I have a double whammy, my water has a lot of salts in it, so even after a bath there will be a layer of crystals.
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That sounds terrible! Like a hurricane blowing salt water on everything every time you’re trying to rinse something off.
I have bathed my mare head to toe with shampoo exactly once in the six years that I’ve owned her. I have washed her legs when she’s had scratches, and I hose her off if she gets sweaty, but otherwise her coat is all good currying and a good diet. I think her picture speaks for itself, even under dim barn lighting.
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I will say that I feel there’s a difference in texture between the fresh sweat you get after a ride, and the sweat you get when the horse sweats all day in the stall or paddock. I’m looking after one horse who loves baths but doesn’t sweat much except during exercise, and another horse that is terrified of the hose but will enjoy sponge baths, and sweats in her stall and paddock constantly in summer. And she does feel more gummy.
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Ours aren’t retired but they usually only get bathed with soap twice a year unless we decide to hit a local show. We bathe as late as possible in the summer/early fall before winter sets in and then in the spring when it finally warms up to get the winter grunge off. Other than that, a good rinse usually takes care of everything no problem
In Florida, I’ll give a retiree a hose-down once a week, or a couple times a week if reaaally sweaty.
Bath with shampoo? Only if they’ve got some rain rot or skin crud that needs taken care of.
Well after reading all the replies, apparently I’m not as much an outlier as I thought! I was expecting to feel very lazy compared to everyone else. 
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I rinse with plain water daily when it’s hot enough that the horses sweat just standing around. My broodmare with very fine/thin mane and tail hair gets bathed monthly in warm weather. Her daughters, both of whom have ridiculous Barbie horse amounts of hair, get bathed weekly (weather permitting). Otherwise, they tend to get itchy around their crests and tail bones, where sweat doesn’t rinse as well, and then they rub their hair out. The palomino continues to get her tail washed regularly in cooler weather, because otherwise her lovely white tail would be brown from urine.
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I’ve got one retired guy and two who are in work. The retired guy didn’t even get hosed off this summer, there were never really any days when he was sweating enough to warrant it. He just gets bathed regularly.
My gelding who is in work is 14, and he’s one that will likely get a bath once a monthish even in retirement because he’s got allergies. So not a bath to “clean” him, but a bath with allergy shampoo. He also gets a mousse applied to his legs in the spring and fall to avoid scratches and other skin crud.
My young mare only gets a bath before a show, hosed or sponged when sweaty.
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My little buttercup NQR, doesn’t want to be ridden, can be quite hateful, rescue mare LOVES a once a summer AT LEAST EQyss Premier Botanical Shampoo and suds up! She stands like a in pro in showmanship class. She makes a point of not rolling and keeping the girly girl smell on her as long as possible. Just sayin.
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What a cute face!
Rebecca
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My Paint gelding rarely got baths unless we were headed somewhere that involved being WHITE and sorrel. He was boarded outside and I hosed the mud off whenever he needed it, which was daily during mud season. Shampoos and soaps strip the natural oils.
The exception was duirng a significant bout with fecal water syndrome, aka free fecal water. It totally covered his butt and ran down his legs, the crack, and soaked his thighs. Getting him cleaned up and thoroughly rinsed was a daily project for several months during the warm weather. He started separating his legs just a tad. In fact, he got to separating them by a few feet as soon as I grabbed the hose. We were in on the development of WaterWerks at Horsetech.com which cleared up the problem. No more daily baths.
He wasn’t done, however. I had to be meticulous when I groomed his back end. If it wasn’t good enough he rather dramatically separated his legs by stomping one hoof to get my attention. It is true what they say: horses figure out a lot of things on their end. He got my attention. I learned my lesson.
I had to put him down last year when he was 28. A fellow boarder we met when she was about 12 and managed to age up to 19 yo, asked to give him and bath and braid him the day before. He looked great, and it was a wonderful gesture on her part. Grazing with Zeke.
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What kind of mousse?
https://www.dechra.ca/our-products/ca/companion-animal/dog/prescription/dermachlor-4#Mousse-Leave-on
This is the mousse that I use, it was recommended to me by the veterinary dermatologist that I saw when I took my gelding for intradermal allergy testing.
Interesting. I use a mix of chlorhexidine and mineral oil when my horses get scratches. I don’t use it preventatively though since I worry about causing resistance. I use zinc oxide preventatively.
The whole horse? Almost never, once or twice a year. Washing her tail with Kinetic Vet IR shampoo every 3-4 days when she’s itchy happens, though, plus treatment for scratches can involve washing.
Once a year unless there is a reason to do more. We call it spring cleaning. Full bath, trim mane and tail, clean sheath, clip bridle path, measure/chart melanomas on the greys.
This.
I give my horses a good couple of soapy baths in early fall, because they’re out all day and during the spring and summer get doused with fly spray at least 3 times a day, which leaves an oily film and makes them and my tack sticky. If they’re sweaty after a ride I just hose with water, because they’re just going to get fly sprayed again. But I scrub it all off in the early fall with soap, and then switch to a natural fly spray that doesn’t leave a film and works well enough for the few mosquitoes hanging around. I just did this a few weeks ago in fact—so nice having non-greasy, soft horses who I can pet without ending up with black crud on my fingers.
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The oldies at our barn get bathed maybe 1-2x a year. Same late fall (before blankets) and spring scrub that others have mentioned. Anyone that needs clipped for any reason (Cushings, etc) will get an extra bath as needed before that.
My fine-coated gray TB gets a soap bath probably monthly in the summer? Either for show prep or to remove caked on sweat, grime, Swat, etc after hunter pacing or XC schooling. Beyond that, he’s on the same beginning/end of blanket season and clipping schedule.
