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How Often Do You Give a Bath?

4K views 21 replies 21 participants last post by  masatisan 
#1 ·
I own a beautiful white Arabian cross... well... he's beautiful when he's clean. Lets just say that he has a problem with laying down in his stall... RIGHT where he poops.

I'll usually give him a bath once every two weeks and before any special events. Before I ride, I do a thorough, complete grooming and I try my best to get the stains off.

I know it's not particularily unhealthy for him to have stains/dirt all over him, but it really bothers me. Are there any products/solutions that you recommend for keeping him clean(er)???
 
#3 ·
I normally bathe maybe once a week but right now I have to bathe Cinny every day to treat his fungus.....and it sucks. I used to be a neat freak where it came to my horses, but I think after this I may be switching to once a month.

I used to use extra gentle baby wipes to spot clean my leopard appy....they worked great! Just make sure you use extra gentle and that the contain NO ALCOHOL or you may dry out horsie's skin.
 
#5 ·
l hose Thumper off after l ride to get the sweat off, but l only really, completely bath him maybe once a month, or before a show or clinic. l've heard that bathing your horse too often strips the oils from their coat, so l groom for 30-45 minutes and only use shampoo once a month at most... Have you ever tried that green tea spot remover? l tried it once and it seemed to get the stains out pretty well... some of the sprays like that one work well. l don't know how the green tea stuff works on manure stains, though...
 
#6 ·
Roxy has a lot of white, I feel ya. I do baths every week- 2 weeks. I always hit her with a power spray after riding though and that gets most of the dirt/ stains. I like the idea of baby wipes, Cinny's Whinny! That's awesome. :D
 
#8 ·
Anytime we go to a clinic or a show I bath...and then theres all those times in between when I have extra time on my hands.... haha, my poor horse, we had a lot of clinics this winter.
I know there are sprays that hel get rid of stains... URG! i just cant think of any right now!! I will try to think of some, but im sure if you looked it up on google you would find some good ones :)
ooo and i love the idea of baby wipes! thats genuis!
 
#14 ·
Horses love being dirty - Who am I to take that away :]
Two thumbs up to wild_spot. I love this!

I tend to give a good bath some time early summer to get all the winter grungies off. Other than that the only bathes that are given are for horse shows, and since I have not been to one in a while there have been no other baths.
 
#11 ·
I bathe whenever I get the 'clean freak' bug...that may be once a month, or once a week...Lol!

I always hose a horse down when he get's sweaty from a work...that can wind up every day...but I don't always apply shampoo...a hose gets rid of alot of grime, and gets rid of the sweat, which is what I want.
 
#12 ·
Wow, some of you bath a lot. o_O

Ricci is mostly white, but I find she usually stays pretty clean. I only give two or three baths a year. Usually, I give a bath when it's warm enough to take a blanket off in the spring, mid-summer, and just before I need to re-blanket in the fall.

I find if you bathe too often, the skin will become dry and the hair will become dull. After rides, I take a sponge and wipe down sweat marks, and hose her legs if they need it, but that's it.
 
#13 ·
Soda gets a bath a couple times a summer, I think only once last year. I do sponge/rinse him off if he gets really sweaty during a ride.

Flame gets a bath every couple of weeks when it's really hot. She's 30, has that "old animal" skin (kinda greasy), and it can get really bad when its hot. I'll sometimes rinse her off between baths, but not usually as she doesn't get ridden.
 
#16 ·
I have a paint with a lot of white on hime and I hose him off with EQ solutions after I ride hime which is almost ever day. It is a natural cleaner which does not strip the oils out if his coat. I do bath his legs with shampoo whenever they get really dirty or if he gets that waxy stuff on his legs. The only other time I bath with soap is before a horse show.
 
#17 ·
I have a Paint with lots of white(like the above poster) but shes only a yearling so I use Vetrolin Green-Spot Remover on her and dont give her many baths. I gets rid of the worst of her stains and anything else I'm not gonna worry about cause she's just a baby and she likes getting dirty and I'm a farm girl so I understand lol. =)
 
#18 ·
Ugh I know how you feel! It seems like the lighter colored the horse, the dirtier they tend to get! I don't bathe my horses unless it's for a show, or if they have rolled in mud and it's too hard to brush off. It isn't good to bathe a horse a lot, they have natural oils on their skin to keep the skin moisturized. If you bathe them all the time, the skin will get dry.
 
#19 ·
i hose my horses off after every ride in the summer (it gets very hot here and they are drenched) and I bathe before shows (which can be once a week, or sometimes more frequently). I've heard of people saying that bathing can dry out a horse's skin/coat but I had a paint that I showed for 2 weeks that I shampood every day (Suave) and he NEVER got dried out. Healthy skin, shiny shiny coat. I know it makes sense and it happens to dogs and humans, but I've never seen a horse that got dried out from over bathing. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's probably on a horse to horse basis and not as common as people would think.
 
#20 ·
I have never bathed Caleb...he might get a bath this summer, if the drought warnings and water restrictions are lifted.

As far as keeping horses clean, I cannot advocate enough the benefit of corn starch. Perfectly natural, easy to use and the more you use it, the better it works. It really helps if you put it on before a ride, and brush it out after.

If you have access to hot water, hot toweling is a good option if there's not enough time for a full bath, or the weather is too cold. Also an excellent option for horses who are afraid of hoses.

Also baby powder is wonderful for drying up sweat and keeping saddle pads, girths and whatever else fresh. I go through it like a baby drinks milk. I even use it in my hair on hot days after rides, probably looks a little funny, but it feels nice after wearing a stuffy helmet for 2+ hours.

Oh and grape-seed oil is a wonderful, wonderful, help for dry, flaky skin/hair and it's very light and easy to rub in, so it doesn't attract a lot of dirt compared to other types.
 
#21 ·
this is kind of off topic, but since it is related i thought i would ask it here:

is it bad to bathe horses too much? well i guess just rinse them off. i know showers make human shin drier, but i didnt know if it applied for horses too or? like i ride or play with my horse every single day and he always, always gets sweaty. since sweat attracts flies i always hose him off before i turn him back out for the day. i dont care if he gets dirty but he stays pretty clean, but i dont like him to stay sweat. so is it bad for me to hose him off every day?
 
#22 · (Edited)
Depends on the horse, some horses skin will dry out, some wont. If your horse is sweaty, baby powder (as I mentioned before) is very helpful, apply it with a dandy brush, and then use a curry to work it into the skin. If he's very wet, using a dry cloth as a curry to remove the excess sweat beforehand will make the baby powder more effective.

Also, I forgot to mention that the baby powder will help get rid of the sweaty smell and that in and of itself is helpful for curtailing flies.
 
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