This months feature thanks to Lydia Kelly from   Freehold Equine

The Winter Bath?

One of the real challenges of the winter season is keeping our horses clean. It's far too cold to bath, and brushing just seems to stir up the dust. Sure, vacuuming the horse sounds great, but I can say that most of my horses wouldn't just stand still to let that monster come and eat them for dinner. So for all those who like me have horses who just love to get dirty, what can you do? There is a solution - hot toweling.

Hot toweling is a simple method to bathe your horse in even the coldest weather. It's easy, and all it costs is some time and some elbow grease. For equipment all you need is a bucket, an old cloth (or a piece of burlap sacking works very well), a clean towel, and some very hot water.

Before you start, groom your horse thoroughly. This helps to remove the worst of the dirt. Then run a curry comb back over him so that as much of the grime that has built up down by his skin is brought up to the surface. Fill your bucket with as hot of water as you can stand. Make it so hot that you can just barely dip your hand into it. Soak the cloth in the hot water but make sure that you don't drop your cloth in, it's a job getting it back out! Once the cloth is soaked, wring it out so that it is just damp.

Pick a small area on your horse to start with. If he's used to being blanketed then just turn back half of the blanket and then cover that part up when you are done. With the hot damp cloth scrub your horse. If you work in a patch no more than half a foot square at a time you will get the best results. When the cloth gets dirty rinse it in the bucket and repeat the process. You will notice that despite getting right down to the horse's skin, his coat does not get very wet. This is because the steam rises off his coat quickly rather than staying where it can make him wet. After a while you will find that the water in the bucket gets very dirty. At this point dump the bucket and refill it with fresh hot water. It should take at least four buckets if you are doing a thorough job. It's amazing how much dirt can get stuck in that coat!

Once the horse is completely scrubbed, brush his hair smooth with a CLEAN medium to soft brush. Then take the clean towel and run it over him for a final dusting. And there you have it - one clean horse!

If you are preparing for a special event it's probably a good idea to add some show sheen (but not in the saddle area), and finish up with a clean sheet under any blankets. Hot toweling may be a simple solution, but give it a try, it really works. Good luck in your winter shows!

Lydia Kelly

Freehold Equine