Shapley’s EquiTone Whitening Shampoo *H&H Approved*

Shapley’s EquiTone Whitening Shampoo

I’ve used Shapley’s products for many years and I’m a big fan of their showing preparation products. The Shapley’s EquiTone Shampoo is a popular choice so I was excited to use it on my grey Connemara pony, Yogi, who I was bathing ahead of a show.

It had been about two weeks since Yogi’s last full bath so there were plenty of stains, mud and dirt to remove. Yogi lives inside overnight with turnout each day so stable stains are commonplace, and during show season he’s bathed once per week on average in an attempt to remove them.

It was a warm day and he’d been ridden before I bathed him. The purpose of this bath was to remove any stains and mud while also leaving a nice shine to give him that edge in the show ring.

Yogi before his bath

The Shapley’s EquiTone Shampoo is described as a “one-step premium shampoo and conditioner that adds rich, brilliant colour as it cleans and conditions” while adding “vibrancy and vitality to the hair imparting a natural colour and a brilliant shine.” The fact that the shampoo promised to both deep clean and add shine sounded ideal for the purpose of this wash.

The colour of the shampoo was a deep purple. It was quite a thin solution and it easily poured into the bucket via the funnel top, producing a good amount of soap when it was swirled around. This type of lid is preferable as you can easily control how much shampoo you use. It also smelled pleasant, but not overly of chemicals.

The shampoo produced a generous amount of soap in the bucket

I poured a generous amount of product into the bucket to create an initial solution to put onto Yogi’s body.

I worked the water over his body from the bucket, working the shampoo over his coat. I then added some shampoo directly onto a sponge and applied onto his problem areas, which included his hind legs and stomach. The shampoo produced a lather when I did the latter, and it was necessary to add more shampoo to the coat after the initial wash with the bucket and sponge.

When applied directly to the coat the shampoo produced a soapy lather which was left on for 10 minutes

The directions advise that the shampoo is left on for 10 minutes to soak in. I did this before rinsing him off with a hose followed by warm water from a bucket as it was a hot day. Due to the thinner consistency of the liquid the shampoo rinsed off easily; some shampoos require several rinses to get it out of the coat, but this only required two rinses.

The shampoo removed all of the surface dirt and will be used regularly to tackle the deeper stains

The residue and dirt had been completely removed from Yogi’s coat, but his hind legs still had a yellow tinge. I will continue to use the shampoo in between shows to see if further use improves the stubborn stains and I would suggest not letting the stains get too embedded before using the shampoo. In those cases you might need to also use a specific stain remover.

Importantly, the shampoo is not too harsh and does not stain the skin blue or purple, which I’ve found some whitening shampoos can do.

The most appealing effect was the natural shine it left on his coat. His hair was soft and silky and it felt conditioned. His mane, tail and feathers also felt increasingly soft, so I would recommend this shampoo to anyone looking to improve dull or dried out coats, or to promote a healthy natural shine.

Yogi after his bath in Shapley’s EquiTone Shampoo

The size of the bottle and the amount of shampoo which was provided meant that this product would be a cost effective purchase. It costs £21.99 for a 32oz bottle. When you’re bathing a horse most weekends during competition season, it’s handy to have a bottle that will last more than one or two washes, and the Shapley’s EquiTone Shampoo would certainly last at least six to 10 washes, depending on the size of your horse or pony.

Verdict

A quality shampoo to use regularly on horses with white, grey or light coats to promote coat health and natural shine.

In the UK? View now at amazon.co.uk, viovet.co.uk or ebay.co.uk
In the US? View now at amazon.com

Who tested this shampoo?

Alex Robinson joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor and features assistant. She graduated from University of Leeds in 2016 and has freelanced for specialist equestrian magazines, including The Native Pony Magazine and has contributed to the National Pony Society annual journal for the past few years.

Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the show scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and Olympia and has extensive knowledge of current issues in the showing world and the horses, ponies and riders who compete. She has a rare insight into the sector that comes with riding amongst the best at top level. She has produced a variety of rides to the highest level and has a passion for bringing on youngsters through the ranks. She has several ponies, mainly natives of all types, on the yard and rides most days each week before work.

At H&H Alex is responsible for the all aspects of showing coverage and is continuing to cement its place as the leading publication for both reports and current showing news. When not writing, she will be found competing her own ponies on the county show circuit.

Find out more about how Horse & Hound tests products

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