United States Eventing Association

Top 10 Tips for Keeping Your White Horse White with Rachael Livermore

We all work hard to get our horses shiny and clean for competition day, but it can sometimes take a bit of extra elbow grease to get those grey or white horses looking their best. Rachael Livermore, head groom for Sharon White at Last Frontier Farm, shares some of the tricks she uses to get Sharon's horses looking spick and span - and it starts with everyday care!

1. For every day scrubbing, I use Ivory soap and really use my fingernails to scrub white socks or a scrub mitt/curry on white bodies.
2. Then, I use purple shampoo the week of a show or outing to really get the whites to glisten.
3. Keep them covered if you can! While some horses will get dirty no matter what, there are so many options for blankets, fly sheets, and summer stable sheets that can help keep poo and dirt off no matter the time of year.
4. For white tails, it’s super important to scrub right at the base of the hair on the tail bone - you have to kind of dig to get in there!
5. Baby powder is great for quick touch-ups on small areas - but make sure the hair is totally dry first, otherwise, it will be a clumpy mess.
6. Show sheen sprayed in tails or on white socks after you’ve cleaned them helps keep new stains at bay a little longer.
7. Clipping white socks on horses that have a lot of leg hair makes it easier to keep them clean.
8. Ace bandages are perfect for wrapping tails on the trailer or in a stall for a few hours. You might need to use more than one to get the entire length of the tail!
9. Maintaining white isn’t something that can be done the day before a show! I scrub white socks and tails at least every other day with Ivory soap to keep stains from getting too set.
10. Lighting is everything - no matter how clean you think they are, the different light in a stall, aisle, wash stall, or out in the sun might show you something you missed!