Do you bath your horse in hot or cold water and for what reason?

Warm water because I got fed up of them all dancing about with the cold hose so hubby got me a shower installed outside for them for Christmas!

They all stand really quiet now to be bathed so it was worth every penny!
 
Warm, my mare doesn't like cold water so I do it hotter for her how she likes it, I also find that she dries quicker for some reason aswell but she doesn't like cold
 
Cold......we only have cold water at our yard. I have the cowboy magic shampoo which says its fine to be used with cold water. I do feel rather cruel though.
 
cold - because im a mean mummy :D

our hose only does cold water, obviously, its a hose! but im too lazy to fill buckets from the tap in the tac room, it barely dribbles it would take forever, and she'd probably kick it over in her usual 'bath time temper'!!
 
ok thanks, i usually bath in cold when hot and warm when cold.
its just my pony had colic the other day later in the day after a cold bath and someone told me i had caused it by bathing her cold, even though she had been having cold baths for 3 years with no problems. felt bad :(
 
I was always told not to absolutely douse/hose them in cold water if they were very sweaty after exercise as can cause problems (like massive blood vessel constriction which I guess could lead to colic and/or heart attack) so I will either use warm water by adding a kettle of hot to a bucket of cold and a sponge or just use cold but only with a sponge and on the very sweaty bits and not leave them soaked from head to foot. I've seen horses at our yard with a freezing cold hose turned on them after coming back from being ridden in the summer drenched in sweat and a finer skinned sensitive one nearly went out his skin, fell on the concrete where he was tied up whilst being hosed and cut his lip with his tooth where his chin hit the wall. Not recommended. I always think, just wise to assess it and think how you would feel with that sort of thing done to you if very hot. It depends on the individual horse a bit I think too - as some a lot more sensitive and thin skinned than others.
 
MochaDun said:
I was always told not to absolutely douse/hose them in cold water if they were very sweaty after exercise as can cause problems (like massive blood vessel constriction which I guess could lead to colic and/or heart attack) so I will either use warm water by adding a kettle of hot to a bucket of cold and a sponge or just use cold but only with a sponge and on the very sweaty bits and not leave them soaked from head to foot. I've seen horses at our yard with a freezing cold hose turned on them after coming back from being ridden in the summer drenched in sweat and a finer skinned sensitive one nearly went out his skin, fell on the concrete where he was tied up whilst being hosed and cut his lip with his tooth where his chin hit the wall. Not recommended. I always think, just wise to assess it and think how you would feel with that sort of thing done to you if very hot. It depends on the individual horse a bit I think too - as some a lot more sensitive and thin skinned than others.
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This is a good point, however how come people always (myself included) hose/bucket wash off horses when they have come off xc - I have never seen a horse finish xc and buckle when washed off, afaik no-one uses warm water for this?

I cold wash if its a nice day. If its cold I will hot cloth him and spot wash, other than legs and tail - they will get washed in warm water, but rinsed in cold - having cold legs won't do any harm on a cool day :) I am interested in getting one of those warm shower packs though :)
 
Warm water and may rinse off with cold hose if a hot day. Warm water only for the same reason that I wouldn't do my washing up in cold water. Can you imagine how long it would take to wash your dishes in cold water even with washing up liquid in!!
 
Warm water bathing, I would never do a proper bath in cold water - I wont bathe in cold water so i wouldnt put my animals in cold water either.

If its a hot day i will sponge off with cool water, but not full hose down.
 
I wash in warm water when it's cold and cold when it's warm. Would never full bath them in cold water, just sponge off the sweaty bits.
I have a Burco boiler at the stables that I put on if I need hot water, then mix the hot with cold.
 
MochaDun said:
I was always told not to absolutely douse/hose them in cold water if they were very sweaty after exercise as can cause problems (like massive blood vessel constriction which I guess could lead to colic and/or heart attack) so I will either use warm water by adding a kettle of hot to a bucket of cold and a sponge or just use cold but only with a sponge and on the very sweaty bits and not leave them soaked from head to foot. I've seen horses at our yard with a freezing cold hose turned on them after coming back from being ridden in the summer drenched in sweat and a finer skinned sensitive one nearly went out his skin, fell on the concrete where he was tied up whilst being hosed and cut his lip with his tooth where his chin hit the wall. Not recommended. I always think, just wise to assess it and think how you would feel with that sort of thing done to you if very hot. It depends on the individual horse a bit I think too - as some a lot more sensitive and thin skinned than others.
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The vet studies after the AUstralian olympics said that you should cool a horse off with lots of cool water as quickly as possible,.... but the aus is hotter than here...

BnBx
 
Definately Hot as it activates the shampoo better and helps get it to the roots of the hair so does a better job

I have several 20litre buckets with lids which I fill with very hot water at home and take to the stables. Then I can wet the horse with the hose first and dilute the shampoo in hot water and scrub. I have a lot of white legs to wash so really need the shampoo to work well.

I also have a plastic curry comb attachment that is great for working out the dirt and shampoo.

I wash legs first - several times, then the tail, mane and then body so the bulk of the horse is dry for as long as possible - reduces them getting chilled.

Scraped well and then lunged to dry. Often lunge first too to warm horse up, a sweaty or hot horse is easier to get dirt out of.
 
Cold because I have no hot!! If I really need to I can take a barrel of hot down from home & mix it with the cold to take the edge off - hose won't reach so have to bath him with buckets anyway Xx
 
cold. I only want to wash the dirt out not all the protective oils. Get them sweaty before lifts the muck to the surface. Nothing beats elbow grease grooming regularly with a firm body brush, working them to a sweat and hosing with cold water. Doesn't require fancy products, and the best shine comes from within :)
 
We have hot water at the yard I'm at, so I fill A couple of big buckets with hot, Use a smaller bucket to mix the hot with cold.Have everything ready in place before I tie the horse up, then start just behind the head wetting the horse with a sponge. I put shampoo straight out of the bottle onto the horse and thoroughly wash the mane first, then neck. Next, I wet the horses body and shampoo the same way. I use a water brush to get the shampoo thoroughly into the coat all over the horses body and top of legs. Then I thoroughly rinse the mane, neck and body, scrape off the excess water and put a fleece or other type of cooler on so the horse doesn't get chilled. If I need more hot water, I refill the "hot" buckets and mix more warm to do the tail next. I fold the fleece up over the horses bum while I wash then rinse its tail. I do the legs AFTER everything else since the dirt from their body runs down on to them ;). After the legs are washed and rinsed, I mix fresh hot and cold water, put a little shampoo in the water then use a bit of towelling to wash the horses ears and face. (I do the forelock at the same time as the mane. Tuck it back under the headpiece of the headcollar, the water and shampoo then don't run down its face ;)). I keep checking the horse is warm enough throughout washing, and will put another fleece on top of the one it is wearing if needed. I gave my 2yo New Forest filly her first ever bath this way 3 weeks ago for her first ever show. She had lived wild on the New Forest since birth, until exactly 19 weeks and 3 daysbefore her first ever bath. She didn't flinch, stood like an angel ad enjoyed having a nice warm bath. She wore her first ever rugs just a few days before her bath.
I always bath with warm water as it;s much nicer for the horse. My formerly "wild" filly would totally agree if she could speak. (And she rewarded my kindness by behaving exceptionally well at her first show, we even got a pretty green frilly for our efforts :D). I've no problem with sponging off sweat marks with cold or lukewarm water, buy ALWAYS bath with warm :).
 
MochaDun said:
I was always told not to absolutely douse/hose them in cold water if they were very sweaty after exercise as can cause problems (like massive blood vessel constriction which I guess could lead to colic and/or heart attack) so I will either use warm water by adding a kettle of hot to a bucket of cold and a sponge or just use cold but only with a sponge and on the very sweaty bits and not leave them soaked from head to foot. I've seen horses at our yard with a freezing cold hose turned on them after coming back from being ridden in the summer drenched in sweat and a finer skinned sensitive one nearly went out his skin, fell on the concrete where he was tied up whilst being hosed and cut his lip with his tooth where his chin hit the wall. Not recommended. I always think, just wise to assess it and think how you would feel with that sort of thing done to you if very hot. It depends on the individual horse a bit I think too - as some a lot more sensitive and thin skinned than others.
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I was taught the same too but in research for the Atlanta (?) Olympics where the weather was both hot and humid, hey found the best way to lower the animal's temperature was to use cold misters which sprayed out fine water droplets,

I always bath them in hot water. Not that mine get bathed very often, usually after a day's hunting. It is funny to see other horses that might be staying here for the night tense themselves when I go near them with the sponge and then relax when they realise that the water is not cold.

Cold water does not remove grease, try washing up with cold water! Well worth investing in a small boiler or a couple of kettles just to take the chill off.
 
Again - warm water always. Makes for a happier horse. Take the point about cold water after a XC run but I don't do a whole body wash down - I just do between the legs and girth area and wash off properly when I get home
 
In the summer/if it's warm - cold water (although I don't just turn the hose on him, I start out with a sponge to get him used to the cold water first) . . . and in the winter a bucket of warm water and a sponge (although I do finish rinsing the end of his tail off with cold from the hose).

P
 
used to use cold hose but he really doesn't like it. he is good but its obvious he doesn't like it so I now use warm water, even if it means boiling the kettle
 
Warm water most of the time. Unless its hot then cold, which she adores! Sponge after riding with Luke warm water usually :)
 
If its a bath for a show i take her down the local yard and use their wash room with warm water - its gets her clean :p
After exercise if shes hot i use water out of a container to sponge down the sweaty bits!
I haven't got a water connection sadly :(
 
Cold, our water comes from a natural spring into a tank with a filter, No main leccy either so Id need to bring flasks and flasks just to take the edge off the water chill. So they just have to endure it, they are rugged up well after if its cold. In summer I think they actually enjoy the coolness of the water.
 
Cold, but I only ever bath him when the weather is really hot. Which means that he hasn't had a bath for nearly 2 years now with last summer being so awful. I do wash his tail though, when it is mucky.
 
xloopylozzax said:
cold. I only want to wash the dirt out not all the protective oils. Get them sweaty before lifts the muck to the surface. Nothing beats elbow grease grooming regularly with a firm body brush, working them to a sweat and hosing with cold water. Doesn't require fancy products, and the best shine comes from within :)
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^. ^
This.

We must be very old fashioned loopyiozzax:D
 
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