Owners of greys tell me about owning one please

[dreamcometrue]

I tell myself that everybody else’s horse is just as filthy but you can’t see it .

 

[tda]

I tell myself that everybody else’s horse is just as filthy but you can’t see it .

very true

 

[MissMay]

I know many many many people with greys and only one had melanoma which required a standing laser session he had one each side of the girth was lasered maybe 3 years ago for 700e no issue since
Same owner has multiple from the blood line and they all lived a very long healthy life

 

[humblepie]

All my best horses have been grey, I've never sold them on, they have been very special, talented or quirky.

Rex the Robber was a fairly special grey.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Will someone look at the ad for me and give me some honest feedback please? I don't want to post publicly because the seller seems nice and genuine
My friends all said go see him but I think they would say that about a 30yr old donkey to get me going again. Plus he's 2.5 hours away and I'd want to take someone with me and that's a big chunk of time to ask for

I would be happy to look at the ad for you.

 

[ihatework]

I love a good grey.
I also love a clean and tidy horse.
Therefore I’d only entertain one if it was a competition horse with staff to keep it sparkling

 

[maya2008]

Same as any other horse, just permanently offended by their own colour and determined to camouflage and become bay/brown with a good coating of mud. Full neck rugs are an asset!

 

[Flame_]

I had one grey. She was a bit bland tbh.

I usually successfully avoid greys without ever having had to flat rule them out. Enjoy the search for your new friend!

 

[webble]

I would be happy to look at the ad for you.

Thank you but I've decided against him

 

[Lamehorses]

Didnt want a grey, I'm on my 4th
First lived to late 20's, never any sign of melanoma
2nd lived to mid teens, pts due to unresolved lameness & 3rd to about 10, severe arthritis in several joints, neither had melanomas,
My 4th is mid teens, she has a couple of small lumps on her dock, vet is happy to review annually, they've not changed for 2 years so far.

 

[Lauraback]

I’ve owned my grey since he was 3 years old a very sweet, easy and honest boy, retired aged 10 due to neurological problems, now 13 and riddled with melanomas I’m not getting another horse when he is gone but if I was I think I’d avoid greys

 

[irishdraft]

I'm on my 4th grey and she is a white one, no trouble to keep clean but she mainly lives out and I don't have much mud. I hardly groom her but she always gets comments about how white she is. Only one of mine has had a serious problem with melanomas which were internal and had no idea he had any, sadly lost him but hasn't put me off greys.

 

[Boulty]

Full clip & rugs with necks are the way forwards if they’re a swamp monster & you ever want to get anything done that’s not chiseling half an inch of mud off every orifice!

Mud, poo & piss seem to be magically attracted to mine. I got completely fed up of it & am enjoying the mostly hairless version a lot more… not enjoying how utterly grim his rug is getting though (I SWEAR the ginger Welsh was nowhere near this disgusting!)

 

[Esmae]

Full clip & rugs with necks are the way forwards if they’re a swamp monster & you ever want to get anything done that’s not chiseling half an inch of mud off every orifice!

Mud, poo & piss seem to be magically attracted to mine. I got completely fed up of it & am enjoying the mostly hairless version a lot more… not enjoying how utterly grim his rug is getting though (I SWEAR the ginger Welsh was nowhere near this disgusting!)

2 horses, 1 grey and 1 chestnut. Both on the same management, same field, same bedding, rugs etc. When bathtime came around (quite often) the water off the grey was ALWAYS far, far dirtier and muddier than that off the chestnut. I could never quite work out how that happened.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

I said I’d never have a grey until we got one Go and look, he might be perfect in every other way.
Our grey is a white grey with a few flea bites. I’m hoping he might end up like Ballaghmor Class.
Anyway, I can never get him as clean as I want but I haven’t given up just yet, winter aside. Just when I think he looks ok, we go to a party and somebody else is there with a spotless one!! However there are no prizes for the cleanest grey so we win rosettes for double clears instead!

 

[Lotsoflemons]

Greys are the Best!!! I keep mine Clipped and Rugged all year Round and he's quite clean! Can sometimes be a bog pony in winter but majority of the time he keeps quite clean of rugged!

 

[WrongLeg]

I think it must be a camouflage instinct that drives greys to roll in dark mud.

There’s a white stag at the Deer Farm here, but you wouldn’t be able to tell as he’s always been bathing in a bog.
Also, there was a white stag on the neighbouring land that the Stalker’s brother shot by mistake: it was so grubby he could not tell until after he shot it. The poor guy had to pay for taxidermy.

I don’t think that it’s a question of just seeing the dirt on these animals, I think they roll in the dirt to blend in.

 

[dreamcometrue]

I think it must be a camouflage instinct that drives greys to roll in dark mud.

There’s a white stag at the Deer Farm here, but you wouldn’t be able to tell as he’s always been bathing in a bog.
Also, there was a white stag on the neighbouring land that the Stalker’s brother shot by mistake: it was so grubby he could not tell until after he shot it. The poor guy had to pay for taxidermy.

I don’t think that it’s a question of just seeing the dirt on these animals, I think they roll in the dirt to blend in.

That’s a really interesting explanation!

But how do they know they are grey? It would have to be a behavioural gene linked to the grey coat colour genes.

 

[Dust Bunny]

Webble's post interested me and I started looking around for some figures, just out of interest. I came across this study involving Lippizaner horses: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12638791/
Interesting read.

 

[whizzer]

I swore I'd never get a grey,but after many horse disasters I ended up buying one! I'd been riding her for someone & she came up for sale,she was perfect for me so I went for it! Can't deny there's a lot of washing! Can't use necks on rugs much either as they rub her mane. I'm on a very basic yard,no hot water etc so in winter use spray stain removers & dry shampoos. Being regularly clipped helps. Keep her tail short in winter & in a plait. No sign of melanomas as yet. Can't deny it's more work than a darker horse but you get used to it & develop little ways of doing things to keep on top of them not looking too grubby!

 

[Bernster]

There always seem to be lots of lovely looking greys for sale. They do scrub up well but you have to have a good stack of cleaning products, or a very low threshold for mud and poo stains.

But on a serious note, the increased risk of melanoma would strongly deter me from getting another, even though my grey boy is an amazing horse. They’ve just released a study about it’s prevalence in greys and it seems to be worse in those that grey out quite early. I honestly wish breeders would try to breed fewer greys.

 

[webble]

There always seem to be lots of lovely looking greys for sale. They do scrub up well but you have to have a good stack of cleaning products, or a very low threshold for mud and poo stains.

But on a serious note, the increased risk of melanoma would strongly deter me from getting another, even though my grey boy is an amazing horse. They’ve just released a study about it’s prevalence in greys and it seems to be worse in those that grey out quite early. I honestly wish breeders would try to breed fewer greys.

I guess the increased popularity of Connies means there are a lot around

 

[Jellymoon]

I love greys, and have had a few. I don’t worry too much about melanomas, none of mine got them.

The one thing I do not stress myself about is keeping them clean.
They have a minor glow up before a lesson (mane, tail, worst poo stains) and major glow up before a show. Other than than, they remain filthy!
I don’t make life hard for myself.

The night before a show, I will put them in an Aussie allrounder with turnout over the top so poo stains can’t soak through the rug.

 

[rextherobber]

Rex the Robber was a fairly special grey.

I really wish I'd owned him!

 

[nagblagger]

When I see my greys covered in mud i know they have had fun and are acting like a typical horse / donkey / mule.

 

[Capalldonn]

Never again! I lost my first horse to melanoma. She was a wonderful horse and I don't regret our time together. I learnt a lot with and because of her. For this I'm truly thankful but her last years caused me so much worry and grief. I don't ever want go through that again.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

i won't post pictures, as some have sensitive stomachs on here.
but my current ID had melanomas that only just recently came up. All been surgically removed and she is recovering. My mare I bought recently has a pea size melanoma under her tail, vets not worried and just said keep eye on it.


That said it would not put me off buying another grey as long as the vetting vet said ok.

 

[wills_91]

I had a white grey with a pink spotty muzzle as a first pony. He was the best pony I've ever had an 22 years later I still miss him dearly. He was positively ancient when we found each other, he had no melanomas outwardly and we done everything including all PC activities. He was in work right up until the day before I lost him to colic we think about the age of 34.

I also had flea bitten grey, who did have melanomas. He was very successful in his younger days eventing. Lost him aged 26 - most likely due to melanoma. He was fine one day and away the next. Based on my experience I wouldn't rule out another.

 

[Tarragon]

Personally, I like the Exmoor brown, a very practical colour, but a well turned out grey is always striking! I grew up with a classic grey Welsh Mountain pony called Kirby Kane Kim who was a grand little pony. If I was to have a grey, w would like one with minimum pink skin though.

 

[zoon]

Having stayed with a friends horse waiting for the vet whilst she bled out from ruptured internal melanomas, I’d never consider a grey no matter how good they are