How to Bathe a Horse

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Donna_J_Diehl]Donna J Diehl
When bathing your horse start with the body. Using a shower setting or a mist setting, wet one section of the horse. Put shampoo on the area that you have already made wet. With a sponge or a rubber curry rub the area to get the dirt out. Rinse the area thoroughly. One section at a time, continue to do the rest of the horse's body. With your hand or with a sweat scraper remove the excess water left on the horse.
After washing the horse's coat you can then do the head. Depending on the horse's experience with bathing, there are several ways to wash the head. You can use the hose on the face if the horse is experienced with bathing. Use a light mist spray to wet it or use a sponge and release water down his face. You can take a wet towel with a small amount of shampoo on it followed by another clean wet towel to remove the dirt and shampoo for the less experienced horse. Take care that you do not get water in the horse's ears. Do not use shampoo near the nostrils, eyes, or mouth, just use a wet cloth.
To do the mane you may have to use a stool. Wet the mane thoroughly. To remind the horse to keep his head down you may have to put a hand on the bride of the nose. Put shampoo down the crest line of the mane but not too much. Rub vigorously to work up a lather. Make sure you scrub it thoroughly as dirt will most likely be hiding at the roots of the mane. Rinse all of the shampoo out of the mane and then rinse some more.
Make sure all of the tangles are out of the tail before washing. You can run your fingers through the tail to do this. If you wet the tail down with the tangles left in, it will be harder to get them out and the horse may lose some of his tail hair in the process. There are some good detangling products around that are good for taking tangles out. After wetting the tail down add the shampoo. With your fingers scrub the tail vigorously. Wash the underside of the dock. To see if you have removed all of the dirt, separate the tail hairs. Make sure that you get all the shampoo out of the tail. If you do not get all of the shampoo out of the tail the horse will rub the tail and lose tail hair this way. Always condition the tail after washing. Most of the water can be removed from the tail by squeezing it with a dry towel.
With a sponge or rubber mitt you can wash the horse's legs. He will know not to pick his leg up if you put your hand on his knee. Rinse thoroughly. You will want to remove the chestnuts and ergots.
You might want to condition his coat if your horse has dry skin or you are using a medicated shampoo. After diluting the conditioner pour it on his coat and work it in using your hands. Let it stand for a few minutes. Remove the excess with a sweat scraper if it is leave in conditioner. If it is rinse out conditioner, rinse it out with the hose and use the sweat scraper to remove the excess water. You should then condition the mane.
The tail and mane can be brushed out when they are almost dry. This is best done using a regular hair brush with wide bristles. Do not comb the tail and mane until after they have been brushed.
Bathing your horse is part of keeping your horse looking his best and keeping his coat in good condition. For more information on grooming your horse take a quick look at thebestofhorses.com.
TIP: Dilute the shampoo with water when washing your horse. Make it about eight parts water and one part shampoo. The diluted shampoo is much easier to rinse out than shampoo straight from the bottle.
If you would like to learn more about the care of horses or about horse equipment take a quick look at http://www.thebestofhorses.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Bathe-a-Horse&id=6561840] How to Bathe a Horse