Cold water for bathing?

[Marsha Cassada]

I really need to bathe and clip one of my horses, but the weather has been in the 70's daytime, 40's at night, with showers nearly every day. I know there is fungus under all that hair. I have no access to heated water to bathe him, and worry the tap water is too cold. If I can just get him bathed and clipped, it is no problem to blanket him.

Usually I can use the air compressor to clean down deep, but he is so muddy right now that isn't a good option. I can't even get the shedding comb through the matted mud. He is a mess. I suspect he is rolling in the mud because he is itchy, which makes it impossible to groom him, which makes him more itchy...

I heard the temperature needs to be above 80 to bathe, but what about water temperature?

What are my grooming options for my little mud ball?

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I was washing my guys at 65 with cold water. So long as he's dry by night you should be fine.

I find the best way to dry is to use a scraper then put a dollar store fleece blanket over top of them and hand walk. I've towel dried my 33" guy before too. Air compressor is a fabulous idea too though!

 

[bevann]

If you are on a well,, not city water, water that comes from the ground is usually around 55 degrees.You might try drawing some up and letting it sit in the warmer daytime temps.Or boil some water in the house and mix it with your barn water.If the hair is really long and matted try clipping some off with scissors before putting any water on your horse I too worry about cold water bathing but I see it done all the time at shows Just get it done quickly.I have used a human hair dryer on my Minis-some tolerate it some don't.Good luck with bath day.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, as soon as it is over 70, I think I will go for it. brisk walk in the sun, with towel drying, and he should be okay.

We are on rural water, no well. In the summer the water gets pretty warm, but now the ground has not warmed up enough to take the chill off the water in the pipes yet.

And make sure he's dry before night.

 

[Miniv]

If you have enough large buckets/water jugs.....fill them and let them warm in the sun.

Our laundry sink has a faucet that a hose screws onto. Then the hose is stretched out the back door to our back yard.

(I avoid using cold water because I want the horse to have as pleasant experience as possible.)

 

[targetsmom]

Filling buckets and leaving them in the sun for a couple of hours will work, and using black buckets is best. Or go to a camping store and buy a Sun Shower, which is just a 2 or 5 gallon plastic bag with black on one side (bottom) and clear on the other (toward the sun). Those of us that have ever camped and used one will attest that the water temp on a sunny day is perfect, and even on a cloudy day is not bad at all. The Sun Shower even comes with a shower head and on/off switch.

We had a laundry sink with hot/cold water put in our garage and always use that for the horses' baths.. I hate seeing them shiver!! One other tip is to exercise them before the bath (not hard but enough to get them warm).

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Filling buckets and leaving them in the sun for a couple of hours will work, and using black buckets is best. Or go to a camping store and buy a Sun Shower, which is just a 2 or 5 gallon plastic bag with black on one side (bottom) and clear on the other (toward the sun). Those of us that have ever camped and used one will attest that the water temp on a sunny day is perfect, and even on a cloudy day is not bad at all. The Sun Shower even comes with a shower head and on/off switch.

We had a laundry sink with hot/cold water put in our garage and always use that for the horses' baths.. I hate seeing them shiver!! One other tip is to exercise them before the bath (not hard but enough to get them warm).

Is one 5 gallon enough to bathe a horse? Should I order two of them? I think the 10 gallon one would be too heavy for me to manage.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

5 gallons is definitely not enough to wash a dirty horse!

I would honestly just use the hose and really get him 'clean clean.' Sometimes we just need to get stuff done. As a sufferer of skin issues myself if my incessant itching were to be cured by a cold hose - I wouldn't even have to think about it!

Use a shedding blade first, get as much crud off as you can. Then bathe and really scrub down deep with a stripping shampoo (I like dawn dish soap for the first bath of the year). Maybe rinse with warm water in buckets? Make sure you soak and clean the skin - adding more water and my getting everything off will not help the fungus at all.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It got into the upper 70's so I bathed him. I used the pine tar shampoo, leaving it on for about 10 minutes before rinsing. Finished off with white vinegar rinse using the hose end sprayer, then the squeegee and a towel. Then we went for a walk, and I clipped him when we got home. I think he was relieved to be rid of that pelt. The area I thought might be a fungal thing I had second thoughts about--I think it is sunburned from when he scraped his hide off a couple of weeks ago. Need to put sunscreen on my list. He did have the tell tale fungal spots, but nothing serious. Snipped off ergots with the side cutters. The clip job is rough, but we'll work on smoothing it out later.

The black hose had quite a lot of warm water to offer. At least it wasn't cold water shock at first. I think I'll look for a Sun Shower; might come in handy.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[amysue]

Glad he got cleaned up and feels better. When I was a kid, and kept a pony at home, I hooked the garden hose up to the hot water line on the washing machine through the laundry room window to bathe horses outside with hot water.

 

[Performancemini]

My husband went online and invested (around $120) for a portable water heater. It's about the size of a very small medicine chest and hooks to a propane tank. The hose hooks to it and it heats the water and is adjustable. He set his up on a dolly. Propane tank on the bottom and water heater on top. Strapped on. We have used it in (ouch!) 50 degree weather (indoors-he washes and I broom the water down the indoor well gravel trap-quickly). When it's too cold (50-60's) we do it inside the barn (cement floor for us) and then we use the rubber scraper and then a shammy (works great!) to get a lot of water off. Then we lay old bath towels over and cover with a winter blanket. Keep checking the towels and when they are real damp, we change them for dry. The second time they usually get only faintly damp. Then we put on a summer sheet and then the blanket. (sometimes slinky hoods too). Husband has a larger round (like a little silo) propane heater that he runs and uses a box fan to blow the warm air around sometimes. We live in northern Illinois and participate in an early April event where we have to have 'show ready' horses. The weather usually doesn't cooperate, so we bathe in the mid to high 50's to 60 degree ranges for that. (always asking 'is it worth it?'). No one has gotten sick from it yet. (shivery cold, yes.).

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Are you happy with your brand of portable heater? I'm interested in that.

Anyone dithering about bathing his horse, though, because the water is not warm I say DO IT. My horse is so much more comfortable and all the fungal spots are disappearing. I've had to blanket him several times, but that was no big deal.