Wits end with yellow tail!!

I use washing up liquid first (not on the dock) then touch of silver shampoo (there's a stronger weekly one) all over. Leave it on for a good 10 mins. Rinse well then I use net curtain whitener on the bottom only, it's dirt cheap so don't skimp, leave for a couple of mins then rinse well and use a conditioner. It will dry whiter than it looks wet.
 
Kezzabell2 said:
Purple shampoo!

In hairdressing to remove yellow/brassy tones from a blonde persons hair, a purple/violet shampoo is used! it is the opposite colour on the colour chart!
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I was just about to say this. I use the lush violet one, it's fab.
NeverSayNever said:
thanks,will the purple stuff be any different to the blue shampoo for greys I ve used already?
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It's totally different. The bluey stuff is ok for washing a body, cowboy magic for stable stains, but you need proper purple shampoo for a stained tail. The violet tone from lush looks black in the bottle it's so dark. When you pour it onto the hair you think it will be dyed deep purple for ever! But the lift it gives to the colour is fab. takes away all brassy and yellow tones. And it's just shampoo so no worries about harsh chemicals.

Try a proper purple shampoo first. Before dabbling into the chemistry set ;)
 
Chop the tail nice and short for the winter. Give it one final wash and condition, give it a good spray with show sheen, and comb out with your fingers.

All you need to do then is keep on top of it with the show sheen and your fingers for the next several weeks, until you can he bothered to wash it again - and then repeat.
 
Resurrecting this old post as there's quite a few good tips on here. Having a nightmare with Ellie's tail, moved to our new yard a few weeks ago and it has a wash room (so much easier than endless boiled kettles!) and I'm determined to get on top of her tail.

Made a start last week, washed it a few times with fairy liquid and managed to get all the crusted poo out - some hairs looked black it was that caked on! Did a couple of washes with a generic blue shampoo that I'd picked up a while ago, didn't really make much difference to the staining. Tried Cowboy Magic Yellow Out on Sunday, did two washed with it and I honestly can't see much improvement. I think the staining is too bad, it's more of an ingrained deep brassy colour than a yellow :(

Couldn't find any net whitener in tesco yesterday, going to try asda this afternoon. Failing that, I'll pick up some denture tablets or daz.

Slowly losing the will to live and my arms may fall off from all the scrubbing, lol......Any further tips would be very much appreciated.
 
I've always used Tesco bio liquid, pour quite a dollop on neat and scrub for a few minutes. I have 2 greys and only wash once, obviously not on the dock and keep away from the hind legs. Then rinse well and...hey presto! White tail.
 
tomato ketchup works well
during
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after
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...568471.-2207520000.1450790104.&type=3&theater
She is cream dun so does have a yellow tail
 
Tomato ketchup (or a can of tomato juice) does actually work. The purple shampoos are also a good way of keeping a white tail white after you've de-peed it. I have had grey (and pure white) display horses for many years and the ketchup trick means I can get a horse ready for an outing straight from the field in about 45 mins. Some younger, darker greys do have a naturally yellowish tail 'tho,
 
Keeping it in good condition helps, but you don't want an oily conditioner. I find megatek quite good. I mix it 50-50 with water and put it in a spray bottle.

I've tried them all over the years. Washing powder, bicarb, vinegar, whitening shampoos, steradent, fairy liquid, the lot. I find washing and conditioning regularly is the best way. There's no miracle one-wash ingredient, just keeping going with it. The yellow seems to fade a bit more with each wash. Tail bags made a huge difference as they weren't getting any dirtier between washes and the tail seems to grow more quickly (assume by not getting caught on things and snapping) so you can cut more yellow off too!
 
better do the after one then thought I had editted it
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She is a a cream pony so has a golden coloured tail but ketchup made it much much cleaner
 
Ketchup does really work.
Using lots of conditioner when the tail is clean and lots cowboy magic does stop them getting so dirty .

I got a bit carried away with the blue rinse and we had a blue tailed ID for a fortnight .
 
Not read the whole thread but have you tried ketchup? It really does work! Tried it on a friends grey Andalusian, who is all but technically white, and was amazed at how much staining it got out of his tail
 
Zebedee said:
You were on the right track with the hot water & fairy non bio, but what you should have used was an Ariel bio capsule / or some vanish. Get the water very hot, grasp the tail as the end of the dock to ensure it doesn't go in, & dunk the rest of it, swishing it around in the water. Don't condition until the tail is the colour you want it to be as the conditioner acts as a kind of a laminate & will stop whatever cleaning agent from doing it's job as efficiently as it might. I speak as the owner of a coloured cob with a white tail who we used to show at county level, and I can assure you that his tail was never anything less than thick & full, and still is - he's now 22 :)
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This is also my go to for white tails
 
hihosilver said:
Maybe the tail is naturally yellow not white?
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I was thinking this too, it's possible the hair isn't naturally white. My boy has a mix of white, brown, black, and poo stained, so it won't ever be sparkly white (although I confess I'm not fussed unless we're on an outing so I tend not to wash it!).
 
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This pic is about 6 weeks old but we're still at this stage ish. I've held off cutting it because the thought of it makes me a bit sad but I'm going to be brave and take a few inches off tonight :( Then do a few more washes tomorrow and a ketchup rinse then stick her tailgator on and leave it for a few weeks, I'm getting a bit disheartened with it now!

Thanks for all your suggestions :)
 
Haven't gone thru all the other replies, so apols if repeating:

Brush to remove mud.
Wash in warm water & shampoo.
Rinse. Re-shampoo the ends.
Soak in 8 denture tablets in half a bucket of warm water for 10 mins. Rinse.
Apply (human) conditioner. Rinse.
When turning out, plait the tail & apply a tail bag.

Repeat all the above every week & eventually the tail will become white & stay white. The conditioner seems to help to repel dirt.

The easiest way to maintain a tail? Sell the grey & buy a bay... The joy of water running down my sleeves on a cold, dark morning is now a distant memory. :-)

T x
 
If you are going to use tomato ketchup/juice don't just rinse with it, you will need to apply it and leave for 20 - 30mins, then wash it out and shampoo. I'd also suggest washing the tail in ordinary shampoo first, then letting the tomatoes do their magic. Good luck!
 
catembi said:
The easiest way to maintain a tail? Sell the grey & buy a bay... The joy of water running down my sleeves on a cold, dark morning is now a distant memory. :-)

T x
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Sorry this made me chuckle! I always said I'd sell my pony when he reached the milkman pony stage. Still got him after 21 years! :D
 
NeverSayNever said:
I know this has been asked before and I have searched through old threads but would just love to hear if there is anything I am missing!

I bought a new pony a month or so ago, a grey, arrgh! Her tail was a disgusting mucky yellow and I’ve been trying and trying to get it clean and failing. So far I have washed it with gallop blue shampoo for greys, that did nothing. Have also washed it every week with Fairy Platinum since I got her, again, no difference. I’ve tried white vinegar and aside from making the stable smell like a chip shop, the yellow clung on for dear life! This week I filled a bucket with very hot water, added a Fairy NonBio capsule and some vanish and ‘soaked’ the end of the tail for 10 mins.... nothing! Still yellow! Now Im aware that I don’t want to strip the hair and damage it and have been rinsing very well and conditioning. I also use a tail bag for turnout and have snipped as much as I dare off the bottom as well. Is there anything else I can try? Thanks!
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In the old days through to the present we always used http://www.amazon.co.uk/Absorbine-ShowClean-Mane-Tail-Whitener/dp/B007YZLDLY
 
Ok, really dumb question - when people say "soak for 10 minutes ..." does that mean you are standing there holding a bucket or is there a secret to that too .....
 
HGA-12 said:
In the old days through to the present we always used http://www.amazon.co.uk/Absorbine-ShowClean-Mane-Tail-Whitener/dp/B007YZLDLY
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I use this! It says use after shampooing but it just froths everywhere. What I do is wash with blue shampoo, rinse, leave until nearly dry (swinging it round helps) and then apply this, plait and leave overnight. Wash out next morning and then wash again.

Sounds like a faff and it so now I have Saturday as 'tail washing day' and do it weekly. Once clean I spray with pig oil and then plait again. When I ride I undo it and brush it out. Oil stops the mud sticking to it and plaiting it seems to keep my (disgustingly filthy) greys tail poo free. If only I could do it in summer!!

My lads tail is the bane of my life-we don't even show I just hate a dirty tail!!!
I do get a few comments about his beautiful wavy tail when out riding though haha
 
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