Henny Show Supplies

Henny Soap

Kind to your horse, kind to your hands 

Vegan and Gluten Free

Cleans well, lathers well and rinses out easily

Please store your soap in a cool place away from direct sunlight

 I started making the soap a few years back for our horses. I had a few issues, and I needed to find a solution

 I tried washing up liquid  I found this dried out the feathers and made them brittle with long term use, which then meant washing and conditioning the feathers to keep them soft, as our numbers of shires slowly crept up, it was quite time consuming. I tried the traditional soft soap, but two of the horses are quite sensitive and it didn’t suit them and made them chew at their feathers. 

The next was expensive whitening shampoo, this took a lot of rinsing out, or cheap human shampoo.  Again it wasn’t practical solution for me.  I also washed foals, mares in foal and a stallion, so I needed something safe kind, effective and suitable for all

 I’m a great fan of Mother Nature she provides a lot of solutions to problems, so I started down this line which lead me on to soap and natural products used in soap

What did they use before all these modern products were available? 

I came up with a Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) free, rumour has it that SLS products can irritate the skin, this provides a lot of lather in products, I still needed lather, but researched different options.  I wanted a vegetable based soap, and started working with different quantities of different ingredients to make a good base that was easy to use and easy to rinse out

  As mite are a common problem in feathered horses I wanted to use oils to help repel these and flies, the Shires are prone to getting scabby bits in their feathers, so I wanted oils that kept skin soft and soothed any sore itchy bits, and then I wanted oils that cleaned. 

Early days with the oils was on paper, writing down possible oils researching human and animal benefits,  from the list the choice was slowly narrowed down. Then the oils started to arrive, my kitchen was starting to look like an old fashioned chemist shop, but it smelt good

I made different blends up, to see what would blend well together and what complimented each other.  The shower cubical had numbered bottles of soap with different blends of oils mixed in, the testing commenced, this product has no animal testing in any ingredients, only  myself and my long suffering other half!  It was then a case of working out the best blend to use for maximum effectiveness

 So I had my base product now all I needed to do was start cooking and testing different consistencies until such time as I got what I felt was easiest to use. This was not plain sailing, and the horses have been very patient while I fought with tubs and bottles to get the product out, or while I scooped it off the floor as it ran straight off, tried using a curry comb to scrape it out the tub. I'm sure they looked on in amazement at this crazy woman fighting with a tub.  You may wonder why I didn't get it right while it was on the cooker, the problem came up as the soap can take 48-72 hours to cure properly, so I'd make it and think yes I can work with that, put it to one side, and 48 hours later it's not what poured out the pan!

The soap is by no means is just limited to feathers, it can be used all over it has great results on grey horses and manes and tails

I wash my dogs in it, I wash my horse rugs and dog beds in it, and I use it on my dirty hands when I come in from the yard, it is a truly effective and versatile soap, which is kind to your horse and kind to your hands

I am currently working on a dog exclusive soap with it's own blend of oils and slightly different base, when the dogs are called to the bathroom, there is a mad scramble to find the best hiding place!

To use the soap:

Wet the area you wish to wash thoroughly, apply a small amount of soap by hand if on feathers, or by sponge if on body, rub well into the roots of the hair and leave for five minutes and rinse, it is better to use warm water, but works as well with cold water. 

I recommend you do a test patch first to check for sensitivity to the product. 

Ideally use within 6 months of opening or a year from purchase whichever comes first

Other info:

The soap has no consistency stabilisers in, so it will be affected by different external temperatures, if its very cold it will get harder / freeze, easily rectified by moving to a warmer location, or popping in a bucket of warm water (lid firmly attached to tub and do not submerge), if you leave it in your car in warm weather it will melt, or put it next to your radiator, or in direct sunlight, if left in the heat for prolonged periods it may separate, a good shake will sort out any separation

There is a product datasheet available to download if you require further information (below) 

There are no nut oils used in this product and it is neem and tea tree oil free, and no palm oil or any other oils from unsustainable sources, all ingredients are readily available, and all sourced from licenced British firms

The soap is a vegetable based soap with a minimum of 15% - 20% vegetable Glycerine, the remaining soap ingredients are derived from fatty acids / natural oil, mineral salt and spring water. Glycerine has natural benefits on the hair and skin, it offers moisturising benefits, and helps with dry skin and hair, it is great for sensitive horses, it is non irritant and locks in moisture without blocking pores, there are no synthetic chemicals used in the product at all.

Check oils for sensitivity - Soap can be made plain with no oils if required.  The soap is water-soluble