I was (un?)lucky enough this year to get a palomino colt with lots of chrome. He’s super flashy, but insists on lying in the pee spot! So now he is pretty much constantly covered in lovely brown stains 
Inspection day is coming up on August 3rd - how do I get him clean? He’s 2.5 months old, and mostly halter-broke, but he hasn’t been overly impressed with the hose thus far… 
Any advice for bathing foals? Thanks!
spend LOTS of time getting him used to the hose/water landing on him… like every day. Hose mama and let him get wet from that. Hold him and start at his feet, just let the water hit him until he stands and accepts it, then go up his legs, proceed from there… it’s time consuming if he generally doesn’t like it/is afraid of the water, but if you make it an (almost) part of his daily routine, he should come to expect it and soon you’ll be scrubbing like he’s an old pro!!
If they don’t get used to the hose by inspection time (and manyof mine do not…I often seem to have a 2 month old to take…) then I just use a bucket of soapy water and a sponge.
i took my 2 month old to upperville. he was not yet keen on the hose, so we did a nice sponge bath instead. he is such a ham and loves to be rubbed that he just stood there and enjoyed it.
now that we are working more with the hose, he acts like he hates it and then slowly realizeds ‘oooh this is nice!’ its hilarious. start with letting the hose run on the ground, walk him through it, let him sniff it. then as said above, hose his feet/legs and hold it there until he relaxes and accepts it. then slowly move up and around the body . theyll spin and try to get away. dont hold his head hard or his pole will get hurt. if he spins, keep the hose on his leg until he stops spinning and accepts it. do a little each day and after a week or so hell be mostly ok with it.
good luck!
Actually the best way to start is just like it is raining. Hold the hose up, and have the water come down on them in a spray. If you think about it, starting at thier feet will almost always cause them to go up or backwards. Coming down on them will not. And if he has been rained on before, then he will get used to it quicker. My trainer did this with my filly after the starting with the feet (my way) failed. She accepted this was very quickly and now is great with a bath. Just make sure you are not saturating the top of the head, just a nice spray over the top towards the back.
[QUOTE=runwayz;6419871]
Actually the best way to start is just like it is raining. Hold the hose up, and have the water come down on them in a spray. If you think about it, starting at thier feet will almost always cause them to go up or backwards. Coming down on them will not. And if he has been rained on before, then he will get used to it quicker. My trainer did this with my filly after the starting with the feet (my way) failed. She accepted this was very quickly and now is great with a bath. Just make sure you are not saturating the top of the head, just a nice spray over the top towards the back.[/QUOTE]
This is actually quite smart; I never thought of that approach before. I think I’ll try it with my baby!
I use the it’s raining method too, and if you have someone that can help you hold baby, have them hold him up against momma on the opposite side from you. Then go about hosing the mare off, allowing the water to run over her, and oops get onto baby. I’ve had a few that were less intimidated if they couldn’t actually see the hose 
Yep, raining method and/or also a bucket and sponge. They never stand still for hosing at the feet
Oh, and the Cowboy Magic product for removing green stains…
We use the “raining” method too. On a hot day now all I have to do is turn on the hose and while standing on the other side of the fence near the water drinking tub is call to my babies in the pasture. They see the “rain” and come running for a shower. They love it I get them drenched and then move to the next pasture. Doesn’t take very long on a hot day to get them all cooled down with this method.
[QUOTE=gabby.gator;6419124]
spend LOTS of time getting him used to the hose/water landing on him… like every day. Hose mama and let him get wet from that. Hold him and start at his feet, just let the water hit him until he stands and accepts it, then go up his legs, proceed from there… it’s time consuming if he generally doesn’t like it/is afraid of the water, but if you make it an (almost) part of his daily routine, he should come to expect it and soon you’ll be scrubbing like he’s an old pro!![/QUOTE]
I agree, there are babies at my farm and they love the water because we would sit out there and just have the hose spraying mom, and they would run and buck and play. Now they love it!! exposure is the key, but to do it at small incriments so you dont over welm the poor baby
The key is to keep the water going on them until they stand still! If they balk or run away from the water and you stop (or they escape it) you have just taught the foal that this behavior is how you make the bath stop!!!
If you can keep the water spraying on them while in a halter, great, if not put them in a small pen where they can’t escape the hose. Once they stand still for even a second or two, remove the stream from their body (I start on the barrel or chest) and praise them, then put it back on and stay with it til they calm down again. They will quickly learn that the way to make this scary stuff stop is to hold still and you can gradually increase the amount of time you spray. They typically learn to enjoy the sensation and the scrubbing.
I have found it really helps to hose them on a super hot day because they quickly realize it actually feels GOOD, but we don’t get many dry days around here, much less hot ones 
Thanks for all the advice guys! I will definitely try the ‘raining’ method. I tried the bucket & sponge method (with just warm water, no soap) and he kept trying to get away, but eventually stopped and stayed still for a few minutes. Will keep at it till he loves bathtime! 
we bring the mares and foals in every day and hose the mares and sponge the foals…scraping both of them…
Once the foals get to the point of standing still and not minding the very wet dripping sponge we move to the hose… we are making progress this year.:lol:;). they are all between 2-3 months old.
So you’re not having the 100+ weather where you are - then showering becomes a treat!
We had a filly born a week early, and a pretty ripe one too! She and mama were filthy, stall hadn’t been prepped, mom had rolled in the sand arena just before the 7:30 p.m. broad daylight delivery.
Next day first time turn-out filly had an itch - pretty smart little girl! http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/JMAM_photos/fillyitch.jpg
so this had to happen http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/JMAM_photos/100_1556.jpg My rain shower photo.
all was well. http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/JMAM_photos/100_1557.jpg Gramps there manning the hose and getting the ear nibble.
I’d do this first day in a heartbeat again. You got the idea - keep at it and then they love it!
And then they learn to stand on the hose. Hehe. :)
[QUOTE=bluemoonfarms;6421468]
And then they learn to stand on the hose. Hehe. :):)[/QUOTE]
Every. Single. Time !!!:lol:
The least stressful way is to start when they’re a couple of weeks old with regular grooming. Use a soft gel rubber brush and just get them used to the feel of something all over their body.
Finish off with a small towel, so they also get used to something flapping a bit around them. I also use the small towel / facecloth to wipe their nether regions so they’re not precious about being touched there. Much easier to desensitise when tiny than when a strapping weanling.
To teach them that water is ok all over their bodies, I use a bucket of hot (not lukewarm) water with some shampoo already foamed up in it. I gently wash them all over with a facecloth, starting at the shoulder (they can be skittish if you start at the neck or the legs) and then just gradually move up and down across the whole body. Stomach last, because it gets quite wet from runoff anyway.
Use a fresh bucket of hot clean water to rinse off and then towel dry well.
After that, it’s pretty easy to spot clean them with whitening shampoo when they get a urine stain anywhere.
The bucket method works well, they actually enjoy the hot water and they don’t freak out at cold water, and water doesn’t get in their eyes or ears, which is the worst thing when trying to desensitise them. I introduce the hosepipe when they’re a little older. It usually only takes 2 or 3 bucket baths till they’re accustomed to being wet and will stand still for the hose.
My colt was about 3 months old when he had his first bath. I had a stall beside the wash stall and I put the colt in it (he could still see mom) while I bathed her first. When it was his turn he went in by himself with his mom in the stall. I had someone hold him and started on his shoulder/neck with a lighter spray (not a trickle) and he didn’t budge (not even when his legs were sprayed!) He LOVED to be scrubbed with the soap! He was not handled much before that but he was very sensible so it REALLY made my job easy!!
When I hosed my yearling filly who had never had a bath, I did it outside by myself and she was excellent. I again started at the shoulder/neck (I find they are not too keen on the feet/legs at first) and let her walk around me if she so desired (I had the hose long enough, so it was like a lunge bath!) she eventually figured out she isn’t going to get away from it (not that she tried too hard) and stood statue still for it.
The extream heat really helps when teaching them too!
Agree with Trinity - it takes two people to do this well, but one needs to follow baby with the hose, keeping water on baby’s front legs and chest until baby STOPS, then take water off (pressure, release). A long hose is best! We don’t spray babies, just let the hose gently flow (at low flow) on baby’s front legs and chest until they are comfortable. First bath may take an hour and may cause some major wet spots in your bathing area, hahahaha.
Once baby is comfortable with soft flow on chest and legs, start moving to other areas, following same protocol - follow baby with hose until baby stops, then immediately take the water off baby for a moment - the release from pressure.
Then we gently rub with soapy warm water - most babies love, love, love this part! I do the tail at the very end, because the wet dripping tail tends to make them most nervous (and I don’t hose heads until they are a bit older, a wet sponge is for dirty heads). Generally, I use a small bucket and dip the tail in soapy water, then let it set for a while until they are over the shock of drippy tail, then scrub it up good, and dip in clean water a few times to rinse.
I swear, it is the light colored ones who find the poop and pee piles. I had a pinto last year who would lay with his head on the poop piles EVERY day. There could be ONE poop pile in the pasture, and that is where he’d put his head (we do clean our pastures).:lol:
