Bathing in the winter?

[horsecrazychick]

What's the best way to keep the horse warm when you don't have heated water, indoor stable, etc? What's the best way to dry them FAST when they're still wet and the sun is setting? How warm should it be to give baths? Would putting a cooler on a furry pony after help?

Asking because I made the mistake of bathing both my horses today, thinking it was warm enough and that I had time- and it would've been warm enough but I lost track of time and the sun started settting and they both started shivering really bad. I feel awful. The longer haired one is still damp on the outside. I have a few blankets I could put on but then she probably won't ever dry...

 

[horsecrazychick]

I feel so bad- I'm trying to decide between getting a sweat rug/cooler or just not bathing in the winter anymore unless it's a REALLY warm day.
Would something like one of these work?(really long links for some reason)

http://www.statelinetack.com/global...<>ast_id=2534374302024176&bmUID=1134880728213

http://www.statelinetack.com/global...<>ast_id=2534374302024176&bmUID=1134880615029

 

[jroz]

Once I helped give a horse a bath when it was 25 degrees out...it was in an indoor (not heated) and we had a group of people work on him so it went as quickly as possible. The coolers were laid out ready to be put on him as soon as he was done. I don't remember how many we used, but there were quite a few. I just remember having FREEZING hands, and thinking "never again!" but he made it through ok with a large stash of hay and people looking in on him.

 

[Just.Jump]

The best way to solve your problem is never to bathe your horse , and you should also never rug your horse (unless it's a sweat sheet that actually works properly).

Horses don't actually need bathing ever- they do an excellent job of maintaining their coats on their own, and we strip them of their oils when he do it. Even if your going to a show, I'd suggest simply a very thorough grooming instead.

Putting blankets on wet horses is not the way to go. Unlike our terrycloth towels we use to dry our hair, a thick cotton/wool rug isn't breathable enough to actually take water away from the skin. http://www.thenakedhoof.com.au/html/article-why_no_rugs.htm check out the whole site. it makes sense

And finally.. your in California, isn't it still somewhere around 15-20 degrees celsius down there? Not like here in Alberta where some days we go down to almost minus 30 celsius. Your horses should be perfectly fine =P

 

[iloveshearer]

again why do you need to bath your horse in the winter. unless youre competing?

 

[kirstie]

why do you need to bath your horse in the winter. unless youre competing?

Well it could be if the horse it really pitted or that you are competing?

But if you do need to bathe your horse and obsiviously its getting quite cold now and its never sunny you could use this horse product that acts like a shampoo. You spray it on your horse and wipe and it should get the muck of and leave the coat silky smooth. It costs around 5.00 for bottle it worth a try if your really bothered about washing your horse.

 

[Just.Jump]

Even if your horse is coated in crusty mud, you don't need to bathe them. Just use a dandy brush followed by a shedding blade (empohasis on blade, not one of those idiotic ones shaped into circles on a wodden/plastic handle. Don't go near those). Then proceed with regular grooming.

Even for showing, you don't need to bathe the horse- you need a thorough grooming with all of the tools- stiff and soft brushes, body brushes, regular curry combs and soft (rubber) curry combs on the face and legs, followed by a damp sponge or towel.

Looking at that, your probably thinking it's alot of time and work, but so is bathing- plus, if your horses are actually cold in california (), then definately do NOT bathe outside. It has no purpose other than vanity, and there are plenty of ways around it.

 

[Kanuma]

it is nessecary to bathe for showing! if you put show shine on even a slightly dusty coat you get a dull and not so shiney horse!

anyway, when i do winter shows or early spring shows stan gets 3 rugs on, the first is a wicking rug to remove the water from the surface of his coat (these actually work) then an old feather duvet on top of that, it goes right up his neck, then on top of that he has a polar fleece to keep it all in place. he is taosty warm under it and drys very quickly. ive had times where ive decided to go to a show 3 hours before the show beggins!
i also strip bathe him. i do his neck then rug his neck, do a small part of his back then rug, do him in patches to he doesnt get too cold.

 

[Kanuma]

oh ive just looked at that article just jump. whilst it may work for horses in thier natural environment, if you take an arab and stick it on a wet windy welsh hill you are asking for problems, ours gets rainscald without a rug, pride my show hunter looses enormous amounts of weigh without his rug (100 kg in 2 weeks). rugging both of those horses has allowed them to live out as they prefer rather then being stuck in a stable. good quiality rugs breathe and well fitting rugs dont rub etc. It also says a horse is designbed for gradual climate change, well im not sure ours can be classes as gradual, snowing one day and hot the next!
If i didnt rug id have a couple of very miserable ponies who are not designed for the climate in which they are liveing!

stan also wears a rug all year round, because he has sweetitch and if he didnt then he would have open bleeding sores from his ears to his tail between february and november each year!

 

[kunama]

I have to agree , hardy native types can live out with no rugs as long as they are not expected to do anything to drastic, but TB's and finer types have been bred by man to run fast and jump high they are NOT designed to look after themselfs , and while you can rough them off they need protection. If the weather is dry, and i mean humidity a horse can work in -20, if it is wet -5 (i think) is the limit.

and yes to show you must bath, i also clip all of mine right out ( though i'm not sure if you should clip natives to show) so they dry quickly and i can see any potential skin problems and they do not sweat when worked. but they are thouroughly rugged, my best peice of kit is fleece rugs, the wick , warm and wash well, all my horses have two !

 

[Kanuma]

i have an insane amount of rugs, stan has about 6 show/wicking/sweat rugs, 2 indoor rugs, 4 outdoor rugs (that he doesnt wear unless it drops realy low!!)
havey pride and rian have similar wardrobes excapt they actualy wear thier winter rugs

 

[kunama]

we are the same, i can recomend the shires chillcheata stable with neck, and the Rambo suprem and rhino from horseware!
Iain(oh) is the worst tho, he would buy new rugs every year if i let him!!

 

[Kanuma]

i use the rambos from horseware!

 

[Lora]

like to point out something...

She is in California, so a chill to her is FAR FAR different than I have seen in UK and even here in Cleveland. (brrrrrrrrr ) I'm not sure what temp we're talking, but you can bet it's not likely to be 25!

I bet she's talking maybe 50'sish? Original poster, can you clarify temperature for us please?

This morning it was 22 deg F on my way to work.. gawd!

 

[Kanuma]

if you can post the temp in celcius i might have some idea of how cold it is over there!

 

[Just.Jump]

if you take an arab and stick it on a wet windy welsh hill you are asking for problems

but TB's and finer types have been bred by man to run fast and jump high they are NOT designed to look after themselfs

Wrong.

We have a Tb (ex-racer, too, now somewhat a jumper. So, oh my, both of those last two styles of riding in one horse.) gelding who has never had a rug on him since I've been riding at my barn- 6 years. He gets through rain, mud, snow, and heat- Canada, specifically the prairies, gets completely opposite ends f the weather spectrum every year.

We also have an arabian, a morgan, and a handful of dainty mix-breeds, as well as the gangly, un-filled out young horses. They all live. The more you rug a horse, the less capable they become to protect themselves.

 

[*Sez*]

At the moment I'm having to wash my HW cob for a skin complaint. He has to be washed down every day, despite the weather, dried off as best as we can and then kept stabled. Although not bathing is the ideal, sometimes it can't be avoided.

 

[Kanuma]

ahh but canada is very different from wales, here it is almost always raining in winter, my connemara struggles without a rug but he is still out without one as i want him to loose weight. Rian on the other hand cant cope, he cant cope with being constantly wet and cold. he stands there shakeing begging to come in! i think its the combination of cold and wet with a massive windchill factor! we are on the side of a hill faceing the sea so the wind never stops realy, we are also the first mountain range the weather hits after comeing in from the sea so we get alot of the water dumped on us!

 

[Lora]

if you can post the temp in celcius i might have some idea of how cold it is over there!

here you go: -5.555555555555555 I always have to look it up. And when I hear the weather while I"m in Scotland, I have to just do without a temperature reference because I can't figure out the conversion without a computer. hehehe

The money is easy 1 BPS = aprox 2 US dollars. (that's a bit over actually)

 

[Lora]

sorry.. forgot the other value

if you can post the temp in celcius i might have some idea of how cold it is over there!

Forgot to mention, california (not sure of her city) at least in SanFran is running around 18 cel or 66 for highes this week. (Man, wish I was there!)