How to Wash Your Horse A well washed horse can make a huge difference to your horses appearance. A well cleaned horse can help prevent skin irritation and disease. You Will Need
Step 1. Gather all your washing items Gather all the items you need. You must have all the items you need handy so that the wash goes smoothly. Step 2. Lead your horse to the wash rack Lead your horse, with a halter and lead rope from his stall or pasture to an area with a water supply. The easiest and quickest way to wet your horse is with a hose. It is ok to use cold water if the weather is warm. If it is cold, it is best to use warm water from a bucket. DO NOT tie or cross tie your horse for bathing. A horse will naturally pull back when you spray him with water. Step 3. Wetting Down the Horse Holding your lead line in your left hand and the hose in your right, start on the left (near) side of your horse and spray him down. Start on the legs; move up the back, up the shoulder then along the rear. AVOID spraying your horse directly in the face. Step 4. Apply Shampoo Apply generous amounts of shampoo to your sponge. Start at the shoulder, work your way down the leg and work your way across the back and body. Focus on the area where sweat will accumulate (girth path, under belly and where saddle sits). NOTE: Make sure that you dilute the shampoo in a bucket if it is in concentrate form. Step 6. Shampoo and Condition Mane Shampoo, condition and rinse the mane. If it naturally grows to the right (far) side, move over to that side to wash it. Step 7. Shampoo and Condition Tail Wash the tail. Shampoo and condition it making sure all residue is removed. Step 8. Rinse Rinse off the shampoo with your hose in the same way you wet him down. Make sure you remove all the dirt, sweat and shampoo from your horse. DO NOT leave any soap residue behind as the can cause skin irritation. A good way to make sure that all of the soap is out is to watch the water that is running off of the horse. If it is cloudy, then keep rinsing. Step 9. Sponge off or Wash Face Some horses will allow you to horse off their face. If your horse will not allow this, take a damp sponge and wipe your horse's face and his forelock. It is important not to put soap on the face as it is hard to remove and can get in his eyes. Step 10. Remove excess water with Sweat Scraper Remove all excess water with a sweat scraper. Start on the left (near) side of the neck and work you way across, move over to right (far) side and repeat. Finish with scraping his chest and belly. Step 11. Allow horse to Dry Leave your horse in a sunny and warm spot out of dust where he can dry clean before you put him in his stall or pasture.
thats after a long ride though, If you wash a cool horse, there really wouldn't be any problem with where you start. The girl in the video started at the chest and neck, not the back. I start at the front hooves and go to the chest then the neck, but thats just because I like to ease my horse into the cool water. But like you said, there is a problem if you spray a hot horse down with cool water, That can make the horse colic and cause other problems, but it really doesn't matter if you spray the horse on the back or not, its anywhere on the body. I'm sorry to hear about your horse though, I hope he's okay now.
on August 14, 2009, 8:02 am
on August 28, 2009, 5:53 pm
Whatever temperature that comes out of the hose is fine, just make sure you bathe him on a warm day.