[cowgirl8792]

My friend wants to dye her horses mane for county fair. And we were both wondering how we could go about doing it. So.....

1) what bleach do you use on your horses mane and tail?

2)can you dye their mane and tail an actual color like green or blue?

3)If so what dye do you use for that?

Thanks for any help!

[Vegashorselady]

I don't know about bleaching a horse, I don't think I'd go that far. But, I have a light gray and I've used food coloring to dye her. I died her pink last year from head to toe with it for easter, lol. It washes right out when you're done with it.

[Lopinslow]

going lighter, (bleaching blonde/flaxen, etc) is NOT recommended, as it usually turns orange.
many years ago, a friend was taking her horse to the paint world and a section of mane that grew back in from being rubbed came in sorrel, and the horse had a flaxen mane and tail. SO, she paid a professional hairdresser to come out and bleach that 4-5" section of mane. even with a professional, and using professional products it STILL turned out an awful orange color... so, i would definately NEVER, EVER try it myself

i've seen many a tail dyed (darker, basically to even out color) with regular old human hair dye, but i would think doing a main would be difficult, because i can't see how you could ONLY get the color in the mane and not on the horse itself.

[Just Bitten]

I had a bay with a burnt mane and tail.I dyed it black with human dye.worked fine.BUT one time i did it and he pitched a fit and by the end of it he had black all over him.so be warned if your horse doesnt stay still.But as far has green or blue i wouldnt do it but thats just me.I would die if my horse was stuck with a blue tail!

[Just Bitten]

Also at a open show this man(he was drunk to) tried to get me to bleach my horses tail.He had high dollar halter horse to.you can tail he bleached the tail because it was dry and barely reached the hocks.My mares sorrel tail actually has alot of black in it but its long and thick to.

[lbandrew]

I had a friend who used to put Thrush Buster on her palomino's tail and swore by it... uh.. personally, that doesn't sound like a good idea to me, but I've heard that gentian violet (ingredient in the purple thrush stuff) helps get the yellow out of tails. Sort of like that purple shampoo, but extremely concentrated and more effective. A friend of mine bleached her hair and used gentian violet to help turn it white.

IMHO I don't see a problem with bleaching a horses tail/mane... other than the fact that it'll probably turn yellow, rather than white. And especially on the mane, you should probably make sure that the bleach does not come in contact with the skin as it can cause blisters and kill the hair follicles.

[AintNoSaint]

My sister had a horse with an unusually colored tail. He was sorrel with a flaxen mane, and his tail was a mix of sorrel, flaxen, silver, and black. He needed to wear a tail extension when he was shown, and the closest they could find to match was a flaxen tail extension. They had a professional hairdresser come out and do foils with bleach on the tail and got it to match the extension. Worked well for them.

[RacePony007]

They have special horse mane color spray for manes and tails!!!!!!

[sassyraspberry]

I am a licensed cosmetologist....DO NOT BLEACH YOUR HORSE'S MANE, TAIL, OR ANYTHING!!!! You have no idea how hard bleach is on the skin if left on too long, and not all bleaches are formulated to be used up against the skin. It would have to touch the skin in order to get all the way to the root.

Yes, it will turn ORANGE! You cannot buy product strong enough to get it above the orange stage, and even if you could buy the stronger professional products, it still probably would not get much above orange. The hair is too thick and coarse for the bleach to penetrate completely.

Please don't ever play with products like this on your horse. Serious chemical burns can result very easily, and you will only end up with a big mess on your hands. If you need a crazy color use the spray in stuff that can be washed out.