Bathing ??

Since I dislocated I can't ride for six weeks :( So I decided to make a list of things I could do with Trooper until I can ride again. One thing I would like to do is bath him. He has been spunged/hozed down but never had the whole shampo thing, and I thought it would be good experience for him.

I was wondering what your bathing routine is? And some one posted a thread about human shampoo and I believe most people said it was ok righ? Any tips would be great! :)

I like touse mane and tail shampoo, or superpoo shampoo. I just spray rena with the hose, then pour some shampoo on a scrubby brush and scrub her whole body (adding soap when needed) except her face, I only rinse her face with a clean sponge :]

Ok thanks! The only other thing is drying. Should I just try to dry him off with a towel so he is not dripping wet??

After I give a horse a bath, I use a sweat scraper to act as a Squeegee. I just do this till there's no more dripping water.

I usually get one of those smaller 1 gal buckets and squirt a little bit of shampoo in it and then fill the rest with water and then use a big squshy sponge to lather up (after I've rinsed him)...you can also do a good tail "dunk" in the bucket too to help get it clean. Then I rinse all off, scrape with sweat scraper and let air dry (good time for hand grazing).

Some horses don't like the hose at first so it may take a little getting used to. If you play games with it and stuff sometimes it helps. My quarter mare used to hate the hose anywhere near her face and I started running the water on low under her lips until she started drinking and playing in it. By the end of summer she was grabbing the hose from me and flipping it in the air to get me wet too!

I just use horse shampoo at the local feed store. I myself have a wash rack, but if you don't your local fairgrounds might. If not tie your horse up to a post (NEVER A FENCE). I would try to rinse with the hose on very lightly, sort of pouring out. Use a sponge to spread the shampoo, rinse thoroughly, (so the horse doesn't get itchy) and wait with the horse until it's dry....otherwise when you let it go it will roll and the dirt will stick to it!

I just get one of my unused 5 gallon buckets, squirt a good amount of shampoo in it, and lather up my horse after getting him wet. He loves baths and will just ground tie for them. I also shampoo and condition his mane and tail. It's really important to make sure all of the soap is rinsed off, but after that I used a sqeat scraper to get excess water off, then I'll graze him out in the sun until he's dry.

I use a little 5 gal bucket, put some soap in it, rest with water...ive got one of those hand mits that work wonders! Works better than a sponge, gets all the loose hair and really gets the dirt out...do one side of her body, spray it off, do the other side of her body, rinse it off, use conditioner in her mane and tail, rinse it off, than I do her face..my horse doesnt mind water on her face..but for some others, not so much...if you stand back a bit and put your thumb on hose hold the hose up and act like its raining...that doesnt seem to bother them as much as a harsh stream of water coming at them...all I have to say, is just go with the flow..you'll figure out what works for you and your horse.

Human shampoos are definitely ok for horses. I use Suave shampoo since it's a dollar at Walmart and they have some great scents. Wet my horse, smear some on, scrub scrub scrub, hose it off. Use a sweat scraper to get the excess water off and then I hand graze in the sun a bit so the horse won't immediately roll.

Ha ha, tried to give Cinny his first bath today......DISASTER. Apparently he does not bathe......yet