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Discussion on When can I wash my horse?
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Member:
Julieh
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 1:11 pm:
With this sudden blast of warm weather, I was able to bathe a horse or two this weekend. The couple that I didn't get to really need it! I know this is probably a common sense question but I would rather be safe than sorry. What should the outside temperature be before you bathe your horse?
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Member:
Shirl
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 1:24 pm:
Julie,
I think it has a lot to do with the water temperature, whether there is a breeze or not, but I've been told 65 degrees is okay. I'd definitely try to bath in the sun if possible. Then again, some horses hate anything that resembles cold water (like mine), others it don't bother. Just make certain they are dry before putting away, or throw on a light weight cover.
Shirl
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Member:
Julieh
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 1:54 pm:
I should have added, I have hot water, so I am able to bathe in warm water. I was just curious about the breeze and being cold after the bath. The main reason I ask is, I am selling one of my horses and she is a light colored palomino and she is extremely dirty. I have someone coming to look at her, and I would love for her to be clean!
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 2:15 pm:
Do you have a cooler to put on her after the bath? I wash when it's fairly cool out (55 degrees) but in the sun, out of the wind, and put a wool cooler on them right afterwards and tie them in the sun to dry. They seem to dry even faster with one of those cotton wide mesh "Irish" sheets on under the cooler.
My big determining factor is if I can stand the water running down my arm!
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Member:
Corinne
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 3:00 pm:
Julie,
Using warm water, out of the elements should be okay if there is warm streak.
If you are still not sure.....you can always put a cooler on like everyone recommended then wash one uncovered part at time in quarters then cover it back up. This way the only part that is uncovered is the small area you are washing....and by the time you finish washing the entire body, most of it will be dry because you will be covering it back up as you wash. Grooming in quarters (if you don't want to bathe) also benefits blanketed horses who don't have any winter coats during the colder months.
If you don't have a cooler I have seen some folks use big fleece blankets making sure the horse isn't left unattended while it's draped over them.
Good luck with your potential sale!
Take care,
Corinne
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 9:32 pm:
65 degrees, the breeze, the sun? Do none of your horses get rained on in the winter? My horses regularly get wet when the temperature has DrOpped into the upper 30's sometimes with a blowing wind though we bring them in when weather is this adverse. Well we try to get them in when things are this adverse but middle 40s certainly does not seem to bother them in the rain. You can bathe them at any temperature they seem comfortable at while it is raining. Of course you will be more comfortable at 65 and above.
DrO
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Member:
Shirl
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 9:58 pm:
Dr. O.
Rain?? Surely you jest!! Until Sat. night we have not had a DrOp of rain since Oct!! UGH.
Good ole Arizona DrOught!
Smiles,
Shirl
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Member:
Corinne
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Posted on Monday, Mar 13, 2006 - 11:24 pm:
Ahh...Dr O...the voice of reason.
How easy it is to forget that what we would think of as uncomfortable is quite normal to animals who primarily live outside!
I wanna be where it's 65 degrees.
Enjoy the start of spring fellow HA members if you have the luxery of such it snows here until the last week in May.
Shirley good to hear you got some rain!
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Member:
Julieh
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 14, 2006 - 10:05 am:
Too funny! This is exactly what my husband has been telling me for months! Everytime I say something about them being too cool to bathe them, he always brings up the rain! I won't give him the satisfaction that I have been told that yet again! Thanks Dr. O!
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Member:
Mariss
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 14, 2006 - 12:34 pm:
I have the luxury of an indoor heated hot water wash stall and I still worry about wet horses in the cold. It depends upon the horse,however. Most of the time I've bathed them they shiver in the winter. I've learned to reduce the shiver time by doing what was said above. Don't wet the whole horse to start. Do it in sections. Washing the legs first, even though that seems backwards, shortens the length of time the entire body is standing there wet. Then I do the neck and chest. By then I'm still ahead of the shivering game. Then I quickly do the rest. I dry with towels as best as possible. I use fleece blankets. It's true that wool and fleece wick away the water the fastest. It's like magic. The water is on the outside and underneath they are warm and dry. I make sure they have hay in the stalls during the drying process. Eating away keeps them busy from rolling and heats them up. It seems the shivers only last a few minutes this way. You got to do what you got to do if you are presenting a horse for a sale or a show.
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Member:
Cpacer
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 14, 2006 - 7:37 pm:
I was wondering the same thing at the beginning of winter and started a post too. I found an article or post on here somewhere that talked about using steaming hot water in a bucket with some rubber gloves and a towel. Dip the towel, wring it out really well, and steam clean your horse. I haven't tried it but it sounds cool if it's really cold out.
I personally have trouble comparing the rain to a bath. When my horse gets rained on the water doesn't seem to sink into the skin like a bath does. Maybe he just hasn't been rained on long enough (that I've seen), but it seems the water just sits on the surface.
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Member:
Ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006 - 7:54 am:
cp,
I agree with you 100%. If the temperature isn't warm enough for me to want to stand in the rain and get soaked to the skin, I don't think my horses want to be soaked to the skin either. And they do shed the rain as long as the wind isn't blowing enough to lift the hair up.
Something that I've been wondering following this post is if it's O.K. to give our horses a bath when it's fairly cool, why would it matter if we rode them and let them work up a sweat, and just let them dry? Is the reason we need to cool them so carefully just because they are also hot inside and wet outside? A wet horse, cool weather has always been a no-no in my life time.
I give my horses a bath the same days I give my dogs a bath: Very hot days only!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006 - 10:59 pm:
I have never seen, read, nor heard of any disease a healthy horse got because he was bathed when it was cold. You should do what makes you feel comfortable but other than a short shower there is no difference in the amount of wetting of the skin that a horse gets being washed and being rained on. These are not ducks.
DrO
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Member:
Corinne
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 16, 2006 - 10:49 am:
Dr O. I guess it's like the old wives tale that your mamma used to tell you..."Don't got out in the cold without a coat or you will catch pneumonia!"
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Member:
Julieh
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 16, 2006 - 3:44 pm:
I guess we tend to think horses are hot and cold when we are. Somewhere I read, and it may be on this site that optimal temps for horses is 15 degrees to 60 degrees. I am not even comfortable until it reaches 60. I can't imagine being comfortable at 20 degrees. Does anyone know if I am correct with this?
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New Member:
Djws
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 22, 2006 - 4:05 pm:
I live in Ohio and winters are cold here (below zero days are not unusual). Every weekend I go the the racetrack barns where my friend's Standardbred is stabled. When they are finished training him, he is hot and sweaty. After they remove his harness and bike, off he goes to the bath stall. YES, they DO have hot water. They remove as much water as possible with a sweat scraper when they are finished. The horse is covered with a clean, dry blanket and returned to his stall. He seems to enjoy his "shower" and has never been sick. There are approximately 150 race horses on this track and I see them all going through the same procedure. If common sense is used, I believe the horses tolerate it well. The barns are NOT heated and I have never witnessed a horse being bathed below 15 degrees. I am only sharing my observations. I recently purchased my first horse at age 52! I have SO much (everything) to learn (if I'm not too old to do so-LOL)! I LOVE THIS SITE-I find more info here than in any book or magazine. I do not have anyone nearby to learn from or to ride with so...I depend on all of you! (Thanks in advance)!
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Member:
Annes
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 22, 2006 - 6:26 pm:
Donna - Welcome! I know exactly how you feel because I don't have anyone to ride with or learn from either so this site is great. No matter if you are just starting out or had horses for years there are always things to learn so you are not alone. Have fun with your new horse and don't hesitate to ask if you have a question. - Ann
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Member:
lvmyhors
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 3, 2009 - 8:50 pm:
OK, I know this is an old discussion but hopefully someone will jump back on board and give me their opinion!
Since buying our new place I no longer have the luxury of a warm water wash rack 
My question is would it be alright to bathe my horse with cold water straight from the hose?? The thought of all that cold water just makes me shiver even though most of my horses will stand under the sprinkler out in the pasture on a hot day 
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 7:24 am:
Hi Teri,
I bathe my horse with cold water all the time - It's harder on my hands and arms (brr!) than it is on my horse.
My general rule of thumb is that the outside temps must be at least in the mid 50s, light or no wind and sun, so that as soon as I'm done, I can get her outside under the warm rays of the sun.
If outside is not pleasant, I'll throw a cooler over her, start with her legs and work my way up, doing only one side at a time, keeping everything else covered, neck & head last. These are the days I'll make sure I have plenty of clean towels to vigorously dry her off as much as possible before taking her out to air dry.
She will also stand for a blow dryer, so on rare occassions, I'll use it, but it takes a VERY long time to blow dry a horse and I think the heat from the dryer is drying to her coat, so I try to avoid its use.
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Member:
lvmyhors
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 9:51 am:
Thanks Fran! I have filled 5 gal. buckets and let them warm in the sun in the past but somehow that just seems like a waste of time and effort and I usually end up not having enough rinse water
OK, so the hose it is and it's going to be in the 80's today so the kids will be getting bathed and I'll be staying cool
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 11:02 am:
Hi Terri,
With Temps in the 80's you shouldn't have any problem using cold water on your horses. But here are some tips for those times where the temps are chilly and you don't want to cold water hose your horse, especially if he is hot from a ride and you do not have electricity.
Bring your water from home. A five gallon bucket of all hot water will make 2 5 gallon buckets of bath water. Keep a towel or a lid on it to keep the water warm.
2 5 gallon buckets should be enough to bath your horse. I have standardbred racehorses that look like mud horses after racing, training or sometimes just rolling in the paddock ( in the muddiest place possible). I can get them clean with one bucket of soapy water and one bucket of rinse water with extra left over. If I have a hose thats great, if not oh well.
In the winter, in general, my horses are not bathed ( they are brushed and curried)and my babies in training do not get bathed they steam off until dry ( no matter how hot or wet they are) and then they are curried and brushed. The trick is to keep them out of any draft until they are dry.
While they do look like no one takes care of them until they are brushed up for the day, their coats retain all their essential oils that shampoo has a tendency to take away and they tend to stay healthier because IMHO their immune system is better able to handle the stresses of racing because they are not coddled.
I read Dr.O's opinion above and he is right on. It's us horse owners that need to take a chill pill and remember that these are horses and not humans and they can stand a lot more than we give them credit for. On the other hand, they are what we make them and if they get used to a certain scenario then that is what they will expect.
Just my thoughts
Rachelle
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 11:15 am:
Hi Teri,
I think temp is somewhat relative. We had a very warm day of about 20 degrees C. last week.
I jumped at the heat to go bath the horses.
I only have cold water from a hose.
I start at the hooves and work up. I do the whole horse at once.
Wet them down, shampoo, rinse thoroughly.
One tip I could pass on.
I find if I put shampoo directly on the horse it can be really concentrated at that spot and take a lot of rinsing to remove.
I mix shampoo in a small amount of water and pour it on and then if there is a trouble spot I use a rag dipped in the shampoo water.
Exceptions are the mane and tail. They usually need lots of shampoo to get clean.
I use a regular garden wand attachment with adjustments as to how much water will spray at once. Usually I use the soft spray, (not the mist spray, that doesn't put out enough water), or bypass the wand to get a volume of water without pressure.
I don't use the hose on the face. I do the face/head with a cloth only.
After the bath I put the horse in the dog pen, no really, the pen is about 15' x 40', 5' fence, rarely used by dog, so the grass grows up undisturbed, it is in full sun.
The horse is so busy eating grass they don't even roll so they dry nice and clean.
After the horse is dry I blanket to keep the horse clean.
This spring I bought a mare that had scratches. I had to soak her leg just up past her pastern to get the mud off so I could clip the hair in order to treat the scratches. Whew...long sentence.
It was only about 10C and she didn't seem to cold.
Mind you that was only her leg, not the whole body.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 1:28 pm:
I just saw this yesterday in the Schneiders catalog, it's called "off the Cuff" and it looks kind of like the rubber end of a toilet plunger, lol! But you wear it on your wrist to prevent water from running down your arm. I can see having it on when washing the car, windows, as well as bathing horses.
Nifty idea! That with some rubber gloves on, and you have warm hands, dry arms.
https://www.sstack.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=8328&itemType=PRODU CT&RS=1&keyword=17811
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Member:
corinne
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 3:01 pm:
I have always wanted to get one of those Angie as that is pretty much the reason I get wet! Water dripping down my arms! Let us know how you like it.
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Member:
stek
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 5:28 pm:
Teri, one thing about bathing with cold water .. pretty much every horse I have ever met will tuck their hind end under and look like they are going to sit down when that cold water hits their tail. (Not sure if it's the water hitting the tail itself or the 'nether regions' but the reaction is always the same.) Just a funny thing I thought I'd pass on...
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Member:
lvmyhors
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 4, 2009 - 9:39 pm:
Thanks ladies! I'm going to get one of those cuffs and I'll let you all know what I think! And Shannon, yes they are funny about having water sprayed in their "nether" region . Well I didn't get them bathed today, too much other stuff going on but I'm all set up and ready for a "spa day" tomorrow!
Thanks again everyone for sharing your thoughts and knowledge!
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 9, 2009 - 11:31 am:
Terri, I have a wand that looks like a sweat scraper with holes along the edges which water flows through. It really helps rinse out the soap without getting so much water down your arm. I still get wet, but not so totally soaked.
Let us know how the cuff works. If it really works I'm going to get one. I hate getting so wet when I bathe horses!
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