Bathing Your Horse
By Becky McCully

Everyone likes a clean horse, so here are some pointers on bathing your beloved:

1.)      Always choose a safe place to bathe your horse; a wash rack with gravel or rubber mats are preferred as they do not become slippery when wet.

2.)      Tie, cross tie or tether your horse to a secure object.  Some horses are wary of bathing, so it is important to tie them to something that will not break. (Unless you have a horse that has a history of pulling back, then use another suitable option.)

3.)      Start with putting an appropriate amount of soap in a bucket, and fill with water.  Next, wet horse with hose.  Then, using a sponge or washing mitt, apply soapy water to horse, starting at the neck and working back on both sides.  Dunk tail in soapy water, massage top of tail with lather to cleanse whole tail. For white socks/paints, use a bluing type shampoo (like QuicSilver) directly in the area to be whitened before washing the body, and let soak.

4.)      Rinse thoroughly, starting from the neck to the tail, making sure that the water runs clean and there is no more soapy residue.  Then apply conditioner to mane and tail, this will make combing easier!

5.)      After you rinse the conditioner out of the mane and tail, it is time to scrape the excess water off the horse using a sweat scraper.  Start at the neck and work your way back.

6.)      After you are finished, it is wise to cover horse with a cooler (made of wool or polar-fleece) or anti-sweat sheet to help the drying process. While your horse is drying, apply a conditioning agent to the mane and tail (such as Cowboy Magic, Vetrolin Shine, Show Sheen, etc) to help maintain a tangle free mane and tail.