I've found that a number of products that you find around the house work well for this job. You can use pump soap or Dawn Dish Soap and warm water for the body. I'd suggest using a well-worn toothbrush for the scrubbing, and go easy around the symbols if they're glittery. No, I take that back. JUST GO EASY ON THE SYMBOLS!!!!!!
For advanced cleaning, use Comet. If there are marker stains, lipstick, etc., use nail polish remover on a Q-tip. WARNING: DO NOT INHALE NAIL POLISH REMOVER!!! IT CAN CAUSE DIZZINESS, HEADACHE, ETC. ETC!!!!! Thank you.
If there is a mark on a symbol, however, LEAVE IT ALONE. Nail polish remover will not only take away the mark but the symbol as well. I learned this the hard way - for there was no warning about it, and now poor Bright Eyes's symbol is smeared on one side.
There are also two other ailments for Ponies: "SpotZ" and "The Smooze." The "SpotZ" are age spots and gigantic mutant spots that come in a variety of colors, mainly yellowish, but I've seen blue and pink. If you catch SpotZ in the very earliest stage it WILL come off, as I have found on my Quints Bathtub for 5.
"The Smooze" (named after that giant purple junk that the Witches of the Volcano of Gloom send down on the Ponies) resemble blackheads. Unfortunately, these cannot be removed. "SpotZ" can be helped a little bit, but only by putting Elmer's Glue over the area effected, letting it dry, and peeling it off. This can fade the discoloration some, but not much.
Basic Cleaning - So Softs (Fuzzy Ones)
I had one So Soft Pony, who didn't look all that great, and I purposely put off cleaning her because I had no clue just how to. I didn't want to damage the flocking. For this job, all you need is your trusty, well-worn toothbrush and Lever 2000 (I suppose any kind of bar soap would work if you don't have these). Work up a good lather and scrub thoroughly. You can use your toothbrush to get hard to reach places, and your Pony should come out nice and clean (not to mention smelling fresh) with no damage.
Washing Hair & Styling
There are several different shampoos and conditioners out there. I like to use a shampoo for dry hair on the initial washing, and a conditioner to help frizzy hair. It really improves the quality and sheen of the Pony's hair, and I've had several success stories through this treatment.
First wet your Pony's hair with warm water (not too warm) and detangle hair gently. If it's too tangled, wait until the conditioner is on. Squeeze a dime-sized amount of shampoo into your hand, rub into Pony's hair, and scrub up a good lather. Rinse. Put a dime-sized amount of conditioner into your palm and rub into Pony's hair gently. five to thirty minutes, depending on the condition of the hair. Now is the time for any slight trimmings. Be sure not to cut off too much. Rinse out the conditioner when your satisfied with the state of your Pony's hair. You can always wash and condition again if you're not. You can now use curlers (NO CURLING IRONS) and bobby pins to curl your Pony's hair as it dries. If you do not wish to curl the hair, wrap the mane around the neck, the tail around the legs, and secure with a ponytail holder. Normally I let the Pony dry while wrapped inside a clean, old hand towel.
I'd suggest starting out with the old toothbrush and dish soap and warm water. You can always move up to Comet on a sponge for big jobs, and then the nail polish remover for bad stains.