How  To Get Yellow Tails White

And Other Secrets...

It  has taken me years to find a recipe to get stained tails white. Always, always do a skin test, some horses have more sensitive skin than others.  I hesitate to share, but here goes...

You need the following supplies to whiten tails and you can get them all at Wal-Mart.  Quic Silver for horses probably works better than the Jhirmack, but it is more expensive and available only in tack stores.  If you have the $ go for it because it is really good.  I use the Jhirmack.

Cheap Solutions To

Big Problems

Gum or Tar in Mane?
Remove with eucalyptus essential oil

Rubbing hair off tails?

Treat itchy tails with Listerine mouth wash.  Add 1/2 baby oil to moisturize.

Need a cheap cooling bath or spray?

1 cup  vinegar to 1 gallon water.  Use in spray bottle on trail or pour on bath.

How to kill bot eggs easily?

Put Dr Tichenor's Mouth Wash and Antiseptic in a spray bottle and spray on legs or wipe on legs with cloth. No rinse.

Want water proof hay storage for the top of your trailer for under a dollar?

A full tied bale will fit in the hefty bags made for 55 gal drums.  Find them in the hardware section.

Tangles in mane or tail just too much?

Cowboy Magic is my secret.  Not cheap (sorry), but worth it if you want long beautiful manes and tails.

Problems with flies?

Friends swear by Shaklee's detergent used as fly spray.

A Bounce fabric softener sheet on the back of your saddle and on your head stall works to fight flies.  Smells good too!

• 1 gallon white vinegar

• 1 bottle Mrs. Stewart's Laundry Bluing - small blue bottle

• 1 bottle Dawn dishwashing liquid (not ultra) Add about 10 drops of bluing to the Dawn bottle. (Or Woolite)

• Shout or Spray & Wash Pre-wash.

• 1 bottle Jhirmack Silver Brightening Shampoo for gray, blonde, bleached, or highlighted hair. (white bottle with purple text)

• 1 bottle Jhirmack Silver Brightening Conditioner for gray, blonde, bleached, or highlighted hair. (rose/tan bottle with purple text)

• 1 large (40 oz) bottle of Infusium 23 (I get mine from Sam's Wholesale) or Epsom Salts. I use about a quarter cup in an average spray bottle. Leave in conditioner with about 15 drops of bluing added. Enough bluing to turn the conditioner a light blue.

• The super clinging type Plastic wrap

1. Scrub the horse's mane and tail with the Dawn and Bluing mixture. Rinse the entire white mane, forelock, and tail thoroughly.  See instructions for protecting eyes above. Click here.
2. Scrub again and rinse.  I have a friend who recommends Shout pre-wash.  Spray and Wash works well too.  Another friend uses Woolite instead of Dawn.  It works well also.
3. Blot dry. 
4. Soak in white vinegar.  Get it really wet - especially the stains. Then turn the horse out in the sunshine for about an hour, but blot forelock (only) with towel and take off fly mask first. You don't want the vinegar in the horse's eyes either.  You can wrap the tail, mane and forelock in plastic after the vinegar is applied and let it soak for a while if the stains are bad, but you want it wet when you put the horse in the sun. Once when I was younger, my hair turned green after swimming in a pool that had too much chlorine.  The beautician told me that all I had to do was put vinegar on my hair and go out into the sun to let it dry. The sun and vinegar will remove all the chemical build up from the hair not only chlorine, but minerals that cause hair to turn orange and yellow too. 
5. After the horse has sunned for an hour or so, bring him in and wash the mane and tail again.  This time use the Jhirmack Silver Brightening Shampoo or Quic Silver.   The shampoo has a purple cast. Use fly mask - click here for fly mask instructions.  to protect eyes. Follow with the Jhirmack Silver Brightening Conditioner.  I might also use Aussie 3 Minute Miracle.  I comb it out while the conditioner is still in the hair, then rinse thoroughly. I mix bluing with water in my final rinse -- not very much.  You want it just the lightest hint of blue.
6. You can follow by soaking mane and tail with Infusium if your horse's mane is thin. Don't rinse. Comb and dry.  Soak in a mixture of Epsom Salts and water if you don't have Infusium or want a cheaper alternative.  I've found it works just as well!  It conditions and adds body!
7. Add just enough bluing to your Show Sheen and your fly spray to give it just a hint of light blue.  You will be amazed at how much it helps to brighten your whites and grays- even white body color.
8. If the tail and mane are very tangled, get some Cowboy Magic from the tack store or feed store.  At about $16 per 10 oz bottle it is very expensive.  I think it is a mixture of glycerin, silicone, and fragrance, but I'm only guessing so don't go mix that up and put it on your horse.  However, if you know the recipe, please share with me!
9. If you need the tail white tomorrow, be very careful with the bluing. Test a small part of the mane or tail first. Use too much and the tail will be greenish blue for a week or so before it turns snow white-- It will, but that won't help you tomorrow. Also for best results, this is not a one time procedure.  Done several days in a row, you will see a dramatic change. Done only once in a while, the result is not quite as dramatic. This is how I clean my stallion's mane and tail every time. Of course, he doesn't get washed every day or every week and sometimes he is a little purple or blue.  LOL! Another note: Avoid chlorine bleach.  It may appear to take most of the yellow out today, but chlorine bleach made for laundry will turn hair and wool a yellow green and cause it to break.  That yellow will be difficult to get out.