I took this picture after Alfie had been in the stable to dry off and he had scuffed some dirt up onto his tummy – this was not there immediately after the bath
(Image credit: Pippa Roome)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that grey horses like to spend a lot of time vexing their owners by getting dirty… but it’s also a truth universally acknowledged in our household that my mother is extremely pony proud. Alfie is therefore one of the cleaner grey horses around – as well as fairly frequent full baths, he is subjected to almost daily “cheat cleanings”, using the sort of magic shampoos that don’t need much or any water.
He didn’t have any stains as such on the day I bathed him with the Blue Snow Shampoo, but he was generally a bit grubby and I had just ridden him, so he had sweaty patches around his girth.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The shampoo is purple, smells pleasant and comes in a flip-top bottle (which is easy to open with one hand) with a small hole – a good thing as it’s extremely runny. It pours out of the hole with no squeezing necessary and it would be easy to end up spilling or wasting it if you’re not careful and I did end up with some running down the side of the bottle.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The instructions say to wet the coat, distribute the shampoo evenly and rub in, then leave to act and rinse thoroughly. I would usually dilute a shampoo and – having wetted the coat – scrub away with the diluted stuff, but I wanted to follow the instructions, so I wetted Alfie with a hose and then started putting the shampoo on.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Initially I was pouring the shampoo on, but I felt I was using a lot, plus this didn’t work so well when I wanted to get it on Alfie’s vertical surfaces and underside. I therefore moved on to putting a blob on the LeMieux Hippo Scrubber – a sort of combined rubber curry comb and sponge (yes, any pony washing product is considered a good present in the triangle of my mother, my husband and I) – and then rubbing it in with that. This seemed to work well.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The shampoo didn’t really lather up much on Alfie’s body, but I did work up a good lather on his tail, for which I poured the shampoo directly onto it. I went over his legs and mane twice as they were the grubbier areas.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The shampoo washed out easily using a pressured hose gun.
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(Image credit: creditUnknown)
I didn’t use the shampoo on Alfie’s face as we always use baby shampoo for this in case it goes in his eyes (please don’t write in and tell me he’s spoilt, I know this already).
The instructions on the Blue Snow Shampoo said the use of gloves is recommended and the bottle came with one glove, which I started off using. However, there was soon shampoo on my other hand and water inside the glove and it was all a bit too tricky with taking photos as well, so I soon ditched the glove. It’s not for me to recommend ignoring safety directions, but I suffered no ill effects.
I was pleased with Alfie’s overall cleanliness and the feel of his coat, mane and tail after the bath.
I took this picture after Alfie had been in the stable to dry off and he had scuffed some dirt up onto his tummy – this was not there immediately after the bath
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
I was concerned that using the undiluted shampoo would mean I used a lot of it. When I took the top off the bottle to check afterwards, I had used no more than a quarter of the bottle, perhaps less as I’m not sure how full it was initially.
At £21 for 500ml, this shampoo is at the pricier end of whitening shampoos and I think next time, in order to try to use less, I would try diluting some in water and scrubbing with that on Alfie’s body, then using it undiluted on legs, mane and tail.
Verdict
A good shampoo, which did its job and left me with a clean horse. It is at the more expensive end of the market and I would like to try experimenting with different techniques to see if it also works well diluted in order to use less.
Pippa Roome is Horse & Hound’s magazine editor and eventing editor. She has worked for the brand since 2003. Pippa shares a Connemara, Alfie, with her mother and takes part in grassroots eventing, while Alfie also does dressage with her mother. Alfie lives out full-time, with access to a stable which he can go in or not as he chooses.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
