I've heard some people say that bathing a horse often might harm their hooves, skin, eyes, ears?
I like white and dappled horses and just know that if I get one, I will likely get carried away with grooming and bathing. Now I'm concerned that I might do some harm, especially to the hooves.
Any suggestions? (other than getting a horse that won't show the dirt )
Yes you can bathe a horse to much. Everytime you bathe your horse, you're getting rid of the protective oils on their coat. These oils give the coat a natural water proofing. So you can try to cover your horse with a sheet when he goes outside. But that's about all I can give you.
Bathing a horse too much can also make his coat dull. I would guess that excessive moisture can probably make the hooves a little softer as well but since it's so dry here normally i don't know if that's the case.
Now on the flip side, grooming your horse regularly is a very good thing. But I would not bathe him a ton.
My horses get brushed daily, but rarely get a full bath. The mare won't tolerate it at all (working on that little issue) but the gelding loves a good soaking with the hose in hot weather. I'm always afraid I will give them dry itchy skin with too much bathing...
if your horse goes out a lot, its best not to bathe them too much. as was said above, bathing strips the coat of its natural protective oils. These oils help reduce sun damage and a little dirt never hurts to help keep the flies away. So go ahead and groom as much as you want, but maybe only bathe every couple of weeks.
Question here too? When y'all mention bathe, are you talking about full blown shampooing or just something as little as spraying them down with the hose (only water)?
I only ask because after I excersize my horse and long trail rides I like to spray him off when he is really sweaty. Even after a good lunge I like to spray him down. Is that a bad thing or are y'all just talking about shampooing that takes the oils away?
Question here too? When y'all mention bathe, are you talking about full blown shampooing or just something as little as spraying them down with the hose (only water)?
I only ask because after I excersize my horse and long trail rides I like to spray him off when he is really sweaty. Even after a good lunge I like to spray him down. Is that a bad thing or are y'all just talking about shampooing that takes the oils away?
Oh okay, lol, I mean my gelding is extremely shiny so I didn't think I was taking his oils away by just spraying him down with the hose after a good workout but I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing any harm. Thanks.
Oh okay, lol, I mean my gelding is extremely shiny so I didn't think I was taking his oils away by just spraying him down with the hose after a good workout but I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing any harm. Thanks.
Rinsing after they are good and sweaty is better for the coat. Leaving the salt will dull and bleach the coat. He will also be more likely to roll or scratch. Also - rinsing allows you to see any extra exposed skin - such as girth galls, saddle rubs, etc.
oo ya, i definitely meant shampooing. if its hot i always spray my horse off after a work-out to make sure he's cool. that doesn't do any harm to his coat.
In the summer when he goes out and rolls a lot I try to bathe him about once a week. It doesn't seem to do him any harm and is kind of necessary for white/light coloured horses. To help keep him cleaner you could turn him out in a 'Big D' sheet. They are incredibly thin and horses can wear them even when its hot out. The great thing is that the dirt doesn't go through them and their body stays pretty clean!
In the winter I wash only his legs and tail. Legs about once a week and tail more often if I can but no less than once a week. He never gets a full bath in the winter, it's too cold and if I give him his last bath of the year at the right time (just before it starts raining and getting cold) he stays pretty clean all winter long.
If you clip your horses legs be extremely careful about washing his legs. I know of a lot of horses who get really bad scratches from having their clipped legs washed and then when they go out to work sands gets in them and it's not pretty. If you clip your horses legs I would just leave the washing to an absolute minimum. Or if your horse is pure white and the dirt shows up just be careful not to scrub super hard.
Every night after her work out I wash all the dirt plain water can get out of her feathers because if I don't she'll get sores and icky feathers and that's just not good.
I will give her a full bath soap and everything if she's completely foamy, drooly, sweat dripping, icky after we're done working but that's not all the time.
With two of my horses I have to to try avoid even hosing them down too often because they're prone to getting thrush and I have to try not to add any extra moisture. That's another thing to be careful about.
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