Welcome to EN’s Product Review series! Who doesn’t love shopping, especially when the object of your search is new gear for yourself or your horse? As an enthusiast of all products equine, I LOVE trying out new gear. Please join me as I narrate my personal journey of trying out all of the products featured. While I will make no recommendations, I hope you have fun reading about my many adventures of trying new products, and that hearing about my personal experiences helps you on your own quest for new gear. Go Shopping.
Label on bottle of Shapley's Easy-Out No Rinse Shampoo - Photo by Lorraine Peachey
It’s oh so hard to drag myself out of bed in the morning this time of year. I’m not particularly keen on the cold temperatures, but here in Pennsylvania, we just deal with it, with a stiff upper lip. And hey, I really can’t complain because from what I see and hear on social media, there are much colder (and snowier) places out there. Much much colder.
So when I wake up in the morning, I usually reach over to grab my phone off of my nightstand. Sometimes it takes me a couple of swipes to actually find said phone, but when I do, the first order of business is to check out the weather forecast for the day. And from there it can go either way. While I do need to keep an eye on the weather conditions, to plan for turnout and blanketing for my horses…sometimes I wish that I wouldn’t have looked at all
I cringe inwardly when I pull up my weather app, and my eyes spy a single digit number hanging out on the current conditions screen. And it only adds insult to injury when I see a single digit temperature, accompanied by wind chill that dips down into the negatives. Like this morning — my weather app brought me the wonderful news of a 0 degree morning, with a wind chill of negative 23. Eyeball freezing cold? Sure — but I will take what I get, because it could be colder…and because I really don’t think there is another option.
After seeing a single digit temperature show up on my screen, it’s just that much harder for me to get motivated to roll out of bed and get dressed to go outside. I think of the chorus of happy nickers that await me, and it helps to motivate me to get moving. And the other thing to look forward to? A hot shower to help me thaw out after my barn chores are done and I come back inside.
Easy-Out comes in a simple to use spray bottle, and it is designed to help remove stains such as manure, urine, grass, sweat, and…MUD! – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
On those extra cold days, a hot shower is absolute bliss. It’s a great feel to get cleaned up and be able to relax a little under water that is just slightly south of being scalding. The feeling of being clean is the best. I feel a little bad though – because I try to make my trips out to the barn as short as possible when I’m so cold…which means that certain things on my to-do list are neglected.
And one of those things, unfortunately, is grooming. I like to keep my horses clean – their coats brushed, their manes and tails untangled, and their hooves picked. But I really dislike not being able to feel my fingers. Or my toes. Or my face. And forget about bathing – we’ve got quite a humble barn here. No wash stalls and no warm water. So we get the grime off as best we can, on days when the temperatures aren’t sub-arctic.
Under normal circumstances, I’m quite meticulous with my grooming routine – and I feel badly that I don’t keep quite up to my usual standards this time of year. It’s just so cold! But I do like to try to do what I can in the time that I am outside – which is probably why I’ve had such good luck this season while using Easy-Out No Rinse Shampoo from Shapley’s.
Easy-Out Shampoo has been really terrific to be able to use on particularly gross and grimy looking spots this season…such as Ripley’s white stockings. Ripley tends to collect a good deal of mud and dirt rubbed into his white stockings, particularly this time of year. Normally, I would just break out a bottle of shampoo, and lather up his legs to wash out the stains, and then rinse them out.
When Ripley’s stockings become dirty and stained looking during cold weather, I find that it works best to apply Easy-Out spray directly, and allow it to sit for a minute or two. I then take a brush and go over the legs in circular patterns to help lift the stains out – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
But not when it’s cold outside enough to make my eyeballs feel like they are going to freeze – I really don’t think Ripley would appreciate having his legs washed in single digit temperatures. He’s not quite that concerned with his appearance. Easy-Out offers a solution to this dilemma – in that I can get the stains out of Ripley’s stockings, even when temperatures are too cold for bathing.
Easy-Out comes in a simple to use spray bottle, and it is designed to help remove stains such as manure, urine, grass, sweat, and…MUD! The spray has been designed so that when applied, it actually lifts stains to the surface, where they can then be removed with a towel or cloth. And along with being a tough stain remover, it also includes a special odor eliminator as well.
When using Easy-Out, I spray the product directly on Ripley’s coat on areas that need to be cleaned up a bit, and then I let it sit for a minute or two. Application can also be done by spraying Easy-Out onto a towel, and rubbing it directly on to the coat in order to clean all the way to the skin.
Manes and tails that are stained or dirty can also be helped by using Easy-Out — follow the same ‘apply and let sit’ method as you do with the coat. Afterwards, use a towel or cloth to gently pull down the length of the hair in order to help remove the stain.
Easy-Out also has been designed so that it includes optical brighteners, which actually help to enhance the natural color of your horse without causing any discoloration. The optical brighteners also aim to help to produce a brilliant shine in your horse’s coat – and because the product does not contain silicone, you can safely use Easy-Out under the saddle area or on hair that needs to be braided.
I find that Easy-Out really does help to lift the stains out of Ripley’s stockings, so that I can brush them out. And I really like that it offers a simple solution to cleaning and removing the stains even when it is too cold out for actual bathing – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
When Ripley’s stockings become dirty and stained looking during cold weather, I’ve been reaching for the bottle of Easy-Out. In his case, I find that it works best to apply the Easy-Out spray directly to his stockings, and allow it to sit for a minute or two. I then take a brush and go over the legs in circular patterns to help lift the stains out. And the results look really terrific.
I find that Easy-Out really does help to lift the stains out of Ripley’s stockings, so that I can brush them out. And I really like that it offers a simple solution to cleaning and removing the stains even when it is too cold out for actual bathing. I also like that after using Easy-Out, the most I have to do it pat down the area I just cleaned with a towel—no rinsing required!
Easy-Out is available in either a 6oz or 32oz spray bottle, and it is also MADE IN THE USA. The 32oz bottle retails for around $10-$12 dollars.
Go Stain Free Shine (Even Without a Bath). Go Shapley’s. Go Eventing.
