How to Brighten the White Marks on Your Horse

By eHow Pets Editor

Rate: (6 Ratings)

Accentuating your horse's white markings will help your horse's chrome shine and get the judge to notice you.

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Hoof Paint
Towels
Water
Bon Ami Cleanser
French Grooming Chalk
Water Bucket

Step1

Gather a bucket with water, a clean towel, Bon Ami cleanser and French white grooming chalk.

Step2

Apply dry French grooming chalk to the white blaze, strip or bald places on your horse's face.

Step3

Dip the towel in the water, and with the towel draped over your fingers, wipe around the edges of the white area to remove chalk from any colored areas of your horse's face.

Step4

Pour a liberal amount of Bon Ami into your palm and apply it to the white portions of your horse's legs. Add enough to completely cover the white areas.

Step5

Use the powder to whiten any dirty spots on the horse's body (except the face) in white areas.

Step6

Jog your horse to remove any excess powder.

Step7

Wipe along the outline of white areas on the legs to remove powder from colored areas.

Step8

Remove the dust from your horse's hooves.

Step9

Apply hoof paint or polish.

Tips & Warnings

You'll find French white grooming chalk in most tack stores and horse supply catalogs.
Bon Ami is calcium carbonate - the white powder found in chalk.
Your horse's legs and face must be dry when you use these products.
Be careful of getting either substance in the horse's eyes.

Comments

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 9/23/2006 I think all the ideas are great, but sometimes its best to play it safe. You can try all those other options, but truth is that if you just spend that small amount of extra time washing or if it's too cold to wash, grooming your horse before a show, you can get the beautiful white shimmer. The only things I use are water, and whitening conditioner

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 8/19/2006 You should bathe your horse before a show to get most of the stains off of the white markings. However, white foot markings are hard to keep clean, even for a day, I have a small can of cornstarch that I rub into my horse's white markings to make them look dazzling before a halter or showmanship class. Cornstarch is easy to find and cheap to buy. I doubt it would be a problem if your horse somehow got some in his mouth, which is another plus. Don't do it when you are in your show clothes, especially if you're wearing black. Also, don't do it after you've blackened your horse's hooves or you'll have to do it over again!

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 6/30/2006 Days before the show, clip white legs. (this helps if you're not to good at clipping). The night before a show, wash the horse legs throughly. Make sure that you scrub them good. That night, put the horse in the stall with leg wraps and maybe a sheet (if your horse tends to roll). The morning of the show, brush the legs. When you arrive at the show, apply some baby powder. Then trot your horse to get the excess powder off. Your horse will be sparkling clean.

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 11/22/2005 Use baby wipes to get stains off your horse, then use baby powder on their white spots. This works wonders on grey horses.

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 11/22/2005 The key to using baby powder or cornstarch is to clip the white area several days before the show. On the day of the show, wash and dry the area. When the area is completely dry, apply an ample amount of baby powder or cornstarch. Set the powder with an inexpensive aerosol hair spray, such as Aqua Net. The hair spray will also put a real shine on hooves that have been painted with hoof black.

View All