I might have done a thing (I wonder how many of my blog posts have started out with that exact phrase…).

At some point last week I was looking at Presto’s forelock and lamenting about the fact that the ends are so bleached and faded. He’s got a lot of bangs, always has, and they’re always orange at the tips. And then I just suddenly had the most overwhelming urge to dye them.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… “Who in their right mind would do such a thing?”. We all know I’m not in my right mind and never have been, so that’s a silly question. I dunno man, what can I say, sometimes the intrusive thoughts win. So I pinged the group chat with my trainer and a couple friends and asked what color Presto’s bangs should be.

Bless em, they’re used to me just saying and doing the most random shit, it didn’t even faze them. I have a whole rainbow of semi-permanent fashion dyes because I do weird colors in my own hair, and I happen to use a line that is vegan, non-toxic, super gentle, safe for dogs, etc. So I was like screw it, I’ll just throw some of my own dye in there. Trainer voted for pink but given how orange our starting point was, I didn’t think it would look very good. Blue fades to green and I really didn’t want him stuck with a green fade, so blue was out. Of my favorites that really only left me with purple… plus it fades to a warmer pinker tone, which is more tolerable than green or orange.

So ya know… I grabbed a latex glove, got my bottle of hair dye, and off we went on an adventure.

The good thing about semi-permanent dye is that since it’s the consistency of conditioner, it’s easy to glob it in, make sure all the hairs are saturated, and you don’t have to worry about mixing up bottles or liquid dripping or anything like that. I literally just squirted some into my hand, ran it through his forelock, then rolled up the forelock, pulled the glove off my hand and flipped it around the hair, and then looped a hair tie around it. It needs to process for at least 45mins and heat helps, so I just rode him with the glove wrapped around his little top knot. Very stylish. Tres chic. Lord only knows what the neighbors think of me by now.

It ended up staying in for about an hour and a half by the time I groomed and tacked up and rode, and it worked great. As soon as I pulled it down I just started cackling endlessly because I mean come on. It’s impossible to not be amused by Presto with a purple forelock. By the time I rinsed the dye out and towel-dried his forelock a bit, I was pretty certain this was one of the better ideas I’ve ever had.

It coordinates well with his punk rock vibe, honestly. You gotta admit he pulls it off.

The semi-perm dyes fade pretty fast, especially with sweat or lots of washing, so once I decide we’re done with it, no big deal, we can fade it out. Granted, he could technically keep it for however long I want, because he always shows in a bonnet (at least for dressage) anyway.

So far the only “public” person to see it was the Arion rep, when she came to check his saddle fit. She looked at him and went “did you dye his forelock purple?”. Me: “yes, indeed, I did do that.”. Her, chuckling: “That’s rad.”.

I find it endlessly entertaining and very fitting. Purple forelock is Presto’s summer vibe for sure. He may have started a TikTok trend… a couple other people have already done their horse’s forelocks too. If this is my legacy, I’m totally here for it.