Is there a trick to cleaning inside horns & tips of hooves?

[Emerald]

I'm working on a super disgusting TaF Buttons right now and have another unicorn on the way that may need a lot of work as well. My sister also has about one million ponies that need serious rehabbing, so I'm asking this question for both of us.

Is there a trick to cleaning the inside of horns and other VERY hard to reach spaces inside a pony? I have tried q tips, a small bottle brush, pipe cleaners, and smooshed up cotton. None of them could really get in there and get the rust and gunk out of the horn.

[Bibsy]

You can use a toothpick to sort of scrape out some gunk, if it's softened by some hot water/oxi clean. It works pretty well.

Once when we were out of toothpicks, my husband had the brilliant idea to use our waterpik.  It works great, but they are expensive so I wouldn't have bought one for this purpose, but it is a lot faster. You don't even need to pre soak.

I've also used this to clean some seriously nasty brushes that didn't respond to soaking and it works well.

Good luck

[kakenterprise]

you might need to let them soak it'll loosen the gunk and make it easier for something like a pipe cleaner brush to work. 

[ghouldilocks]

Thanks, Bibsy! I don't know why I didn't think of a toothpick, that's a good idea.

Also, I'd never heard of a waterpik...lol I HATE flossing, I might have to get one of those things for myself! It's definitely a bonus that it can be used as an effective pony spa tool 

[Emerald]

YOU HATE FLOSSING?! Your brother hates flossing too and I've spent 13 years trying to get him to do it but he won't. CAN'T SAVE THEM ALL.

The tooth pick suggestion is genius. I'm going to go look for some in the kitchen right now. Thanks!

Post Merge: December 13, 2015, 04:46:13 PM

Wellp...toothpicks didn't work. The ones I have are not long enough to reach even the bottom base of the horn from the inside.

[ghouldilocks]

Maybe wooden shish kabob skewers?

[Emerald]

I trimmed down a pipe cleaner and got her head clean, including the horn. Now the issue is the tips of her hooves.

[Bibsy]

Glad you had success with the pipe cleaner.  Good luck with the rest of her cleanup

[Princess Lala]

Awe, you hate flossing!? Aaah I floss like several times a day! I love the way it makes my gums feel if I press down a little hard xD I own a waterpik (husband uses it for his braces) but I prefer the tasty minty string floss! My dentist always gives me a ton for free cuz I go through so many! 

Back on topic I have had luck with sewing needles if there is gunk in between the engraved lettering stuff on hooves and in between wing and horn cracks! Just try not to scratch the plastic! If its just dirt or dust you can't reach, a nice firm w-tip with hydrogen peroxide helps!

[Emerald]

It's rust. 

[Chrissytree]

I've had success with decanter cleaning things called "Magic Balls" They're tiny copper balls that clean quite well in places you can't get to. I'm in the UK though so I don't know if they're widely available. You put them in the pony with some water, shake them around inside then empty them out into a sieve. It took a few times to clean the most disgustingly rusted ponies but it works well if you can find them.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Decanter-Inside-Bottle-Cleaner/dp/B00EVS3SCO

[Emerald]

I've had success with decanter cleaning things called "Magic Balls" They're tiny copper balls that clean quite well in places you can't get to. I'm in the UK though so I don't know if they're widely available. You put them in the pony with some water, shake them around inside then empty them out into a sieve. It took a few times to clean the most disgustingly rusted ponies but it works well if you can find them.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Decanter-Inside-Bottle-Cleaner/dp/B00EVS3SCO

This sounds like a really creative solution, and I did find a similar item on the US Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Decanter-Cleaning-Reusable-Stainless/dp/B00KTM4HJO/ref=lp_5407036011_1_1?srs=5407036011&ie=UTF8&qid=1450129216&sr=8-1

Thanks for recommending them. I'll look into getting some of these for my pony cleaning kit while I try to find something I can get sooner for this particular pony. If I can't find anything that works, they might be the answer.

[Chrissytree]

I've had success with decanter cleaning things called "Magic Balls" They're tiny copper balls that clean quite well in places you can't get to. I'm in the UK though so I don't know if they're widely available. You put them in the pony with some water, shake them around inside then empty them out into a sieve. It took a few times to clean the most disgustingly rusted ponies but it works well if you can find them.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Decanter-Inside-Bottle-Cleaner/dp/B00EVS3SCO

This sounds like a really creative solution, and I did find a similar item on the US Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Decanter-Cleaning-Reusable-Stainless/dp/B00KTM4HJO/ref=lp_5407036011_1_1?srs=5407036011&ie=UTF8&qid=1450129216&sr=8-1

Thanks for recommending them. I'll look into getting some of these for my pony cleaning kit while I try to find something I can get sooner for this particular pony. If I can't find anything that works, they might be the answer.

Happy to help

[brighteyes]

I use these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CPU4JW?keywords=swabs&qid=1450131931&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

They're cotton swabs with six inch handles and they have a swab at each end so you can use one swab twice.  They work pretty well for the tips of feet.  You can also use pipe cleaners for inside horns or wrap cotton around the end of a piece of wire and poke that into horns and feet.  If the cotton comes off the wire you can pull it out with tweezers or hemostats. 

If you have a Harbor Freight within driving distance, they have long tweezers and hemostats that work great for getting into hard to reach places for pony cleaning.  Also helpful for pulling hair out for customizing/rehairing.

ETA: Oops- see you already got the pipe cleaner idea for the horn.  I really like the swabs for feet though. They're cheap and they work nicely.

[Emerald]

I have short and long cotton swabs and all kinds of medical stuff in my house because my mother is a nurse and my husband is in nursing school. I can't get any of them to reach the feet because of the weird angle. Maybe this is just me and not the pony? lol