Washing stroppy horses

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MagicMelon

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Anybody have any tips for washing a horse who really dislikes baths?

Im trying to wash him every fortnight due to his sweet itch (meant to be weekly when his boett gets washed but I cant handle that!). But he goes ballistic. Even though Ive tried using different hose settings, even just a sprinkle sets him off! He just doesnt stand, he ponces about all over the place, rears up if I go even half way up his neck (hell trying to wash his mane which is THE place I NEED to wash!) and has a horrid habit of turning his ass at me (although he hasnt kicked yet......). I dont think he's scared, he's just having a tantrum because he doesnt really like it (he's quite a stroppy horse generally when he doesnt get his own way), he'll happily stand there and drink from it
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I was hoping the more I did it, he'd start to get used to it but after yesterday clearly not! I have even thought of putting like a "crush" device up as we have 2 wooden "tie rail" things, I thought if I put 2 of those near each other and led him into it, he couldnt swing about so much?? Is this a really bad bad idea?! Am at my wits end TBH as I cant go through this much hasstle every 2 weeks!
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Can you cross tie him, one rope on each side of the headcollar, this may help the swinging plus he might not be able to go up so high.

IME the only thing Ive found that helps with stroppy bathers is to get persevering and WHATEVER they do I don not take the hose off them. They can prat about as long as they want but the water doesnt stop. In the end they realise that what they are doing is futile.

Fingers crossed for you, its one thing to give your horse a bath because its a bit hot or grubby but quite anoither if you have no choice because of a skin problem or allergy.


Oh and make sure you wear your hard hat.
 
Im not sure if I can cross tie him..... think Ill need to re-plan. Right now I can only tie him to a outer wall so will need to fit more rings somehow. Good idea though which I will definately look into.

I do try extremely hard not to let the water off him. But sometimes he swings so quickly round, I have to dive out of the way to avoid being crushed into the wall.......! But I dont like to let him "win" by taking it off him.

Yeah - Trust me, I would not wash this horse if it wasnt recommended to. But his coat does get very scurfy and itchy, he usually takes a lot of his mane out over the summer so Ive decided this year Im fed up of it so he's had his new Boett on for the past 6 weeks, Ive taken him off all barley (in case it was caused by an allergy to this), will be feeding marmite and washing him fortnightly! Bloody high-maintenence is sweet itch. I never realised until now! It would be so nice if he just stood still, my other horses (who dont *need* to be washed) stand perfectly happily. Why is that always the way?!
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My sister used a car wash brush attachment on her horse, he was much the same as yours. So he thought he was being groomed, and the water trickled out, gradually going to full spray.
Not sure what he is like now though.....
 
If you tried to wash me or my horse with a cold hose both of us would trample you to death!!

Have you got access to hot water at the yard or could you take it in a cannister?

If you can wash him with tepid/warm water think you'll find he will become more co operative
 
I always put the hose on just a trickle, and use a sponge for any areas they really don't like. Just done ours for the first time and had OH holing carrots up in the air so I could do the tricky bits quickly!
 
Nope, dont have any hot water where I wash him. I would absolutely love to have a warm horse shower and am looking into it! But it is doubtful.

I could try washing him with a sponge and warm water, it'll just takes ages and he'll still faff about as he does even when I sponge him off after exercise....! He's quite sensitive skinned, I assume because of his sweet itch, he's very tickly which is what I think annoys him with water running all over him.
 
I've got one very similar - the only thing that seems to semi-work is to have someone else holding and distracting him whilst I bath him as quickly as possible, avoiding hooves and rears.
He's not scared either, but just doesn't like water running over him (hot or cold or tepid) - funnily enough he loves water jumps though, the wetter the better!
 
As custardsmum says, warm water might help. My Arab hates cold water baths which is a real pain as an endurance horse should pretty much tolerate cold water at any time! I have a shower unit that runs from the car cigarette lighter to a pump in a standard water container - really hot water keeps warm for hours in a bubble-wrapped container.
 
I have struggled with rinsing in the past on large horses who didn't like the hose, and was told to "lunge" them - hold the end of the rope, let them move round as they wished and with the other hand keep the hose on them. It did work, although it's no good for faces, forelocks and tails. But it speeds things up a bit with the pratty ones!

Good luck - we are bathing our stroppy boy tomorrow for the first time, so we may have fireworks to content with ourselves!
 
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