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Help! How can I get my mare's mane and tail black?

This is a discussion on Help! How can I get my mare's mane and tail black? within the Horse Grooming forums, part of the Keeping and Caring for Horses category; I've worked REALLY hard getting my mare's coat back to black... But her mane, tail, and forelock are still red. ...

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Old 10-20-2009, 11:44 PM   #1
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Question Help! How can I get my mare's mane and tail black?

I've worked REALLY hard getting my mare's coat back to black... But her mane, tail, and forelock are still red. I used to dye them with human hair dye, and they would look amazing and jet black, but then I realized that the dye was SERIOUSLY thinning out her hair. Having a thick mane and tail is much more important to me than having a black mane and tail, so I stopped dying it. Is there anything else I can do to them to make them blacker? I have her on supplements and night turnout, I spray coat saver sunblock on her all the time, I use black shampoos, and I always make sure to hose off all of the sweat on her. All of those things helped with her coat, because she can shed her coat and grow it back black. But she can't just shed her mane and tail and grow them back...


Any ideas?
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Old 10-21-2009, 12:21 AM   #2
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I have used human hair coloring on some horses. Just be carful not to let it get onto the coat on the neck, as it will stain it. I had a horse with a sunburned, bleached mane. I got a mane tamer, cut gaps in the top ridge where I pulled the mane through. I then put the coloring on it. I had to let it stand for about 45 minutes before rinsing it off. The mane tamer held the hair off the neck.

It is safer to test a small strip of hair to make sure it will color well (and safely). It will mean wasting one box as it cannot sit around while the test runs.
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Old 10-21-2009, 12:34 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Allison Finch View Post
I have used human hair coloring on some horses. Just be carful not to let it get onto the coat on the neck, as it will stain it. I had a horse with a sunburned, bleached mane. I got a mane tamer, cut gaps in the top ridge where I pulled the mane through. I then put the coloring on it. I had to let it stand for about 45 minutes before rinsing it off. The mane tamer held the hair off the neck.

It is safer to test a small strip of hair to make sure it will color well (and safely). It will mean wasting one box as it cannot sit around while the test runs.
I used human hair dye, and it made the hair in her mane and tail really thin.
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Old 10-21-2009, 01:38 AM   #4
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I think they make the darkening shampoos designed for black and dark horses don't they? Are you talking about Mystique that is all bleached out? I don't know if something like this would work or not but it is all that I could find. Maybe this in combination with a supplement like black as knight would do the trick and stop it from happening in the future.

Quic Black™ - Color Enhancing Products
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Old 10-21-2009, 08:19 AM   #5
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Use vegan dyes. They have no peroxide or ammonia in them, they're also a conditioner.
It washes out a bit but they're pretty cheap anyway.
Brands like Stargazer, Manic Panic, Directions etc;
They all have black.
Aswell as other colours.
I use the Sky Blue on my horse sometimes from Crazy Color. Come out amazing on White manes and tails.
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Old 10-21-2009, 09:05 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by smrobs View Post
I think they make the darkening shampoos designed for black and dark horses don't they? Are you talking about Mystique that is all bleached out? I don't know if something like this would work or not but it is all that I could find. Maybe this in combination with a supplement like black as knight would do the trick and stop it from happening in the future.

Quic Black™ - Color Enhancing Products
Yeah, I'm talking about Mystique.

I've used Quic Black before (and other darkening shampoos)... They help a little with her coat, but not so much with her mane and tail.

One shampoo I've used that worked really well is Black Horse Henna, which is made by the people who make Black-As-Knight. It dyes her body black and lasts for three months, but it's really expensive so I didn't want to use it in her mane and tail.

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Use vegan dyes. They have no peroxide or ammonia in them, they're also a conditioner.
It washes out a bit but they're pretty cheap anyway.
Brands like Stargazer, Manic Panic, Directions etc;
They all have black.
Aswell as other colours.
I use the Sky Blue on my horse sometimes from Crazy Color. Come out amazing on White manes and tails.
And those won't make any hair fall out? How long do they usually last?
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Old 10-21-2009, 09:43 AM   #7
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the best way to keep hair from doing this is to keep them inside during the day. We had to do that with my bay gelding. We also dyed his tail black but since his mane was kept short it was never an issue. We also only dyed his tail once a year so we never had any issues with damage. One other thing is that they do make temperary spray in color that you could try. We used it on legs and scars, but I guess it would work on manes/tails too.
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Old 10-21-2009, 11:00 AM   #8
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Nope, they condition hair instead of damaging it.
I use Crazy Colour on myself and my horse and mines only just started fading after 3 weeks.
I always find if, everytime you bath them re apply it. You don't have to use the whole bottle at once if it's not needed.
On a Black mane it should come out really well and stay put until you either bath her (even then it stays and doesn't come out straight away) or when it rains.
If it rains and said dyed part isn't protected it'll run.
What parts do you plan on doing? Is it her whole tail and mane?
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Old 10-21-2009, 11:01 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by QHChik View Post
the best way to keep hair from doing this is to keep them inside during the day. We had to do that with my bay gelding. We also dyed his tail black but since his mane was kept short it was never an issue. We also only dyed his tail once a year so we never had any issues with damage. One other thing is that they do make temperary spray in color that you could try. We used it on legs and scars, but I guess it would work on manes/tails too.
I do keep her inside during the day (except when I'm riding her). How did you get away with only dying his tail once a year? How long did it stay black?

I have used the temporary spray for other things, but I wouldn't want to put it in her mane or tail. It seems like it would make them sticky and gross.
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Old 10-21-2009, 11:03 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aoi Miku View Post
Nope, they condition hair instead of damaging it.
I use Crazy Colour on myself and my horse and mines only just started fading after 3 weeks.
I always find if, everytime you bath them re apply it. You don't have to use the whole bottle at once if it's not needed.
On a Black mane it should come out really well and stay put until you either bath her (even then it stays and doesn't come out straight away) or when it rains.
If it rains and said dyed part isn't protected it'll run.
What parts do you plan on doing? Is it her whole tail and mane?
Hm... I'll give that a try then. Does it come off when you just hose him off? Or if his mane gets sweaty?

I'm planning on doing her whole forelock, the top of her mane, and the ends of her tail. The rest is already black.
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