Comments | equestrian: Replenishing nutrients when bathing daily

irishsaints in equestrian

Replenishing nutrients when bathing daily

Aug 22, 2011 13:11

So I know that there are a fair number of people in the world who bathe their horses daily, especially show horses. A friend of mine was riding one such horse for a while, and bathing him after every ride, and also giving him special oils and feed mixes to help restore the horse's natural oils.

My question is, if I were to do that, what sort of ( Read more... )

feed and grain, grooming

Comments 11

hoodsey August 22 2011, 18:55:21 UTC

This is a genuine question... I don't show english (hunter/jumper) or any of the western show stuff. Why do they need to bathe them everyday?

We have Andalusians and Friesians and they are show horses (breed shows and dressage) and we don't need to bathe everyday.

Our horses routines are...
They get bathed thoroughly and when dried, their manes and tails are braided and kept up with electrical tape. Everyday after that, if they are worked or put in the Equiciser they just get rinsed with water afterwards to get the sweat off and cool them down. They only get baths every 3 weeks or so or the day of a show. Even if we have clients coming to look at them, we just rinse them, let them dry, spray them with Silverado and present them that way. Their coats, manes and tails stay nice. Other than alfalfa, all they get is bran every morning and SafeChoice in the evenings.

irishsaints August 22 2011, 23:02:57 UTC

I'm not actually sure why some people feel the need to bathe (as in with soap) daily. I don't, I usually only hose after a hard ride, and fully bathe before a show.

chiquita522 August 22 2011, 23:51:08 UTC

Often I end up bathing frequently during the summer months because my horse gets so darn sweaty! As in my chestnut turns black.

Otherwise I'd assume that people are really into have clean horses?

fishwithfeet August 22 2011, 23:53:21 UTC

When I worked for a private hunter/jumper barn in Florida as a groom, we were REQUIRED to bathe them every day per the owner's instructions. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever. I could understand hosing them down, because it got bloody hot in the summer, but what I noticed was all of these horses had dry skin and we were forever treating them with MTG and then forever being harped on to 'remember to bathe them to help the dry skin'

From my personal experience at this particular barn, I think the reasoning was that they had to be perfectly clean, every single day, and the only way to do that was to soap up and bathe every day. They were also getting hardly any turnout so it's not like there was opportunity to even get dirty.

Thread 5

meezergal August 22 2011, 20:15:50 UTC

I have a grey horse and I don't bathe him (as in with soap) every day! He gets really grubby, too, as he likes to lie in his own pee/manure and, of course, roll. I just curry and brush thoroughly and hose him down after rides. Sometimes I hose him before a ride if he's really messy and the flies are bad.

I was always taught that an excess of soap or shampoo, no matter how gentle, will eventually dry out a horse's coat. Even if it's rinsed out well. Plain water, though, is fine.

HTH.

irishsaints August 22 2011, 23:04:04 UTC

Nor do I! My boy (who is also gray, and believes he was meant to be born bay)- rolls all the time. I was taught the same way as you, that it will dry them out- I was just curious as to what people use when they DO bathe daily.

meezergal August 23 2011, 04:14:56 UTC

Ah! Misread the question! I can't help you with that. I'm betting high-fat supplements such as rice bran or oil. Good luck getting everyone to eat that-- my last horse, who was a hard keeper, HATED both rice bran and oil.

I'm still wondering why anyone thinks a daily bath WITH SOAP is essential. For horses, that is. ;)

suffocationday August 23 2011, 19:32:17 UTC

Somethin' about those greys, huh? My grey appears to enjoy using poop as a pillow, as he always gets a poo stain on his cheek.

We are obviously not a fancy pair, and we rarely have to impress anyone, so he gets bathed every 6 weeks (maybe) in the summer, mostly to get out any really disgusting stains, and because it's nice to see him actually GREY once in a while.

A friend of mine works at a VERY fancy fox hunting barn, and they keep their horses religiously clean, as per the owner's instructions. They are bathed and groomed every day until immaculately clean, and then spend all of their free time in Sleazys. I know those horses get vegetable oil in their grain, but I don't know if they get anything else.

chiquita522 August 22 2011, 23:53:08 UTC

I would first dialute the soap in warm water before bathing if I were bathing frequently.

With topicals, I'd use Healthy Hair Care or something similar during grooming to help get oils back into the coat.

From the inside, I'd feed a high fat supplement like Ulimate Finish.

linasfyre August 23 2011, 12:48:23 UTC

You could feed flax???

A hilarious HILARIOUS thing my coach tried was slathering her horse in MAYONAISE.

THen rinsing, of course. Unless you want your horse to smell like a sandwich.
Made the coat (black horse) nice and shiny though.

I have bathed both of my horses...twice this summer. I usually jsut sponge after a ride. However...my grey-turning-yellow mare would like a new bath. :P