How to Bathe a Horse

Knowing what to do when bathing your horse will help you more efficiently clean your horse. Here are some tips that will help you make the most of you time.

What you will need:
1. a hose
2. body wash
3. sponge
4. squeegee
5. rubber curry comb
6. mane and tail comb

First of all, pick a spot to wash your horse where a lot of mud won't be made. On pavement or a grassy area is the best place to bathe a horse. Prepare the spot you have chosen with a hose, body wash, sponge, squeegee, rubber curry comb, and mane and tail comb. Then tie your horse up to a post or fence where you will be washing him.

Turn the hose on and make sure the water pressure is not to hard. If the water pressure is to hard it may hurt your horse when you wash sensitive areas like his neck and legs. The first thing you must do to begin washing your horse is to get him completely wet. To do this you must start out by getting his legs wet first. You do this so that his body will be able to adjust to the water temperature slowly. If you put the water on his body too quickly he may get collic from the rapid change of body temperature.

Once his legs are wet you can slowly work your way up the rump, then the belly, then the back, and finally the neck. Most horses don't like for their faces to be sprayed with water, so to get his face wet you can soak the sponge with water and then squeeze it over his face.

Now that your horse is wet, you can begin to shampoo him. You can get horse body wash at any feed store or equine shop. Baby shampoo is also gentle enough to be used on your horse if you don't have any horse body wash. Apply some shampoo to your horse's body and begin to lather him up. Once you have him evenly lathered with shampoo, take the rubber curry comb and rub him all over his body in circular motions. Then take your mane and tail comb and brush the shampoo through your horse's mane and tail.

After you have shampooed your horse all over, begin to rinse him off. Start at the top of his neck and work your way down to his back, then belly, then rump, and then his legs. Make sure to rinse off all the shampoo, if you leave any on him it will dry out his skin and cause skin irritation.