Wee and poo stains on white horse

sharonmaskell

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+Getting desperate. Just wondered what other forum users use to clean their white horses. My boy just loves to lay in wee and poo and it is a never ending battle to get him clean. I have tried the sprays, Dettol and lemon washing up liquid, but cannot get rid of the yellow stain.
 
Mine had the most horrendous yellow thighs, the more I washed, the more luminous they went. Tried vinegar, ketchup, mr muscle, nothing worked. Change of yards and a change from straw to shavings and the stains went. What is yours bedded on?
 
Put a turnout rug on in the stable to prevent the poo getting through to the hair. And if all else fails use blue shampoo and then mane and tail spray on the body (although not on the saddle area!)
 
get used to it ;)

I always use a turnout rug / stable rug, and accept this is how he is, in the summer I make an effort to clean every so often, I find the gallop extra strength shampoo, then a blue shampoo do the trick nicely.
 
All greys seem to aspire to be skewbald don't they?! I've just got used to it now haha but gallop shampoo for greys is great and a grooming block helps with fresh stains to an extent :)
 
Embrace the stains! And mud. We have a coloured and a grey and have given up trying to get rid of stains unless we are going somewhere. We've found the new Naf spray (can't remember it's name) is really good for spot cleaning. Dirty beastie shampoo followed by a rinse with supreme products blue rinse is good for a full bath.
 
I thoroughly recommend a pot of soft soap (Heavy horse society sell it). It's about £15 a tub and mine lasts a year or more. Fantastic stuff, lathers up well, rinses out well and is the cheapest, best thing I have found for getting a yellow tail/body white again!
 
I thoroughly recommend a pot of soft soap (Heavy horse society sell it). It's about £15 a tub and mine lasts a year or more. Fantastic stuff, lathers up well, rinses out well and is the cheapest, best thing I have found for getting a yellow tail/body white again!

Beat me to it, I stocked up at Hoys, first time I have seen them have a stand.
 
Mine had the most horrendous yellow thighs, the more I washed, the more luminous they went. Tried vinegar, ketchup, mr muscle, nothing worked. Change of yards and a change from straw to shavings and the stains went. What is yours bedded on?

He was on shavings but is now on straw. I am on full livery so have to go with what is provided. I wonder if a layer of shavings underneath the straw might help.
 
Thanks everyone. I will try what you have suggested, but I think the census of opinion = and the right way to think = is that I will learn to grin and bear it.
 
I don't clean below her elbows. :p A rug keeps the body cleanish. We don't wash her much, I find a body brush and a mitt with cactus cloth one side and sheepskin the other sorts most things.
 
My grey and white boy tends to keep himself fairly clean EXCEPT when there's a show coming up LOL. However, I am rather obsessive about grooming, and he loves being groomed, and I tend to brush stains out before they get too ingrained.

Luckily his hair doesn't seem to absorb the stains too badly. I do use blue shampoo if I want that really sparkly white finish though.

The hardest stains to get rid of I find are when I have to ride or lunge him in the bottom school where the surface is this black shredded rubber stuff, when it's wet it practically dyes white hair a kind of dirty black and he has four pure white legs **sigh** It's a nightmare to wash out, worse than any stable stain.
 
Either learn to embrace it or keep on top of it so the stains dont set in

I use Medivet wash in a mug of hot water and give any stains a scrub as I see them
 
Showshine every few days helps prevent them getting really bad and frequently washing tails etc to stop a build up. Otherwise just get used to it, its a never-ending battle!
 
Tail gets washed at least once per week and kept in a plait at all times (it gets taken out, brushed and sprayed with mane & tail every day). Tail bag if going somewhere.

I wash it twice with blue fairy liquid (once to get the worst off, the suds run off brown/almost black! Then second scrub to get the rest off) followed by blue shampoo (if needed) and lots and lots of conditioner! I like to use silicone heavy products here to try and seal the hair cuticles to stop any stains absorbing in the first place. Aussie re-constructor is good lol. Conditioner is left on for 5 mins before rinsing off. Air dry, liberal spray of mane & tail and then plait up!

Stable stains get attacked as and when they appear. If you do it after exercise, the heat from his body helps to push the dirt out. Use warm water as well. I tend to use the no-rinse wash stuff so it doesn't take too long.

He is bedded on shavings with a layer of wood pellets underneath. He is on full livery so he gets 1 bale of shavings per week, but I buy extra to keep his bed full so the wet doesn't rise to the surface. He is naturally filthy so tries his best to get as dirty as possible and has regular poo parties!

If you keep on top of it, it's not too hard to keep them clean, but you need to allow the extra time to do it. I like to use a no-fill turnout on top of rugs, this also helps. I have invested in a snuggy hood this year, so will see if that makes a difference!

You either need to embrace the stains, or keep on top of it. I didn't buy a yellow or brown horse, so I like to keep him white :)
 
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Going on the recommendations here for soft soap, I bought a tub at YHL yesterday. However, there are no instructions and the ladies on the stand didn't know how to use it. Can anyone help ? Many thanks !
 
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