My mare is 25 and in light dressage “work” several days a week. She is sooooo hairy and body clipping is not an option at her current boarding situation. She frequently feels sticky and the dirt/grime is just really dug into her coat. I gave her a bath today and it only helps for a day or so and it won’t be warm enough for that much longer. I was wondering if anyone has used a product like a waterless shampoo, shine product or anything that has helped keep a big teddy bear presentable?
A vacuum works great. If you can’t afford a horse vacuum, a shop vac works great. You can also use the blow feature to dry your horse.
Baby wipes can be used alone or under a rubber curry comb
Vacuum is the only thing that really gets down to the skin. (It isn’t the time saver it sounds like, though, it’s going to take just as long…but it will actually work.)
I knock the caked on mud off with a shedding blade. Then I very lightly mist one quarter of the horse and use my rubber curry. I don’t want the curry to catch on wet hair, I’m just adding a touch of moisture to reduce static build up. After currying each quarter, I mist (with plain water) one quarter of the horse and use my stiff brush on the horse, scraping it across a square metal currycomb after every few strokes on the horse. Again I don’t want the horse wet, but damp enough to prevent static build up. I typically go back and redo the saddle area with mist, brush and comb because I want my pad to stay cleaner.
The two keys to this are the spray bottle of water and the square, metal currycomb. The water reduces static build up which means your brush can get the dirt, dust and dander off the horse. The metal curry gets the dirt off your brush so it isn’t moving it around on the horse, and the clean brush can pick up more dirt. Banging the side of the curry on the floor knocks the dirt out. You may be surprised at what you can get off the horse!
Riding work often brings more dust up to the ends of the horse’s hair, especially under the saddle. I usually take my soft brush with the longer bristles and flick off that dust after untacking. I will mist if necessary, and the brush get scraped off on the metal curry as well.
Using the metal curry keeps my brushes astonishingly clean. They are almost clean enough to have come right from the tack shop. It does take a little extra time, but not a lot once you get into the habit, and the horses get a lot cleaner.
My metal curry looks like this one
https://shop.rokers.uk/store/horse/horse-care/combs-mitts/jockeys-choice/square-metal-curry-comb
Give her a good bath and then put her in a waterproof breathable sheet for the winter.
It will definitely take some elbow grease/time. I assume she lives out, hence her need to stay hairy and her proclivity for dirt?
I’ve used baby wipes for cold weather “bathing,” or a damp towel if you have warm water can also make some headway (use it like you would a curry comb). Both aren’t easy on your arms and shoulders, though.
Elbow grease.
My horses live outside 24/7 and I do not clip. I focus mainly on where my saddle goes and getting that as clean as I can with my assortment of brushes. I don’t worry too much about the rest of the horse.
I also don’t show or anything during the off-season so my horses have no reason to look pretty.
Adding some flax to her diet might also help? It seems to keep the hair and skin healthier, so mud and gunk might not build up as much.