Tips for keeping a grey clean!!

[Louby]

My friend has just bought a young grey mare and is having a nightmare with stable stains. Ours are in at night and she just loves to wallow in her poo!!! She has bought pretty much every product going and is sick of washing her to try and keep on top of the stains. Any tips re products, stable sheets please to try and keep her sane lol!!!
Shes tried purple shampoo, blue washing up liquid, numerous other grey horse shampoo, Cowboy magic yellow out, Shapleys easy clean etc etc etc. Prevention is her aim if possible

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Buy a bay! Chuck it in the field.

A sensible answer - Reckitts blue bags.

 

[spacefaer]

I have 5 grey IDs at the moment.
There are several tricks - one is a really deep bed - the muck gets buried and the horse can then lie on top of the clean.
Second, is never ever let the stain sit - it will 'set' and you'll never get it out.

A fresh poo stain will often just hose off.

Some horses get cleaner and tidier in their stable the more settled they get.

Best shampoo I've found for every day dirt is the NAF tea tree (the pink one), particularly with warm water.

Whitening/blue shampoos don't get them any cleaner, they just have optical brighteners in to make a clean coat bright.

I never use Fairy Liquid - it strips the coat of grease - which leaves it more likely to stain as it doesn't have that protective layer of grease. It also takes the shine away.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Spacefaer was that on purpose, an accident or do you just like cleaning?

 

[spacefaer]

@Peregrine Falcon not on purpose but it's hard to find an ID that isn't grey!

I had a liver chestnut last winter and he was such a delight in comparison!

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Bit like the other irish native then. More grey connemaras than bay!?

They must keep you busy.

 

[Griffin]

I don't own a grey at the moment but I have looked after a few. I agree with Spacefaer don't let a stain sit there and deep beds help (straw seems to be good).

Micro-Tek shampoo is not cheap but is great at stain removing and you don't need much in a bucket (or use neat on legs and tails). I really like to use a shedding blade to get the surface dirt off first before brushing. Haas brushes are my personal favourite brush but that's just me. I think using a metal curry comb to clean your brushes helps too. I think hoods can work quite well in the winter if you want to turn out for keeping the worst off of manes and necks.

 

[sherry90]

Wash them with your own tears?

In all seriousness, I use Shapleys Easy Out with a sponge between baths and Haas Brushes.
For bath time I use Goodbye Flys shampoo.

When I am in a rush and really can’t be bothered I just flick the crud off and ignore it as best I can ?

Winter is actually easier as he’s fully clipped and they don’t seem to stain as much and he’s rugged!

 

[Louby]

Thank you all, Im sending her your replies as she isnt a member on here.

 

[Louby]

Wash them with your own tears?

In all seriousness, I use Shapleys Easy Out with a sponge between baths and Haas Brushes.
For bath time I use Goodbye Flys shampoo.

When I am in a rush and really can’t be bothered I just flick the crud off and ignore it as best I can ?

Winter is actually easier as he’s fully clipped and they don’t seem to stain as much and he’s rugged!

Dont you find the Shapleys leaves a sticky residue? Shes tried that and it was good but the next day, she felt kind of sticky lol

 

[NinjaPony]

Ah, my special subject.

This is largely tailored for winter but the advice still stands.

Hose off all stains in the morning, if it’s cold, then spray with Carr and Day stain remover, and wipe off with a damp towel.

Wash tail once a week, and keep it plaited in a tail bag when not being ridden.

Turn out in a snuggy hood ‘head’. Wish I’d bought one years ago!!

Liberally spray mane, tail, hocks and neck with pig oil. Cheap and helps the stain and mud to slide off.

Once it’s not too hot, stable her overnight in a no fill turn out. This will stop stains seeping through.

Wash regularly with any normal shampoo, I really like the Micro-tek as it is soothing for my sweet itchy boy.

When you need them really clean, use ‘quic-silver’. Hard to get hold of but it’s the best and trust me, after 9 years I’ve tried them all. For mane and tail, follow up with ‘a touch of silver’ conditioner- it’s in supermarkets, and it’s purple tinted so makes them gleam white!!

The main point is keep on top of it. Once it sets, you won’t get it out.

welcome to the bonkers world of grey ownership!!

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Learn to look the other way

 

[Louby]

Thank you, its my friends horse who is the poo queen lol, mine is a grey also but still at the dapple stage thankfully so the stains dont show atm. Shes using twice as many shavings as I do, her bed is lovely and in the mornings doesnt actually look that bad, god knows how she gets so covered in sh*t

 

[Louby]

Learn to look the other way

Ive said this lol, shes not having it lol!!

 

[forever broke]

For my coloured lad (he's all white with just brown ears and one small patch on one thigh) it's all about the bedding. He gets covered in yellow pee stains if I bed him on straw, even if it's super deep. I've found a good deep bed of rape straw or flax keeps the pee at the base so he's not lying down in it, and the poops get a bit buried too. The haas schimmel brush is decent for any poo stains he does get after that

 

[Shilasdair]

My top tip is - when shopping for horses, always take a little glass vial of your field soil with you.

Hold the vial against the horse's coat in daylight. If it matches, buy it.

 

[gingergreg]

I had a grey who was revolting in the stable, tried everything but a huge straw bed worked best.

Also, Shapley’s Easy Out and Veredus blue shampoo for tails ??

Eta. I’m a bit drunk - stable wise to keep as clean as poss!

 

[PSD]

I got lucky with my grey. She was the cleanest I’ve ever met!

If rugged I kept her in turnouts, waterproof stops the Ming seeping through. Also, oil on the bad spots especially before a show, then the muck came off easier. oil the tail regularly and the muck slides right out, I also used to put a bit of chalk powder in water and rinse with that after a good wash with Tesco value shampoo. Always kept her on shavings too as straw was just urgh

 

[Cowpony]

Turn her out. My mainly white coloured stays much cleaner in the field than in the stable. Mud is much easier to get off than poo stains. Mane and tail spray on hocks, knees and neck.

 

[PSD]

Turn her out. My mainly white coloured stays much cleaner in the field than in the stable. Mud is much easier to get off than poo stains. Mane and tail spray on hocks, knees and neck.

I used to turn out before a show, people thought I was bonkers bathing a grey and turning her out. But she stayed much cleaner!

 

[Louby]

I got lucky with my grey. She was the cleanest I’ve ever met!

If rugged I kept her in turnouts, waterproof stops the Ming seeping through. Also, oil on the bad spots especially before a show, then the muck came off easier. oil the tail regularly and the muck slides right out, I also used to put a bit of chalk powder in water and rinse with that after a good wash with Tesco value shampoo. Always kept her on shavings too as straw was just urghView attachment 53368

View attachment 53369

Wow, shes spotless!!! I darent show her your photos, I think she would cry lol!!!!

 

[L&M]

Turn her out. My mainly white coloured stays much cleaner in the field than in the stable. Mud is much easier to get off than poo stains. Mane and tail spray on hocks, knees and neck.

Totally agree - I hunt my blue and white cob predominately from the field and out hunting he is known as the 'persil' pony - people can't believe that I haven't spent hours bathing him prior to the meet.

On the rare occasion he does come in and has a stain, hot water always works better than cold, and find the same for his tail.

I also agree never let the stain set in - my partner had a coloured that by the end of the season had yellow stifles and hocks - I did try and warn him!!!!

 

[PSD]

Wow, shes spotless!!! I darent show her your photos, I think she would cry lol!!!!

she was a princess haha she hated getting dirty! But I also hated seeing her dirty ?

 

[yhanni]

Mine even gets sh1t between his ears! He's absolutely gross.

 

[buddylove]

I am in grey horse rehab, two years ago I had three of varying shades, I now have a bay, a coloured (with not too much white) and a grey dun. I think my recovery is going very well!!!
I also agree with keeping them out as much as possible, my grey mare was a tramp in the stable ?

 

[Shavings]

I own a coloured, i brush daily to try and stop a build up of stains.

and i swear by purple shampoo, we did a show the other weekend and he had a bath before hand with purpe shampoo, rubbed in to his yellow mane, let sit for 5 mins (timed) then rinse and proof white!

 

[PapaverFollis]

The Beast is the most disgusting creature in her stable. Living out is definitely the way forward. Tails... it's all about regular washing in hot water and applying buckets of leave in conditioner. I'm going to have to stable this winter so I will be wrapping her tail for the duration. Just the ends, not the dock obviously.

Other stains. Hot towel the stains every morning and put oil/coat shine etc on the trouble spots.

I've been pretty lazy with The Beast as we haven't really gone anywhere to be seen but she's getting towards white grey now so it's time to start the never ending fight. I also bought a chestnut who makes me very happy. It's important to look after your mental health.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I agree with living out being easier stain wise as you just let the mud dry and then wash it off. I do have some cowboy magic green spot remover which is good for grass stains on the hocks and knees. I also don't worry too much about her being perfectly clean.

 

[CavaloBranco]

Meowy Catkin..I'd second everything you've said. I had 2 greys for years. Leave them out if possible but when competing I also used a snuggy hood, even with plaits already in sometimes!