I am having trouble keeping my grey horse’s tail clean, specifically a problem with yellowing. I typically use Lucky Braids or Orvus to get his body clean and have great success with those products but his tail always looks dingy compared to his body. Share the almighty COTH secrets with me please!
Wash it often (at least 2-3 times a week and anytime it is really dirty). I use blue Dawn or Ivory dish soap. Lightly condition every other wash or every 3rd wash. When it gets really bad, use Goop found in the auto section of Walmart. Put in dry, let sit for 15 min then scrub and rinse out. I condition the heck out of it when I use Goop with this conditioner. Best blue shampoo for before a horse show is this one.
I showed a gray with a white bottom half of his tail that was super-prone to yellowing but managed to get it sparkly silver-white for shows. I agree with the above advice to try to keep it relatively clean all the time. I like Quicksilver–leave it on for at least 10 minutes, and you can often go longer (though you do start running a risk of ending up with a light lavender tail). Once you have it as white as you’d like, I would use a silicone-based spray on it every few days or so to cut down on staining, as the silicone keeps dirt from penetrating the hair shaft as easily.
I’ve also seen some people full on bleach a white tail…there’s a blogger I follow who posted a step-by-step. I’ll have to see if I can find it. I would consider that a last resort since it’s kind of a production–but it will definitely produce a bright white tail if the staining really is permanent.
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I use Oxy Clean, mix up a bucket and put in the horses tail and soak it for 5-10 minutes depending on the staining. Then rinse the tail, and wash with quicksilver. Then I will do a heavy conditioner and let that soak on the tail. Finish that up with your favorite de-tangler product. I personally like Showsheen, or the Carr & Martin & Day coat conditioner.
I have also known some people to use Ketchup to get the stains out. Or you could try a white Vinegar and water soak on the tail.
Hydrogen peroxide soak will also remove stains. Just always make sure you condition the horses tail.
Like what was said above try to keep the tail washed everyweek and also fully rinse out the tail after every ride. Maybe even a tail bag if your horse is one who likes to get dirty.
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Just washing regularly should help as others mentioned. I second Quicksilver. You could also try leaving a thin layer of orvus before turnout and see if that helps. Lots of showsheen.
I use the people shampoo for blonde/greys. It is purple. There is a matching conditioner. I get it from Sally’s Beauty Supply. I have used the Shiny Silver brand. However I just picked up the generic version, yes it is in a white bottle with black lettering. I found it worked better but it didn’t smell great- kinda like a perm or hair color.
I love this product. When I bought my gray mare she was washed so often with quicsilver that her coat and her mane and tail were crunchy. Yuck! I guess it depends on whether you keep your horse at home or whether your barn owner or trainer or you are obsessive about your horse looking white all the time. I don’t mind if my horse looks dirty. There is some sick satisfaction I get when my shiny white hunter mare comes home from a horse show and goes out into the pasture and finds any dirt or mud she can to roll. More than being white I like her to have a healthy coat. We keep her tail braided most of the time (not horse show braided) which cuts down on the individual strands of tail hair covered in poop or mud. I spray my horses off a lot in the heat regardless of color but I don’t shampoo often. And quicsilver is saved for two days before the horse show and during the horse show only.
A word of caution: I used the Goop once after reading about how well it works on this board. It did work great for getting my gray horse’s tail very white. He obviously has really sensitive skin as even though I didn’t use it on his hind legs enough of it got on them to make them really swollen the next day. I won’t be using it again on him.
Ketchup. We used to use it on my gray mare and it made her literally sparkle. It just takes a good bit of it to work. Let it sit and then wash out.
I had a 50% white paint horse that I showed. I used Oster Snow White Vanilla Shampoo for body, white socks, and tail. When applying, just make sure to rub in or it could leave some purple coloring. Once rubbed in, you can let it sit before rinsing. I’ve also used betadine but it can be drying. Good luck.
There are shampoos out there that work like laundry blueing. That’d go a ways to help with the yellowing.
Wash with quic silver and then slather with a mixture of Goop and oxyclean, rinse after 5-10 min. But watch out for skin sensitivity. My guy hasn’t had any issues (I use oxyclean directly on his coat) but you never know.
I have two grays
Day to day
-Wash (I use Suave Daily Clarifying (people) shampoo) every couple of days. While the shampoo is on I comb out the tail, which gets the shampoo onto every hair.
Leading up to the show
- A week ahead of time, do a “mud knot” braid (very thick french braid) with the top of the tail. This keeps the hairs out of the path of the manure and urine.
The day before the show - Wash 2-3 (or more) times with regular shampoo, until the rinse water comes out clean (combing out with the shampoo each time)
- Rinse with (white) vinegar
- Rinse with clean water
- Wash with bluing shampoo (I use Quicksilver), combing out again
- Rinse
Apply Showsheen - Start with the bottom 6-8 inches- apply Showsheen and comb out that part of the tail
- Apply Showsheen to the next 6-8 inches, and comb out
- Repeat until you have the whole tail
If necessary (Only one of my horses needs this) do another “mud knot braid” to KEEP it clean
Use a a tail bandage/cover for shipping
But it is really the day-to-day shampooing which stops it getting TOO stained in the first place.
I’ve heard of people using ketchup, but I’ve never tried it. Good luck!:winkgrin:
I have a milk white mare who always gets comments as she is very white every day. Secret is to have a very clean
environment, blanketed (not so much in this weather), and tail washed only when going out.
I use Goop, too, on the ends. May look not so white when wet, but brightens up when dry.
When you wash his tail, make sure you are actually working the shampoo into his tail. I had a white tail that was pristine using Lucky Braids shampoo and whitening spray. It took work to get it there and keep it there. You have to really work the shampoo for a while. I used to turn a bucket upside down and sit on it to work the shampoo in. After I shampooed, I would douse the tail in the whitening spray and brush through.
With each ride, I would use the whitening spray and brush through. This kept the staining from really setting.
After a few weeks of doing this once or twice a week, his tail really turned around. Some of the ends were not salvageable. I just trimmed the ends.
For shows, I would use quicksilver to really bring out the sparkle. You have to be careful how often you use that though. I found it to be quite drying.
This product is an effective temporary fix:
https://www.amazon.com/Roux-Fanci-full-Rinse-Ultra-White/dp/B000BPT0TG/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1501852322&sr=1-2&keywords=roux+fanci+full+mink
It really does make the tail bright white. Make sure you only buy this color as some of the other rinses will make the tail gray. My stylist says it works even better if you rinse with vinegar before applying, but I haven’t tried that.
