From constantly being covered in grey hair, battling with stable stains and spending hours washing and rewashing the same section of coat – if you’ve ever owned, ridden or cared for a grey horse, you will be able to relate to many of the following…
1. Being congratulated on the lovely skewbald in your field and wondering what that person is talking about.
2. Having to get up at 5am to re-wash the horse you already washed at least three times the night before with a variety of shampoos.
3. Said grey horse refusing to stand still while you do it – cue you ending up wetter than they are.
4. Understanding that it’s all or nothing, as washing one dirty patch results in horrible yellow streaks.
5. Standing head to head in the field gateway and asking him, in your sweetest voice, not to roll in the muddiest patch when you let him go – and watching as he does exactly that.
6. Stable stains are the bane of your life. In fact, you argue that the term stable stain is inadequate because normally at least 75% of your horse is the wrong colour.
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7. Removing a stable rug to reveal a brown tummy. Every single day.
8. Laughing when someone recommends a head and neck cover, bandages, and a rug with belly and tail flaps, because you know it’s really not that simple.
9. Yellow tails. Enough said.
10. Recycling old pairs of tights and using several to protect said tail after hours of washing.
11. Fully supporting the idea that hacking out a semi-clean horse is acceptable.
12. Wondering why your horse can’t lie on his left side, so that traffic only sees his clean half.
13. Chalk is your best friend…
14 …But the sun isn’t. Copious amounts of sun cream just won’t cut it on pink-skinned greys.
15. Molasses gives you nightmares – greys and dark liquids do not mix.
16. Wondering what that persistent black stain is on either side of your horse’s tail. Then spying suspicious grey hairs on the field gate.
17. Waiting to put on your riding jacket until the very last second for fear of it being covered in grey hairs. They get everywhere.
18. Admiring all the black, bay and chestnut horses in your class and thinking how easy their riders’ lives must be.
19. Getting cross when your friend complains about the single white sock they have to clean. Ha!
20. Arguing until you’re blue in the face that grey is the most beautiful colour, and then realising your filthy grey beast can’t back up that statement right now.
21. When everyone else has finished prepping their horses for the following day’s event with the flick of a brush, you haven’t even finished scrubbing one side of your grey’s neck.
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Aimi was responsible for Horse & Hound’s showing, pointing and veterinary pages, as well as assisting with eventing content. Aimi also edited Horse & Hound’s popular occasional magazines, Ask The Vet and Ask The Trainer. She is the former deputy editor of Eventing magazine. She left Horse & Hound at the end of 2017 to take on new challenges in the publishing industry and is now editor at Your Horse.
