Grey mare, yellow tail. UGH! I have washed it multiple times with blue shampoos, dish soap, soaked in baking soda + dish soap and then vinegar rinses - nothing works.
So, I’m doing an experiment (only on the hair at the end, not the tail bone) using the following internet-recommended chemicals on various sections to see what works best:
Any other ones to try?
Have you tried those Manely products? I know someone that swears by them to get yellow tails white. I’ve got plain bay and chestnut horses so haven’t tried it myself. I’m not sure which products she uses, but her before and after pics of her white tailed horse were impressive
Hello, chestnut with flaxen owner here, the struggle is real. I’ve tried a lot of complicated methods over the years, but my current routine is very simple, and my secret weapon is yellow-out toning shampoo meant for blonde human hair (I use this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CGPMEAQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1).
Prevention! I wash tail every 2 weeks or so with regular shampoo followed by blue shampoo left on about 10-15 minutes, then a blue “leave in” conditioner. I use Cowboy Magic detangler (the gel stuff) while tail is damp to seal it a bit and reduce staining. Lemon juice helps if stains seem a bit worse than usual.
In winter (and this is IMPORTANT) tail is slathered with conditioner and braided in a 3 tube tail bag doubled into a mud knot to keep it clean.
Using really tough cleaners strips the hair and makes it more prone to absorbing urine and manure stains so treat it gently and seal the cuticle.
Orvus paste shampoo to start. Use regularly. Old lady gray hair shampoo is also a good routine shampoo to use.
For temporary whiteness, I highly recommend FanciFull White Minx (#52) rinse after a good shampoo. Gets the yellow out for a show or other short term event.
You can get it at beauty supply stores or big drug stores or WalMart. Be sure to get White Minx - other versions of this stuff are designed to solve other issues and may make your horse’s tail a weird color!
ETA: Do a search on white tails - there are a bunch of other tricks people have used which I can’t remember at this moment. My gray is retired and I bought a bay, so no need to keep up on taking care of white tails!
Same struggle.
I just got some stuff at the store. Garnier Fructis Moisture control. I do it first with the blue shampoo. Then use the Garnier shampoo. Rinse well then condition with the Garnier conditioner. It is not glowing white but very little yellow. I would use the Fancifull white minx rinse if I was showing.
Sorry, I didn’t have a before but trust me, it was yellow/orange/pink with a side of green (poop).
Human hair bleach that you get at a beauty supply store works great. Follow directions and make sure you condition it well after. Put tail in tail bag for safe keeping, especially if you own a mare
Betadine! Discovered by accident but now used for many types of stubborn yellow (and other color) stains.
Having had a myriad of discussions with other grey owners, I have a feeling that differences in hair types may play a role in preferences. Cowboy Magic Yellow Spot Remover does nothing for me whereas Absorbine’s spot remover is fantastic - but others disagree.
Yikes- don’t use bleach or OxyClean (and probably not the carpet cleaner either.) It’s hellacious on the hair quality and might cause her hairs to fall out. My sister found this out the hard way on her white pony.
I am interested in what you find out.
My experience is that the only option is prevention. Keep the tail confined so they do not pee in it.
(Which I am not willing to do all summer so I live with stains.)
I read somewhere, and I can’t recall where, that Orvus started as carpet or upholstery cleaner?
FWIW, I am incredibly lazy about prevention in the pony above’s tail. I do bang it short before winter and then bang the heavily stained ends off in the spring, and I wash it before shows about once a month, and that’s it.
I laughed when my mother came home with this tiny little container of Orvus from the quilt shop she frequented. I told her I had a huge tub of it next she wanted some.
Yes, it did. It’s good stuff. I do find it a bit drying but not irritating to most horses.
Persil laundry detergent
Ditto on not using bleach - I tried some oxyclean once it didn’t solve the problem well enough to try again. It did, however, make the hair very dry… Another vote here for “the struggle is real” I have had success with Castile soap - bar or liquid but get the real thing(Bronners or Kirks) it is made with oil. A round of that and a round of the blue shampoo. AND you have to keep up on it on a regular basis. I bang the bottom couple inches periodically - maybe quarterly. And at show time I add a round of the Fanci-Full rinse.
Betadine shampoo. It pulls out the protein stains.
Hm, I think I need ideas that are “bigger guns” so to speak.
Shampoo: I feel like I have tried the shampoo types pretty thoroughly (human purple shampoo, QuicSilver blue shampoo, Dawn dish soap, various horsey versions) - can another type of soap really be better?
Blueing products: as mentioned, I have used purple and blue types - not much change at all. I feel like they’re all similar products at the end of the day.
Frequency and prevention: I wash the tail once a week with warm water (with one of those soaps), apply conditioner, apply a silicone sealant product to prevent more stains and let dry. I have never felt her tail wet from pee or seen her pee on it - and also I think that the top is nice and clean since she has been with me. It’s the super stained bottom I am trying to deal with.
Feed: she gets 1# rice bran and a cup of canola oil daily - lots of fat! (and beet, multivitamins, etc)
For reference, this is the tail we are talking about (6 months ago) 
It’s better now, but there’s still a very yellow bottom, whereas the top hair is black mixed with silver.
IMG_4272.HEIC (3.6 MB)
Xanthoria, the bottom will have to grow out. Bang it/cut it, and keep up with the maintenance. Maintenance is key. Also, try equiderma shampoo. Fortunately, I only have one grey horse and one palomino in my care currently. The palomino keeps a decent tail, I might wash it once a month unless we are showing. The grey is a show horse, but has had some time off since his last show in May. His tail has been on “on the list”, for a while now but I just haven’t gotten around to it, so it had gotten pretty greasy and BLACK. I should have taken a picture. Two washings with equiderma shampoo(and conditioning of course), and it is a nearly show worthy tail. It truly is great stuff!
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