[Vix]

I'm honestly not thinking about it, but I am very much regretting getting a mostly white horse with show season up and running.

I need help from the rest of you paint/white horse owners.

What is your routine to make sure your horse is sparkling clean on show day?

Here is mine, please feel free to add things I missed, or let me know other products you've used.

Daily:
- elbow grease

Week before the show:
- Bath with plain water to get gunk and dust out, squeeqe clean, braid mane and tail

Night before the show:
- Bath with Quic Silver, spot treat with vinegar and water, squeeqe clean, rebraid mane, leave tail loose, throw on slinky and sheet

Morning of show:
-Spot treat any urine/manure stains with green spot remover and HOT towels
-Touch up with Shapleys white spray

We ended up like this but let me tell you, the morning of the show was panicked, she stained so bad overnight.





So please please share any tips you have! We have another show coming up on the 7th and I'd like to make it a little more stress free.

Thanks!

[APatchOfHeaven]

My pony is COMPLETELY white, so I know how you feel! Lol. Though I haven't been into showing seeing how I can't ride. The most I ever did was bathe him with shampoos made for greys/white horses and I kept a sleazy and a light sheet on him in a stall the night before.

And I spray him with Show Sheen after his bath. Also, Cowboy Magic works well. When he has green spots or any other stains, I used Cowboy Magic or Miracle Groom with a cloth I got from stateline tack that really helps! The cloth alone will help get him clean. I can't seem to find it and I don't remember what brand it is. They came in packs of two and they are colored. =/ I'm sure any kind would work though.




Those pics are from a show last summer.

And this is after a bath a few weeks ago..He wasn't shed out and I didn't try very hard, so he still looks gross. lol. I only washed his legs, I think...But I couldn't get the stains out.

[Chester]

ARGH. Grey horses. I have given thought before to dying them black.

Here is our grey



The same horse 2 days later.



Would you believe that under that shiny white horse he is PINK. He had sweated in the stall and his rug had stained him that pretty colour. We could not get it out in time for him to be in the ring so I painted the whole horse with makeup. I had to blend white and black to get a not stark white colour. It does go on easier and smoother if the horse is damp and your cloth you are using is pretty damp too. Other wise it is too thick to apply evenly.

Normally we just scrub very well, then scrub again. Use laundry blue in the rinse water.

I have also dyed his bites from playing with the other horses that come back black. I used the same dye that we would on ourselves.

[Hunter-Eq Rider]

The whole week before I show I wash her tail every single day,Then 2days before the show I give her a bath on both days with Quick silver, On show day I use stain remover and a sponge to get off the stains, and thats pretty much it!!

[naughtygirl]

Those are some clean greys!!
Very impressive!

[Hunter-Eq Rider]

hehe oh and BTW Jessie has a fake tail in that picture!!! :]

[Vix]

I knew I couldn't be the only one out there with this problem!

APOH - Looks like your system works great! I have Cowboy Magic Green Spot but for some reason it doesn't seem to work that great for me unless I combine it with HOT towels and scrub like crazy.

Chester - Oh no, pink?! And here I was worried when I got distracted rinsing out Mocha's quic silver...she was almost blue! Glad the cover up worked!

But laundry blue? I know bluing shampoos work great but explain that one to me, it sounds like a good idea.

Hunter/EQ -

Quic Silver works great doesn't it? I LOVE that shampoo except I keep forgetting to spot treat with it before I wash the rest of her.

Does anyone use oxyclean or tide to spot treat? A few people recommended those to me but I wasn't sure about them.

Great ideas everybody, keep them coming!

[Chester]

Laundry blue is available in the same aisle as your laundry detergent. It could be sold as blueo. It is the same stuff that makes your purple shampoos. It is an old product that is used to make those whites just that little whiter.

I add about half a capfull, it is a small bottle, to a bucket of water and then sponge it over as a final rinse. Also swish the tail around in it.

[Madamoiselle]

I don't have a grey-but I used to lease one, and my friend has a very very white red-roan, and I've grown up around appys.

Orvus and Ivory dish soap(the liquid) are both really good for getting stains out. Lemon juice will also help get stains out. They also make pony makeup! It's not neccessarily ideal to use on the whole body-I mean you can(lol, Chester) I imagine it'll take a loong time, but for socks and markings, it's faaabulous.

[NovDressageRdr]

I love greys and whites theyre pretty when clean but a pain to keep that way. I use orvus which lasts forever and Oster show white shampoo mixed together. In extreme cases I will dowse my horse in WOW! if shes utterly filthy before presenting her in public.