What if you have a gray (who used to be a dirty roan color when he was very young) who has a dirty looking tail? As he has gotten older, his coat has turned to a beautiful dapple gray, but his tail still has a lot of brown hairs in it and looks dirty, even when it isn’t
Can I dye his tail?
Should I dye his tail?
What color dye will turn a dull brownish color to white?
You know, your bay and chestnut horses are dirty too. (you just can’t tell how much)
Keep a grey clipped year round.
Tons of great advice so here are my big tips, mostly a repeat from other posts but what has worked best for us:
And a word of caution, many greys are used to being tortured often in the washrack by zealous grooms so don’t be surprised if yours is less than enthusiastic about baths etc.
**Written by someone seen in the washrack at 8am this morning, scrubbing a giant poo stain off her white mare’s rump! 
We had a grey and yes it’s a lot of work but worth it! The steady currying helps soooo much. It gets the oils into their hair and makes stains wipe off with a baby wipe. We finally figured that out. It’s totally worth it and good for the horse as well. Use a hand mitt to curry; it’s so much easier! I hate a hard curry comb.
We now have a bay (with four white socks) so our whitening job is so much easier. However, I wonder if any of you have tried using a legit toner on your horse’s tail? It is much gentler than hair dye and it is meant to be used after bleaching human hair to remove brassy or red tones. I’m thinking it’s got to work for stained tails on a grey? The product I’m thinking of is called Wella Charm toner or something like that and you have to get it at a beauty supply. If anyone tries it let me know.
We used to use the White Mink Fancifull temporary hair color as well. But it isn’t going to remove a set in stain.
The best thing I have heard to use is whisky – by the time you’ve had 4 whiskies you won’t see the dirt!
That’s really interesting about currying to keep the oil in the coat – maybe that’s why my 90% white horse isn’t too bad.
Fortunately for me he lives out 24/7 and is naturally quite clean – doesn’t grind himself into the dirt/mud like some horses seem too. I show jump and hunt him so he doesn’t have to be turned out to the nines, clean and tidy is fine. I do use a tail bag through the wet muddy months and also right before shows in summer. I try to keep on top of it so that it doesn’t take hours the night before a show/hunt, but I try not to get OCD about it. His tail is a bit more cream than white down the bottom, but that’s fine. I think it looks good because of the gel detangler product I use in it – gives it a real shine and health. (In fact the farm owner wondered about putting it in her own hair after watching me apply it one night).
I must do a decent enough job as I always get comments on how clean he is out at shows and on the hunt field.
My tip: Keep everything else clean that might touch him – lead ropes, trailer etc. Nothing like getting them sparkly clean then having the wet, dirty end of the lead rope make a big mark as you load them on the trailer . . . Or dirty hand prints . . .
I swear by the Lucky Braids products. They make my mare’s coat feel amazing, and it seems like the dirt and stains just don’t stick around long. (ok… she’s a bay, but I’m really picky!)
A word to the wise… Watch out for interactions between multiple whitening products. One of the grey’s at my barn is determined he wants to be a palomino. Multiple different products were used on him in an attempt to get him gleaming and he ended up breaking out in hives and in a shock state. That stuff is chemical filled and can scald sensitive skin!
[QUOTE=Feliz;8073420]
The best thing I have heard to use is whisky – by the time you’ve had 4 whiskies you won’t see the dirt![/QUOTE]
My first thought was that this would dry out his hair and skin. :lol: Application site differs. I wonder if living in Colorado would help? Imagine bogarting a joint and then admiring the shades and colors of manure stains on a “white” grey horse.
I have a chestnut with 4 white socks who lives out 24/7. I tried something last year called Miracle Groom. I put it on every time I groomed her and it kept her socks pretty white and shiny. I didn’t bother with it this winter as it was so wet and muddy between snow storms. I just clipped her yak hair legs the other day and plan to wash and apply the Miracle Groom tomorrow when I go to the barn. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked.
I tried the Goop and White-N-Brite in a tail tonight. I wish I had taken before pictures. I have used Goop in the past, but the combination of the 2 definitely helped!
Does anyone have tips on cleaning the head/face of a gray? My last gray was fine with being carefully hosed down so I could wash her whole head with baby shampoo. This one, not so much, and her entire head is currently trying to look chestnut…
I think I’d have to use an entire pack of baby wipes, so I’m going to try some gentle soap and lots of wet towels tomorrow.
ColeyC - I saw paper towels with Dawn impregnated into them advertised. Wonder how those would work? I’d be concerned if there was too much soap, though.
Next week, it’s supposed to be warmer, so we will start working on this. Her tail is white at the bottom, so we wil stay on top of it.
Body clip and lucky braids shampoo
It’s been a few years since I competed a grey, I went back to the tried and true bay with no white
But things that worked for my grey
Goop. Not just for tails but great for stains. It changed my life. My paint somehow grinds his white hocks in manure EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. Rub it in and let if sit for a few minutes, then top it with shampoo or dawn. I was amazed the first time I tried it. Made me mad I spent all that money on special whitening shampoos that did diddly squat.
I did not read all of the replies, so apologies if I am repeating anything.
Orvus soap. Comes in a large container, its used as carpet cleaner but is safe to use on animals and will get even the toughest stain out. Use with warm water and a stiff body brush, add elbow grease and rinse out.
Pre-washing, really give your horse a good curry. You’d be surprised how much of the stains will come out just from that.
Invest in dry shampoo spray, to use for quick-fix or on small stains. Apply amply and rub in circular motion for maximum poop stain removal.
But quite honestly, you’re going to have to live with having a not-perfectly-clean horse most of the time. Washing them too often can make them sore and cause other probles, so unless its a clinic, show, or other special event, don’t worry about those poo stains!
Eta: Keep her blanketed when you can (scrim/fly sheet in the summer) and you can also get those lycra hoods that will keep her head and neck clean, too. Again, probably don’t want to use these things all the time, but can definitely come in handy when going to a show to keep most of the filth at bay (and braids neat and shavings-free!)
I always kept a spray bottle with diluted shampoo and a terry cloth rag handy, and that cleaned green stains as well as any pricey green stain cleaner.
Also, if you plan to show you should get used to always being the first one at the barn in the morning. It’s pointless to bathe the day before. My last 2 horses were a gray and a pinto. My gray mare was the dirtiest, piggiest horse I’ve ever known. I always envied the people with bays or chestnuts that could bathe the night before a show! Even with a sheet or blanket on it would look like she used poop for a pillow. :lol:
My favorite way to keep them white was to first use Vetrolin shampoo - (the green one), scrub with that but don’t rinse off. Then use Quicksilver, scrub with it and let it sit for a while. Once both are rinsed you have a sparkling white horse.
Luckily my pinto had a brown tail and legs, so that was never an issue. My gray however was fleabitten, so she actually had brown and dark gray hairs throughout her tail. It never quite looked clean unfortunately. At some point you just have to let it go and accept that your gray will never be 100% clean - EVER! 
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