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Discussion on Secrets to keeping white horses clean in winter??
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Member:
kathrynr
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008 - 4:29 pm:
Ok I need help. I just spent the afternoon battling red clay mud off of a white horse. I have to say the mud won, he is not even close to white... This stuff is like Henna for goodness sake.
Do any of you have any great products that you use that might help me deal with this thru the cold winter? I spot bathed under a fleece today as best as I could. I feel myself heading down the blanket path to save my sanity.
I sure liked him better last year when he was still gray!
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008 - 8:30 pm:
Blankets, Kat, blankets. Smartpak has some reasonable ones and I just order new ones every year and give the old ones away.
Even when you think he's clean, when he sweats, it'll all come up to the surface again!
Erika
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 - 7:21 am:
Kat, there is NO maintaining your sanity during winter/mud season with a white horse . My mare (very white...when clean) is blanketed, but when I take the blanket off, you can see the dingy yellow color on her legs and neck in contrast to the still relatively clean body.
Weather permitting, spot cleaning is all you can do and I keep a bottle of Cowboy Magic cleaner on hand to get off the manure stains from when she lies down in her stall. Then I hope for a lot of clean snow as that does help somewhat. After that, the first 50+ degree day in the spring, come Hell or highwater, I take the day off from work and scrub the heck out of her!
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Member:
kathrynr
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 - 10:09 am:
So yes blankets will be the way to go. Last night I went down and put his old light fill one on before he could roll. He has such a heavy coat I didn't want to do this but alas my arms are actually sore from cleaning yesterday!
I haven't tried the Cowboy Magic, will give it a try, the Miracle Groom doesn't seem to do the trick. They sure are pretty when they are clean (for those 5 minutes.)
Thanks ladies!
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 - 10:32 am:
I don't have a white horse , but i have horses that love to roll in the mud.. there are some pictures somewhere on this site.. show me the mud , or something like that... I hate to blanket, so i just do a saddle brushing and ride a very dirty/ muddy horse... pretty? nope .. but a happy muddy horse.. no pictures please while i am riding like this..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 - 3:15 pm:
There used to be an excellent leave-in spray whitener by Red Rum, but I can't find it in the US anymore. It did a great job maintaining tails and manes in the winter when bathing is out. I tried to make my own out Mrs. Stewart's and Show Sheen, but that belongs in the "Horse of a Different Color" thread. Not one to repeat.
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New Member:
trnnbrn
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 - 7:02 pm:
Amen to the Cowboy Magic Green Spot Remover. I thought when I bought my current trailer, which has the painted aluminum on the inside (white), that I could get away from the aluminum stains. NOT! The green spot remover works great! For those with the pure white coat, you will see about a 99% improvement. Colors will see it all go away. Great stuff!
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 - 11:01 pm:
Ann, is there a horse that doesn't like to roll in the mud? Actually, in all the years I've owned horses (most of my life) I've had one horse that hated to be dirty. I LOVED her! Normally, the lighter the coat the more they like mud.
I keep blankets on the ones I normally ride, but they look like two tone horses, with green/brown legs, neck and heads, and relatively white or gray backs. At least I can get a saddle on them without too much work! The rest just look like brown pigs all winter, even tho' they get groomed several times a week.
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Member:
annes
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Posted on Friday, Dec 19, 2008 - 11:22 am:
I just put down a new load of fine gravel in and around my barn so the horses (two bay, one buckskin and one spotted) are all grey now....
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Member:
paul303
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Posted on Friday, Dec 19, 2008 - 11:39 pm:
OK, From many years of showing a paint and finding him on show mornings ( after a full day of scrub spit and polish the day before )....find him with deep green and yellow manure stains on belly, knees and hocks....I have a solution for spot cleaning - but ONLY spot cleaning.
Mix a thick slurry of cornstarch and peroxide - it turns into the weirdest mixture you've ever seen - and apply it to the worst stains. Let it dry throughly ( it has to stay on long enough, and mix it thick enough to slather on ). Brush and curry the rest of the horse. The mixture tends to separate, so get your hands in there and squish it back together again. By the time you're done with other cleaning, it might be dry. If it's not, STEP AWAY FROM THE HORSE. Come back later when it's dry, and just brush it off.
As far as the whole horse is concerned....in the winter....I've bought every promise advertized.....I'm still clueless. If you find a miracle, please let ME know.
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Member:
kathrynr
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 9:16 am:
Lee a cornstarch peroxide slurry now that is very interesting...
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 9:21 am:
I've been reading this, and trying not to type this, but...WHY do we care if our horses are dirty in the winter? I figure it all helps with insulation, and they know best. They roll in the mud, roll in the snow. Of course it's a pain to brush dried off mud before riding, but year round I often just brush well where the saddle goes. It's like riding days, are quick groom days, and then there are "grooming" days, where they get the whole spa treatment.
And baths? Well, they get hosed off when it's really hot after a ride, but no shampoo. Maybe once a year on a 90 degree day.
guess I am not OCD about the clean horse stuff!
Oh well, some you have very lucky CLEAN WHITE horses I guess, and that's o.k.!
On a side note here, we have chocolate lab in the house. He LOVES his baths in the shower with one of us, (A friend who has one takes him through the car wash, the kind you hold the nozzles...might work on your muddy horses, lol! Just make sure the trailer has good drainage?) I keep a container of baking soda mixed 50/50 with cornstarch that we work into his coat and brush/vacuum out. He also loves being vacuumed! He is cleaner and deodorized in minutes. And the good oils hopefully aren't stripped away like they would be with bathing.
Just thought of one more thing: There are whitening products for dogs (Used to have American Eskimo/Spitz dogs)I am thinking there is a foam in product that is used without water. Maybe check the dog shampoo out, you will find some but can't say for sure if the dry ones are for white coats. My daughter "washes" teh cats with that stuff, now we'll try it on the horses.
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 10:37 am:
Angie says, "WHY do we care if our horses are dirty in the winter?"
Angie, I asked myself that same thing the other day when I was out untangling Sugar's long mane in the cold--can't wear gloves for that work. I was sponging on Showsheen to get the knots out, and I could barely feel my fingers by the time I finished.
Sometimes, you just gotta look good!
Erika
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 10:57 am:
Well if you clinic the horse, it's embarrassing to bring him or her dirty. And if you plan to compete the horse, it's sometimes easier to keep after the mane and tail than let it go and deal with staining in competition season.
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 11:09 am:
Erika, I know I sound like a salesman for Cowboy Magic, and I honestly don't own stock in the company (though I probably should!) I found their detangler worked a lot better than the Show Sheen and I used less of it. Your fingers still get cold, though. Also, I found that loosly braiding their manes heled IF they don't rub. And, mine don't unless they get braided too tightly.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 12:11 pm:
Erika,
I agree with Sara on the Cowboy Magic, Tango has that wonderful Friesian mane & tail, and that works wonders. Show Sheen is not as good IMO. I've used baby oil also, but it's greasier and messier.
I should back track a bit and add that caked on mud is not insulating, and grooming is needed to keep a horse warm.
Elizabeth,
yup, easier to keep up with keeping the horse clean than try to do it all at once. Back to Tango again, he tends to poo on his tail for some reason, and THAT is a royal pain to detangle any time of the year! And if I don't use the Cowboy Magic and really comb it out on a regular basis, it's a nightmare.
BTW, there is another product out there, some kind of skin shield that comes out like hair mousse, and if you work that into your own hands before working in the cold it really helps to keep you hands warm. My old hoof guy used to use it, my hubby has it at work; I'll see if he can find out what it's called.
I could use some today, I need to trim as soon as hubby leaves for work, and although the thermometer says 20 something, I ain't fooled!!!
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 2:51 pm:
I like Vetrolin spray for detangling manes & tails.
Another reason to groom regularly is that when you thoroughly groom, it gives you a chance to get your hands on every inch of the horse, looking for little things that if not tended to could become big problems. Neurotic or not, I caught one tiny little spot of scratches this fall. Came home, looked up DrOs reco'd treatment, went to the store for supplies and started treating. Had I not brushed off all the mud on the one small pink spot above one hoof, I might have missed it. Warned the other owners with white legged horses to keep an eye out. It appears as if those horses had it first and it was missed. By the time the mud was groomed off & checked, three horses had really bad cases that took weeks of treatment.
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Member:
kathrynr
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 6:15 pm:
I also found another ingenious product call Tail Buckets that let's you wash the tail without you or the horse getting wet. it's a plastic bag - tail shaped with a velcro that holds it up at the top of the tail and you fill it partially with water and shampoo - squish to clean - and then cut the bottom off and put the hose in and rinse thru.
Ingenious, I wish I had thought of it first!!
Side not:I hope all of you made it thru all that snow ok?
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 6:49 pm:
Wow! Where did you find that? What a great idea! I wonder if a thick large baggie or small garbage bag would work the same way? It sounds much better than putting on my rain gear and boots every time I need to wash a tail in the winter! I have warm water at the barn, but by the time I'm done washing and rinsing it feels like ice.
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Member:
paul303
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 11:20 pm:
Another vote for Cowboy Magic, here.
Angie: GET THE NAME OF THAT SKIN STUFF!!
KatR: Tail Buckets, Tail Buckets, QUICK where do
I get me some of those!?!
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 - 12:57 am:
Hey, I found the Tail Buckets on line: https://www.sporthorseproducts.com/tail-buckets-horse-tail-grooming.html
Now, if someone would just come up with something for manes. Or, better yet, a quick wash system for the whole horse!
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 - 9:11 am:
Wow, the Tailbuckets are ingenious - might have to get me one of those!
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 - 9:57 am:
Lee,
Brian is on midnights and didn't find that stuff at work yet; he'll look again tonight for a can of it and I'll get the name and manufactor.
I googled industrial use skin protectants, and got a few interesting links. Basically, anything that is labeled to protect your skin from chemicals. I remember when I used it, my hands were so clean and smelled so good after handling hoofs! So it's not a "Skin Warmer" per say, but rather it protects against irritants, and the protective layer does help your hands stay warm and clean. Sorry if I made it sound like a miracle hand keeper-warmer!
But, it's still worth using a protect like that. My hoof guys hands used to be toasty warm the while mine were cold in gloves!
Loved the tailbuckets, I think Tango may get a Christmas present! (Mr. Poopy Tail)
https://dermaguard.com.au/
https://www.jackstoolshed.zoovy.com/product/53763/Lincoln_Professional_Mechanics_ Miracle_Hand_Lotion__Skin_Protector__Grease_Oil_Barrier.html
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Member:
lilo
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 - 10:09 am:
I read somewhere that one can use the plastic bags the newspaper comes in in a similar fashion. Of course, since one has to cut the bottom to rinse, one could use it only once - so the tailbag might be a good investment.
Lilo
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Member:
paul303
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 - 8:29 pm:
Hey, hey, hey! Gonna get me some tail buckets!!! Thanks so much!!!!!
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Member:
corinne
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Posted on Monday, Dec 22, 2008 - 1:09 pm:
Oh on a dirty white tail use some diluted downy it really cuts through bilogicals! Can't say I have the same problem with my grey Demetrius. The boy is a white Diva! He hates the mud and just doesn't go near it.
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