Dip Dyed Rio!

Have you ever woken up, and just had one of those...ideas?

Well...today was one of those days!  Rio got a dye job! I found myself at Sally Beauty Supply this morning, picking out colors of Manic Panic to color his mane & tail.

Rio has always been the baby in the group. I've had him since he was two years old, so he's practically grown up with me. He's always had the desire to be the center of attention - I think it's more like the younger sibling syndrome, always growing up in Hatchet's shadow. He is always the one to want to wear silly hats, or do funny tricks. He even ate my homework once - NO joke.  He's very...pliable...which makes him a very fun horse. :)

Exhibit A.

That being said, I decided it was time to give Rio a little bit of extra attention.  I met Erin at the barn, and recruited her help...Rio LOVES his auntie Erin...See?

The bag on Rio's head just ties up this picture into a neat little bow.

We began to suit up. Putting on boots that could get wet and/or blue, rubber gloves, and laying out our supplies. Of course, I didn't take any pictures of this (that would have been too easy), but basically, we had rubber gloves, two pots of Manic Panic, a plastic grocery bag, a comb, a water supply (hose is definitely best, as opposed to a bucket, etc), and rubber bands, but hair clips would have worked well too.

Soooo Instagrammy.

Reading the label, it says it's best to use this on clean, dry hair, but we didn't wash Rio's tail beforehand, and everything turned out fine.  Just make sure you brush through it, and it is free from any big dirt clumps, or shavings.  We started to lather on the dye, rubbing it in with the comb and our fingers. We went through a pot and a half of this stuff, FYI.  Once we got it all rubbed in, we bagged his tail, and tied it around the top portion that we didn't dye. (How FANCY, we left some grey tail to cover the top of the blue area, so it would look more natural.) ANND we let poor Rio sit for a half an hour while it 'cooked' in there.

Nice. No blue cheeks here!

Then, we decided to get a bit crazy and dye his forelock to match. This got kinda messy, but like I said, it's a vegan dye, so Erin assured me with just a few swipes of a baby wipe, the color would be outta there!

Told you he likes attention!

Then we kept him entertained while the time went SOO SLOWLY.  Once it was time, we unwrapped him, and began to rinse....and here's what we got after it dried!

Smurf horse!

Forelock + Face. You win some, you lose some.

He definitely feels pretty! HAHA.

One thing I will warn, is that even though this is a semi-permanent dye, and washes out with a number of shampoos, unless you plan on shampooing your horse as often as you shampoo your own head, just figure that your horse will be this color for a very extended amount of time. It is quite the commitment.  Rio doesn't go to shows, and is not a famous actor, so I don't really have to worry about his presentation...

On the other hand, it can be a LOT of fun, and change it up a bit in your day-to-day ride. Manic Panic is a great brand that has been around a while to earn it's reputation, along with all the fun facts that there are no chemicals and that it's vegan, etc etc.

If you end up doing this to one of your horses, send me a picture, or tag me on Instagram or Facebook! I'd love to see them!!!

Here it is in action!! :)