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The best way to bathe horses
Lynn Russell gives us the low down on keeping your horse spik and span!
Avoid using washing-up liquid or washing powder! It might remove dirt and grease but your horse's skin is more
sensitive than a dirty plate, and as even the gentlest products have a drying effect on our own skin, the same will apply to your horse's. If you work it out on cost per quantity, you'll usually find that shampoo made specifically for horses is just as economical. Reactions to horse shampoo are rare, but if your horse has shown signs of skin sensitivity in the past, you might want to do a patch test with a new product before giving him a full bath. Wash a small area, rinse and wait 24 hours to see if there is any reddening or flaking of the skin.
Ingredients you might find in modern horse shampoo include coal tar, to combat flaking skin; colour enhancers such as henna for brown and bay horses, and citronella, which is said to have insect repellent properties. There are also products with no perfume and low lathering characteristics.
Grey and coloured horses can be a nightmare to keep clean and 'brightening' shampoos are popular. You can also find brighteners, the modern equivalent of the old 'blue bag', to add to rinsing water; these are particularly useful for tails that have taken on a yellow tinge.
The professional way with greys
If you use good quality products, you won't harm the coat through frequent bathing. But you have to accept that coat condition comes from within, from what you feed. Products enhance, but they can't make a poor coat into a shiny one.
We bathe horses the day before a show, using Brite Whites, a brightening shampoo for the greys. When they're clean, we spray Absorbine Show Sheen through their tails and everywhere except the saddle area: it helps repel dirt but makes the hair slightly slippery, so you don't want it under the saddle.
My horses go out when they've been bathed, but we use cover-ups from Snuggy Hoods to keep them clean and comfortable, and if necessary, you can put a turnout rug on top.
This routine means that all we have to do on show days, when we're usually setting off at some unearthly hour, is wash their legs, put on traveling gear and we're away.
Just in case, we take another Absorbine product called Miracle Groom with us to get rid of stains; it's also great for banishing saddle marks in the ring.
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Cold weather clean-ups
If you have to bathe a horse in cooler conditions, there are ways of keeping him comfortable. Get everything ready beforehand, including a scraper, towels, a rug such as a Thermatex and, if appropriate, stable bandages or leg wraps.
Warm but not hot water is better than cold. which may mean having a helper to bring buckets of hot water to top up.
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To start, wash and rinse the tail, because you don't need to remove rugs to do this. |
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Then fold back the rug from the front to wash the neck and mane. Scrape, rinse and scrape again and towel dry. |
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Now fold the rug onto the loins and quarters and do the middle section, as above. |
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Finally, fold the rug forwards to wash and dry the back end. |
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Check that your horse is warm enough and if not, add another rug before cleaning his head and legs and, if necessary, using bandages or leg wraps for warmth. |
 Try a racing stables wash
If your horse has a fine coat, or you're doing this later in the year when he's been clipped, try a technique used in racing stables.
Dip a piece of clean towel in hand-hot water and wring out as much moisture as possible. Folding and moving your rug as described above, rub the coat vigorously, rinsing the cloth regularly.
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