Looking forward to a warm Spring day to give your horse that first "after winter" bath?
Select your equine shampoo carefully! You want to select a shampoo that is pH-balanced for horses and mild enough to use several times a week, if you choose to. If your horse only gets a bath a few times a year, you'll want something to simply wash away the dirt. If you bathe your horse often, you'll want to look for a gentle shampoo that also helps replenish oils in the coat and skin.
Begin by wetting the entire body with lukewarm/warm water. Mix the shampoo with warm water in a bucket. (Read the manufacturer's directions carefully - some shampoos are more
concentrated than others!) Sponge on the soapy water, and scrubbing up each section as you move along. This gentle scrubbing will help loosen and remove all the dirt, grime, and loose hair that your horse has been accumulating over the winter! At this point, if your nice white soapy-suds are turning grey, brown, or some other color, it's time to rinse that area and re-soap! As you move along, scrubbing sections, remember to keep the soapy parts wet. If they are allowed to dry, the shampoo will leave a dull film on the coat.
As for heads, horses tend to not like washing their faces! I like to place a drop or two of shampoo into a clean bucket and mix with lots of warm water. I then take a clean washcloth, dunk it, wring it out, than scrub the face & head. Although not sudsy, the surfactants are still there, getting the dirt out! After several dunks, it's time to rinse. Same thing-- clean bucket, clean warm water, clean towel. This is also the time to wipe over eyes, in ears, and nostrils.
Now it's time for manes and tails! Fold the tail in half, carefully approach from the side with a bucket filled with clean, warm soapy water, and dunk the tail in. Swish tail around, to get hairs separated. Be careful! remember that you're at the business end of the horse! After dunking, shampoo the tail the way you shampoo your own hair. Don't scrub too hard or you'll break the tail hairs.
Manes are a bit easier, although you'll get a bit wet! Take your soapy water, and scrub into the mane, working through a section at a time. Use your fingers to massage down to the skin.
Rinse both the tail and mane thoroughly, until water runs clear. Dried soap residue will make it dull, a bit dry, and even itchy!
After all is scrubbed clean, rinse well with clean running water, starting at the top and letting gravity do it's thing. It helps to gently scrub with a mitt while rinsing, allowing each hair to separate and get rinsed clean. Keep rinsing until water runs clear, with no suds! After rinsing, use a sweat scraper to remove any excess water, followed by a good toweling.
At this point, your horse is clean. You may want to consider a conditioners, especially on the mane and tail to minimize breakage. Like the shampoo, select a conditioner especially
formulated for horses. Follow product instructions, and then rinse out completely.
Afterwards, walk your horse until dry. If you're lucky, it'll be sunny and warm out, and both of you will enjoy the sunshine! If it's a bit cool out, throw on a clean antisweat sheet or a cooler, if a bit brisk.
Remember to use common sense when bathing-if you think it's too cold to be standing outside getting wet while washing your horse, it probably is too cold to bathe him, unless you have a heated wash stall and warm water!
Here are the products we recommend:
Bluegrass Bathing Glove, Xtreme Revitalizing Shampoo, and Xtreme Conditioner.
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