How do you bathe an unbathable horse?

[love4horses]

My horse won't let water (except rain) touch her back, especially when it comes from a hose. I haven't tried the sponge idea, but is their any kind of spray that takes care of this, wipes, etc? Next year I am planning on showing her and she will need to have a perfectly clean coat. I have heard of "show sheen"... how good is it? I bathed our 5 month old colt once before, to get him broke in for future references. So any tips would be greatly appreciated.:)

[Kanuma]

show sheen only works on clean coats, however there are waterless shampoo sprays, they take a hell of alot of work but they do work!

[Daffy Dilly]

Try a hot towel, if you use enough of them (you'll need loads) it can take the dust out.

I can sponge Sultan and Daffy when they are lose in the field, I usually do it twice a day in the summer to keep the flies off and cool them down. 2 Years ago Sultan would've had an absolute fit at anybody going near him with a bucket, now if I'm sponging Daffy off he butts in for his turn. :rolleyes:

I think it came down to trust, and because I only do it when it's warm they know it's a nice thing and not something horrible. Can you do her legs? Might be worth just starting there and gradually moving up, but stay well away from her head and anywhere she finds irritating.

[smaggi]

I would just try to desensitize her to water. Start by spraying water on her legs. If she starts to move around keep spraying until you see her relax. Do not remove the hose until you see her relax otherwise you will be rewarding her and she will learn that fussing will take away the water. Also make sure that you remove the spray of wter the instant that she relaxes. Eventually she will get used to it and it won't be a problem anymore. Of course this should be done in warm weather or it wouldn't be fair to your horse.

[ANN H]

I'd really try getting her used to it to start with. As you say, its only another form of rain! However, Gallop do a rinseless shampoo which is good.

[ponytude]

Cowboy Magic is also another type of Bath in a bottle. it sparys on and you can just rub of the stain thats in the coat. Downside- can be expensive and it sprays on... not sure if you horse would like that or not.

Smells good though!

[Clipperchuck]

...

[ponylover88]

get an attachment to put on the end of your hose so its like little rain droplets lol. :p
also, you can get those brushes, i have a plastic curry comb, which has very small holes in, and a hose attachment. you could turn the horse on very stlightly so the water is only just coming out of the brush and start at her shoulder, with it, like as if you were teaching a horse to be clipped.

[crazystevie]

Where can you buy those attachments PL? Murph and Coco love baths and probably would like that too, and Byron, isn;t keen on the hose anywhere above his legs - sponge is fine (though it is pretty cold :rolleyes: ) he might like it in summer, when hes boilling

[cvb]

my mare dislikes COLD baths but is fine with warm ;)

[crazystevie]

Murphy and Coco adore water - hot or cold - Coco will even stick her head in the running hose for a blast, and Murphy likes a good drink. But Byron is none too impressed :rolleyes:

[holiday]

When i worked with the show jumpers they were hot clothed with dettol and water!! Just a drop of dettol in some hot water dip a small towel in and ring out and wipe over horse it cleans cuts etc as well!!!! They looked fab!!! Or go with the little bit at a time method already mentioned!!! Patience and time works wonders!!! Not that im always convinced!!!!

[amandal]

You can also get these brushes with sponge in the middle and brush on the outside, plonk them in the water and they soak up loads and then brush your horse, they do remove loads of dirt.

[atillathefun]

Both my horses love baths but not on there face so what I do is give them a flannel bath :) I have one bucket of clean water and one bucket with shampoo in it, I use 2 flannels first with the shampoo one then with the clean water (obviously make sure you use seperate flannels for each). I use a shampoo that can also be used as a rinse so that if there is any shampoo left on the coat it doesnt matter. It seems to clean the coat well and as I rinse the flannels out quite a lot they dont mind it even on there face.
You could do the same with a sponge but I find when you start to rub with a sponge the water generally drips out which they hate!!
If you dont have access to warm water I boil a kettle and pour it into cold or on a hot day put a bucket in the sun so it takes the chill off.
Good Luck

[michbarrelracer]

i would definatly get her used to geting baths and the hose its very important because if she every gets hurt and you need to hose legs or an injury to clean it she will stand for it and not get stressed over it;)

[ponylover88]

Where can you buy those attachments PL? Murph and Coco love baths and probably would like that too, and Byron, isn;t keen on the hose anywhere above his legs - sponge is fine (though it is pretty cold :rolleyes: ) he might like it in summer, when hes boilling
sorry hun, only just seen this, you can get them from B&Q and places like that. i do have a plastic curry comb with an attachment on to plug into the end of the hose, and theres holes so you can brush the horse aswell. :D i got mine from hoof aloof. :D

[crazystevie]

k Thanks! hoofaloof here i come :D

[sidesaddlelady1]

My horse won't let water (except rain) touch her back, especially when it comes from a hose. I haven't tried the sponge idea, but is their any kind of spray that takes care of this, wipes, etc? Next year I am planning on showing her and she will need to have a perfectly clean coat. I have heard of "show sheen"... how good is it? I bathed our 5 month old colt once before, to get him broke in for future references. So any tips would be greatly appreciated.:)

Cowboy Magic do a spray-on waterless shampoo. I haven't used it so can't recommend it but friends speak highly of it. It rather depends on whether she'll put up with sprays. Alternatively you can "hot towel" her if you have a source of hot water. Otherwise it's groom, groom, groom! Years ago we rarely bathed horses as they were properly "strapped" every day and then brushed down daily before bed.

When bathing her with a hose or a bucket, you do start at her feet and work upwards, don't you? Imagine how you'd feel if someone suddenly poured cold water down your back when you weren't expecting it! If you can manage it, lukewarm water (not hot) is often more acceptable than cold to most horses.

[horselover1002]

does your horse walk around in a circle when you wash her. if she does just let her. if u dont get all of the soap off try a sponge just rince the sponge out eack time you wipe the soap off.

[Dreamchaser]

I know a few horses that hate water at the camp I work at.. One *very* hot summer's day we were spraying them all down. The ones that hated the water, as soon as they realised the water actually felt really good, suddenly changed their minds out being sprayed down.

I use the Cowboy Magic "Green Spot Remover" which is excellent in my opinion. Great for use in the winter.

[hApPiNeSs]

like cvb, my pony does not like to be dripping wet with cold water - maybe start with warm water. it is a bit more pleasant i imagine :D