Any tips on drying ponies after a bath?

[Miniature Sheep]

My ponies are long overdue for a spa day but I'm worried about water getting trapped in their bodies and causing nasty problems. It's my first time attempting this so I'd like to do a decent job of it. What would be the best/safest way for me to dry them?
Thanks!

[Mirnyj]

The best and most thorough way is to pop their heads off, take the tail out and first let the water drain out of the head and body with the neck holes down and then letting them dry for a good day or two with the neck holes left uncovered. If you don't want to open the neck seams, just be careful not to get the roots of the hair and tail wet. Wiping with a damp cloth for example can be quite sufficient if you don't need to wash the hair. If you get the hair and tail wet, it might be a good idea to dry the pony with the tail hole facing down so water has a chance to drain out trough the tail hole.

[mlp4me]

Great advice there.
If you have to opent them up I set them on a towel to air dry. Making sure the openings face downward. Usually let them sit for a week or two in pieces. I always do dry them out one more time with a towel or kleenex before closing them up again.

[Twilight Pink]

If its G3s and G4s, I shake their hair dry (assuming you're not gonna style the hair when it's wet) if its G1s, is still shake em dry , but I'm more cautious with G1s since they're old and have alotta toy issues :s I try not to get the roots and the tail base wet ^^

[Miniature Sheep]

Thanks for the advice everybody! I'll definitely stick to keeping the roots dry for now, as I've never removed a pony's head before and wouldn't want to botch it. Fortunately, I have a spare fakie to practice that kind of thing on the meantime.

[LadyMoondancer]

If I can't get the head off, I hang them on my shower curtain with their tail holes facing downward so the water will gradually seep out.  I use cloth hair ties to keep the ponies in place. 

[Strawberry Swirl]

Me?

I just throw 'em in a towel, rub them a little bit and let them sit for a couple of minutes.
Then I comb + rub as I need to.

[HelloGoodbye]

I do try to avoid their roots, but sometimes water gets in despite my best efforts.  If it is a G1 that is still soft you can actually squeeze a lot of the water out.  Even so, I place them tail hole facing down in a plastic cup and let them dry there for a while.  I style their hair when it's still wet and their time in the cups is also a great opportunity to let their hair styles really set well so they stay. 

[Shimmer Mist]

I never remove the heads on my ponies unless it's absolutely necessary. But if you are going to, I've found that a blow dryer can your best friend. I've used it to heat up the plastic and make it soft and pliable enough to pull the head off or push it back on. I personally feel it's an easier, safer way to get a head off as opposed to cutting the glue with an x-acto knife. x-x That's just an accident waiting to happen for you and/or your pony. x-x Just don't make any contact with the head of the blow dryer and the pony, keep it a safe distance away and the plastic shouldn't melt or burn, especially on a lower heat setting.

As for drying off my ponies; I usually just let them air dry after wiping all of the excess water off of them and out of their hair with a towel. I try to avoid the tail hole as best as possible so it won't cause rust on my G1's. Sometimes they still get wet even when I make an effort not to. Again, the blow dryer is my best friend. Because I'm paranoid, I dry the base of the tail with it so it hopefully dries any moisture that may still be sitting in there. I've had good luck with it thus far and I've not had rust occur on a pony that didn't have it prior.

[Sarah-Bee]

I've actually never had any issues with getting the tail wet and I don't pop heads off unless they come off easily and the pony needs a good clean inside. I just make sure to put them butt-down on a radiator (on top of a towel) or in the airing cupboard until they are thoroughly dry and any water has run out. I usually leave them 24-48 hours  on a hot radiator.

[daffodil101]

I don't remove heads unless they're reeeally easy to pop off, like happy tails.  I don't usually hesitate to get them wet-- I have a few boxes of really dirty old bait ponies, they even smell a bit bad and need serious cleaning.  I tip the whole box into the bathtub and add some dawn dish detergent.  Sometimes they even soak in there for a few days 

I do often 'shake' dry ponies with long hair.  The bulk of the water is in their hair, so I focus on getting that dry with a towel or squeezing the water out by hand.  After that I position them balanced on their tail holes (can be a bit tricky, I usually have lots of ponies leaning up against each other like sardines to keep them in place), on something absorbent, like a rug with a sheet on top. I usually leave them out on the front porch so there is plenty of air circulating.  Out of the sunlight though! 

I keep checking to see when the sheet it completely dry (usually a couple of days) and then leave it for a bit longer on top of that to be extra-safe.  I've never had any problems.  If in doubt, leave a bit longer! 

(I live in a sub-tropical climate, that might factor into things a bit)


Mind you-- this is dirty, baity ponies in large quantities.  Rare, clean or minty ponies I treat a lot more carefully, wiping with a damp cloth, spot-cleaning and rinsing for just a few seconds.  But if a pony does get wet, even inside, and I don't want to  remove the head, I find that old-fashioned gravity works to get the water out

[hathorcat]

I dont like removing pony heads unless I absolutely have to but if you are going to do a whole in spa/bath, then I do think you need to take a pony apart to ensure she is as dry as possible before she is put back together. Even the smallest amount of dampness in the body or tail can lead to future issues. I agree with popping the pony above a radiator or heater vent, tail hole pointing down and allowing the water to drain out as completely as possible.