Bathing horses in winter

[tuffsmom]

How do you bathe your horses in the winter? We have no washracks here at this new place, and no warm water out in the barn. It's staying pretty chilly around here, the high today was only 73 or so, and it's getting down to near 40 at night.

Tuff hasn't had a bath in over a month, and he is filthy (I think he is enjoying it). You can hardly distinguish his sorrel spots from his white spots any more, and it drives me nuts. I brush and brush and brush, but it does not help. I've got out a washcloth and cleaned up his face, but he still looks like an orphan. Also...is blowdrying a horse an option? Like with an actual hairdryer or will that dry out his hair & skin?

 

[nootka]

Hmm...if it were 73 out, I would venture a warm water bath. I have to bathe in conditions where it gets barely above 50, and then I have to get creative with my bathing and drying routine.

If it were truly cold and dry, though, I would rather use my vac'n blow to get the dirt off of 'em.

You can use a lot of steaming hot towels and rub him down w/them. It is labor intensive to do it that way, but he gets less wet and pretty clean. I think it was Equus had an article on how to do that.

73 is fairly warm, though, and I would think he should be fairly well dry as long as you squeegee him very well after the bath and then perhaps if you have a way to blow dry him partially, he should dry well on his own.

That said, I do not bathe my horses in winter when they are in full coat. I groom them w/brushes and combs and my vac n blow.

Liz M.

 

[Frankie]

Is there a reason why he NEEDS a bath?

I would gladly take your 73. Indiana fall weather is here. 53 High today with the coldest all day rain I have felt in a long time.

If it is just to make you feel better, or bothering you.

I use a Shark Vacuum Cleaner. It really does a great job. Use a curry comb first, then get out the ole Shark and for funky fall weather, a rather clean horse.

Oh, then they go roll.

 

[Cathy_H]

I think the dirt is bothering you more than the horse. The grooming will be enough unless you notice skin problems................ Change your mind set to "it's ok to be dirty in the winter time " & you will not fret over it........ Two weeks ago it was in the 70's here in Kentucky & the sun was bright so I bathed all of our mares. I then let them graze while they dried. I have used a blow dryer several times through the years to speed up the drying.

 

[minih]

I don't bathe in the winter time. We usually have several parades we attend during the cold months and we do like mentioned above and use our vac n blo. I take a damp rag and wipe down the face and ears, then spray a little show sheen on the mane and tail to help with the thicker hair. The vac n blo gets them pretty clean and a light spray of show sheen, not enough to be wet but just enough to bring out the shine really helps.

 

[tuffsmom]

Is a van n blo a horse item? Or just a regular vacum cleaner? We have a shop vac...would that do the same thing?

It is me, I know it is. No one sees him but me and my husband...but still. I like him to be clean and pretty, and he looks like a little pig.

My husband washed the trailer today and Tuff proceeded to rub himself all over the wet fenders, then lay down and roll, getting him all muddy and dirty in the process. Then he trots around with his nose stuck in the air like he's accomplished something. It drives me NUTS

 

[minih]

A vac n blo is a vacuum that can be reversed and blow the air out also. Really great for drying a wet horse.

BTW- you could take your blow dryer and set it on a not so hot (cooler) setting and accomplish the same thing.

 

[Marty]

I just don't do it. It used to bother me a lot but not half as much as having a horse get sick on me. I just can't risk it. I brush a lot and I will use a warm rag on the face and nostrils and that's pretty much it. Once in a while I might rinse their tails by dipping them in a warm bucket of conditioner, comb them out and shove them up in a tube sock, but that's rare. That would only be if they were dragging their tails through the mud. Otherwise, it's going to be a long, cold, stinky winter.

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]I dont bathe in the winter even tho we are pretty mild compared to some. The horses need that dust and dander and yes even mud sometimes to get into those coats for insulation. I do brush them in winter and if the mud cakes I will brush that off but they really do need the oils and stuff to winterproof them as much as possible.[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[shminifancier]

I just don't do either.You want the Hair to be as fluffy as possible and washing it takes some of that fluff out IMO and the when cold does set in the mini can't get the protection that a nice fluffy hair coat can give..Some horses I know will go and roll in the snow and clean them selves off...And this rolling and what not in snow does by nature bring the hair coat back to a fluffy condition. A smooth flat hair coat is not as warm as a fluffy one..Just like the insulation in a persons attic..You don't ever want to PACK the insulation tight...But have little tiny air pockets which is the same in a Fluffy, Puffy, hair coat on a horse. And by washing and what not lays the hair coat down, not IMO a horse wants in cold temps.

 

[hhpminis]

I too use a vac n blo. Best investment I have made in years. Although I rarely use the vacuum part, I do use the blower all the time. Our horses get very fuzzy up north and it is the only way I can get the dander and gunk out. I feel it really helps with their skin and coat condition. I do not have any nasty dandruff under that winter coat when I go to do that first clip in the spring.

Also when I do get a chance if we have an exceptionally warm fall day, I can dry them pretty fast with the blower too as it is a warm air blower.

Look on Jeffers web site, they have several models.

Before I got this, I used an old electrolux vacuum that also could blow by hookiing the hose to a different end. It worked fine, not quite as much power but it did the job. Look at a thrift store for an old tank type vacuum that has the option to connect the hose to blow rather than suck.

 

[susanne]

I don't like to mess up the "loft" of their winter coats if I can help it, so I wouldn't bathe them at all unless there were a health reason, such as skin problems. I do brush off any caked mud.

 

[Mnmini]

We have a heated barn and wash rack. Even then I seldom bath through the winter. For January shows, I generally stick to just washing the socks, and tail, very rarely the body(I use lights, so don't have winter coat to contend with). The vac works great, but I still go over them with Miracle Groom, which removes manure stains, etc. without water. You'd probably be quite happy adding the latter to your grooming regime.

73 is great, I'm jealous! I wouldn't worry about bathing in that temp, but would need to put under heat lamp or out of draft to dry, in case of rapidly dropping temps.

 

[dannigirl]

We do a lot of parades and other stuff with our geldings and we just brush and vacumn them. I will use a baby wipe to get some stubborn spots off the white and to clean the face. We never wash after the Nationals. The nights start getting cold and we don't want to take any chances that one might not be totally dry by nighttime and get sick.