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miniappluvr

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I have a black mini that I plan on showing. I clipped him out a while ago and wanted to let his black grow back in. Well, now it has come back but he is sun bleached a funny bronze color in areas. (especially the mane and tail)

I would really like some advise from people who show as to what my options are? I don't want to re-clip to lose the bronze, but is that what I am going to have to do? I don't want him to look like I didn't care about his appearance at the show either.

Thanks for your help
 
I had a dun QH/Arab mare whose mane and tail used to bleach out really bad. To fix it, I wrapped her neck in a plastic bag (not her head of course!) cut a slit down the center of the bag on her neck and pulled the mane through. I put lots of vaseline for about three inches down her neck so if the dye did run, it wouldn't soak into her coat. I used hair dye for people and dyed her mane black! I was able to pull her forelock through the plastic and do it for that too. I did her tail at the same time the same way. You'll probably need two dye kits to do botht he mane and tail depending on how much mane/tail your horse has. I then rinsed out the mane and tail really really good, and bathed her really good, just in case the dye had run! If you dye gets on her coat a bit, you can always try to reclip is her coat has grown back enough. Dying the mane and tail has always worked really well for me and I've done it to that horse every time before we've shown.

You can also buy horse shampoo made specifically for black horses, it has weaker black dyes in it, and it sometimes helps for sunbleaching.

Im sure others will have other suggestions.
 
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Unless the rules have changed recently, you are allowed to dye the mane and tail back to the horse's original color. There are a number of gentle human hair dyes.

When we used to have a black horse to show, we also didn't turn him outside at the height of the day....ie, between 9 and 3.

MA
 
Can you tell me a name brand of the dye that would be gentle enough? Or would any brand work ok?

Thanks so much for your help. I didn't even think about the shampoo especially for black horses! I think that would work well for the light bronze body area's.
 
We have found that the best thing for dying a horses mane and tail are products made for African-Americans. Seems to hold the color better maybe because of the texture of the hair. As for the body the only thing to do is re clip and keep out of the sun. Also make sure you dye before you clip, then you can remove tiny oops'. And also on the neck to help with runs, use any cheap human hair conditioner and put it on thick. Cheap works well. Good luck and I hope your show is successful.
 
I read on here somewhere that "Just for Men" is gentle and works real well and works fast..

good luck, I have a bleached black mane too;(
 
Another option is the feeds that help with color. Black as Night helps (so I'm told) but is expensive. A number of people feed Sunflower seeds, flax and sage to enhance color. Sage is in the color feeds.

We've used sage, but you need to start with a tiny amount as it smells really strong, which some horses don't like.

As for dyes I've always heard the Mens or the African American products work best. You may want to try the darkest brown vs black - some black is blue-black which looks fake on horses.
 
My black horses don't get sunbleached except for the manes and tails. They get redish from the sun.

A true black horse doesn't fade out easily or at all. You may have a seal brown horse or someother color resembeling a black.

I would re-clip this horse as Karen has suggested and keep him out of the sun completely and dye his mane and tail black.

As for dye, I use whatever is on sale but I'll warn you that if you use Nice and Easy it's hard to get that stuff rinsed out.

Good luck. I'm sure you will be just fine!
saludando.gif
 
I GO FOR THE DYING OPTION AS WELL AND IT GIVES REALLY GOOD SHINE AND CONDITION... WHATEVER IS ON SALE WORKS FOR ME AS WELL..

I'M SURE MY LOCAL CHEMIST THINKS I'M A SECRET GOTH !!

XX
 
There are some touch up sprays you can use if the bronzed areas are not too large. But like Marty said, you may actually have a brown horse instead of a black. I keep my blacks under cover until the sun sets behind the trees.
 
My black gelding lives outside 24/7. Yes, he has a sunburnt mane. In the past I've always turned it over so that it was on one side at home and the other (darker) side at the shows. This year I decided that if a judge wasn't going to use him just because of the colour of his mane (he doesn't go in colour classes) then that was their problem because I quite liked the shade of red that his mane was! Apparently no one minded, last weekend he won both Grands and a Supreme! He's the horse in my avatar.
 
A local dog groomer told me not to use dye that is temporary, as it will come off if the horse gets sweaty or wet. I love the way the dye makes mine's mane and tail look! The "just for men" products are more expensive than women's dyes, I have found. Thanks for the tips on vaseline and conditioner to help keep it off the coat. It is a messy business, no matter how you do it, though.

Marsha
 
we always use just for men as it is sooo much quicker then womens hair dye and i think it lasts longer. Its hard enough to dye a horses mane and tail but at least with the mens color you only leave it on 8-10 mins vs 20-30 for womens color
 

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