Traditional Cob in his first ridden turnout class next week, .......

Storminateacup

Storminateacup

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Should I be,
1) Thinning out his tail (its very thick and bushy at the top)
2) Banging the length of his tail, and if so approx how much off
3) Trimming the straggly bits of his mane near the withers, its almost shoulder length in middle.
4) Show shining his coat, mane, tail & thick feathers after getting them spotlessly clean first.
5) Trimming the long hairs still left over from winter that are in and around his groin.
6) Trimming the hair that falls over his hooves, its very long and covers them in places.
7) Oiling his hooves.
8) Shaving his whiskers and his moustache.
9) Adding a bit of vaseline around the skin around his eyes and nose.

I know that Traditionals are supposed to be shown untrimmed, but is that really the case or is some primping and polishing allowed or expected?
i.e. all of the above, plus white chalk on white points, blazes and feathers etc.
Also has anyone heard of using biological washing powder on white feathers to get rid of the yellow - I am sure I heard of it somewhere.

Just never shown a Traditional before and it looks like I am the only person in the area with one - so no-one to ask!

Many thanks to you all - I am sure someone out there can offer some advice.

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I would only do numbers: 5 and 7 and 4 the day before/ on the day.

And you can use washing powder on feathers just make sure you rinse really well
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Good Luck
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I pull bears mane to tidy it up, trim his ears/beard/whiskers, bath him and thats about it. I don't touch his tail, he gets his mane/tail/feathers smothered in canter mane and tail shine!
They are meant to be in their natural state.
 
i would do all of them, but dont thin the tail out too much, pull the top of it nicly and cut the tail straight to about 2inch below his hock:):)
baby oil is better for eyes and muzzle in a show, vasalene tends tio get sticky and it collects dust when it dries
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Generally you can bandage the tail, as you want it to sit right in his bum, this will help to define the shape. But the bandage on after you wash then only take it off just before you go in class.

I'm not up on showing traditionals but I doubt you'd need to bang his tail, possibly just tidy up the ends if it drags. You could tidy the ends of the mane just to create a clean picture, but otherwise leave his mane.

Yes to number 5 and 7, no to number 6

Shaving whiskers is used to create clean lines, however as you have a traditional this should not be neccessary.

If he's got white around eyes and muzzle, I wouldn't really bother with the vaseline, but if its brown or black you can add it. But its not neccessary, sometimes "make-up" can just detract from the horse!
 
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Generally you can bandage the tail, as you want it to sit right in his bum, this will help to define the shape. But the bandage on after you wash then only take it off just before you go in class.


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That sounds like an excellent idea,

Finally should I wash his bits,? botty and willy and baby oil them too so they don't look crusty?!!
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1) NO
2) NO
3) Depends on how stragley
4) YES
5) If you can pull them out it is better but trimming is better then nothing
6) NO
7) Yes
8) No to wiskers yes to moustashe
9) Yes and if you have a steady hand some black makeup too.
 
I show traditionals at County level and I would only do 4 and 5.
Their tails are almost to the ground (helps to make the back look longer) and as thick as they are naturally.
Traditionals are supposed to have feathers that cover their hooves, the more the better. I can't see my horses hooves, which means I don't have the oil them.
I would baby oil them either, they have pink skin around their nose and eyes and in the sun could burn them. They don't need to look like a show pony.
 
I show traditionals and whilst no expert have been doing it for a few years and know the essentials.

) Thinning out his tail (its very thick and bushy at the top)

Unless is it very very untidy leave it. I put on a tailguard for travelling and this is enough to have my chap's tail looking neat when I arrive to show. Thick and bush is desirable in a trad.

2) Banging the length of his tail, and if so approx how much off.

Do not bang the tail - again my chap's tail is resting on the ground - it is bagged most of the time and I carefully trim the end when too long but again have it looking as natural as I can.

3) Trimming the straggly bits of his mane near the withers, its almost shoulder length in middle.

Do not cut a wither patch and at the most a very small bridle area - I personally do not do a bridle area. You can discretly tidy the mane but traditionals should be shown with a long mane - I have actually really shortened my chap's mane this year to make him look more chunky as he is now in adults but as soon as he has the topline it will be back to being very long.

4) Show shining his coat, mane, tail & thick feathers after getting them spotlessly clean first.

Yes - Alva is great stuff - you want him as clean and glossy as possible.

5) Trimming the long hairs still left over from winter that are in and around his groin.

I belly trim Chancer and removes his bloomers in the summer. He is full cllipped in January apart from the front of his head and below the knees to give a nice summer show coat.

6) Trimming the hair that falls over his hooves, its very long and covers them in places.

Noooooooooooo - it is supposed to be like that.

7) Oiling his hooves.

I use a little clear varnish if on grass, but on other surfaces don't bother as you can hardly see his hooves and they get so dusty. Do not use black or dark colours - feet are meant to look as natural as possible. I avoid oil as it can clog the feather. Some people use baby oil.

8) Shaving his whiskers and his moustache.

No do not do it, you can discretly trim under the jawline and if you have large tufts of hair on the outside of the ears, again tidy them. Do not tidy the insides of the ears.

9) Adding a bit of vaseline around the skin around his eyes and nose.

Yes - but again only a very small amount and do not use any makeup.

I know that Traditionals are supposed to be shown untrimmed, but is that really the case or is some primping and polishing allowed or expected?
i.e. all of the above, plus white chalk on white points, blazes and feathers etc.

You can use chalk on feathers, but be careful not to make them heavy. I avoid the stuff as my boy has a black tail and the result it is goes gray.

Also has anyone heard of using biological washing powder on white feathers to get rid of the yellow - I am sure I heard of it somewhere.

Yes you can use persil. I also find tresume deep cleanings with equine blue added really brings them up. If you use pig oil and sulphur in the winter this helps to stop them getting to stained as well as kept in good condition and mite free.

Just never shown a Traditional before and it looks like I am the only person in the area with one - so no-one to ask!

Many thanks to you all - I am sure someone out there can offer some advice.

If I can help, PM me - this is what you should be aiming for - this is my little chap at the BSPA WCC champs last summer in the youngstock traditionals.

Chancer-trottingup-BSPAWCC.jpg
 
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