Nitty gritty showing questions....

[Meoldmucka]

Help! I have my first show on Saturday and need some help with turnout for my piebald native cobby type.
It's a small show but I'd like to do our best. He is shown as a native in hand but I'm struggling to know how to get him as clean as possible.
I did a trial run by applying chalk paste to his (rather pathetic) feathers and letting them dry overnight. They ended up kinda white but I'm not sure I wouldn't have been better off washing them again instead. Also I can't bandage low enough to cover them all so the wee end bits still get dirty, what do I do with those? If I fold them up into the bandage won't they have big kinks in then when they dry?

Mane and tail look ok. I'll wash the day before but how do I get them to stay clean with no snuggly hood or tail bag? He lives out overnight and I'm loathe to keep him in as he's already in during the day for weight management. Can I put pig oil on mane and tail?

How on earth do owners of piebald horses get the white bits of their bodies so white?? They're pretty white after a wash but not tippex white like I've seen at shows

Should I wash his legs the morning of the show and forget about the paste stuff? Will they dry in time?
Do I shove some talc on his feathers before we enter the ring?

Any other tips? Much appreciated!

 

[blitznbobs]

I used to show a proper hairy. And for a big show it took me 3 weeks to get him ready.

step 1 - general bath with dirty beauty or other deep clean shampoo.
step 2 once feathers dry, comb out so absolutely no knots. Wash legs again in deep clean shampoo
step 3 do step 2 with main and tail.
repeat full bath the next day or two
weekend before show bath in blue shampoo. I liked a very thick one that was vanilla scented which they don’t seem to make any more but put it on - leave it on for 10 minutes or so. Then wash off with warm water.
chalk paste socks. Leave on over night. Brush out.
day before show repeat bath with blue shampoo. Chalk paste hocks only. Brush out legs mane and tail. I often plait mane and tail loosely (not tightly or you get kinks but just enough to get a bit more fullness).
Day of show.

if just one class spray mane tail and feathers with sparkle spray, if doing more than one class… do not use this product at all. It does make feathers and hair more flippy and shiny but grabs dirt like nothing you’ve ever seen so you only get away with it for one class. ANd white
Make up on any yellow bits. ( use very sparingly)
obviously this is a helluva lot of effort and I only did all of this when campaigning for hoys but you did ask how it is achieved!


PS I LIED don’t use chalk use leg whitener… chalk is definItaly not white … much cheaper but doesn’t give the same polished finish

 

[SDMabel]

I've got a heavy hairy piebald cob, i only bath her the day before but it takes me around 4 hours ...

Wahl diamond white shampoo on body, mane and tail , three washes in that (maybe an extra one if not tipex white )

I use cowboy yellow out on her tail, dont rub it in fully so it acts as an old lady white wash (just be careful you dont turn them lilac ) .

Her feathers I wash the day before with the wahl diamond white , apply baby oil to her hocks only to try and stop the poo from sticking to the hair.

Shes then rugged up in a snuggy hood and lycra body suit as turned out at the moment ( id rather wash mud off the following morning than poo stains anyway !!) .

On the morning of the show i will wash her feathers again, spot wash any stains. Use Woodflour to dry them and then at the show douse them in Talc powder and brush out .

 

[meleeka]

If you can keep him somewhere clean until he’s properly dry you’ll find the feathers won’t get so dirty overnight. I’ve used chalk powder before but I don’t think it actually made much difference and just made me filthy! Talc is a good call for slightly damp feathers. People with tippex white ponies would never turn them out before a show, so I think you can only do so much.

 

[Meoldmucka]

Thanks so much, this is very helpful! How did you keep the feathers clean the night before the show?

 

[Gloi]

How glad I am that all my hairy ones that I showed were black

 

[SDMabel]

Thanks so much, this is very helpful! How did you keep the feathers clean the night before the show?

Short answer is i couldnt when out 24/7 . I would wash day before and make sure i was up early enough to fully wash before travelling.

Get yourself some woodflour it dries the feathers out in minutes and adds volume - mathew burks on Facebook sells it for his heavy horses. Its a game changer !

I then travel her in boots ensuring the feathers are fully tucked in, when at show talc and floof out with a small comb !

 

[humblepie]

I sometimes see at shows where a hairy pony or horse has been prepared that when they move off there is are four huge piles of whitening powder left behind where each leg has been done.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

When I had the Wee Coloured Job I used sheep face white on his white bits. Way way way better than any equine whitening product. But for one show i wouldn't bother getting it as it is expensive.

No matter what you do the white bits will never look truly white next to the dark bits. The joys of a grey is if it looks yellow in one bit it looks yellow all over, it just looks more obvious on a patchy pony

 

[blitznbobs]

Thanks so much, this is very helpful! How did you keep the feathers clean the night before the show?

Bandage all the aay down to the floor on completely dry legs

 

[HufflyPuffly]

You can do all of the above ^ accidentally dye your hands blue/ purple so look like you have corpse hands, arrive at the show to find they've managed to poop all inside their travel boots which they then kick off when you try to clean them up and wont let you touch their legs so you question all your life choices and vow to only buy black or poop coloured horses going forwards!

The only saving grace was that she doesn't have feathers...

 

[conniegirl]

Supreme products spray white covers a multitude of sins

 

[SEL]

I sometimes see at shows where a hairy pony or horse has been prepared that when they move off there is are four huge piles of whitening powder left behind where each leg has been done.

That may have been me at dressage on Sunday. His feather is clipped but that still leaves me with 4 x white stockings and a pony who had smeared non-white poo / grass / don't know what all over himself. I don't have good water pressure and he fidgets.

I chalked over the grimy bits.

 

[dottylottie]

when i was showing a coloured i used ridiculous amounts of cowboy magic stain remover (after trying all the purple shampoos on the market, and the “ketchup hack” which just made us both smell awful), and lycra socks for his feathers as it kept them all tucked up without the kink! rather than chalk paste/powder, id probably try one of the aerosol versions - put some hoof oil or vaseline on his tootsies so they don’t get covered!

 

[Meoldmucka]

All great tips, thanks so much guys! Unfortunately the local tack shop have run out of woodflour so I'll probably have to have a go with the hair dryer, what could possibly go wrong?!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

When I used to ride and show cobs we used alot of the snuggy hoods lycra and fleece stuff on them in the stable the leg wraps are pretty good for keeping legs clean.

All our cobs were clipped out and hogged though so made it a bit easier with no feathers, some show people use hair straightners on feathers manes and tails to make them really straight.

 

[Meoldmucka]

Thanks so much everyone! Although we came last the judge gave me some great feedback about our performance and told me if I change the following we would be placed quite high.
His mane is too long -i have an ongoing battle with my MIL who owns the horse, she wants a long flowing mane but I'm showing as a native so it needs to be 6-8". GAH!
Also I thought I'd feathered his tail enough but the judge said it looked as though it was banged. Oops!
Still we got a rosette and nice comments so a nice day was had!