I can’t remember if anyone said a specific version. So long as it doesn’t contain anything toxic to horses, any version should work fine. I also believe generic baby powder and cornstarch were recommended.
I clip the arm pits/cinch area for the winter. Easier to dry and brush off both the horse and the cinch. Also clipping the jugular helps with less sweat over the body in general to help with cool out and no blanketing is required.
I picked up the Walmart brand of Gold Bond! We shall see!
I know I can leave him sweaty since I don’t blanket but I often ride in evenings and I’d rather no part of him be wet as it gets to overnight temps. We are in South Georgia, but it still gets cold for our norm.
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Check and see if he is already dry at the skin.
The Walmart Gold Bond works very well! Sprinkled it heavily on a stiff brush and roughed up the sweaty spots and they were gone!
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Ahhhhh … the desert wind has come to me. My ancient herd is calling across the sands of time. Blow, electric dryer, blow!
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Admittedly just skimmed this thread, but I also really like spraying witch hazel on a damp coat. Throw a cooler on and finish cleaning up the rest of my stuff. Come back to a mostly dry horse, brush out the coat and off he goes.
Similar concept to diluted alcohol but I think it smells nicer and is less harsh on the coat.
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That was not my experience at all when I rode western as a youngster. The horses had expensive western tack (and bits) and they were kept clean. The tack that was only used at home for training was kept clean as well.
A dirty bridle is a dirty bridle, and the style makes no difference in a dirty bridle’s tendency to rub and make the horse uncomfortable. Same with dirty bits.
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Ah I might have been exaggerating a bit. I was thinking of the old cowboy tradition, they weren’t sitting around the campfire every night cleaning tack like an English groom at a country estate. Modern Western riders with expensive tack are going to take care of it!
However I must say that the only videos I’ve seen where people show how they power wash the horse with the saddle on, to clean tack and horse at once, have had Western saddles. An old school Western saddle can take a lot of abuse!
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As can an “old school” English saddle.
This is true 
I feel like using coat defense powder is something I just can’t do. I’ve tried all the methods—on a brush, on a towel, and every time it needs up like a cornstarch slurry when I rub it in. I tried it one year with just a low trace clip and ended up just taking more hair off.
Oh gosh, please don’t let videos posted by rednecks represent an entire discipline. 
My current barrel saddle was $5000, my pad $550, etc, etc. We take care of our things! I truly hope this back woods, trashy, negative connotation shared here doesn’t translate to our entire western disciple for you. We are true horsemen and horsewomen as well. We ride in a different tack is all. We invest heavily into our horses and our equipment.
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I rode Western as a kid. I cleaned my tack occasionally. I ride English now. I clean my tack about the same amount 
or when it has visible mold. I never did Pony Club. My original point was more that there are some unrealistic ideas about tack cleaning and indeed grooming that were handed down from the days of paid grooms and carriage horses where the whole harness was disassembled and cleaned every use. Farmers and cowboys were more pragmatic. I keep an eye on my gear and certainly oil or condition it before it gets stiff. But I think benign neglect doesn’t do much damage to good using gear. I do wash my saddle pads a lot.
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Then you’re starting off way too wet to begin with, and/or using too much powder. Toweling dry, like really briskly rubbing, should get things damp. The start with a dusting of powder and add from there if needed.
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