White legs, what do you use?

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moodymare1987

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So I have a show next month on the new horse. Got four white legs to clean up. What do you guys find is the best product to use to get legs gleaming?
 
A few pre washes on the days/weeks leading up to the show may help

Hot water also helps

I will start cleaning up my pony now for a show that's still a few weeks away, Champion Tails purple shampoo is my weapon of choice!
 
Lots of washing, bandage overnight, chalk galore!

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I used to have a coloured pony and just scrubbed her and she always come up clean. But you see so many products out there to get legs white I wondered was it worth getting something to help. I'm lucky it's only legs. Saying that he has a big tail I need to get pulling and his mane will need pulling again. Argh showing why do we do it.
 
Wash with warm water and blue shampoo, rinse and repeat (you have to properly get your fingers into the hair if they have feathers to get the shampoo right down to the skin and it takes an age to rinse out)
Once all the soap is out towel dry then liberal amounts of loose chalk. Put in clean stable and leave overnight (if no feathers you can do this on the show morning as the legs dry faster) Once dry brush through the feathers/down the leg to remove excess chalk. Just before going into the ring reapply a light coating of chalk and brush through - this gives very gleaming feathers/white legs even if they were balck before from mud etc
 
WelshD said:
A few pre washes on the days/weeks leading up to the show may help

Hot water also helps

I will start cleaning up my pony now for a show that's still a few weeks away, Champion Tails purple shampoo is my weapon of choice!
Click to expand...

But champion is so difficult to get, agree its fab!
 
Hope the venues muddy... Then its oops I warmed up in a puddle!

No seriously google Matthew Burke, big in shires try soft soap and sawdust with chalk.
 
Proper blue/violet horse shampoo, I like the white diamond one by wahl (I think) add extra gentian violet (purple spray). Water legs then put a dollop on your hands and work into the hair, lathering until the lather turns white (if not you turn the legs purple!). Do this a few days before the show, then again the evening before. Towel dry legs. The night before, once towell dried, get some powdered show chalk, brush this into the damn hair, and bandage, travel in these bandages, remove just before the show, leaving time to touch up, brush off the excess dried chalk. Oil hooves (I prefer to use a varnish product) check ensure frogs are tidy etc...
 
Absolutely agree with everyones comment about wash, towel dry, then coat with chalk powder (don't worry if it looks a bit grey at this stage) and bandage. Brush out at the show.

BUT THE VERY IMPORTANT THING!!!! Take a brush specifically to do this, as you brush the legs the excess chalk ends up on the brush, and you don't want to then use it elsewhere!!
 
On my horses with white socks, I've used tesco value shampoo (and/or any other supermarket 30p a bottle stuff), works wonders, then put chalk on. Hey presto!
 
My horse is a mud monster and has 4 long white legs, and a white tail ! During the winter he's all clipped and rugged up which makes life easier :D but the mud gets really engrained in the hair next to the skin, I use Tesco value shampoo and a stiff brush to scrub the mud out until its pure white, I also do this with the tail but after shampooing I use vanish on the tail :o . I use a spray of some cowboy magic shine spray to keep dirt off, I plait the tail , fold it up and use duct tape wrapped around (not too tight on the dock though!) to keep it clean while out in the field overnight. Not the best photo as he was long overdue for a clip, but this is the result of a Tesco value bath! after jumping on sand too. his tail and legs are normally yellow :p ignore me warming up my hands, I was freezing lol

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I use what they use for whitening show sheep's faces. It's usually just called 'sheep face white' and can be got from agricultural shops. A 5kg tub will be about £25 and will last all year, maybe 2. wash legs as normal then make the powder up with water into a thick paste and paint on. Bandage and leave overnight to dry. Next morning just brush off the powder and you will have sparkly white legs! It's actually a white dye - the same one used to make mayonnaise white instead of yellow.

This is the best thing I have ever used and soooo easy!

Edit - you can also paste it into tails and get them sparkly white too rather than the yellow tinge you see at the bottom of some of the tails.
 
Fides said:
I use what they use for whitening show sheep's faces. It's usually just called 'sheep face white' and can be got from agricultural shops. A 5kg tub will be about £25 and will last all year, maybe 2. wash legs as normal then make the powder up with water into a thick paste and paint on. Bandage and leave overnight to dry. Next morning just brush off the powder and you will have sparkly white legs! It's actually a white dye - the same one used to make mayonnaise white instead of yellow.

This is the best thing I have ever used and soooo easy!

Edit - you can also paste it into tails and get them sparkly white too rather than the yellow tinge you see at the bottom of some of the tails.
Click to expand...

This is what I would recommend - used to use it on welsh cobs who were black with 4 white socks and a white blaze and it was amazing. Reading all of these posts now though makes me soooo happy to have Exmoors!!! :D
 
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