Baths

J

jess2353

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 August 2012
Messages
281
Visit site
My horse came out in lumps during the spring just around her withers & leg only on one side,which we put down to fly bites, well anyway as the weather started to change they calmed down, however a few weeks ago I noticed that they had gone really crusty looking & her hair has gone really thin in places :/

but now it appears to be spreading its all still on one side but there appears to be more of them & in a larger area.

really want to give her bath but think the weather is far to cold :/

her coat is quite dry & surfy so I put her on the chaf conditioner.

had the vet out & he said it looked like a form of eczema but without doing tests he couldn't confirm.

But he said she could do with a bath.
but surley its a bit to cold for that ?
 
That's the bonus of having a yard that has hot horse shower :-)

I give my boy a wash down at least once a week ;-)

But yeah I'd say too cold if you don't have access to hot water.
 
Do you have electric? If so boil the kettle, two full kettles of boiling water in a bucket topped up with cold gives a bucket of nice warm water. You will need top keep the kettle working hard to give you enough to rinse with too though.

Then dry off using a sweat scraper, then a couple of towels, then a suitable wicking rug topped by a warm breathable rug. I have an old fashioned sweat rug (like a string vest) that I use, under a fleece, then if it is cold I put a stable rug on top.

Best to go for a dry sunny day even if it is cold as they will dry better with a but of sun.
 
^^ a electric shower sounds great although I'm not sure my three yo would enjoy it haha

There is a kettle up the yard but I only have to rugs just a medium & heavy weight turnout rug ( haven't had her long) the vets out again today to do her jabs so will get a second opionin aswel
 
I would use kettle water to take the chill off, bath and towel dry. Then use a cooler and walk him round for a bit until dry.
He won't come to harm from one bath so long as he then isn't chucked out wet.
 
I would use aloe vera gel on it, the only thing that cleared up my old mare's skin when she had a similar sounding condition. Malaseb and antibiotics didn't clear it, but the aloe vera worked.
 
I've got some dog shampoo which is prescription, which the vet said is effective, I might bath her today then & towel dry then take her out for a walk. can't see her being very keen on having a bath mind, taken nearly 3 months to get her to let me hose Down her feet :p
 
jess2353 said:
^^ a electric shower sounds great although I'm not sure my three yo would enjoy it haha

There is a kettle up the yard but I only have to rugs just a medium & heavy weight turnout rug ( haven't had her long) the vets out again today to do her jabs so will get a second opionin aswel
Click to expand...

You can pick up the old fashioned string vest coolers and fleeces pretty cheaply, and they are well worth having. They also don't take up much space to store and can be washed in a domestic machine so I'd recommend buying a fleece/cooler type rug at the very least.

I use fleeces as travel rugs, for drying off a wet or sweaty horse, as a stable rug when it isn't cold enough for a proper quilted one, as an extra layer under a stable rug or turnout rug when it is cold, etc etc etc and they cost about £15.

Have a quick look on equestrian clearance, or ebay for cheap fleeces you won't regret buying one. Equestrian Clearance normally delivery pretty quickly too.

I would bath in warm water on a dry sunny day, dry off as best you can with scrapers and towels and then walk round in the sunshine until dry, preferably with a fleece on.

Don't put your turn out rug on a wet horse though unless you know it is a breathable one, and to be honest as your horse has a skin condition I would want the skin to dry quickly so I wouldn't put a turn out on even if it is breathable because it won't breath as well as a fleece/cooler/stable rug etc.
 
I give my sweet itch pony a bath once a week, I bring containers of hot water in my car from the house

He has a toweling material combo which goes straight on him after he has been rinsed and roughly towel dried

The combo cost me about £37 but has been worth every penny, you can buy fleeces quite cheaply though and if baths are going to be routine Weatherbeeta do a fleece combo which may be worth investing in

Barrier and Robinsons make a lavender wash that doesnt need rinsing which may be worth considering if you are really struggling with the idea of a full bath
 
I "hot towel" mine in the winter - use hot water in a bucket (as hot as you can put your hand in!) put the towel in, then wring out all the water so its "damp" and steamy, rub in a circular movement all over. It does take them a while to get used to it - mine love the heat - its a bit like a massage. They shouldnt be wet, just damp, brush the coat back into place and they will be dry in minutes. An older pony (now in the paddock in the sky) had dry skin problems, which I have posted about before - I found after many expensive products tried and failed - that adding baby oil to the hot water worked a treat. Obviously i am not "recommending" it as such - more suggesting keep your options open. My horse wasn't sensitive to products so I could get away with it, Johnsons baby lotion applied to the worst bits daily soon helped them.
You might want to consider an allergic reaction to something and try and find the cause.
 
yep deffo going to put sweat rug
On my to buy list, think il wait until I have something to cover her
Over with. Going to a equestrian boot fare tomorrow so who knows might even find something
There :)

yeah I don't use much on her but I was wandering wether the straw might be doing it ? Might try shavings and see if there's a change.

but without a doubt that horse is having a bath this week :) she's scabby but they don't seem to bother her, but I got given some tea tree shampoo for her which I got told was quite good :/
 
WelshD said:
Barrier and Robinsons make a lavender wash that doesnt need rinsing which may be worth considering if you are really struggling with the idea of a full bath
Click to expand...

I use Barrier Lavender Wash, and thought about suggesting it, as it smells lovely and doesn't need rinsing so you don't have to get the horse quite as wet through but can keep the coat a bit cleaner. However I thought if the horse has slightly irritated skin then you might not want to leave something on the skin.....

jess2353 said:
yeah I don't use much on her but I was wandering wether the straw might be doing it ? Might try shavings and see if there's a change.
Click to expand...

Worth a try, I have heard of horses getting irritated skin from straw bedding, especially if it is treated to stop them eating it.
 
Will be following your post as interested to hear what your vet says.

My horse came up in hives in May and after being treated with steroids they disappeared. However, he had another episode at the beginning of September and despite having 2 rounds of steroid treatment, they keep coming back. He is covered on his neck and body in large wheals. He is clearly allergic to something but after trying everything to pinpoint what it is, we are no further forward.

He will be undergoing allergy tests shortly but vet suggested that I may want to bath him in anti-fungal and anti-bacterial shampoo as some of the hives have burst and are leaking serum. Like you I'm not overly keen to do so when it's so cold as don't want him getting a chill on top of everything else so have just been cleaning up the worst ones with a weak solution of hibiscrub and then rinsing off and towel drying.

Hope your horse is ok and that it's not an allergy as it's a nightmare not knowing what to exclude from their diet, surroundings, to try and avoid the lumps appearing again!
 
Agree with little claybrooks ... Very hot water squirt of baby oil, clean tea towel in then well wrung out. Brings all the dust and grease out. Used to use as a polish before shows if no time/ too cold for bath. That was in the days LONG before horse showers were invented :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top