- For really white socks or stockings, dust the legs with baby powder, corn starch or French white chalk.
- To cut down on static electricity in the mane and tail, use dryer sheets. One wipe-down through the hair will help eliminate static.
- Rub a dab of baby oil along the bridle path to get rid of that chalky, just-clipped look and make it shiny.
- For breeds that show with a patent-leather shiny hoof, fill in any old nail holes with a spackling compound that matches the color of your horse’s hoof. For a black foot, the color of the compound won’t matter. To polish the feet, use the wax-based, cake shoe polishes to add a deep luster to the foot while protecting it from the drying effects of hoof lacquer, which can be applied over the shoe polish.
- When you don’t need to pull the mane, use thinning shears to shorten it without having the chopped look of scissor cuts.
- Clippers can give you the effect of a pulled tail, without having to pull out hairs. Run the clippers carefully along the outside of the dock and down about 4 to 6 inches, just up to the point where the hair begins to crest over. Thin the hairs along the top of the tail and blend longer hairs to gradually blend into the shorter ones.
- Use setting gel when braiding to help stray or short wisps stay put in the braids.
- Wash your horse a couple of days before the show so the oils of the coat have time to work to the surface for a natural shine. Keep a light sheet on to keep the coat clean until show day.
- If you choose not to band a western horse’s mane, lay a dampened towel over the neck to help the hairs lie down smoothly.
- Keep a wrap on your horse’s braided tail – temporarily – so that it arrives at the show grounds with the braid intact.
- Apply only one coat of hoof oil or dressing if arena footing is deep. The oil will collect dirt, but the judge will know that you made the effort.
- Instead of using rags to wipe down your horse, purchase inexpensive knit gloves (available at most drug or hardware stores) and apply the product directly to them. When you are finished, they can be washed.
- For coarse tails, use a hot oil treatment in addition to your regular equine conditioner to soften the hairs and make them flow.
- If your horse gets shavings in its braids, use a small, short-bristled brush to gently remove them without damaging any of your work.
- If you clip the inside of your horse’s ears, place cotton inside to prevent hairs from entering the ear canal and also to deaden the buzz of the clippers.
Further Reading
On the Go Shampoo
How to Bang a Horse’s Tail
Zone Grooming
Great advise!
This artical really makes sense and helped a lot at the shows!Thanks!
We used several of these tips and looked much better for it. Thanks!
There are a lot of suggestions on here that I would not have thought of. Thank you for sharing your secrets with us.
the article grooming tips from the top will not print on 100% zoom print, it keeps printing pg1 only instead of pg 1,2,3. Please help as this will be good to pass out to my 4-H kids
Great tips! Thanks!
To really brighten those socks dilute some wisk washing detergent.Last time I did this at a big show the top trainers were complementing me and woundering how i did it!
okay but very ovious advice no real tricks of the trade
To get a paint horse really clean use Tide with Bleach. It doesn’t stain the white coat, mane or tail blue or irritate their skin. Just be sure to rinse really really well!
I will definetely by using some of these tips
Good tips!
Thank you so much! I will definately use these tips at my next show 🙂
Mothers Bluing works really well for getting whites white.
It helps to wash white leg markings with Quick Silver. :]
use baby oil on the chestnuts to give them a smooth polished look as well
Use baby oil around the muzzle,ears and eyes to make them shiny also use household polish to make there coat shine.
I always use Ivory dish soap on my horses white socks. Then Show day i follow up with baby powder then brush the extras away with a small bristled brush on the hooves legs and to give it a ground in polished look
Sunlight dishsoap works REALLY well to wash white leg markings and white/grey tails.
When i bought my horse she had scars on her withers. I just color them in with brown sharpie. It totally works!
To make your horse shiny mix your shampoo in water and add baby oil
this is great for english and western riders
I use Orvus shampoo to really get any horse clean and white all over. You wouldn’t believe how well this stuff works. I can spot my horses legs glowing in the dark when done.
This stuff works!
To really whiten tails make a french fluff. mix 2 tablespoons of violet or blue hair bleach, 2 oz water and 2 oz peroxide. Apply to damp hair, leave in 5 min. and shampoo out with a blue shampoo.
only use mixture on end of tail as it will irratate skin.
I don’t show but like my horse to look as if she is going to one. Thanks so much for all the tips!
All given were fab but I’d love to hear some more…like how to do quatermarking & sewn plaits…also the section on tidying the tail was a little vague…also nothing added on how too cope with a horse with a thin mane & tail…Thanks
I love these tips, especially on how to make white legs-white!