Show ponies going extra mile with mascara – as demanded by ‘little girls’
CHIEF REPORTER HORSES are being “plastered with make-up” to make them prettier and “pull the wool over judges’ eyes” at equine competitions, the sport’s leading official has complained.
The show horses are being artificially enhanced using beauty products including equine foundation, highlighter gel, tints and false tails and forelocks.
The growing use of horse cosmetics is not prohibited, but has caused a stir within the show horse world, with letters to magazine complaining of the “bling on show ponies and pony make-up”.
Now, the president of the British Show Horse Association has joined in. David Tatlow, 76, a retired horse breeder, blamed children for pressuring their parents into using the products.
“I hate this make-up nonsense, I really do,” said Mr Tatlow. “I find it completely abhorrent. People are trying to pull the wool over the judges’ eyes.” He added: “It’s sort of cheating because instead of grooming horses properly, they put this make-up on them.”
Competition prizes are not huge, but a winning horse can see its value leap with champions worth tens of thousands of pounds. Contests for various breeds are held across the country, culminating with the Horse of the Year Show each autumn.
“The judges fall for it, especially the uninitiated ones,” said Mr Tatlow. “I’ve won the Horse of the Year Show 42 times and I’ve never felt the need to plaster my horses with b----- mascara. It’s been creeping in over the past few years and it’s becoming too much.”
He added: “The mothers and fathers are listening too much to their children, that’s the problem. It’s the little girls who are asking for it.”
Sarah Turnbull, managing director of Supreme Products, which sells equestrian cosmetics, said the use of make-up was entirely legitimate but should only be applied to “enhance the appearance” of a horse or pony and “not be used to change it”.
Horse make-up and glosses are generally applied around the eyes and muzzle and can be used to cover “marks and scars”. She said cosmetics were also used in dressage and even three-day eventing. But they should not be overused, she warned. “It really makes the animal look foolish. It brings products into disrepute – and, likely, covers the handlers clothes in black make-up.”