The best shampoo types to use on grey horses are those with a blue/purple tint. This is because the violet tones help to bring the whitest colour out of your horse's coat, neutralise stains and reflect light to make whites even brighter.
“Definitely lots of Quic Silver shampoo. Cowboy Magic is also perfect for getting stains off without having to give a complete bath. I've used Oxy-Clean for his tail, which worked, but for Kentucky weekend, Sara's mom found a recipe using baking soda and shampoo to make a paste.
A household washing detergent, such as Fairy liquid or Persil, in hot water is said to work wonders on cleaning grey tails, especially for mares, whose tails can become stained with urine.
Use a quality shampoo designed for grey coats so you can keep your horse's coat looking as it should. A good shampoo will get down into a horse's coat, bring out the colour tones in it and leave it looking shiny and healthy.
Graying can occur at different rates—very quickly on one horse and very slowly on another. As adults, most gray horses eventually become completely white, though some retain intermixed light and dark hairs.
Grey horses are unusual because, due to how color fades slowly, a grey horse is only visibly grey for 3 to 4 years of their life. Before they turn grey they are generally the base coat color they were born with.
We all agree that grey horses look the best in dark colors. Don't prefer light or neutral colors as these will blend in. We can advise some matte dark colors such as charcoal black or navy blue, as well as some dark and glittery colors.
Pigmentation in the hair and skin provides some protection against UV light. So, horses with little or no pigmentation, such as greys, palominos, duns, or cremellos, are more prone to sunburn. Any areas with white hair or pink skin will be sensitive to sunlight.
Yes, white and grey horses can shine!
The key to a vibrant looking white or grey horse: Good feed, cleanliness, and proper grooming techniques!
Your grey clothes should go in the dark pile. The reason for this is simple. Your light pile of clothing is for pastel colours like pinks, light blues and lavenders, for example. The dark pile is for blacks, navies, reds and greys.
A rubber curry, sweat scraper, gentle horse shampoo, mane/tail detangler, hose, sponge, towel and bucket of water are the essentials. When using a shampoo, it's important to use only products specifically made for bathing horses, as other products can deplete essential natural oils and dull her coat.
Strong detergents such as Savlon or Dettol should not be used.
Most shampoos made for humans can be safely used to clean horses including manes, tales, and bodies. The pH level of human skin is not significantly different than horses' skin so, generally, it's safe to use human shampoo for horses.
In general, equine skin is more sensitive than human skin, but gentle, low-sudsing formulas, such as baby shampoo, can be safely used on most horses.
An equine shampoo is formulated for the pH balance of equine skin, and is therefore less likely to cause irritation or loss of necessary oils. So, for the best results avoid shampoo products intended for humans or other pets.
There's no proven prevention for melanoma development in the horse. Early recognition is important, and surgical removal is often curative. Melanomas tend to be less likely than other tumors to spread to internal organs, although this can occur.
Grey horses or horses with white markings are the more susceptible. Make sure there is shade in the turnout arena, not all horses will use it but might take advantage of the cooler temperature. Applying sunblock on the sensitive skin parts can also help, as well as protecting them with fly masks.
The day before your show you will want to give your horse a good deep cleaning with a nice bath. Using a brightening or color enhancing shampoo such as, Ultra® Enhanced Intense Brightening Shampoo, will bring out your horse's natural shine and beauty.
Steel Grey
A steel grey horse is also known as iron grey. It has a bluish tint and gets its shade at an early age. These horses have a black coat with grey and white hairs mixed in together. That makes the black hair lighter. As the horse ages, its coat becomes lighter.
The gray gene causes progressive depigmentation of the hair, often resulting in a coat color that is almost completely white by the age of 6-8 years. Horses that inherit progressive gray can be born any color, then begin gradually to show white hairs mixed with the colored throughout the body.
For a particularly edgy or nervous horse, simply painting the inside of his stall a soothing green or blue will help calm him. For a low-energy ungrounded steed, the color red might be most beneficial.
These horses become flea-bitten grey over time and are not born with this coat pattern. We commonly see the flea bitten pattern on many mid to older grey horses, but not every grey horse becomes flea bitten grey.
Most commonly, horses with white or pink noses (like grays or pintos) experience sunburn. 2 In some cases, burns can also occur along the protruding areas of the face, ear tips, and white leg markings just as human noses, ears, shoulders, and collarbones get burned from direct exposure to the sun.
Just like cats and dogs, horses with areas of white hair/pink skin (especially on their face like a blaze, a stripe, etc.), light-colored or grey horses, or areas with sparse hair like a horse's muzzle are at risk of sunburn.