an overwhelming thumbs up that I went out and bought some - and it is massively better than any other specialist shampoo I have used. I also nicked another tip off here to help keep some of the muck off tails (and reduce rubbing on manes) and now my horse is liberally covered in baby oil! I am saving the tip about finishing with a solution of Reckit and Blue for the next time we go out competing..
 
Sounds a bit glib, but IME the best way is to keep them clean before they get stained! Where my grey lives, the soil is very red - which leaves him with lovely pink legs and tail - so I bath him regularly and wash his tail quite frequently to avoid the stains getting too ingrained. Doesn't seem to make much difference what product I use, though would ususally use washing up liquid on the worst bits and normal human shampoo on the rest.
 
tresemme human shampoo. I scrub away with a small brush, think a bit like a nail brush and he comes up sparkling white. I also use Daz washing powder, needs rinsing thoroughly of course. Warm/hot water helps a lot, its well worth boiling all those kettles to get it.

Having said that... I have bought some of those supreme products though, the whitening chalk and also the blue rinse stuff which I shall be trying out this weekend.

I would agree with keeping on top of stains on a regular basis, especially the bottom of the tail.
 
Moisture is what prevents the dirt staining, dryness just absorbs the moisture from the dirt and makes it look dirty or off.

I've found Mane n tail the best as the conditioner doesn't have to be washed out (it can make the mane/tail look a little greasy for a couple of days but ideal for plating) www.tackshop-online.com

Its apparently used by Jennifer Aniston and is suitable for humans, most commonly found in my dads or my husbands bathroom (Shock!!) as he thinks horse shampoo should be horse shampoo but just won't give it over!!!

I also find the Fly away products, particulary the mud repellant works really well, you can spray it on a few days before washing, then when you wash it all comes out www.carolsequestrian.co.uk

Alternatively i've seen all sorts used including vanish (wouldn't risk a reaction myself), Bleach (not brave enough to make the coat drop out or go yellow!) car shampoo (commercial truck wash is my favourite) body shop shampoo (can't stand it!) and lots of other horse shampoos that simply don't keep that valuable moisture in.
 
*gloomily* Given up. He loves being a mud monster and HATES being bathed, so am thinking of changing his passport to 'bay'.

Seriously - last winter I was recommended a product called 'Seven Days Mud Away' by Nettex. It helped sooooo much! It made grooming much easier as no more battles to tease out clods of mud and it really did keep him whiter....
 
Well, for one thing you called him Chalky, thats just tempting fate! Don't have much to add, but I would be slightly wary of scrubbing legs too often, mud fever and all that. My white pony just got groomed at lot, especially with a rubber curry comb and then a good bath if we were off anywhere posh. You can always dust slightly yellow legs with talcum powder if you if you want to go out in public- works best if you put lots in just after a bath and when the legs are still a bit damp.
 
head and shoulders human shampoo works amazing! just don't use much or you will be there all day rinsing it out :P
I've tried different shampoos on my appy (white with black spots) and this works by far the best, certainly compared to horse shampoo anyway, and cheaper :/
 
You could try applying pig oil or baby oil to his legs and bottom of his tail. The theory being that any dirt will be on top of the oil and not the hair. This works on our traddy cob when we use the school as the surface leaves his feather black. The oil and the dirt wash out with warm water and lemon fairy washing up liquid. The same applies to winter mud. Treseme Deep Cleansing shampoo works well and is far cheaper than horse shampoo.
 
I was recently given the remnants of my friend's tack room locker, and this included a white shampoo bottle with a blue label called "ultra white shampoo". I think its by Hydrophane. Its absolutely amazing on our skewbald's white bits (and he loves being dirty). Would tell anyone to try it. The first time we used it we got the turnout prize at the NW RC working hunter champs!!
 
Oh the joys of having a grey :D
I Know exactly how you feel!! Recently found lemon fairy liquid, a dandy brush and a lot of scrubbing does wonders for legs, then for a show, slap some chalk on, bandage legs over night then brush it all out in the morning and white legs! I recently had to resort to vanish oxy-action spray to get a large stain out and it was the only thing that budged it! Have tried vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, litres of different white horse shampoo and stain removers, swarfega, washing powder (all recommended on here) the list goes on. Prevention is defintely better than cure!
Good luck! :p
 
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