what products do you use?

[llloyds12]

am hoping to show bailey, my 18mnth old coloured cob h/w gelding this year and would like to know what products you use to get very hairy dirty feathers clean and white and also mane and tail products please. have been looking already as want to start having some practice runs with hose etc and see what products work best on him for scrubbing up. many thanks

[XenaWarriorPrincess]

Gold label shampoo for white horses is the best ive used, only need a tiny bit. I used baby shampoo for the first wash then the gold label stuff.
Then i chalk up the legs whilst still fairly damp, have got some gold label stuff that you make into a paste for this year though! And bandage legs.
In the morning take bandages off, brush out, then bandage back up again and put travel boots over the top. If there are any stains on the legs use cowboy magic greenspot remover the chalk again and then bandage.
At the show dont remove the bandages until the last minute!! Then brush out and fluff!!

Like apple said always use warm water, much nicer and gets them cleaner!
I tend not to plait mane and tail after washing as it crinkles and i dont like it...i wait until they are dry and bandage the tail up and use a hood for the mane.

And dont forget the pics

[amandaxx1]

The best shampoo Ive ever used for white bits is Champion shampoo, its in a white bottle and the actual shampoo is purple, its not an expensive one either.

My horse had a black/ brown/ a bit chestnut lol coloured tail so obviously i dont have to worry about it coming up white like a lot of people with coloured cobs, but it does get very dirty and muddy/ poo covered and is sooo thick. The best thing I have found for his tail is washing up liquid, but like I say his tail isnt white lol

[lozy]

Absorbine- you cannot beat their products.

[Smurf]

Originally Posted by Apple

Firstly use whatever shampoo is on offer in Tesco, or something with tea-tree in if you can find it, then Ariel Excel Gel, then conditioner... sometimes with a bit of Quicsilver whitening shampoo if he's really grubby. Always use warm water!! Then plaster manes, tails and feathers in Absorbine Show Sheen, comb through and fluff up. Plait the tail and put it in a bad if you've got one, plait the mane in big THICK plaits so they don't look too frizzy, and put a lycra hood on over night. Wrap the back legs if necessary.

Then in the morning, rinse any stains and use some Ariel gel to get them off... trying not to get the feathers too wet as they may struggle to dry. Then if they still aren't sparkly white, chalk or talc thrown over them should do the trick. Careful they aren't wet when you do this though or they'll go all lank... It makes a mega mess on the floor too, lol.

Always travel in travel boots, on the backs at least, because that's where they'll poo all down their nice clean legs, lol. Then a bit of baby oil on the nose and around the eyes when you get there... brush the mane and tail out, brush the feathers out and brush upwards to make them look thicker, and ta daaa... one hairy cob ready to melt hearts!

Apple, you have that down to a tee!!

I was gonna say when I used to show a skewbald i used warm water and washing up liquid (worked brilliantly!), coat shine all over, mane and tail conditioner, plaited up manes and tails. Kept in overnight and in the morning sponged off and stable stains and used a chalk block just before showing. I also put a very lightweight rug on overnight to minimise stains as well as tying up the tail whilst travelling avoiding any mess. It was some routine!