Blow dryers and Horses - Anyone?

[GraceLikeRain]

Has anyone resorted to a blow dryers or pet force dryer? I’m trying to think outside of the box.

My sister has a mare who is pasture boarded and in full work 5-6 days a week. She has a yak coat in a low trace clip and is a moderate to hard keeper in the winter. Since she’s out 24/7 a full clip seems unkind and counterproductive to conserving calories but she sweats when worked.

Since we’re in the south post work it is likely 35-45 degrees. Too cold to bathe and warm enough that even a light wicked cooler will make her sweat more.

To me it seemed like a dog force dryer might be an effective way to fluff the wet hair and expedite the drying process? A blow dryer seems like it might generate too much heat and create the same issue as the cooler. Has anyone tried? Do shop-vacs have a reverse button so that they can be used for grooming and drying?

[sheltona01]

Yup, use to blow dry the horse when I lived in mn. I just used it on the low setting. However, it was only in the transition time. If she is in a full body sweat, it will take forever. Mine was only under the saddle and gieth area.

[HannahsMom7]

there are horse driers. I did try a hair blower and my horse got used to it. However, it does take forever to dry a hairy horse

[Libby2563]

I’ve blow-dried my horse’s saddle area before so I could get him blanketed and turned out sooner, but yeah, drying a full-body sweat that way would take forever. If it were me and the temps were only 35-45 (relatively warm winter weather, IMO), I would probably clip more and blanket up as needed rather than spending hours with the blow dryer.

[Scribbler]

I have just found a very nice pure wool cooler for my horse. It really does dry her off after a ride. The outside of the cooler will be damp, beading up, and she will be dry underneath. I don’t work her in it. If you have a temporary access to a stall or shed or anything you can lock her in, you can put the cooler on and shut her up for an hour or so after the ride, while you do chores. Well, if it’s pasture board, I guess there are no chores :). Then let her out dry, or put her turnout blanket on if she has one?

[theresak]

I just did it last night with a blow dryer. Horse has a high trace clip, and the saddle area and gaskin (both unclipped) were not dry after >1 hour under coolers. With the hair dryer and a hair brush with vents to back comb the hair, it took probably 20 minutes to finish drying him.

As a note, temperature was 25F last night.

[digihorse]

Many years ago, the barn I trained at in Michigan had one of these types of heaters: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395537_200395537 Thing was loud but threw heat out 10 feet away. (big fan) The horses were stood in front of it to dry off after being ridden. They got to like it after a few times.

[ladyj79]

Get a solarium. The greatest of all the things.

Surely someone must be marketing these in the us!

[RedHorses]

Two things - I can get length combs for my Oster A5 clippers. These allow a larger area to be clipped without making the horse as cold when not working.

Second - Mike Matson once posted a link to an article about a lady who did fancy clips. She zebra stripe clipped her own horse in the winter because he sweated too much to be unclipped, but got cold if she did clip. The zebra stripes kept him warmer and also allowed him to stay cooler and dry faster when working.

I did do the blow dryer business with one of mine the first year I had an arena (and no blankets). It was an hour’s work to get him dry enough to go back out. I don’t blow dry any more - it was a pain.

[moving_to_dc]

The barn I work at has a livestock blow dryer, and I have one at home, also. They definitely make drying a wet “animal” much faster and easier (horse, goat, cattle…). However, not all blowers are equal… Mine is an Air Express III and is a million times more powerful/hotter than the Circuiteer III that the barn has. There is no comparison between the two.

If you get one, go with an Air Express III.

[Showbizz]

Most people in the barn I work out of use regular blow dryers. It’s a common sound this time of year.

[Showbizz]

I’ll add - there will be some yaks that still take forever to dry this way. Ultimately, I do a variation of a clip for those. But some are done in 10 minutes or less.

I just throw on a wool cooler, shoot some warm air under it with the dryer periodically, and get to work.

[gypsymare]

There’s a lot of real estate between a full clip and a low trace. I’d take off more hair and get a thicker blanket or a liner if she’s cold.

[saddleup]

I use one on my horses in the winter. They seem to actually like it and lean into the warm air. I also use the blow dryer to warm the bit. Works great.

[goodhors]

We have a one Rapid Groom vac and the big blue one, which can be set on blower and both do a really nice job drying even heavy haired horses. The bigger vac has two engines, so gets more force going for faster drying. The Rapid groom is light, easy to pack up for shows, gets used on horses, sheep, dogs at various times. Price was good at $10 used!

I killed two people hair dryers and only got one shoulder dry before going to the horse vac. Shop vacs work fine too, put the hose end on exhaust.

A tip with vacs, is to have a skinny nozzle on the end of the hose. This forces air coming out into narrow space, creating friction and HEAT in air coming out nozzle end which speeds things up even more. I cover damp horse with cooler, flip up the corner on area to dry, work my way around the horse to dry it. Then take the damp cooler and hang it up for next time needed.

You CAN dry a horse with layering on coolers only, just takes time. Water will come to the top of the layers beading up there. I use 2-3 coolers depending on how heavily haired the horses are. Probably will take at least an hour, maybe more to get fully dry. I remove the outer cooler layer as it gets wet. Under layers will then bead water on the top cooler until you remove it. Most of mine take 2 coolers to dry, but 3 is not unususal since ours are not clipped. I do make sure they are dry before going back out or stalled and left. They get very little work in winter, mostly outside at a walk for short times. So fairly easy to dry off.

The zebra clipping idea is unique! I am going to try it come spring and they are working harder. Also will share with my friend who clips hers because they are in work and blanketed. Very interesting, so Thanks for sharing!

[Altermyne]

I don’t ride much in the winter, but if I did, I would absolutely condition my horse to my high velocity dryer. It takes the dyer about 20 minutes to damp-dry a double coated breed with medium length hair so I would fully expect 20 minutes or so for a horse with a dense, short coat.

[cuatx55]

All the time- never an issue- I use a regular person hair dryer. I had to find the right style that wasn’t too hot but still strong enough to get it dry.
My horses love it!

[RoughOut]

You might want to look into show cattle blowers. They do a great job of drying without heating. Air Express III is my go to as well.
Works on my sassy angus and I did use it on my mare when she was kicked out of the run in shed in freezing rain. It took me about 15 minutes to dry her though it wasn’t the same as being soaked from sweat

[GraceLikeRain]

Thanks everyone! After going back and forth I think she’s going to clip the saddle area and bring the flank clipping up higher. It will look goofy but I think that in combination with a force or cattle blower should do the trick.

Thanks for the leads on cattle blowers. I honestly had no idea something like that existed until now!

[Lucassb]

I agree about the Solarium!! Best things ever. And you can get them in the US, now. We got ours from Wilsun.

https://wilsuncustomhorseblankets.com/