URGHHH How am I meant to keep my (mostly) white hippo...oops I mean horse... clean?!?

Vickijay

Vickijay

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I need handy hints and tips for how you manage your white horses!!

I have owned her for four years and it hasn't really been a problem because she has been metamorphosing from this little bundle of cuteness...

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To a just 4 year old version who has just started work to become a grown up! (Sorry its teeny!!)

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Now Im riding her properly its a nightmare, not just with the usual HORRENDOUS mud we have at the moment, due to the especially lovely summer we are having :cool: but she seems to love using her own poooooo as a lovely soft pillow and gets it stuck right up her armpits/girth area/legs/EVERYWHERE!!!

I have been brushing most of it off with a wet body brush....am I meant to do this every time I want to ride her though?!!! That's pretty labour intensive!!

I don't care about mud as it dries and I can brush it off but the shizzle doesn't work that way and its normally where the tack goes of course!!

What do you do? Apart from wish your horse was a more user friendly colour...like brown!

Tips and advice would be much appreciated!!

Thanks

Vicki and Grottie Dottie :D
 
it's hard enough getting the bays and ginger one looking presentable at the moment but she would be a challenge to get clean! She's lovely by the way. Guess this is where a horsy swimming pool would be useful.:D
 
Nice spotty! I'm no help at all, only I'd juist like to point out that even brown horses can be green - mine is currently plastered in sheep poo, it's even in huge clots in her mane and tail, totally gross!
 
Rugs fly rug, rain sheet is the only way to spend more time riding than grooming and still ending up with stains!
Love your horse.
 
Use a stiff bristled dandy & scrub the worst off. Then groom as normal before having another scrub at any stains. Then I use a wrung out tea towel to get the last out. And remember if you do miss a day, you pay for it the next.
I usually keep on top of mine, rugged & clipped over winter & regular baths in summer, so really only spring & autumn to struggle with. However with all the rain I haven't wanted to wash the grease out. And if I wash her tail & legs the rest of her will look awful in comparison!
 
Unless I have a rally or a show, I let my dappled boy have the stains :o (I'm a terrible owner I know). I just brush it off, to ensure it's not crusty (ew, lovely image) and when it's just a coloured patch I leave it. However, if I'm going for the uber-polished, mega groom look? Scrub with a body brush then Cowboy Magic! To reduce the stains, I spray his tail in mane and tail conditioner (luckily his mane is a dark grey), and wherever tack doesn't touch I put a bit of that coat shine spray, brushing a little bit in with a body brush, as it helps to repel the stuff from sticking. Don't need to do it too often either. Never put it where the saddle goes though :eek: Other than that, get a good stable sheet, rain sheet or fly rug. Have fun :D
 
baby wipes are super for stable stains!!! i promise they work!!!!! other than that, rugs, bandages, totally covered up, the joys of owning a horse that has white on it. Black is great, but my coloured is exactly the same, i only worry if i'm bringing him somewhere. Hence, the babywipes!!!
 
I feel your pain! I had similar problems but just recently solved it. Bought a Mobi Pressure Washer. I am in love with it! You can put hot water in it. I skoosh the clarty bits. I also use plenty coat /mane/tail spray so muck comes off easier. I must admit I have popped on rugs recently to keep the top bits clean so I just need to skoosh the girth bit and poop encrusted face.

Gorgeous spotty xx
 
Ahh i remember her as a foal, she turned out rather super didn't she!! I just leave my spotty out :P He lies in his poo when he's in so i just turf him out and brush off the mud before he's ridden. :D
 
Had to chuckle at her enormous ears in first photo.. but she has grown into them!! Lucky you, we still have a horse with donkey ears.
 
Love that first photo. So cute! Have to confess I don't bother. Unless we're off to a point party my boy stays mud/poo coloured. Get the worst off his face and saddle area and the rest I brush off if dry. Legs get hosed down and he did have a quick shower last week when he was horrid and wet withmmud but that's it. Bad owner ! Not so bad in the summer of course.

Pan scrubbers from the supermarket are great for dry mud on his face. They look harsh but aren't. Not the Brillo ones but there are some that look like wire wool. Def worth getting.
 
I have 2 hippos too :D they both seem to have the same love for their own poo and mud :rolleyes:

If im just mooching around, im afraid after nearly 20 years of this, i just give it a quick brush and they have to make do with being green!

If the dirty tramp look isn't for you ;) i second the baby wipes, they do work a treat, providing they haven't dried out as you forgot to do the pack back up :rolleyes:, and cowboy magic with a damp cloth or sponge is good too.
 
She's gorgeous!

Hibiscrub is great for getting legs & light tails white. We've tried a hundred shampoos over the years (literally!), and find Wahl's Diamond White the best all-over shampoo, which has a hint of purple in it.

For keeping stains off in the first place, there's a spray called Equistar which is fab. It kinda makes a barrier that stops mud & stable stains from sticking, fab for the girth area makes them nice & shiny too. It's not that easy to find in the UK, but I get mine from eBay :D

Oh, and a good rug!

Hope it helps :)
 
I go with the excuse 'oh it's just part of his colouring'... :rolleyes:

(But for when he simply has to be spotless - hoho - I am now on my 7th bottle of Cowboy Magic this year :o )
 
Thanks everyone, sorry for ages long reply I've been busy getting soaked on and trying to work!!

I shall be toddling off to get some cowboy products and I have brought some blue shampoo for day to day mankness!

I still am torn between the "keep on top of the filth each day" and the "just leave it and worry when we are going somewhere we can't look like filth bags"

I think I might try to keep on top of it for now, until I loose the will to live with the cleaning and give her away to anyone that loves a white (ish) horse hahahaha
 
Awwwwwwwww cutie!! Ha i used to have a grey on loan, absolute nightmare to keep clean. I found green, normal fairy liquid as good anything shampoo wise.

Never tried the cowboy or wahl products but tried most makes and none of them did what they claim!!
 
1Lucie said:
Awwwwwwwww cutie!! Ha i used to have a grey on loan, absolute nightmare to keep clean. I found green, normal fairy liquid as good anything shampoo wise.

Never tried the cowboy or wahl products but tried most makes and none of them did what they claim!!
Click to expand...

Actually I did buy her some blue fairy liquid today! I'll give it a go with whatever horrible mess there is in the morning!!
 
I have a terrible strategy which is not to wash my grey (who lives out for 'summer' at the moment) unless ABSOLUTELY necessary! Then I find everything brushes/slides off his greasy coat :( Though we are not competing much at the moment due to me having a baby, but he seems to 'do' for local/rc summer comps... maybe he isn't a true muckmonster.

Otherwise, once clean there are lots of prevention methods to be used in addition to the daily groom. Seven Day Mud Away in tail, mane, feathers, putting horse in a fly rug if it's warm and muddy, rainsheet if it's cold and muddy, thin sheet/fleece in the stable, plaiting mane and tail to get rid of the loose bits that always trail in mud/poo, giving horse lots of bed so he never gets wee on him, and cowboy magic for the poo that he has been lying in. if you get Amigo/horseware rugs they have a shiny lining which somehow miraculously polishes the horse...
 
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