I was wondering if there was a whitening spray/shampoo recipe or brand out there good for the horse I’m using.
I have a show coming up and I’m riding a fleabitten grey horse who always seems to have stains on him. He has a thin coat and sensitive skin, which crosses out many good whitening shampoos/sprays. All the others I’ve tried just don’t work.
Is there a homemade recipe out there or brand that actually works for horses with sensitive skin?
Thanks 
I have a very flea bitten grey OTTB. I live in the land of red clay and he really wants to be a chestnut! I foxhunted him for many years. So that means show-ring turnout twice a week. I swear by QuickSilver shampoo. I’ve tried them all and it is still my favorite. Bathe in the evening, then wrap him up in a set of those slinky jammies and turn him out!
You can make your own whitening concoction by adding a few drops of laundry bluing to any shampoo. Bluing can usually be found around the bleach section in any grocery store. If he’s especially sensitive, it might work for him to mix it into a baby shampoo.
This stuff has worked the best for me:
http://www.amazon.com/H-White-Knight-Horse-Shampoo/dp/B000MD6J5K
Orvus!
Best stuff ever
The purple shampoo by Vetrolin works on my grey. I usually have to rinse and repeat 2-3 times for desired effect. Let set for 2-5 minutes between coats for best results.
For yellow mane and tail, I use a product called Fanci Full White Minx that is found in walgreens. It’s meant for old ladies with white hair to take the brassy tones out of it. I apply to clean dry mane and tail, and comb through. Again, repeat until desired color is reached but stop before horse turns purple.
I really, really like the Lucky Braids shampoo. You need to curry it into the coat to be all nice and sudsy, but it does a wonderful job on any coat colour. I have also never found it to irritate even the most sensitive of our horses.
You can power wash a horse…
[QUOTE=carolprudm;7719997]
You can power wash a horse…[/QUOTE]
Yeah but they don’t like it.
Head & Shoulders shampoo
Orvus for the first round, to clean, followed by Quick Silver to whiten. Use warm water and let both sit for a few minutes before rinsing.
This is what i did when i had a barn full of Andalusians
[QUOTE=betsyk;7720676]
Orvus for the first round, to clean, followed by Quick Silver to whiten. Use warm water and let both sit for a few minutes before rinsing.[/QUOTE]
This is what i did when i had a barn full of Andalusians
[QUOTE=betsyk;7720676]
Orvus for the first round, to clean, followed by Quick Silver to whiten. Use warm water and let both sit for a few minutes before rinsing.[/QUOTE]
^^ I’ve found - on the tail because that’s all I bother with right now - that the Quick Silver takes three cycles of lather and rinse but after the third rinse there is a big difference.
Lucky Braids shampoo and whitener. I cannot stand the purple stuff… it dries out the hair. I worked really hard to maintain the grey horse I ride and another rider used Quick Silver on him all the time this summer and now his tail is like straw, yellow, and breaking:(
My routine for show bathing: spray the whitener in tail (generously) and on trouble spots like elbows and stifle area. Then I ride. During the post ride bath, I shampoo the tail first and really work the hair to help release the stains with the shampoo. I then rinse the tail and saturate it in the whitener.
I bath the rest of him, holding a sponge and squeezing the soapy water on his body while using a pimple mitt to work it into the coat. I also use the pimple mitt while rinsing to make sure all the suds are out.
Then I rinse the tail. When I first started this routine I would saturate the tail again in whitener. After a while I could skip that last step as his tail whitened pretty easily with just the shampoo.
I also curry the heck out of him daily.
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