How to groom wet, muddy ponies! (also in SY)

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billylula

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Our new boy LOVES the mud. Despite being turned out with a full neck rug on he manages to grind the mud absolutely everywhere. I've never seen anything like it. Daughter had a rally this morning and we had to wash him quickly and he didn't dry in time and basically looked a mess. We are converting our field shelter into a small stable in a month or so but does anyone have any tips to keep him less muddy? He needs a ninja style full neck bodysuit

I washed him this morning with soapflakes and warm water, it didn't seem to do much good to be honest. He has a very curly coat also which maybe cushings...he's 20, the water just made it worse he ended up looking like a lamb
 
I would scrape any thick mud off with round metal curry comb.

Then get 2 buckets of hot water and squirt of baby oil and washing up liquid.

Use tea towels wrung out til nearly dry and scrub him clean with them. First bucket gets worst off. Rinse towel under tap til clean. Second bucket gets him really clean. Then get fluffy towel and rub him totally dry.
 
I wouldn't wash him in this cold weather, especially as he has a long coat.
Try thatching him with a layer of straw under a rug until his own warmth dries the mud and then groom as normal. Spraying him with something like showscene will also help to keep him clean as the mud won't stick so much. But, you'll need a clean and dry coat before you apply it.
I realise you might have to start a bit earlier to achieve this!
 
I would not wash his body while it is so cold, they will take ages to dry and not really look great anyway especially if the coat is very thick. It would help if you could clip him, just a low trace will help, then a fair amount of the thick exposed hair will be gone and easy to brush the mud off, then wash his tail and legs he should look smart enough for rallies.
 
Sorry if you have, but if you think he has cushings, has he been tested? I wouldn't wash a horse out 24/7 in winter, all the grease, & therefore the waterproofing will be washed out. Coat shine wards off the dirt a bit. But otherwise its just a case of bring in, dry mud a bit with towel/ straw, brush off & hope for the best.
 
Never bother washing our NF for a rally. If he's muddy and wet, then he gets an old Thermotex chucked over him till he dries out enough to brush the mud off, if he's very wet and muddy then he goes back out with a rainsheet voer the top till he does dry! After brushing the remaning dust gets wiped off with a very slightly damp towel.
 
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