Bathing/Washing horses in winter - best method?

Sadiemay

Sadiemay

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Hi,

My ponios coat is quite scurfy and greasy despite being groomed most days. I wish I could wash her down but obviously as its so cold its not an option to give her a conventional bath.

I tried a waterless horse shampoo but its did bog all except leave her even more dusty looking and scurfy :mad:

She is clipped out so it will make any method easier I guess as once rugged she will dry quickly.

Can you recommend a effective way of semi bathing/washing down a ned in Winter?. I have no hot water on tap but I do have a kettle :D

Are there any good waterless or non rinse shampoos that you can recommend to me?

Many thanks
Sadiemay
 
Sadiemay said:
Hi,

My ponios coat is quite scurfy and greasy despite being groomed most days. I wish I could wash her down but obviously as its so cold its not an option to give her a conventional bath.

I tried a waterless horse shampoo but its did bog all except leave her even more dusty looking and scurfy :mad:

She is clipped out so it will make any method easier I guess as once rugged she will dry quickly.

Can you recommend a effective way of semi bathing/washing down a ned in Winter?. I have no hot water on tap but I do have a kettle :D

Are there any good waterless or non rinse shampoos that you can recommend to me?

Many thanks
Sadiemay
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I'd just go for it! I'd get every thing you need, bucket of hot water, sweat scraper, rug, sponge, shampoo and swill with cold hose and then apply soap and hot water, and swill off with hose again, sweat scrape, apply rug and put on walker or walk in hand for a little while. They will soon dry. Sometimes messing around doing a bit here and a bit there takes twice as long and they get bored and cold too. I washed my horse down sunday morning prior to a show, yes it was cold but i rugged him up afterwards and he dried quickly.
 
Use a hot bucket of water, put a cloth in for as long as you can bear it. Wring it out really well and use it against the coat to wash your horse. People put all sorts in the water, including lavender wash or Dettol.
 
Add half 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of fresh ground Linseed to your ponys feed each day, this will look after his coat from the inside. I buy the seeds whole & grind in a small coffee grinder each day.

Buy a small bottle of Nizeral - it's a human anti dandruff shampoo from a chemist, after work use a bucket of hand hot water, mix in half the bottle of shampoo, a sponge and working quickly work this into his coat, especially mane & tail. Scrape off residue and then rinse with hand hot water, scrape, either put on a sweat rug & preferably a wool rug over and hand walk or walker or lunge un rugged until dry.

If it's too cold then use a bucket of hand hot water with a squirt of baby oil, swish around and soak towel, wring out well and then rub over coat.
Don't stress so much - it's winter - hosing/bathing in winter is not good as it removes the protective grease from the coat.
 
Depends on the colour of your and how much arm strength you have....talcum powder is great for cleaning the coat in the winter. Million times easier if you have a grey or a light coloured coat, and a lot of brushing if you have a bay! It works like the dry shampoo for people, absorbs all the grease! Just needs a lot of body brushing and a patient horse who doesn't mind smelling like a small child whilst hiding in a cloud!
 
ISHmad said:
Use a hot bucket of water, put a cloth in for as long as you can bear it. Wring it out really well and use it against the coat to wash your horse. People put all sorts in the water, including lavender wash or Dettol.
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I quite agree... having a disgusting coloured who loves sleeping in poo despite more rugs than a saddlers... hot clothing is great, especially if they're clipped, try and do it at least three times a week ( I put 3 drops of fairy liquid in boiling water) and then just do a full bath if really disgustingly filthy - it's amazing how much scurf and grease hot clothing lifts out - but don't be afraid to scrub with your hot cloth
 
hot clothing with magic cowboy green remover (think its called that!) on a clipped horse. I have to clip my grey mare otherwise she is impossible to clean and take anywhere. Feel a bit mean as she lives out 24/7 - rugged appropriately of course - and is only really clipped so she is presentable when we go out (hack / dressage a couple of times a week). I tried just a bib clip last year but still had to bath her fully every time we went anywhere and it was horrendous. The washing wasnt too bad - it was getting her dry! It made my life a lot easier and probably much nicer for her that we werent have to bath everytime and I think she quite liked the hot clothing rub!

I do wash her unclipped legs and tail properly though with blue shampoo at least once a week to keep on top of the stains. As she is a grey she wears a hood and a tailbag for most of the winter, poor mare. Would never have another grey!
 
Go for hot clothing option. Warm water glug of normal viniger (breaksdown the gresse) and glug of baby oil makes them nice and shinny. really good on clipped horses to get rid of the dust and greese
 
I must be a real meanie. Brought my big clipped out grey in tonight. Blasted dirty bits with cold hose. Washed dirty bits with hot water, soap and sponge then rinsed with hose. Scraped off, rugged up and he is in ready for hunting tomorrow.
 
Ditchjumper2 said:
I must be a real meanie. Brought my big clipped out grey in tonight. Blasted dirty bits with cold hose. Washed dirty bits with hot water, soap and sponge then rinsed with hose. Scraped off, rugged up and he is in ready for hunting tomorrow.
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Ditchjumper, I must be mean too. Do the same every Saturday ready for team chasing or HT on Sundays. Only way to get a grey clean.
 
Flying_Filly said:
Ditchjumper, I must be mean too. Do the same every Saturday ready for team chasing or HT on Sundays. Only way to get a grey clean.
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Oh good at least there are 2 of us! My chap lives out 24/7 as his breathing is not great if he is in, so when he comes in he is FILTHY, but as least it is only mud much easier than stable stains!!
 
Cold water full bath as quick as possible, sweat scrap properly, Easidry grooming towel and then layer the rugs to dry them off, mine never suffer any ill health and rarely even shiver during the bath, they just have a couple during the winter before clipping. If they are going to shiver then it is during the rinsing as obviously the shampoo has washed the warm grease out their coats but it doesn't last 5 mins and then they are warm again. Tis a bit like getting stuck out in heavy rain i spose, uncomfortable for a bit then providing rugs are supplied, no problem.
 
I am a hot clothing fan, but have never tried with any oils or shampoos - might have to give that a go on my grey. I cold wash his tail and legs if we're going anywhere, but honestly I couldn't hose him off all over - his little face would not be happy!!

TBH, whilst I like him clean, he doesn't need to be absolutely shining spotless imho - He competes just as well dirty as he does clean! :)
 
Hot towelling with a good dash of Dettol!

Just a note really, my friend works for a hunt yard, and they wash their fully clipped horses after a days hunting with a pressure washer!! Using this method, the water doesn't really penetrate the coat to the skin, therefore they doen't get soaked and it's very quick, so they don't get very cold - they get well rugged afterwards
 
Evelyn said:
Add half 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of fresh ground Linseed to your ponys feed each day, this will look after his coat from the inside. I buy the seeds whole & grind in a small coffee grinder each day.
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I've started this as I can't get micronized linseed over here and have been eating it myself in cereal... have to say it seems to be doing wonders for my aching joints!:D Useless info for bathinhg a horse though, sorry! :o
 
Well I hosed mine tonight after riding :eek: It is quite warm here tbf tonight but even after hunting I wash down - legs with hosepipe, rest with bucket of warm water :)
 
Hi all,

Thanks alot for the replies.

I dont think I could cold hose her in this weather, she is an old girlie and I would be worried about giving her a chill, she is such a wuss at the best of times. If she was younger I would probably give it a go!

I think I will go for the hot clothing method as it seems quite popular and effective.

So is this just a case of wringing out a cloth is hot water and rubbing against the coat. If I add any dettol, oil, or other things mentioned do I need to rinse off afterwards to avoid any skin irritation?

I am curious about the use of surgical spirit, is this effective?

With regards to feeding Linseed for coat/skin condition, it is OK to feed a horse prone to laminitis? I am not sure :confused:

Sorry for all the q's!

Sadiemay
 
Every other day I use baby wipes over the clipped coat and once every few week my clipped out boy gets a weekly hot water and baby oil "bath"

Get a bucket of boiling water and add baby oil. Leave until it cools enough to put your hand in. Then use one of those brushes that has a sponge in the middle and simply in small circles massage the baby oil water into the coat... Use as much water on the bush/sponge as you like I usually have it dripping then with a plastic curry comb brush horse over. :cool: It leaves the coat so soft and shiney and gets rid of all dirt and scurf without stripping the horse naked and covering them in freezing water!! Also makes it much easier to brush dirt and scurf off over the week
 
Sadiemay said:
Hi all,

Thanks alot for the replies.

I dont think I could cold hose her in this weather, she is an old girlie and I would be worried about giving her a chill, she is such a wuss at the best of times. If she was younger I would probably give it a go!

I think I will go for the hot clothing method as it seems quite popular and effective.

So is this just a case of wringing out a cloth is hot water and rubbing against the coat. If I add any dettol, oil, or other things mentioned do I need to rinse off afterwards to avoid any skin irritation?

I am curious about the use of surgical spirit, is this effective?

With regards to feeding Linseed for coat/skin condition, it is OK to feed a horse prone to laminitis? I am not sure :confused:

Sorry for all the q's!

Sadiemay
Click to expand...

Personally I wouldn't use dettol... 1 it stinks and 2 it's likely to cause skin irritation.... I use it once and it literally looked as though my horses skin was shedding like a snake!! Never again will I use it but I guess it's personal preference
 
Sadiemay said:
With regards to feeding Linseed for coat/skin condition, it is OK to feed a horse prone to laminitis? I am not sure :confused:
Click to expand...

Linseed is very good - so long as you feed it cooked, micronised or as oil, it is strongly recommended for laminitic horses that need condition, as fat is metabolised quite differently from sugar. I think someone mentioned raw linseed, though. That is OK for humans but poisonous to horses according to my vet!
 
I use WINTER WASH - I got it on ebay last year. Its a spray that you put on sweaty areas after working the horse and it wicks away sweat really well. You don't need to rub dry before you put the rug on or trurn out. It lasts ages and was pretty cheap.
 
At the moment, with the big dirt magnet in my signiture, I am using an empty fly spray bottle to spray water and a drop of some coat whitener all over his body, and then brushing over it after I have ridden. He was getting a bit dusty and sweaty, but this has sorted it out and he is all shiny again, and smelling of lavender now :D
 
I line up 4 buckets of hot water, one with shampoo and the others for rinsing and then just be as quick as possible. I soap the tail first so it can soak and then get the rest of horse clean, towel dried dry and rugged (takes 5 mins max) and then go back to the tail. As soon as I'm done he goes on the walker in a thermatex for 20 mins.
 
I do wonder about some ideas on this subject. Mucking about with buckets of rapidly cooling water . I use a hose, cold water, as fast as possible . not nearly as prolonged as ****ing about with buckets. Job done solarium or rugs , vigorous rub down .
 
Gosh no not cold water in this weather!
It doesn't take long to fill a few buckets of hot and use them to lessen the impact of the cold water, the best method is the fastest one when you actually get washing..
I wouldn't balk at rinsing legs with a cold hose but not a bath..
The easiest way is plenty of buckets already filled and two people working at once...
 
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