Over the past few months I’ve taken notice of certain behaviors and activities that have “changed” since we’ve jumped completely into Pony Girl’s first competitive horse show season. We are spending more time at the barn, more weekends at shows, and of course, more money.
Some things that are now rather routine Pony Mama business of the day weren’t even on the radar pre-pony days. So, here it is. A “list” of stuff we now do or know, that we’d never do or know of if our family was not a Pony Posse.
Always have a baseball cap and pony tail elastics in the vehicle. Helmet head must be covered
Enter a store or restaurant directly following a ride. This means in breeches, manure-laden footwear, and shirt with visible horse slime in at least two locations. And a baseball cap covering helmet hair
Let Pony Girl pee in a stall.
Let Pony Mama pee in a stall.
What “denier” means and that more is better.
Can remove or put on a martingale in less than 30 seconds.
Pony Mama stops washing the vehicle because it will just get barn dirt on it again tomorrow.
Pony Papa stops washing Pony Mama’s vehicle because it will just get barn dirt on it tomorrow. This typically occurs about three months after Pony Mama has already given up. (P.S. Pony Papa suprised Pony Mama this weekend and washed the van. With a powerwasher. Sigh.)
Know the difference between turnouts, rugs, coolers, scrims, sheets, fleeces, and blankets. And that for each, there is a difference between those for field, stable, and show. Yep. For real.
Witnessed the “Floating” of horse teeth. Yes. She is holding Toadie's tongue. (This looks scary, but horse teeth always grow so they occasionally need to be filed and shaped for good health. Thanks, Vet Katie!)
And, of course, BEANS. Enough previously shared on that topic.
I’ve always loved grays and palominos. The lovely, light
shades of the coats are so pretty and a nice change to all the chestnuts and
bays in the ring. Our pony is a gray. I love him. But every time we are show
prepping I’d consider cutting off my left pinky toe if he were a chestnut or a
bay. Getting gray tails clean is a challenge, and face it. Dark horses are just easier.
I have photographic proof:
Chestnut Pony Before & After:
Gray Pony Before & After
OK- In full disclosure I admit my humor here is that is the same photo of Alibi's beautiful tail. But to make my point, that tail did not need special bathing or shampoo before the show. In fact, it wasn't washed at all! It looks awesome. Not so much on our gray pony!
Keeping a gray clean for shows is a never-ending and tedious
job. In a pinch, the dark horses can be dusted off and paraded beautifully into
the show ring and no one is the wiser. Maybe they need their legs hosed off or
little white socks bathed. Boom. Done. Girls with pretty brown ponies get to
bathe their horses for fun. Girls with gray ponies are doomed to a lifetime of
bathing. (I am exaggerating a bit here- I know that brown horses are bathed for
shows too! It’s just easier when your starting place is not… white). You know
the reason we think carefully before buying and much less wearing white pants
or jeans… same concept!
Gray ponies need full-on baths. All. The. Time. Everything
shows up on a gray. Every little grass stain screams out “Look at me! I made
your pony dirty!” Mud and dirt that can be brushed off a brown horse leave mocking
yellow stains on a gray. Those gorgeous flowing white tails are usually
yellowed (from all the you-know-what they need to expel from grazing all day…)
Gray Pony Cleaning
Strategies:
1)Purple
Shampoo. Those readers of a certain age will know what the term “bluing”
means in regard to old ladies with gray hair at beauty parlors. It is still
alive and well in Gray Horse Land. There are special shampoos for gray and
white horses. These shampoos are bright purple. They have cool names like
“White-N-Brite” and “Quicksilver”.
They really do the job to make those pretty ponies glow and shine. But there
are side effects for mom and girl: Purple fingernails- for 24-48 hours. We
prefer White-N-Brite. For the really stained spots we apply the shampoo
directly on the pony rather than diluting in water. The contrast of the bright
purple on a white or gray pony is pretty dramatic. http://www.smartpakequine.com/vetrolin-white-n-brite-3506p.aspx
. Oh, and don’t leave it on too long, or your pony will become lavender and
look like an Easter Pony! Timing is important here, friends.
4)Spot
cleaner. “WowWhite”, “MTG Spot Cleaner”, etc. These are no-rinse products
that when sprayed on and rubbed with a cloth remove (mostly) the inevitable
grass stains on the areas not covered by the amazing flysheet. Cheeks, flanks,
knees, hocks, etc. Ponies are heavy suckers, and when they hit the grass to
sleep at night, they dig in. Deep. So, having spot cleaner is important. It
also helps with the stains that come from the trailer poops on the way to the show.
5) Tail Wraps. We tried braiding. We tried panty hose. This season we bought a "Stretchies"tail wrap and love it. This thing stays on even when turned out all night. 11 year old Pony Girl can manage it all by herself (after a bit of practice). The Stretchie, oddly, did not come with instructions but we figured it out.
This is the Stretchie.
We've had good luck with pantyhose too, but you just have to play around with it. The general idea is that you separate the tail into three sections, slip each section into the pantyhose or Stretchie, then braid the "slipcovered" tail. Tie it up with itself, or use pony tail elastics for extra hold. Pony Girl also washes that tail twice weekly during show season. This keeps the yellowing at bay. Mostly.
6)Towels
and rags. Simply have lots and lots and lots of them. Never throw away an old
towel again. My husband bemoans the fact that my daughter and I have raided his
car washing supply. I use “raided” conservatively. We’ve actually stolen his
whole dang pile. Oh well. He can go to the car wash!
