How often do you wash (with soap) your horse?

[Pally]

Horses that I groomed professionally got shampooed a lot. Exactly how much depends on the weather, activity, color, and disgustingness of a particular horse, but multiple times a week is not uncommon. Certainly typical of the other horses at the shows too. I think it’s safe to say that the upper echelon of hunters and jumpers in North America are not suffering from lackluster, dull coats.

My own horses would be lucky for an annual scrubbing.

I’m guessing that just like humans will adjust their oil production to more frequent washes, horses likely do too. (For me, back before COTH introduced me to no-poo, I could do the daily wash or the twice a week routine, but I could NOT flip between them readily.)

[Montanas_Girl]

My riding/show horse gets a bath with soap (Orvus all over, plus Quic Silver for her mane and tail) once a week, weather permitting. My broodmare gets bathed with soap as-needed. Both get hosed with plain water every afternoon in warm weather - if I don’t hose her on hot days, the riding horse will rub her tail obsessively. I’d say both of their coats are doing just fine (they live out 24/7, by the way):

A healthy, glowing coat comes from the inside, not the outside, in my experience.

[kaya842]

I hose mine everyday (or near everyday) from about May to September. Just a rinse to get the sweat out, which also works to keep stains from setting in on the fleabitten grey. I do shampoo everyday we are at a show and typically the night before we leave (though not always). Her white tail and mane get washed a few times leading up to us leaving as they get so dirty and rinsing just doesn’t cut it. I also double shampoo before clipping.
I don’t see the need to shampoo more often as they really do stay quite clean with daily rinsing and currying. It is rare that I find a stain that doesn’t come out with rinsing OR currying and actually requires soap. But I do think a bubble bath gives them that extra bit of shine.

Regular day with just the rinse + curry

Bubble bath for the white horse

[Anna.m]

When i was showing, i would bath with soap before every show, which would end up being about 1-2 times a month in the summer months. If it was too cold for a bath and she was quite dirty, i would hot towel her with hot water and baby oil. I also used a homemade fly spray that had a base of skin so soft oil, so i felt that helped replenish any oils lost.

Since she has stopped showing, she is on the same schedule as my gelding, once a year with soap, in late spring or early summer as they wore blankets all winter. If they are sweaty i will hose them down with just water. I have stopped using an oil based fly spray, and i find my mare tends to get a little extra oily if she hasn’t been groomed in a few days. (covid had barns closed here for a long time, and i could only see them and was not allowed to groom or anything else)

I worked at an A-circuit level hunter barn once, and they would wash the horses with soap after every ride in the summer, and hot towel once a week in the winter season.

[Gamma]

Well, this is a zombie but I’ll bite…

I wash according to what’s on the horse that needs to be removed. Soap and shampoo absolutely removes oil (and other hydrophobic things). That is literally what it is meant to do. If the only problem is wet sweat or wet mud, that will come off with just* water. Dry sweat sometimes gets gummed up a bit with whatever else the horse has rolled on in the meantime, but the main part is just salt which will brush out dry, so first I will use dry brushing* and then follow up with water if necessary, followed by soap only where necessary (via wet rag). Dandruff and allergies that have built up get an anti dandruff shampoo, where necessary (flaky and itchy spots). Some real grossness like pee that has caked on or @#&$ pine sap gets a whole combination of solvents, like oil and let it sit for a while, then try detergent and cross your fingers. I am lucky that I’ve never had to worry about stains on a grey, so I can just leave them, as long as it’s just color it’s not a problem healthwise.

• Just water helps to have good water pressure…e.g. the EZ Wash wand, that thing is amazing and cuts hosing time down considerably. Pro tip, hold it close to the horse so you’re getting full pressure and angle the water against the fur.

• Dry methods are the good old curry, but also a dry tiger tongue sponge and air blowing. Take a “clean” horse and use the shop vac on blow and watch the dust. Also, if you use the shop vac a white saddle pad will get sweaty but won’t have dirt. Amazing.

Last note, I only wash my own hair once a week. I will water-only rinse if it’s sweaty or has too much barn muck in it (although I use a buff or bandana over my hair to minimize that). Post shampoo is definitely crunchier and frizzier than a few days later, and I don’t see any point in doing that every day and having to fix it again with conditioner…that’s just self-inflicted extra work. I try to clean asap after getting sweaty or dirty, which really makes it easier and only get the parts wet that actually need to be (if the roots are sweaty but the ends are dry, etc.). I am not a barn owner who has to be at the barn all day so some people may not have that luxury, but if you can it really cuts back on time spent washing. (And I do not smell gross. I have asked many people, some of whom are honest. I just smell neutral.)

[Victorious]

I bathe mine probably about once a month with shampoo-mane and tail more frequently. I use a lot of fly spray and I hate the thought of it building up on their coats and I don’t think a spray rinse always gets it all with out shampoo. I am the same way with bug spray or sunscreen, tho. I “feel” it on my skin and couldn’t possibly jump into my bed with all of that on me, so I have to scrub it off every night.

[J-Lu]

I shampoo maybe one a year or more if I’m showing. When I’m showing, I don’t use a heavy amount of shampoo for the reasons you described. Just a mild amount to help get surface dirt off. I’ll use a “flat” or “shower” or other directed nozzle (never full or jet) against the grain of the fur to wash off salt, dirt and shampoo. And I use an Epona “bathing mitt” which really helps loosen dirt if I put shampoo on it or not I love that bathing mitt! So does my horse.

I do this after riding. Sans shampoo, the sweat cakes on and I rinse against the hair growth to get out the sweat and salt grains to get the salt/sweat out.

PS, I live in NC and here in July, it is pretty oppressive for horses and humans alike.