Asking for a friend who is now doing Western Dressage at Fourth Level successfully. On a grey horse. He is new to grooming for shows.
I’m trying to get him to groom better for the arena
His horse is grey but lives on red clay, which can stain his legs and tail. What products do you recommend to clean up a grey horse and get rid of red clay stains?
Thanks!
Rubbing alcohol and a rag! Day to day it’s a fine balance of clean vs not causing skin issues based on climate.
For the tail I use quick silver and if I’m concerned before a show I’ll put it in a tail bag.
Thanks, he bathed his horse in Dawn for the last show and I reminded him that I used to use Dawn to clean oiled seabirds. It’s harsh. I bought him Pert Plus which is shampoo and conditioner. So even if he uses rubbing alcohol, he can apply a more skin-friendly product.
Quick silver could be an option, a tail bag is not (knowing this guy). I’m trying to ease him into a good grooming routine because he has goals. Serious grooming is not in his bag but is very much in mine.
Thanks!
Rubbing alcohol is for the quick rub down. Like damn he has a pee spot! So instead of bathing rubbing alcohol and a rag. Cactus cloth is even better. The best for spot cleaning.
Normal bathing I use suave. For whitening I use whitening products. So long as he keeps on top of the tail he will be fine.
I’ve never owned a grey because I groomed for too many people who own them! 
What whitening products do you use and do you like them?
I usually do a full bath (sometimes more than one round) with something inexpensive-- either Dawn or Orvis. Then I do a blue rinse with Mrs. Stewart’s Laundry Blueing – just a few drops in a five gallon bucket, if you use too much it can turn them blue.
Generally I get one side wet and soaped up, rinse, reapply soap directly to any problem areas and to the tail, and let that sit while I do the second side. Then I rinse the first side, then the tail, then the second side, then I do the blueing and dip the tail. I use the Cowboy Magic Greenspot remover and/or Quiksilver for touchups.
I also recommend clipping at least the lower legs (not too closely or too close timewise to the show or they look scalped!) If the horse has a thicker coat keeping it body clipped helps.
The horse I’m riding is gigantic and lives out and is generally filthy so that’s fun.
This is very similar to what I used to do when I had a grey/blue roan horse with the grey gene living in North Carolina. I would also use corn starch on his socks (he had four) the morning of the show. It helped hide dirt and whiten those four white wall tires. I was ever so grateful he had a black mane and tail.
Lucky Braids shampoo. Whitening products like quicksilver dry out the hair, making it even more likely to stain.
Avoid shampoo on the coat at all costs, it strips the oil from their coats, the oil acts as a natural dirt repellent.
Invest in the Haas brushes for greys, the Schimmel is the must have in the set. Also get a Haas New Generation Curry Comb.
Use the curry comb directly on the coat to start shifting the dirt and stains, following directly with the Schimmel. Then the progressively finer brushes. Hot towel to finish.
Also feed for shine.
The natural oils on a horse’s skin and coat not only repel dirt, they help keep the horse warm and dry.
If you do have to wash a horse instead of just rinsing off sweat, etc. with water, use the mildest soap you can. Dish soap like Dawn is really bad, although it does kill fleas; shampoo or a Castile soap is much better. You want to clean without stripping all the oils.
Did he ask for help, or is happy with his current presentation?
@Old_Mac_Donald --I am with you —too often in the horse world advice is given that is unappreciated --if the horse owner has asked the OP for help --as in he would like her to show him how to prepare his horse for the ring, all well and good. If it has been a casual remark of, “I wish my horse looked better,” then a reference to Google or a book (“Groom and Win” comes to mind) might be less pedantic.
As to all the “shampoo is bad” posters --I disagree --all things in moderation --don’t know that I’d do a thorough soapy scrub every day, but we showed white (grey) horses at some pretty big venues for years and did thorough nose to hoof shampoo in preparation --we used specific horse products from the draft horse store (same stuff used on the Budweiser Clydes) to achieve glowing white coats and gorgeous tails --expensive, but that stuff worked! (I can’t recall the name, it’s been a while since I bought it). Shampoo with warm water, conditioner, and coat gloss all done the day before, then wrapped horse in a Sleezie, bedded on clean shavings and hoped for the best. Day of show, we did touch ups with Baby Wipes that take the green off hocks (@2DogsFarm can tell you all about green stains on white horses). The white horses may not have been the best in the show, but they were show-stopping shiny and white! As one poster pointed out --it begins with the feed and we fed alfalfa --oh, the other “trick” I heard from a judge who said, “I can tell which horse had a kid (this was 4-H) who brushes his horse once a year, the one that brushes his horse the week before fair, and the one that bushes his horse every day .” Daily brushing makes a beautiful coat!
Orvus for show day!
I can honestly say that sometimes you could brush the horse until your arms fell off and not get it clean without a soapy bath.
Recommend Johnson’s baby shampoo 2 in 1 for general cleaning. Surprisingly effective, gentle to skin and coat, and if he doesn’t quite get it all rinsed it won’t scald. Whitening shampoo is a help in the tail IF well rinsed. The tail will also wash better if it is fully combed out. No shampoo will clean the center of dreds. Multiple baths is key if you have a dirty grey horse. I have one showing this Sunday. He got his first real bath of the year yesterday. I’ll bath again Thursday and Saturday. And if it doesn’t bother him, maybe just let him enjoy the riding part. If he gets the bug and wants to be more competitive then he can get serious about turnout. Good luck!
Orvus for the first pass. Quicksilver for the second pass or just on white legs if darker. Old lady gray hair shampoo for the tail, followed by a conditioner and then this stuff as a temporary rinse to camouflage any stains:
https://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-color/shop-by-type/temporary-hair-color/temporary-color-rinse/ROUX1.html?col_dispval=%2356%20Bashful%20Blonde&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_9TuneTl_gIVyAKtBh0cYgmfEAAYASAAEgLA6_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
This is a link to Sally Beauty supply but you can get it at WalMart or similar store.
Finally, Cowboy Magic Green Spot Remover is your best friend!
Amen!
@foxglove DH’s horse was not so much white as “pink”. Sooooo roaned out!
& no matter how squeaky clean we got him before a next-day show, inevitably he’d poop in his stall & make Poop Angels somewhere on himself 
Keeping a sheet on didn’t work, he’d manage to stain himself someplace anyhow 
His Pinkness:
And after you have gotten the stains off and the horse is dry, ShowSheen can make a difference in repelling dirt and dust, especially on the legs, neck, haunches. Just don’t spray the saddle area as it will make it very slippery.
I have used Miracle Groom successfully for spot cleaning
I’m joining in on this recommendation. Vetrolin makes a green spot remover, too.
Our grays and tobianos get shampooed the day before a show with a mild shampoo. The day of, the green spot remover stuff is used on leftover discolorations. My horse has one very high white stocking in front. If there’s any residual staining on that leg, my act of desperation is a spritz of Shapley’s white coat spray.
My first horse was a grey and I learned my lesson young hahahahaha
We used laundry blueing on her and it seemed to work well–this was like early, early Cowboy Magic days.
I rode a grey gelding before I bought my current horse and for him we used Quic silver & Vetrolin’s White n Brite. I also bought a bottle of Absorbine/Show Sheen Stain Remover & Whitening spray on the rec of a friend with a big grey mare for my guy’s socks. I haven’t used it yet but I know she really liked it.
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