# Keeping a grey clean!!??/ Quick grooming tips



## horsegirl2016 (Sep 17, 2016)

I have a gorgeous grey mare and she is the hardest thing ever to keep clean. She loves rolling and always rolls in the muddiest patch of the field. I am fed up of this as i spend nearly two hours grooming her to get all the muck off her coat. This is my first grey horse and I've owned mainly chestnuts in the past who you could never spot a simple grass stain on.

I would appreciate some tips/hacks on how to make my life easier with my grey mare and save me some time. Thank you!


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

welcome to your new full time job! apart from preventing her access to said muddy spots or blanketing the only thing that can help is whiting shampoo and elbow grease.

this is from someone who owns a paint with 4 white legs... this is a vary rare pic of his legs being WHITE NOT GREEN! (or yellow)


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## horsegirl2016 (Sep 17, 2016)

KigerQueen said:


> welcome to your new full time job! apart from preventing her access to said muddy spots or blanketing the only thing that can help is whiting shampoo and elbow grease.
> 
> this is from someone who owns a paint with 4 white legs... this is a vary rare pic of his legs being WHITE NOT GREEN! (or yellow)


Thank you! The only problem is I can't use shampoo during winter as I don't have the facilities to have warm water or a warm place for her to dry and I don't even own a rug! I'd be anxious of her getting a chill. But thank you anyway!


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## Blue (Sep 4, 2011)

I have a grey mare as well who's favorite past time is rolling in mud. I've found in winter the best I can do is let it semi dry and then use a good curry comb to break it up and brush away. She'll still look dingy and discolored but clean enough to ride. Until spring sunshine when it's better to clean them up and dry in the sun it's the best I can do. 

p.s. I only use shampoo (Vetrolyn whitening) on her legs and mane and tail. A nice spray with a "magic wand" does well on her body.

The one year that I needed her clean for an event I used my portable "hot washer" and then dried her as much as possible with towels. Then threw a cotton sheet on her until she was dry. In fact I left that sheet on until we arrived at our event knowing the first thing she was going to do was roll.:icon_frown:


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## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

Yup, light colored horses are extremely difficult to keep clean. At some level, you just have to ask, "is it worth it?" If you aren't in a show or need her sparkling clean, just keep her clean enough that she's healthy and comfortable to ride. My paint mare is hardly ever white, white, but kind of a yellowish-white. The blanket in the winter months helps a lot, as well as the fact that the ground is frozen and covered in snow so she can't roll in anything. Unless she rolled in snow...which is normally white so it's fine :mrgreen:

I remember coming across a thread similar to this, but specifically for keeping paints white. Here it is: http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/white-horse-parts-pieces-732906/


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Blanketing. Blanketing, blanketing, blanketing. 

Harley is a grey Arabian who gets filthy. After spending all of last winter trying to scrub him clean without being able to wash him (it's too cold here), I decided to at least blanket him at night. At least I only have manure and urine stains on his legs, belly, neck and face now. During the day, he's outside and there's snow so I don't care if he rolls. If it's cold that day, I just leave the blanket on, but on days when it warms up a bit, I take it off so he can shake his coat out and have a good roll in the snow.


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## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

A good fat supplement(or high enough fat in your grain) and to make sure you are feeding a good feed for a balanced vitamin/mineral package, plenty of protein. This is important. Inner glow comes from within. Flax is wonderful. I love Glanzen3. 

Regular grooming with elbow grease is imperative!!!

Then I like to use a good regular spritz of cowboy magic to help repel stains. Particular on legs. 

I love lucky braids shampoo and whitener. 

Blanketing helps a lot.


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## Shilohthewildhorse (Oct 21, 2016)

I use White Knight shampoo on my horse (he is black and white) and it works WONDERFULLY. When I don't bath him I use a small plastic brush on him. It's similar to a curry comb, but not quite. The bristles are plastic - not metal. The brush is in the shape of an oval and has plastic bristles over the whole thing. It's works amazingly well. Sometimes you can't even tell he was muddy after I have brushed him! That is the only brush I've found to work that well. Even curry combs don't do as good a job. I'll try to get a picture of the brush later today to show you what it looks like.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Wait until your grey horse is completely white, like mine! Then no dirt spot passes as hair that has not turned white yet!
I don't worry about how Charlie looks around home , or trail riding, far as being completely spotless.
Thus, I resign myself to extra time in the wash rack, when I do wash her for a show, plus keep lots of Cowboy Magic on hand, for those spots that still appear, next morning, even when double blanketed over night, and with no time to take her back to the wash area

Here is Charlie, all 16.2hh of white !





And, Charlie in work look


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## AlmariFarms (Jan 7, 2017)

I have Paint horses, and it is impossible to keep them clean all the time, thank goodness for blankets! My boy is a Grey Tobiano and most of the time I keep him with a full body slinky and blankets most of winter and his slinky and fly sheet in the summer. I've found regular grooming to bring the oils out in his top coat helps deflect some of the muck. But all in all, I must rely on Goop, Vinegar and whitening/purple shampoo's to clean him up before show time. And the morning of the show always results in deep sighs as the night before they were prepped and spotless only to find some sort of stain on them the next morning, Haha, it was much easier when we had our dark/solid Quarter Horses!


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Learn to embrace the stains and laugh it off. We have 4 greys who prefer to create their own camo of mud and grass stains. A non-horsey friend once asked me, after meeting my mare, what the technical name for a white horse with an orange tail was - my answer of 'filthy' took a minute to process.

I use a shop vac to help clear away the debris left after currying, so at least I am not just rubbing the dirt around. This time of year there isn't much else to do. In the warmer months, I simply hose before and after I ride.


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## 3Horses2DogsandaCat (Apr 19, 2016)

You have gotten a lot of good advice, but I don't think anyone has mentioned Absorbine Miracle Groom Bath in a Bottle. I use it in the winter when I can't bathe my horses. I usually curry, brush, spray on Miracle Groom and brush again. It really helps get the major stains off.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

If I'm not showing, I have resigned not to try.

I have a palomino going grey right now who is basically impossible. I have also had paints, not fun either. I do their tails every couple weeks and braid them up in socks, and I braid their manes, but other then that I just resign myself to having yellow and brown horses instead of white ones, until it is time to go to a show.

When I do wash, though, I use White N Bright shampoo (Available at any tack store) and tide detergent for the mains and tails. I finish with a good conditioner (Like mane n tail or if it's really dry, I'll use my own Redken.) And coconut oil. To add more show ring shine I lightly run my fingers through with some Vetrolin detangler, as it's more oily and won't dry out the hair like show sheen or laser sheen sprays. 

Beyond that, I usually don't do anything. If I have to bathe though, I just use hot water and cover them up solid in fleece afterwards until they are dry. You can always run a hose from your kitchen/bathroom/laundry room sink out a door or window if you don't have hot water in the barn.


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## StephaniHren (Jan 7, 2016)

As someone with a paint of my own... yep, everyone's right, the only way to keep them clean is to stall and blanket with a sheet whenever they get turnout, and even then their legs/neck/face are subject to the mud. Honestly, just give them time to dry and curry them out really well and you'll be good enough to ride.


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## Giramarita (Jun 11, 2017)

I was a show groom for awhile and I would bath using ivory dish soap. It always worked great. But I found there was always the last few spots were they have smeared poop on there face right before the show ring..... for that " quick fix" I would spray the spot with isopropyl alcohol then use a gel scrubby ( the soft scrub with the fine bristles) use a bunch of elbow grease then wipe with a dry towel using a bit of elbow grease for that as well it dried quick and removed the stains. That being said this technique I use in case of emergency as isopropyl alcohol can dry out the skin.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Giramarita said:


> I was a show groom for awhile and I would bath using ivory dish soap. It always worked great. But I found there was always the last few spots were they have smeared poop on there face right before the show ring..... for that " quick fix" I would spray the spot with isopropyl alcohol then use a gel scrubby ( the soft scrub with the fine bristles) use a bunch of elbow grease then wipe with a dry towel using a bit of elbow grease for that as well it dried quick and removed the stains. That being said this technique I use in case of emergency as isopropyl alcohol can dry out the skin.


Interesting tip! I wouldn't use it a lot either, but in a pinch... something to tuck into my back pocket! My grey has a white blaze down his face (pink skin from between his eyes to most of his muzzle) and it's so hard to keep clean. Also, manure and urine stains are the total worst. I can deal with mud, but manure stains and is sticky!


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## Giramarita (Jun 11, 2017)

For the face or sensitive areas I just spray the scrubby not the area. But this technique saved my butt more times than I can count. I would try doing it at least once before heading to the show. But it works on legs and everything you may need the hunter ring is unforgiving and the ponies have to be 100% perfect. What makes it great for emergencies is the quick trying time once dry run a brush over won't ven be able to tell you had to do a touch up.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

It si not so much keeping them clean, but getting them clean when it counts!
Charlie is at maximum expression of grey, ie , white. She is also16.2hh. I thus never worry about keeping her clean, just in getting her clean when I need to
Yes, you can blanket, which helps, but ultimately, just resign yourself to at least twice the time in the wash racks,when you need that horse to be clean. Don't forget to double blanket, do that 10 PM check, and remove all poop from that stall, and still be resigned to another quick trip to the wash rack in the morning, plus take out shares in Cowboy Magic, LOL!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

StephaniHren said:


> As someone with a paint of my own... yep, everyone's right, the only way to keep them clean is to stall and blanket with a sheet whenever they get turnout, and even then their legs/neck/face are subject to the mud. Honestly, just give them time to dry and curry them out really well and you'll be good enough to ride.


Well, with your horse you can get away with some dirt,as hard to tell that from some of his markings! Try a pure white horse!


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