Bathing unrugged horses in winter

MrA

MrA

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Feb 8, 2012
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Because shampooing must remove oils, is this something that can be done.

Ales skin looks fine really apart from a few patches where he has a small sore but I've got an antifungal shampoo so thought this might be wise to use on these areas.

I'll try and spot clean him just the patches around those areas but can you do anything to replace natural oils?

Thanks
 
I do a full body wash the day before i do a full body clip. I try to pick a warm day to wash and clip. Mainly because im in my tshirt myself to clip. When i wash i stick a thick rug on to then dry the body.
Given your issues currently id just go for it and do a full wash then rug for a week or two. If youve got dry warm day then slip the rug off so that he can get down and role. That will start the natural oiling and body grease process.
 
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I think that in the UK weather, it won't impact him much at all having a full bath. If you were in a much wetter colder climate then he would need the oils in his coat more, but a quick look at the forecast shows that it is due to be dry for most of the week, and (apart from Thursday night), temps will be over 5 degrees overnight. He has a shelter that he can go into if he needs it, and as long as he has hay, he will be generating his warmth from the inside. If you suspect he has a fungal infection, I would be wanting to treat that with the medicated shampoo sooner rather than later.
 
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With a settled week forecast this week I expect you'd be fine to crack on and bathe him top to toe, which is probably better if it is fungal as spot cleaning might leave it on other areas which will then spread back. I'm sure you have an emergency rug on hand anyway, I would just be prepared to put it on if there's a sudden change and it turns wet (weather). Bathing once won't remove all the oils, and they will redistribute over a few days. You could also end his bath with a hot cloth with oils in the water to help add back what you have taken out, not quite the same but might help. My biggest issue with bathing this time of year is getting them dry before nightfall, Hank and Dan have so much coat it will take 2-3 days for them to dry without intervention - towel drying, lots of rugs and going for a walk to get them warm to evaporate the water quicker.
 
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As others have said I think the potential benefit outweighs the problem. Do it as early in the day as you can and have a decent wicking rug to put on straight afterwards and taking him for a brisk walk to generate some heat and dry off. One shampooing isn't going to strip all the oils out of his coat, and generally horse shampoos are fairly mild anyway - it's why I wince when I see people using loads of washing up liquid! If he's properly dry but you're worried then pop a rug on for a few days, but realistically you wouldn't be fretting if he was caught in heavy rain.
 
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I have a hairdryer so drying shouldn't be too much of a problem 🤣 thanks everyone will try and give him a bath asap and keep a close eye on the weather
 
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Full bath with warm water then thatch him under a rug to let him dry. Never had any issues with thatching rugs after bathing horses in winter.

You can oil the coat the next day to help restart the water proofing process
 
Many years ago Sultie got lice which meant we had to bath twice. It was mid winter and proper cold. We got huge amounts of hot water in buckets and we chose the most sunny place in the yard. There were 3 or 4 of us and so we got it done quickly. We then put him in stable and we had a hairdryer each side. Then piled on all the cooler/fleece/woolen rugs so we could keep removing the bottom layer. He was a skinny old tb in his mid 30’s who felt the cold with a hairy coat. It was labour intensive so we could do it as quickly as possible. He was definitely less bothered than we were!
 
Sorry just realise I didn’t actually read your question properly. I’ll leave my post up as might be useful to some.
 
Ale is still itching, so I'm going to have to bath him I think before I do the next deosect treatment. I can't see any lice now and the patches are starting to regrow but he's itching other areas bald. So frustrating
 
That's odd, check the bottle, from memory you can do treatments every 2 weeks if needed. If you bath him it might be best to do it right before another treatment as I'm sure soap will wash it out of the coat. Is he still itching his back end more? worth checking for pesky pinworm if so.
 
Yes it says 2 weeks on there. Was hoping to bath him and then apply the deosect the next day. It seems to be totally random spots he's chewing or itching, his skin looks alright but coat is flaky. Hopefully that will sort him once and for all but if not I'll have to get the vet out to take a look.
 
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Thank you, I did get a bottle of antibacterial shampoo but I'm wondering whether I should try an insecticidal one instead. I really want to have to avoid bathing him again if possible. Guess I will keep looking and see if I can see lice before I'm able to bath him.
 
Ale said:
Thank you, I did get a bottle of antibacterial shampoo but I'm wondering whether I should try an insecticidal one instead. I really want to have to avoid bathing him again if possible. Guess I will keep looking and see if I can see lice before I'm able to bath him.
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Deosect is a strong insecticide, I probably wouldn't mix 2 insecticides if you are planning to use that too
 
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