Published 7/20/09 4 months ago | Views 139 Grade C Pets & Animals / Horses

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Grade C Views 139
Last edited 2 months ago

After a workout, sometimes the best thing for your horse is a quick bath and shampoo. Here's a quick guide that will help you do just that.

Step 1

Untack your horse and find a place to bathe him/her. Said place must have a hose and a place to tie your horse. Then, tie him up.

Step 2

Locate a sweat scraper, a sponge (optional), and a bottle of shampoo. (It doesn't have to be horse shampoo - In fact, Suave® Naturals shampoo works great)

Step 3

Turn the hose on very low, so you don't scare your horse with a sudden blast of water.

Step 4

Let your horse get a good look at the hose so he has an idea of what that thing is that's making him all wet.

Step 5

Gently trickle water down the horse's sides, neck, and legs.

Step 6

Lift up the horse's tail and wash down there (just to get it over with).

Step 7

Squirt some shampoo on your hand and gently rub it onto the horses side (right or left - start with whichever side you want) and neck. Make sure to really rub it in.

Step 8

Rinse the horse very well, then scrape the excess water off with the sweat scraper. Repeat this step until you no longer see and white soap suds when you use the sweat scraper.

Step 9

Repeat steps 7 and 8 with the other side and the legs.

Step 10

Lead the horse around for a few minutes until he is dry.

Step 11

Put him back in his stall or paddock.

Tips

If your horse doesn't like water, put a blindfold over his eyes or try to let him drink from the slow flowing hose.
Give your horse a massage while you rub the shampoo in, it will really relax him.
Keep rinsing until you don't see the lathery mixture of shampoo and sweat.
You may want to use a curry comb to smooth out your horse's coat afterwards.

Warnings

Don't let him get his legs wrapped in the hose!
Some horses are scared of, or don't like, water. You may need a blindfold and/or extra handlers.
You shouldn't do this every time you ride - it will damage your horse's skin. Sometimes just a quick rinse is enough.
Don't spray the horse's face with the water!