horse bathing help!!

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izzytoyah

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I really need some tips on bathing a horse.

I’ve bought baby shampoo (which i believe is completely safe for horses)

do i use the shampoo in both her main/tail and body?

do i need any other products other then the shampoo?

i’m not sure if it seems like a stupid or obvious question but i’m just abit confused!
 
Do the tail first, then mane, then body and horse will be wet for less time. For the tail you can dunk the bottom in a bucket to make it easier. For the body get a big wet sponge and put a blob of shampoo on that then just scrub the horse gently starting from the neck. It’s not necessary to wet the horse first. Once they are wet I always use a rubber curry comb to get the dirt from right in their coat.

Then you just rinse for longer than you think is necessary. A sweat scraper will help with that.
 
Baby shampoo is fine but if you have a grey it may not get stains out. What colour is your horse and what sort of coat are you dealing with?
 
Exfoliating massage gloves are great for doing muddy white legs. Or any legs really. And the body. Shampoo foams up a lot more and cleans better if you have warm water, so if you only have a hose boil a few kettles and fill a bucket half and half hot and cold for the washing then rinse with cold water. Scrape off and let horse dry before letting it out, because the first thing the horse will do is find the muddiest area of the field to roll.
 
Give him a good brush first so there's less soil & dust in his coat, otherwise it gets like a sticky paste when the shampoo meets it.
Make sure not to spray his face - he won't like it. You can just wipe down his face with a damp cloth & no shampoo.
(I have two sponges in their own bags. One marked "face" & the other "dock" That might be old fashioned now.)
Mane & tail next.
I wet first, then shampoo - you use less shampoo that way so cheaper, easier to get the shampoo right down to the skin & rinsing takes less time. Rather than do the whole horse at once, after mane & tail are done I then start with the legs then wet higher up & shampoo that etc. Doing it from the bottom up like that is less of a surprise for the horse & saves you getting water drips down your neck when you do the legs and belly.
Sweat scraper is very useful to remove some soapy water in the middle of rinsing. Make sure to rinse sensitive areas well - soap left dried on his bum will irritate.
Have an old towel to get most of the water out of his feather so he isn't left wet there when he goes back out.

Regards other products, you may want some pig oil for the feather if he has a lot.

Edited to add Just noticed she's a mare & I said 'he' all the way though, sorry, too lazy to go back & change all the 'he's' !
 
Last edited:
Goldie's mum said:
Give him a good brush first so there's less soil & dust in his coat, otherwise it gets like a sticky paste when the shampoo meets it.
Make sure not to spray his face - he won't like it. You can just wipe down his face with a damp cloth & no shampoo.
(I have two sponges in their own bags. One marked "face" & the other "dock" That might be old fashioned now.)
Mane & tail next.
I wet first, then shampoo - you use less shampoo that way so cheaper, easier to get the shampoo right down to the skin & rinsing takes less time. Rather than do the whole horse at once, after mane & tail are done I then start with the legs then wet higher up & shampoo that etc. Doing it from the bottom up like that is less of a surprise for the horse & saves you getting water drips down your neck when you do the legs and belly.
Sweat scraper is very useful to remove some soapy water in the middle of rinsing. Make sure to rinse sensitive areas well - soap left dried on his bum will irritate.
Have an old towel to get most of the water out of his feather so he isn't left wet there when he goes back out.

Regards other products, you may want some pig oil for the feather if he has a lot.

Edited to add (Just noticed she's a mare & I said 'he' all the way though, sorry, too lazy to go back & change all the 'he's' !)
Click to expand...
thank you so much for the help, no worries about the he haha!
 
baby shampoo is fine, i use vosene for manes and tails where they tend to get a bit scurfy. as above, mane tail and legs first before body.

my brush of choice is a magic brush, really gets the shampoo in. if you use it, i find mane & tail/coat shine works that little bit better when they’re still slightly damp!
 
My runner today smells if sun kissed raspberry!

I never use horse shampoos unless I have a grey. They are a great con of money.

I do tail first then the rest of the body. Soal them, scrub shampoo in - sponge if a racing tb, dandy brush on the Shetlands 😂 then rinse out well.
 
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