Who uses furniture polish on thier horses tail and mane??

yaffsimone1

yaffsimone1

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I saw a very bizarre comment on one of the social network sites about people using furniture polish on their horses mane and tail. Especially the lavender scented one, apparently this keeps the flies away and keeps the tail / mane nice and glossy. I was wondering if this is actually true and safe to use?
 
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I think there has been a post on here before about this. Surely NO!!Furniture polish is a horrible chemical (usually) which you are supposed to spray away from children, eyes, skin etc... so why use it on your horse? Maybe a pure beeswax one might be ok.
 
I'm not rushing out to spray my mare in furniture polish but I am curious. Its like a number of 'old wives tales' such as the well known one of people using engine oil on their horses hooves
 
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yaffsimone1 said:
I saw a very bizarre comment on one of the social network sites about people using furniture polish on their horses mane and tail. Especially the lavender scented one, apparently this keeps the flies away. I was wondering if this is actually true and safe to use?
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Ha I read the same one and thought mmmm not sure ... I cant see why it can not be used on a tail but not mane as near eyes / ears etc ... but I just buy kids detangler when I see it on special offer, smells nice and does the job just as well...
 
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I sometimes use it on the ends of the tail - it has silicon in it & as far as I can see the chemicals are not as nasty as those used in fly sprays. My own skin has come into contact with it on numerous occasions and I have never had any reaction to it at all.
 
Some people use it, just as some people use engine oil, washing powder and bleach on their horses.
I don't use anything I wouldn't put on my own skin, nails or hair.

For glossy and healthy, tangle free manes and tails, I use olive oil.
 
A guy on my last yard used it every bloody day. You couldn't be down wind or anywhere near the stables when he used it. It used to really irritate my throat and I had to make a hasty escape when he reached for it (sometimes with confused pony in tow!!). Didn't notice that it had fly repellent properties and it can't have been that great to need it every day (at least he applied it every day).
 
I use it as a detangler on the bottom of my boys tail, never had any problems with it - doesn't irritate my skin and isn't heavily scented and makes his tail all shiny and silky.
 
dogatemysalad said:
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For glossy and healthy, tangle free manes and tails, I use olive oil.
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I don't use oil in (white) tails as I find it just attracts the dirt that I have gone to such pains to wash out with net curtain whitener/vanish etc.

I rarely wash manes as I need them to be slightly dirty for plaiting and as I feed linseed anyway they already tend to be on the slippy side.
 
I've used furniture polish for years without any problems to my horses or my asthma. As for the nasty chemicals, when you use it in the house you are in contact with it then unless you use gloves to polish with. As for been down wind when spaying it sounds like the person using it used way too much and you dont have to use it daily as it keeps the tangles out for a good few days. But then your always going to get people who like and dislike things, (some without even trying them).
 
Have used it on mane, tail and in fact all over the horses coat for years with no issues whatsoever. The cheaper the polish the better and I don't use the scented stuff. Tesco Value is the one I've found best. Furniture polish is just spray silicone and if you look at the bottle of a horse detangler then you'll find it's exactly the same stuff but with added fragrance, preservatives and all sorts of rubbish in it. You are less likely to have a horse react to cheap furniture polish that you are the horse products.
 
nix123 said:
I've used furniture polish for years without any problems to my horses or my asthma. As for the nasty chemicals, when you use it in the house you are in contact with it then unless you use gloves to polish with. As for been down wind when spaying it sounds like the person using it used way too much and you dont have to use it daily as it keeps the tangles out for a good few days. But then your always going to get people who like and dislike things, (some without even trying them).
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I won't even have the horrible stuff in the house, never mind the stable! It makes my mouth and nose sore, even if someone else uses it, I wouldn't dream of putting it anywhere near the horses and can't see the point - there are plenty of versions of m&t conditioner on the market. We use a tea-tree based spray which works well and has the added bonus of repelling flies a bit.
 
I use it, Wood Silk, the one that has a top like a beehive. I don't use Pledge or Mr Sheen as they've now added all these cleaning agents that I don't want.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I won't even have the horrible stuff in the house, never mind the stable! It makes my mouth and nose sore, even if someone else uses it, I wouldn't dream of putting it anywhere near the horses and can't see the point - there are plenty of versions of m&t conditioner on the market. We use a tea-tree based spray which works well and has the added bonus of repelling flies a bit.
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A perfect example of the likes/dislikes. :), I would never dream of grooming or spraying anything inside my horses stable. Having groomed all the muck, grease, and poo onto my horses bed then expecting him to lie in it.
 
fburton said:
Do people really do this? Why??
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Its even made it on to wikiHow.

http://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-Good-Hoof-Care-on-Your-Horse
"If you horse has dry or cracking hooves, get some used motor oil(must be used) and put it in an old rain maker or hoof flex container put on the outer wall of the hoof (Don't put on bottom of hoof).once a week for 5 weeks and then every 2 weeks for as long as needed. Don't put on bottom of hoof."

Such precise instructions as well! lol

No idea what its supposed to do. I expect a cheap remedy based in what was around at the time, that appeared to work. All sorts is put on to and done to hooves. I sometimes wonder if people forget horses are living beings as opposed to lumps of wood!

ps. Just thought perhaps used oil being black makes hooves look nice?
 
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amandap said:
Its even made it on to wikiHow.

http://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-Good-Hoof-Care-on-Your-Horse
"If you horse has dry or cracking hooves, get some used motor oil(must be used) and put it in an old rain maker or hoof flex container put on the outer wall of the hoof (Don't put on bottom of hoof).once a week for 5 weeks and then every 2 weeks for as long as needed. Don't put on bottom of hoof."

Such precise instructions as well! lol

No idea what its supposed to do. I expect a cheap remedy based in what was around at the time, that appeared to work. All sorts is put on to and done to hooves. I sometimes wonder if people forget horses are living beings as opposed to lumps of wood!

ps. Just thought perhaps used oil being black makes hooves look nice?
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I believe it was used in the 50' and 60's when motor oil wasn't full of the nasty chemicals and additives it has today, people also used bleach to treat thrush and add raw egg / guinness to a horses feed for a nice coat. Back then they thought smoking was healthy too!
 
yaffsimone1 said:
I believe it was used in the 50' and 60's when motor oil wasn't full of the nasty chemicals and additives it has today, ...
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The fresh stuff may have been relatively harmless, but it's still going to get contaminated in the engine over time - including the stuff that makes it black.
 
fburton said:
The fresh stuff may have been relatively harmless, but it's still going to get contaminated in the engine over time - including the stuff that makes it black.
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Agreed, but it is the old black stuff, thicker the better that is apparently the one to use, not the fresh oil. Not for me, I will stick to the new oil Kevin Bacon have just introduced
 
This thing is hooves are perfectly able to maintain their own fluid balance provided the outer wall isn't rasped away. A bit like mane and tail hair, health is maintained by diet and overall skin health, hoof wall is skin aka keratin. Good diet = healthy body. Surely extra sheen is only needed for shows or special occasions... or are my standards too low perhaps? lol
 
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Yars ago I killed my room mate's pet rats by spraying too much furniture polish (not at them or on them, I was just clewaning the house). Therefore, my answer is no. If it can kill rats, it's not good for horses either.
 
I used to work on a lovely point to point and hunting yard. We were made to use furniture polish on the ends of their tails as a detangler. The horses all had beautiful tails, but I would not use it myself.
 
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