I've always wanted to rainbow up a pony (without the logistics of owning a grey or palomino and the accompanying maintenance), and today I got to make my My Little Pony dreams a reality!
One of my barn buddies at Daisy Hills Equestrian graciously let me use his pony as a victim -- um, I mean model on the condition that I do it for his upcoming pony birthday party to show all his friends. Uh, it's a deal!
First step was sourcing a pet/horse-safe hair colour. I chose Opawz pet products, which offers temporary, semi-, and permanent dyes, chalks, and pastes. As someone who worked beauty services in the wedding industry for years, I was more comfortable using the permanent dyes, plus I knew the colours would turn out a lot more vivid.
*Note: this is not a sponsored post. All product was bought and paid for by the pony's family. But, hey, I'm totally open if anyone wants to sponsor me ;) (Opawz, I'm looking at you)
Second step was pre-dye prep. Using conditioner and Showsheen, I blocked off the areas around the mane and buttocks to try and reduce transfer/bleed. Just note that when working with a living, thinking animal there is going to be some transfer and bleeding of colour; it's quite unavoidable. Blocking areas off to reduce the carnage is a great idea, but it's hard to be perfect, especially the first go around. Also shampooing out any manure stains in the tail is a must for obvious reasons. By the time you are done colouring the mane, the tail will be dry and ready to paint.
Third step was sectioning the rainbow strands using pony elastics, just like you would with braiding, and then having each colour at the ready to start brushing in the colour. I started at the withers on the mane and clipped the rest of the hair out of the way. I also used solo cups decanted with some of the dye, which is thankfully a liquid gel consistency like human hair colour. Having a separate dye brush for each colour certainly helps (and saves on product waste) but is not necessary if you are near a hose or sink and can rinse between colours.
I recommend buying at least six bottles in order to do both mane and tail for a small horse or pony, a few more if you have a larger horse or an extra hairy beast.
As I finish each strand, I wrapped each in a plastic sandwich bag and elasticized the section, again to reduce blending of colours and transfer. The instructions say to let the colour set for 20 minutes. After the time is up, simply rinse. You can shampoo at this point and then let dry -- a good opportunity to let the pony graze some grass as a reward and also dry off in the sun so you can grab some photos.
Final tip: gloves may seem like a great idea to avoid staining your hands, but the reality is that horses move and eventually get tired of standing around, so fixing shaken out mane sections or re-decanting colour etc. is just easier when you have the use of your bare hands. It's definitely a messy project, so keep that in mind if you choose to live your best rainbow life (nothing a good pumice scrub, some isopropyl alcohol, and lots of soapy hand washings won't fix).
Last thoughts: in total, this project took several hours, including prep/blocking. So patience is a virtue, and so is gratitude. Gratitude for the sweet pony that is being asked a LOT so that us silly humans can birth our Rainbow Dash dreams.
Let me know in the comments if this is something you would do with your pony or if you are fine living vicariously through the myriad of rainbow pony pics online.
Sincerely Your friendly neighbourhood Reincoast Equestrian Silver