Top tips for keeping a grey horse clean please.

[Bangagin]

I think I have found a horse to loan. He is grey. My horses live out 24/7, and I am stressing a bit about keeping him clean already!!

Apart from mud, which is probably one of the easier things to get off, I noticed his legs and tail are quite yellow.

So please can everyone give me their top tips for keeping a grey horse looking smart? Do you have to keep on top of the yellowing, or do you just do a "blitz" before a showing class?

Help!

 

[Snowysadude]

If he/she is living out good luck with keeping them clean! I was going to say bandage up at night, rug all year round and once stain removing tail keep in a plait. But a bit impractical when out 24/7!! I wouldnt stress too much with all the cleaning products on the market at the moment and some human things I use cleaning up the day of/before a show is no longer all that difficult and produces some pretty good results quite quickly! I have a show tomorrow so will do a before and after

 

[Mrs B]

I think I have found a horse to loan. He is grey. My horses live out 24/7, and I am stressing a bit about keeping him clean already!!

Apart from mud, which is probably one of the easier things to get off, I noticed his legs and tail are quite yellow.

So please can everyone give me their top tips for keeping a grey horse looking smart? Do you have to keep on top of the yellowing, or do you just do a "blitz" before a showing class?

Help!

From a 'grey' owner who is a 24/7 mudlark: either cease worrying about this right now, check into the funny farm or swap him for a bay....

 

[cob&onion]

My cob has lots of white (skewbald) BUT shes ALWAYS white?! shes out 24/7 and stays cleaner than my bay! i maybe just lucky but the only bit that ever gets yellow/grubby is her tail. I plan to rug her this winter as she will be in ridden work just incase!!!
I'd rug!

 

[frannieuk]

I think if you're keeping him out you might find it almost easier as at least the mud tends to come off with a brush and a hot cloth, whereas my stabled grey girl lies in her own poo, which seems to soak through any rug I put on her, and then stains her neon green - not a good look!

 

[TicTac]

From a 'grey' owner who is a 24/7 mudlark: either cease worrying about this right now, check into the funny farm or swap him for a bay....

Good advice from a fellow grey horse owner! However depending on your horses breed I would rug accordingly. Mine wears a lightweight turnout with neck cover untill the weather turns really cold when I will then put him in a medium weight, with the all important neck cover in an often desperate attempt to keep him reletively mud free!

 

[Bangagin]

I think if you're keeping him out you might find it almost easier as at least the mud tends to come off with a brush and a hot cloth, whereas my stabled grey girl lies in her own poo, which seems to soak through any rug I put on her, and then stains her neon green - not a good look!

I like this answer! Thinking about it the horses never seem to lie in their droppings in the field, so I will cling to this with hope!

How do you stop the legs/tail yellowing though? What stains them yellow in the first place? It's not a good look!

 

[Lyle]

I've recently bought a grey TB after years of owning dark browns! He's kept out 24/7 and surprisingly stays quite clean, clean enough that a bit of grooming renders him presentable enough to be taken out (he is fully rugged though)

I do wash his tail once a week, in a good whitening shampoo then dunk in a bucket of bluo for 30 seconds. It's then dried, sprayed and plaited, then put in a rugless tail bag which keeps it clean and dry.

I think it's best to keep on top of stains if possible by spot cleaning rather than letting them buid up, especially with the tail.

 

[flying solo]

Yip rug it up! When I bath mines on his body I use head and shoulders. Legs, mane and tail (not on the tail bone) I use blue washing up liquid or vanish stain remover diluted in warm water. I'm sure there's other ways but these work for me! x

 

[frannieuk]

I like this answer! Thinking about it the horses never seem to lie in their droppings in the field, so I will cling to this with hope!

How do you stop the legs/tail yellowing though? What stains them yellow in the first place? It's not a good look!

I wash tails with a mixture of Fairy Liquid and biological laundry gel (obv not on the dock) and then condition it - it gets them gleaming!

 

[Magnetic Sparrow]

But when you rug don't you find that the rug-covered bits stay white and the non-covered bits go yellow? Then the horse looks like it came in kit form and was badly assembled using the wrong components. That's how mine looked, anyway.

 

[samuelhorse]

rug with neck, snuggy hood with ears, wash tail with fairy liquid then plait it up polo pony style, turnout boots..... Not much left to scrub then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CharlieGal]

Mine is out through the day and in at night. At night she lies in her poo and through the day rolls! It takes me about an hour just to scrub the poo off I've started putting a rug on and it keeps her clean in the field but soaks but the poo soaks through? I seriously think she wants to be brown

 

[swampdonkey]

its down to 10 degrees at night so thought Id be able to keep mine clean with a no fill sheet on but alas he is a little hot bod and was sweating this morning. So looks like I am going to put up with exchanging for a hippo for the foreseeable.

 

[BonneMaman]

Give up now before you lose your mind!

Tips though ...... rug from nose to ear - those stretchy hoods a great and a tailgator bag will keep the tail from dock down clean.

 

[noblesteed]

I must be very lucky with my grey then! He lives out until it gets really cold. He is a very good doer so is rugless. i find if I avoid bathing him his coat develops natural grease which makes the mud easy to brush off when dry. He comes up nicely with a reallly thorough groom.
His mane is long and I either put it in small plaits or let it fall both sides of neck so when I plait up you only see the bits that has been protected by the rest of the mane and is gleaming white.
His tail gets filthy so I just have to keep washing that! No way round that one I'm afraid. I also wash his legs before a competition.
I have found that Amigo lightweight turnout has a shiny lining which gets him clean after bad weather.
I use Cowboy Magic Spot remover to get stable stains off in winter, but it only works to a point. He is rugged overnight if he's in before a competition.
Keep a set of clean rugs & headcollar to put on when horse is clean before a show so they dont get dirty off their rugs again.

You just have to plan ahead!

 

[nicnag]

This was the day beforea major show. He can recreate this look using his own poo, sheep poo, cattle poo and even chicken poo. This is possible through any rug or neck cover no matter what the lycra content. I have tried all possible remedys to no avail and if he gets near anything yellow he is stained for months!
Never again! Brown is the way forward!

 

[Perissa]

Cowboy Green Spot Remover is your very best friend. Don't allow stains to build up, if possible remove daily - with the Green Spot Remover this is really easy and very quick. You don't have to make them spotless but get the worst off. It really will pay off in the long run. Water proof tail bags are a must - I get them from eBay for £7.99.

And use a lightweight turnout with or without neck cover in the stable, either on its own or over stable rugs. They are much better at keeping poo stains out whereas they soak through stable rugs.

I have 5 horses and 3 are grey including the poo monster in my signature pics!

 

[juliette]

Tesco value 8p baby shampoo - rinses out easily!

Wash tail in washing (non-bio) powder - rinse well

Rug up as much as possible

 

[Redd]

I think let him be a horse! I wouldn't like to have a tail bag / plaits in all the time. (Try plaiting your own hair and sleeping in it and keeping it in for a few days / week) My grey isn't out 24/7 and he is a coldy and thus has a rug on a lot. I wash his tail, mane, neck, head, belly & legs before a show. I have 2 hoses going onto cold & hot taps in the utility mixing into a 3rd hose so he doesn't get washed in cold water. I also use cowboy magic green-spot remover at a show when he poo's on himself (inevitable since he can poo down inside his Mark Todd travel boots on the way). I also only ever use horse shampoo to ensure the PH is correct for his skin as many human products can remove the grease & oils on a horse's coat, actually making them more prone to getting dirty and harder to clean. Have fun with your new horse

 

[Jericho]

I have a grey mare who lives out 24/7 and this is what works for me.

Cowboy magic green spot remover for really nasty stains and can't / don't really need to bath.

Wash tail regularly once a week and use vanish or blue for extra cleanliness, then put tail bag on. Mine lives with hers on all winter. Also need to wash bag regularly - I have 3 in rotation. For me keeping the tail clean is the most important (for vanity purposes!) because once it goes yellow it's harder to get White.

For legs I only really wash if going somewhere and use one of the blue shampoos for greys. I try not use too harsh shampoos on legs as I think it weaks the skins defences against mud fever. If mud does get too bad and the feet/ heels are constantly wet then I also will bring in once or twice a week to rinse off well with cold water and then leave to dry.

Cheap shampoo for all over body if absolutely necessary.

A good lightweight rug for mild days just to keep mud off as well as usual range of other rugs. Some put summer sheets underneath rugs and then wash these to keep a clean layer between dirty rug and horse.

Being clipped helps a lot as easier to get clean and dry. Also a short pulled mane. I also love snuggy turnout which were a god save last year but after reading e recent thread on here I would be a bit wary using it now...

If you aren't so fussed about being seen with a grubby pony then don't worry too much, come spring you can have a good clean up (although still worth keeping tail clean)

Good luck

 

[Bangagin]

Thanks everyone. We won't be doing anything smart over the winter months, so will leave it until the Spring I think. We don't have hot water at our yard, so I have to take containers down for bathing, so definitely won't be giving him a bath until the weather is nice!

 

[MagicMelon]

Wait for it to snow - grey go beautifully white and clean in the snow!

With mine, there's no way of KEEPING him clean, you just have to MAKE him clean every time you have a show/event! I just give him a full bath the night before an event then keep him in the stable overnight (or in the yard if its not peeing rain).

 

[saddleupagain]

I have just read all the posts with interest and I'm off to e bay to buy some tail bags as my grey has runny poo issues with the haylage at the moment just to add to the fact he can sniff out dirt at 1000 paces any poo, dust, mud.

The one thing that I notice nobody has mentioned are the amazing grooming blocks which get grass stains and some poo stains out and if they stop working just scrape it once on the floor to get a clean edge and off you go again...they are a grey owners best friend! Plus the metal strips you fold together and become like a semi circle metal comb brush I dont know what they are called but on legs and even necks they are amazing for getting mud off I thought it might be a bit harsh but he loves it.

I have been told about the tomarto ketchup by a showing friend so I am going to try it.

Just to make you feel better I live in Devon and bought my boy when I moved here without thinking about the red soil we have here so I have pink ears to get clean as well!!

 

[MrsMozart]

 

[saddleupagain]

Mrs Mozart amazing not sure he'd fit in washing machine though!!

 

[saddleupagain]

Jericho what had you read about snuggy hoods? I have just got the head cover one but he managed to get **** in the eye holes and down his face!

I have a grey mare who lives out 24/7 and this is what works for me.

Cowboy magic green spot remover for really nasty stains and can't / don't really need to bath.

Wash tail regularly once a week and use vanish or blue for extra cleanliness, then put tail bag on. Mine lives with hers on all winter. Also need to wash bag regularly - I have 3 in rotation. For me keeping the tail clean is the most important (for vanity purposes!) because once it goes yellow it's harder to get White.

For legs I only really wash if going somewhere and use one of the blue shampoos for greys. I try not use too harsh shampoos on legs as I think it weaks the skins defences against mud fever. If mud does get too bad and the feet/ heels are constantly wet then I also will bring in once or twice a week to rinse off well with cold water and then leave to dry.

Cheap shampoo for all over body if absolutely necessary.

A good lightweight rug for mild days just to keep mud off as well as usual range of other rugs. Some put summer sheets underneath rugs and then wash these to keep a clean layer between dirty rug and horse.

Being clipped helps a lot as easier to get clean and dry. Also a short pulled mane. I also love snuggy turnout which were a god save last year but after reading e recent thread on here I would be a bit wary using it now...

If you aren't so fussed about being seen with a grubby pony then don't worry too much, come spring you can have a good clean up (although still worth keeping tail clean)

Good luck

 

[Odd Socks]

I also have a tip that noone has mentioned! A bit of a random one but gamgee! Just wet it, ring it out, hold it on the poo or grass stain for a few seconds and ring it again repeating if necessary but works absolutely fantastically - just sucks it right out! Hope that helps

 

[saddleupagain]

Oh I'll try that

I also have a tip that noone has mentioned! A bit of a random one but gamgee! Just wet it, ring it out, hold it on the poo or grass stain for a few seconds and ring it again repeating if necessary but works absolutely fantastically - just sucks it right out! Hope that helps

 

[HashRouge]

From a 'grey' owner who is a 24/7 mudlark: either cease worrying about this right now, check into the funny farm or swap him for a bay....

Agree with this 100%
Don't worry too much about it or you'll go potty. Just wait for summer, they never look as dirty in the summer