Whiter than white greys!! Help!!

Skippydo

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Looking at the post about 'whiter than white whites' i thought it was going to be about our lovely white grey horses NOT!!
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I love him to bits and wouldn't change him for the world
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but he always seems to looks dirty, not through mud so much but dusty looking and greasy to the touch, i groom him every day and short of giving him a bath every day i don't know what else i can do.

Any ideas? Apart from using Vanish Oxy Action!!
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I have an IDx hippo so have a bit of experience. First piece of advice is not to get too hung up on it and let them be a bit beige if you're only doing normal stuff!
Cowboy Magic products are good- the greenspot remover is excellent for little stubborn patches and the shampoo isn't bad either. The only problem with the greenspot is that it works so well, the areas around the bit you've used it on then look grubby!
I find Wahl dirty beastie shampoo very good, but don't dilute it like the bottle says: Wet the horse thoroughly, put it on neat, scrub with a rubber mitten and rinse off.

A few things I've been told but never tried:
My YO (she has a grey she used to despair at, but now she just looks at my horse and laughs) swears by Persil non-bio on very stubborn stains, but do a patch test first and rinse it off straight away.
Steradent is supposed to be good for getting tails white, put a few tablets in a bucket, put the tail in up as far as the end of the dock and leave for 10 minutes.
If you really can't get rid of stains, sheep mark is good for covering them up. You know the aerosol paint (normally green/blue/red) that farmers use to put identity marks on their sheep? Apparently, there is a white one for marking black sheep and it is good for covering stains. You can get it in agricultural merchants. Like I said, I've not tried it (my boy has been lame since I heard about it so haven't needed to) but I've been told it's good!
 
I use a combination of lemon Fairy Liquid, Ariel Excel Gel, QuicSilver purple whitening shampoo, conditioner, Absorbine show sheen, Gold Label show white paste and chalk! My horse has more hair products than I do! lol! But mostly, elbow grease and a good few hours!
 
I use Daz on my black pony's white sock's. It's really good. People passed comments on their shiny bright 'whiteness' at the last show we went to.
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I used to use soap flakes back in PC Camp days... there is a special shampoo (human) for white hair - not sure if it's called silver somethingorother... seen it recently in the Chemists and that was fantastic! But failing that, another vote for non-bio Daz powder!
 
I use the Wahl purple shampoo but at the Solent Show last week I saw a gleaming grey and asked them what they used - Cowboy Magic with the yellow lid apparently!
 
I have the same probelem with a general dustyness on my grey...he's stabled overnight on a shavings bed and there just always seems to be some dust ...so when he does need to be sparkling he has a cotton sheet on overnight, and that generally does the trick
 
HIBISCRUB is the best thing IMHO. According to the makers it is an antimicrobial preparation for pre-operative surgical hand disinfection, antiseptic handwashing on the ward, pre-operative skin antisepsis for patients undergoing elective surgery. I.e it is the best thing to get rid of dirt and washing your horse with hibiscrub is guaranteed to get it clean. I use it for my horses white socks and blaze and it is brilliant, also very good for tails.
 
All very useful I'm taking notes!!
I've just brought a whiter than white connemara gelding. He was super clean when I picked him up yesterday and now he looks more like a piebald! lol
 
I like to keep my grey clean, but do not get too hung up on it, afterall he is a horse and he likes to roll.

Saying that, Hibiscrub is excellent as is hilton herbs ocean blue and coaltar and neam shampoo.

I do not recommend using washingup liquid or washing powder it can cause skin problems. It causes my skin problems too.
 
I would be VERY cautious about using detergents such as fairy liquid and washing detergents on horses....they are not designed for such use and can cause irritation/dermatitis.......although saying that if you rinse- rinse- rinse really well and get every last scrap off you should be ok.....
 
I find Tesco or Asda's own brand really good for the body. Its super cheap and smells of lovely apples etc. My grey ends up very white afterwards. Only bit it isnt quite so great on is his very yellow/brown tail - I usually wash it twice and then use that purple die- type shampoo (touch of silver or something??).
 
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LOL Thanks, that's great advice coming from someone with a JET BLACK horse!!
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Yes because working on severalprofessional yards with greys, having owned a grey and a palomino in the past and working in a tack shop i wouldnt know wth im talking about......
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I would be wary of Daz, it's quite strong and will need rinsing well - pony dribbled a grassy gobful on the front of my favourite pale pink and white striped polo shirt, ordinary washing din't get it out so I rubbed a bit of Daz on and popped it in the machine to do a rinse cycle and forgot to press the start button. 5 or 6 hours later noticed it, and turned it on, all the bits of blue in the Daz had stuck to it, had to re-wash and have now bleached some of the pink bits of the shirt white so it's all blotchy.

I'm quite a fan of Cowboy Magic, certainly works.
 
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