Washing your horse?

[Arianrhod]

Hi all

I've just bought my first horse at the grand old age of 48 and although I've ridden for years, I've never considered having my own and so I'm on a steep learning curve. Fortunately I'm lucky to have a good very experienced friend who has her own yard, and my new lovely is on full livery with her, so I will be able to learn from my friend.

I got drawn into this purchase because I felt desperately sorry for the mare; she's a beautiful cob x pintaloosa, 14.2hh, 9 years old and doesn't appear to have had much care taken of her. She came from a stud farm, she has breeding as long as your arm, but has never been backed or ridden, and my friend thinks she may have been beaten at some point as she's really nervous. That said, she seems to have a really sweet nature, and my friend thinks she will learn quickly, so we have hope that she will learn fast that she is now safe and loved.

She's always lived out, to the best of my knowledge, but her coat, mane and tail are really grubby, matted and greasy. She's being stabled at the moment, with daily turnouts in a small paddock for fresh air and grass, and seems surprisingly to be taking very well to the stable; she jumps at the slightest noise but allowed me to stand and stroke her for a good hour yesterday in her stable, even reaching to eat from her haynet while I was doing that, which apparently she hadn't been doing the day before with other people. She's only been at my friend's yard since Tuesday, and seems to be settling well, despite her nervousness.

To settle her gently I haven't tried brushing her yet, and I know baths are off the menu for a while until she's happier and more trusting, but once she is happier, what's the best way to get her coat, mane and tail cleaned? I'm not worried so much what she looks like, more what she must be feeling like!

Plus ... how on earth do you bath a horse?! I'm aware that's a very rookie question .. I've bathed small animals, but never something that big! Plus it being almost winter, I'm worried about cold water and her getting too cold.

Any advice (or links to appropriate reading material!) gratefully received!

 

[be positive]

I would put off any idea about bathing until next spring as it is not easy to fully bath and rinse properly a horse with a full coat, even a well handled one that is used to it will take ages to do, plus they take hours to dry unless you have a solarium, for now get grooming, a daily groom, being cared for generally and fed a decent diet will make a huge difference to her and the coat on her body, once she is confident you can wash her tail as it is not so important to do well and will dry easily without her getting freezing cold.

A good trim of the tail length will make her look tidier, the same with the mane if it is really matted you can comb through and cut out any really bad bits, it will grow back and can be neatened gradually to the length you want it, get her used to wearing a light rug and within weeks you will see the difference in her.

She sounds like a major project as your first horse but with the support of your experienced friend she is sure to enjoy her new life.

 

[Amye]

Welcome to the forum!

I wouldn't worry too much about how she looks - especially if she's currently in a full winter coat, she may look dirty on top but underneath she'll be fine.

Has anyone ever groomed her before? Picked up her feet? You will probably have to start with her completely from scratch - completely forget bathing until she's less nervous - and TBH i don't bath in winter anyway unless really necessary (which is pretty much never). Especially if they've got a winter coat as using shampoos etc will wash away all their natural protection.

I would just work on getting your bond with her, if she's never been groomed before you'll need to start stroking in non-sensitive areas and make sure she's comfortable with this before introducing a brush. Then you can slowly introduce a soft brush and try and brush some of the dirt off. You'll need to make sure she's comfortable being brushed all over her body and down her legs then start trying to pick up her feet.

Bare it mind it can take horses weeks or months or properly settle at a yard, especially if she's been left to her own devices for most of her life. Make sure you don't ask too much of her and get her into a nice routine and stick to it. I'm sure she'll settle fine and with some nice handling will be a sweet pony

I'm no expert so i'm sure more people with more experience of youngsters will give you more advice but this is what i would do. If she's not experienced it before, or not in a long time and she's nervous, you need to go gentle with her, let her settle in and learn to trust you with gentle handling.

When it actually comes to bathing whenever you're ready or want to, just hose them (with warm water if you can), if it's a warm day doesn't really matter it's cold. I very rarely do a full bath, even with a grey, most dirt will just brush off with elbow grease or you can just sponge at stains and wash tail separately if it's dirty.

Good luck!

 

[Celtic Fringe]

I agree with what others have said - don't worry about bathing at the moment. Gentle and consistent handling should work wonders. To help gain her trust it might help to find out if she will enjoy a good scratch from you on any favourite itchy spots. Old cob loves his withers being rubbed so I usually start there and then gently work outwards to groom the rest of him. Young cob still has a real foal-like love of having his bottom rubbed so I often start there - though he does tend to keep presenting his back end for more scratches which can be a little disconcerting if you don't know him! Young cob likes quite a hard brush but my friend's mare needs a very soft brush and a very gentle touch to start with so it is worth taking the time to find out what your girl likes (young cob also likes to give all the brushes a good sniff and chew first). I did all young cob's early handling loose in the field so he could move away if he wasn't comfortable and didn't feel trapped. This would also work in a stable - but take advice from your friend and make sure you stay safe. As a teenager I once worked with a horse that had been badly beaten. I lifted my arm to move a fork while mucking out her stable and she shied so violently, thinking that I was about to hit her, that she fell over - I was absolutely mortified and so sad for the poor mare. It took a long time but in the end she became much more settled and happier and turned out to be nice under saddle too.

When you eventually get to the stage of tail-washing then my advice would be to cut the tail to roughly the right length first and use buckets of warm water and someone at her head to provide encouragement, as well as a haynet for distraction. In my experience most horses will tolerate a little warm water running down their back legs fairly well and not kick out violently. Hoses snaking about can be a problem in my experience especially with a nervous horse.

By the way I got my first horse, old cob, when I was 39 (he is now a delinquent pensioner!) and then young cob when he was an essentially unhandled 3 year old and I was 49. I'm sure you will have lots of fun with your girl. Enjoy!

 

[Cortez]

A complete bath is something to save until the weather is hot and the mare is relaxed and confident. Washing horses is unecessary and really only done if prepearing for a show (and often not even then, if the horse has been properly groomed). Don't worry about how she feels - she feels fine I can assure you; horses delight in being grubby! A daily groom will be an excellant way for you to get to know each other and you'll soon have her looking spic and span. Pictures?

 

[Arianrhod]

Thanks so much everyone for your wise words and advice! I'll try not to mind too much about the state of her coat, mane and tail for now then, if it isn't going to be causing her any distress, and will just concentrate on relaxing her and building a bond with her.

I'm not sure about approaching her with any kind of brush just yet, but when she's relaxed a bit I'll try to introduce a gentle grooming, I'm sure that will be good for her coat too.

Pics ... but of course

 

[SaddleUpSin]

Oh isn't she just gorgeous!

 

[Arianrhod]

I think so But she seems to have had a bit of a hard life, bless her, I just want to see her happy and content. I'm a real sucker for an animal in need, and something about her just speaks to me.

 

[Amye]

She is lovely and doesn't look that grubby at all! Don't worry!!

My boy looks more grubby after a day in the field rolling in all the mud

Just concentrate on building your 'bond' up and getting her to trust you

 

[FFAQ]

What a beauty!

When you eventually do get round to bath time, I've found that the rideaway leave in shampoos are quite good. I got a lavender one for my nervous mare, and made sure it was very dilute.

 

[splashgirl45]

she looks pretty clean to me considering it is winter, she is very pretty...good luck with her and remember to go slowly to build up her confidence in you...

 

[Sparemare]

She's got a lovely face bless her. I only ever hot cloth mine to get stains out as they don't like the hose.

 

[SEL]

I think she's pretty clean! You should see the state of my gelding......

My boy has a very long thick mane and I tend to find it has to be combed little & often. He hates sprays so I tend to splash conditioning spray on my hand and rub it in the patch I'm about to tackle. Given yours is unhandled I'd leave mane & tail until she's more settled.

Good luck - keep us posted as to how she's getting on

 

[Arianrhod]

Thanks everyone. I thought her coat actually looked ok, but after half an hour or so of gently scratching and stroking her, my hand was absolutely coated in white waxy stuff, that I'm told was grease. Other horses I have access to certainly don't leave white gunk on my hand, so I figured she needs some cleaning!

I like the look of hot clothing, I think I'll go that route once she's settled and relaxed a bit, and as you say SEL, I'll certainly leave her tail (ever mindful of those back hooves!) for a while longer!

 

[MissTyc]

The grease on the coat will allow her to live out warm all winter ... No need to clean it off. Many of us "rough off" horses i.e. no cleaning them up.
In your situation I would focus on the handling and the trust. That probably will include some scratching and brushing which she will learn to love and will help your bond. But don't worry about the full clean.

 

[9tails]

I've had my horse 8 years, she may have had a full wash down with shampoo 5 times in that time period. They really don't need it, as long as the diet is good.