Surprise show supplies

Sure, many of us think of our horses as another member of the family. But did you know that many products you use on your hair or in your kitchen could also benefit your horse? Often these "non horse" products are sold at a much cheaper price than its equine counterpart. "Nearly any product that has a horse label is more expensive," jokes Guy Stoops, a trainer from Hempstead, Texas.

Stoops also uses fly sprays and shampoos made for cattle to help cut costs. "Cattle products are typically much cheaper than horse products. I guess the companies know that cattle people aren't going to spend that much money on their calves. It works just as good on our horses."

Stoops also uses vinegar to get urine stains out of light colored tails. "Straight vinegar gets the discoloration out," he says.

Another kitchen item that works well at the barn is vegetable oil. If you have large water troughs that can not be emptied on a daily basis, a cap full of oil poured in the water will suffocate any mosquito larvae that may have hatched in the water. This not only lowers the number of mosquitoes that call your barn home, it also helps reduce the odds of West Nile Virus exposure.

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers...
Rebecca Halvorson of Halvorson Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma, shops for many of her show supplies at Wal-Mart. Large portions of them come from the health and beauty aisle. For example, before a big show, horses at Halvorson Ranch get a hot oil bath on their entire coat. "We use the regular hot oil treatments made for people," Halvorson says. "The horses stand tied with a cooler on while they dry, then they're good to go."

To improve the look of palomino tails, Halvorson uses Fanciful Cream Rinse. "It's the same gray bottle you're used to seeing in your grandmother's bathroom. Platinum Blonde works good for palominos," she says.

After banding a horse's mane, Halvorson applies mousse to the mane. "It helps to set the hair so it doesn't move as much," she says. Another Wal-Mart find is baby oil gel. "We've switched to the baby oil gel instead of the liquid for the horses' muzzles. It's just as shiny, and it adheres better to their skin."

To keep white socks looking white, Halvorson applies baby powder after the socks have been closely clipped with a #40 clipper blade. "We also use spray paint to get their socks looking really clean and white." She cautions that some horses have a reaction to regular spray paint, and in that case they use paint made for cattle.

Spray paint also works well to disguise blemishes and old scars. "Leather is the perfect color to match a Chestnut horse," she says. "It's a great way to cover a scar where the hair didn't grow back, making the scar much less obvious."*

When bathing manes and tails, Halvorson uses about any human shampoo and conditioner available at the store. "Be careful with oily shampoos. We have some horses that have hair extensions, and the oily products break down the glue." The basic, cheap shampoo, like Suave, works fine, she says.

Another trick of the trade takes a horse product and uses it in a different way. "To keep our horses hooves from packing full of dirt in the show pen, we spray Pepi on the soles of their feet once they are cleaned out. The oil helps prevent dirt clods from sticking in their hooves," Halvorson says.

From the Medicine Cabinet to the Garage
If you bathed your palomino horse the night before a show and find a green manure stain the next morning, skip the wash rack a second time. Rubbing alcohol applied to a cotton towel, and then rubbed on the hair removes the green stain. And it dries much faster than if you had to rewash your horse.

Kari O'Dell, who works at Down The Rail Performance Prospects in Pilot Point, Texas, uses fingernail enamel dryer in an aerosol can to help hoof polish dry faster. "We just spray it on their hooves, and the polish dries much faster," she says. O'Dell also uses car wash sheepskin mitts to dust off horses just before they go in the ring. "You can wipe them down with a mitt, and they look all clean and shiny."

Surprise show supplies are not only handy and beneficial, but they often save you money. All it takes is a little imagination or a fresh idea, and you can have more surprise supplies of your own.

*Author's Note:
We urge all trainers and horse enthusiasts to groom their horses with the horse's best interest at heart. And although at times a small amount of spray paint may be used to brighten a horse's white hair on their lower legs, or to cover a scar or blemish, the actual amount that touches the skin would be minimal.
The vast majority of trainers take excellent care of their horses, and would certainly discontinue using the paint if the horse had any reaction to it.