MerrySherryRider
Well-Known Member
Que ? What is this 'solarium' of which you speak ?
Mine get a hot flannel and cold hose on tails and legs and a jog around the yard, trying to avoid the mud.
Bathing/Washing horses in winter - best method?
- Thread starter Sadiemay
- Start date
Que ? What is this 'solarium' of which you speak ?
Mine get a hot flannel and cold hose on tails and legs and a jog around the yard, trying to avoid the mud.
Mike007
Well-Known Member
I think maybe there is a bit of a culture gap here. I hardly ever bath a horse,probably only immediately after hunting, before driving home. Rarely ,if he is so clagged up with clay that he will be uncomfortable ,at home. Why do people insist on bathing horses so much for nonessential reasons. There is a lot to be said for just brushing the dried mud off in the morning. As for shampoo, never use the stuff on a horse. Why remove the natural oils . Maybe I am old fashioned,but I prefer to groom a horse clean.
9tails
Well-Known Member
If your horse is that scurfy, I'd be rethinking the feed. I don't wash at all in winter, mud can stay where it is and be brushed off when dry. Including extremely muddy legs, I learnt my lesson the first year with washing off and creating mud fever.
Mike007
Well-Known Member
Oh so true!
meesha
Well-Known Member
I never wash after hunting as often parked on road side, just untack and rug, by time get home he's warm and dry and I just brush mud off. I use stain remover and chalk to get clean b4 go!
Theresa_F
Well-Known Member
Feed some linseed to help the coat stay healthy. Other things that are good for the coat are black sunflower seeds and these with linseed also give great feet.
I on occasion hot towel my two. I take a couple of kettles of almost boiling water and put in a handful of soda crystals into a bucket. I then wring the old flannel I use out so it is damp (and wear rubber gloves to stop my hands being burnt by the hot water) and then place it on the coat and let it steam the coat a little and then wipe hard. Rinse and repeat. The amount of dirt and grease that comes out is amazing and you will need to change the water several times even on what looks like a clean horse.
If the horse is just clipped, let a bit of the heat out so you don't burn them.
My two really enjoy being hot towelled. The secret is to have the horse slightly damp but not wet at the end. I then put a thermatex rug on to quickly dry off.
I also do a final go over with hot water with a dash of pig oil (or you can use baby oil) in to give a good shine. Do patch test first as some horses react to oil on their skin.
You can also add some lavender and tea tree oil to the final rinse water.
I on occasion hot towel my two. I take a couple of kettles of almost boiling water and put in a handful of soda crystals into a bucket. I then wring the old flannel I use out so it is damp (and wear rubber gloves to stop my hands being burnt by the hot water) and then place it on the coat and let it steam the coat a little and then wipe hard. Rinse and repeat. The amount of dirt and grease that comes out is amazing and you will need to change the water several times even on what looks like a clean horse.
If the horse is just clipped, let a bit of the heat out so you don't burn them.
My two really enjoy being hot towelled. The secret is to have the horse slightly damp but not wet at the end. I then put a thermatex rug on to quickly dry off.
I also do a final go over with hot water with a dash of pig oil (or you can use baby oil) in to give a good shine. Do patch test first as some horses react to oil on their skin.
You can also add some lavender and tea tree oil to the final rinse water.
countrychick
Active Member
Depending on your budget an Anivac Eco Wash is a fantastic bit of kit, my friend has one and saves a huge amount of water too.
curran
Well-Known Member
Very true. I don't waste time washing off mud - it's easier and healthier to let it dry naturally then use a rubber curry to get it off the legs so you don't scratch the skin and let infection in. As I said befor winter wash spray is the best stain remover I've used.
LittleWildOne
Well-Known Member
Another big fan of hot clothing here 
I use a dash of methylated spirit in the hot water. I always give the horse a good rubber currying first, which brings the grease and scurf to the surface.
Then hot cloth using water as hot as you can comfortably put your hand in (the meths helps to dissolve the grease
). I use a piece of towelling (about face cloth size is easy to handle). Dunk the towelling in the water then wring it out as much as you can, working quickly so the cloth doesn't go cold, and really scrub the horse in small circles (as you do with the rubber curry), and both with and against the lie of the hair. You need to keep rinsing the cloth in the hot water (the meths again dissolves the grease on the cloth), wring it out again then do the next bit. If the water in the bucket gets a bit too cool, top it up with a bit more hot water. It's the combination of hot water and meths that lifts the grease out of the horses coat. Since the cloth isn't too wet as you've wrung out as much water as you can, the horse won't get cold through getting wet. After hot clothing, groom with a body brush. Short firm strokes (put your weight into every stroke), and clean the body brush on a metal curry comb after every few strokes. A final wipe over with a stable rubber (an old cotton tea towel is good), and your horse will be gleaming 
.
I've used this method on everything from fit, clipped hunters and showjumpers, to (stabled and rugged) native ponies in their full winter coat.
This pony was stabled at night with daily turnout, being prepared for showing in hand. She was 2yo in these photos, walked out in hand and strapped daily (which also built up muscle), and hot clothed 2-3 times a week.
These 2 photos were taken in February. She is in her full winter coat.
I use a dash of methylated spirit in the hot water. I always give the horse a good rubber currying first, which brings the grease and scurf to the surface.
Then hot cloth using water as hot as you can comfortably put your hand in (the meths helps to dissolve the grease
). I use a piece of towelling (about face cloth size is easy to handle). Dunk the towelling in the water then wring it out as much as you can, working quickly so the cloth doesn't go cold, and really scrub the horse in small circles (as you do with the rubber curry), and both with and against the lie of the hair. You need to keep rinsing the cloth in the hot water (the meths again dissolves the grease on the cloth), wring it out again then do the next bit. If the water in the bucket gets a bit too cool, top it up with a bit more hot water. It's the combination of hot water and meths that lifts the grease out of the horses coat. Since the cloth isn't too wet as you've wrung out as much water as you can, the horse won't get cold through getting wet. After hot clothing, groom with a body brush. Short firm strokes (put your weight into every stroke), and clean the body brush on a metal curry comb after every few strokes. A final wipe over with a stable rubber (an old cotton tea towel is good), and your horse will be gleaming .I've used this method on everything from fit, clipped hunters and showjumpers, to (stabled and rugged) native ponies in their full winter coat.
This pony was stabled at night with daily turnout, being prepared for showing in hand. She was 2yo in these photos, walked out in hand and strapped daily (which also built up muscle), and hot clothed 2-3 times a week.
These 2 photos were taken in February. She is in her full winter coat.
arigatou
New User
It is a spray, your horse sweat working in areas away from the wick sweat is really good. You do not need to dry before you put on the carpet or trurn a.