# tips for washing a horse's face?



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Usually, the horse will settle down after the first few baths so it becomes easier. I always start at the feet with the hose so the horse has to time to adjust to temperature of the water and work my way. Then a liberal amount of shampoo (use the purple people shampoos for a grey/white horse, but don't let it sit too long or you'll have a purple horse!), scrub all over, and rinse thoroughly. I use a wash cloth on the face, a big sponge on the body and legs.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

I never soap the forelock, unless I can pull it back between the ears and wash it as part of the mane. I use a great big sheep skin car wash mitt for bathing, seeing as sponges make my skin crawl.....has goose bumps even typing the word....so I usually rinse horse off well, then dilute the soap in a bucket and froth it up. Then wash the mitt with clean water and carefully do their face just with plain water. Then I dunk the mitt in the soapy water and start rubbing all over ears to tail. I have a soft brush to do legs and any stubborn stains on the body. Once all is soaped then rinse and scrape until water is running clear. Then scrape again, all done...


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

I usually don't wash the forelock either, but if it was my horse I'd just tie him to the tree and spray him until he got over it. If he's not one who will violently react and put anyone in danger, I'd let him pull back and fidget all he wants, and when he relaxes the water goes away. Repeat until he can stay calm for longer amounts of time.

My horses always come to me hating baths, but they usually are okay with it after they do it a few times. If you don't want to do the "Suck it up and take it" method I would just wet the sponge a whole lot, and press it down on his forelock so the water runs out. Repeat.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Thanks! Yes, I see that my biggest problem was that my daughter got too much soap in the forelock. Just using a mild soapy solution makes more sense.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I will probably catch some heck for this but---------

I have spent a lifetime bathing horses and haver never sprayed any horse's face with a water hose.

I use a washcloth with very little shampoo. I rarely shampoo the forelock.

These days I use MalAcetic on faces and some form of iodine shampoo or Vetrolin shampoo on the rest of the horse. The iodine shampoos may gray Harley even more; I use them for their medicinal characters on my dark horses.

It doesn't take much MalAcetic to wash the face. It is all natural and if I happen to not get it all off, it isn't that big of a deal.

I use those cheap white wash cloths you can buy at WalMart in an 8 or 10 pack. They come in handy for a lot of stuff at the barn.

If your water heater hasn't arrived by show time. Carry four gallons of scalding hot tap water to the barn because it won't be scalding hot when you get there.

Mix a gallon of it with enough cool water to make it baby butt safe and gently pour it over Harley's top line and hind quarters. 

Fill your bath bucket with tepid water and try to get Harley's nether area done first.

If the sun is out, the water in the hose should warm up enough to get started rinsing him. By the time the water turns cold, he should be able to better accept the cold water.

I rescued Streeter (my Arab) starving and with vertebra injuries. To his last day he never could tolerate cold water on his back and hind area unless it was 90 degrees and he was sweating.

Rusty doesn't like cold water on his rump either. I am finding out he does have kidney issues, just as I have always suspected and that is probably why he doesn't tolerate cold water on his rump area. I start him with warm water, too.

Also, if you have a shop vac, see if Harley knows what that is, now that he knows you are his Keeper and trusts you. Being a show horse, I would be surprised if he hasn't been vacuumed. 

While all my Walkers loved and love the shop vac, Streeter only put up with it and I'd better not try to suck the hair off his face or there was Trouble In River City. He could do "Betty Davis eyes" better than Betty Davis, when he wanted me to know he was annoyed with my efforts, lollollol


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yes, walkinthewalk, I have carried a muck bucket full of sloshing hot water to the barn before  didn't find I had quite enough to properly rinse him. Again, I'm probably using far too much soap. Next time I will go easy on the suds! It would have been much easier to just wash his forelock with a sponge or cloth without getting him so wet as he normally really likes it when I gently brush his face. 

We did end up getting him surprisingly clean. Until we released him back in the paddock and he promptly rolled in mud.&#55357;&#56873;

Never did get that shop vac, but will definitely need one by next fall! Winters are long and cold here, and Harley manages to get dirty year round.


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

As a current boarder, but soon to be horse property owner, I went out and bought a portable hot water tank for my barn. Works off of a propane tank .....the kind used for grills. Instant hot water wherever you go...even shows and camping.

If for any reason I need to wash the face/forelock, I always use baby shampoo. Don't want to sting the eyes!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Look up hot toweling.

I would also tell him to get over it honestly. Temper tantrums don't win around here.

Do buy a cooler. My Cushings horse will shiver when wet even on a hot day so he gets it, the others only get it on a hot enough to bath but not that hot day (we only have hose water as well) (and they get it after working and such too).

Don't turn out wet, lol! Not if the point is to have a clean horse!


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## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

As sarahfromnc said, use baby shampoo on the face. Dilute it in a bucket of water, sponge on, then rinse with a clean sponge and water.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yogiwick said:


> Look up hot toweling.
> 
> I would also tell him to get over it honestly. Temper tantrums don't win around here.
> 
> ...


I have a cooler. But it was 26 Celcius and sunny so I really didn't feel it was necessary! I've used it any other time I had to spot wash when it wasn't quite so warm out. 

After we scraped off most of the water, I took him out to hand-graze and dry in the sun. Then I let him stay in his stall for a few minutes while I put away and cleaned everything. So he was pretty dry when I turned him out, but he still got himself instantly dirty by rolling in mud, LOL! I know I could have put a stable sheet on (I have one of those too), but it was hot and it's not like I'm going to be able to keep him clean for a week anyway! When I bathe him the day before show day, I will cover him up until the show.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

sarahfromsc said:


> As a current boarder, but soon to be horse property owner, I went out and bought a portable hot water tank for my barn. Works off of a propane tank .....the kind used for grills. Instant hot water wherever you go...even shows and camping.
> 
> If for any reason I need to wash the face/forelock, I always use baby shampoo. Don't want to sting the eyes!


I just ordered one of these and hope to have it before show day. 

EccoTemp Portable Tankless Water Heater - Eccotemp L5 - Water Heaters - Camping World


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

If it is warmer temp wise, I will wash the night before a show, and then use a fly sheet vs a cooler to 'try' and keep him clean.

Then use corn starch on areas that need a little lightening/brightening the day of the show. Works wonders when they decide to poo all down the back legs or tail right before your test. Never fails.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I use a hand mitt rubber groomer like this one for faces... 
_Rubber Grooming Mitt - Statelinetack.com_
Holds just enough water _{I *don't* do soap on the face}_ to do the job yet not have a dripping wet annoyance to the horse...
Or a large sponge...
_Body & Bath Sponge - Statelinetack.com_

_I start at the face with clear water_, then after the face is done I add shampoo {soap} using the hose to now make some sudsy lather and off we go to {hopefully} having a much cleaner horse.
I use a hose with moderate pressure on the body to rinse, scrape, rinse, scrape then rinse and scrape for the final time.

Having shown and owning grays and paints I also learned the "cornstarch" trick for the day of since the ride to the showgrounds you could bet on a messy horse unloading off the trailer and stains galore down the legs...

*Please, please....*
_Do not squirt water at the face of the horse, *ever.*_
If you get it in their ears you'll drive them nuts trying to get it out...
There is a reason many horses can react violently being forced to tolerate a stream of water in the face...
Racing Thoroughbreds getting a bath after a workout if you watch put the face down and a soft cascade of water carefully runs down the face away from the ears. 
If the horse has the head up, water maybe sent toward the face but not to the ear area on purpose..even then you see a raised twisted face trying to avoid the water and usually a white eye rolling in distrust. 
More likely and usual, a groom uses a oversized sponge and squishes it out between the ears....
Ears washed and sweat are removed by a sponge to the outer ear _not_ by squirting water directly toward the face and the horse unable to lower the head below the flow or water....
_Yes, you may see water cascading off a horses face at the track. Do notice that the {good} hose handler is usually behind the head and shoulder of the horse and it is a diffused showering action of water rinsing from the poll back...not a direct hit of the head and face. :x_

_Don't squirt the face area ever...
_To me, a real good way to teach a horse to pull back on cross-ties, out of your hand, make them fearful or lash out at you...they don't get over it!_
:runninghorse2:...
jmo...
_


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

I actually spray my horses in the face. I rarely use shampoo on the face above the eyes though, I will put it below the eyes. I started spraying them in the face when my mare was 3 bc she got a gash on her face that the vet wanted me to cold hose. It was right between her eyes. Now she loves being sprayed in the face. 

None of them mind and all put their head down for it.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

I just got a new horse a month ago. We usually hose our horses off after a hot ride. I rode twice this last weekend - on Sunday she danced around and kicked at the water -on Monday after our ride she leaned into the water and seemed to enjoy it. We have a nozzle on the hose that you can change the water flow and one of them is mist - both my daughters and my horse LOVED having their face misted. We did not force this but turned it on mist because my mare does not like her ears messed with and I needed to clean behind her ears - she turned her head and loved the mist! Maybe something like a different nozzle would help


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Good idea carshon! I actually just got my tankless hot water heater today and it comes with a shower nozzle that will hopefully have a few different settings. I'll get to try it out this week before the show!


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Yes, get him nice and sweaty... Hold the lead rope in one hand, and the hose in the other. Put the sprayer on the gentlest setting. Start on his neck , and move WITH him until he stops. As soon as he stops, move the water away. 

Repeat on the other side, gradually moving toward him face, and rewarding each time he pauses. Do NOT stop if he gets tangled in the hose(make sure it is LONG, and that you have TIME), let him figure it out. Do not get exasperated.....if you do, then you just taught him to NOT like the water on his neck/face. 

Have fun at the show!!!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I just have to say, I LOVE! our new Eccotemp tankless hot water heater! I took it out to the boarding barn last night to wash Harley again before his big show. The BO was impressed! I just hung it on a tree, hooked up the propane and water and BAM! Hot shower! So hot in fact, that I had to put both the propane and the water temperature dial on the lowest possible settings and it was still very warm. 

It took me all of five minutes to assemble and the water comes out of it INSTANTANEOUSLY hot! You never run out of hot water either. Once in a while, the water would cool down suddenly, which told me the propane had been blown out and I would just flick the power on and off on the shower nozzle and the propane would go on again right away, so just something to watch for. I think it was related to water pressure since the manual says you need a certain amount of pressure. I just had it hooked up quickly so I hadn't bothered using all the water seals like you're supposed to. I'll do a better job when I hook it up at home. Otherwise, perfection! Harley just stood there the whole time, relaxed and enjoying it. Which confirms to me that it's the cold water he doesn't like, not the bath itself. I didn't hose his face, just used a cloth on his forehead, but I could see him eventually accepting the warm water on his face too. I may get a new shower head hose because it's not really long enough, but that's something I can pick up at Walmart pretty cheap.

So I highly recommend the unit to those of you with aging horses who dislike cold water! I will be hooking it up to my wash station and using it quite regularly.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Nice!
The propane sounds like a pain though.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yogiwick said:


> Nice!
> The propane sounds like a pain though.


I think if I had it hooked up better to the water source, it wouldn't have kept going out. For some reason (and it says so in the manual), you need good water pressure. In a semi-permanent setup, it would be much easier to do that. Either way, I wouldn't want to live without it! Hot water baths all summer long!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I meant more just dealing with it and such lol.

It does sound lovely, very handy even aside from bathing!! Or for people use lol.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yogiwick said:


> I meant more just dealing with it and such lol.
> 
> It does sound lovely, very handy even aside from bathing!! Or for people use lol.


Agreed, hauling out the heavy propane tank is a bit of a pain. I'll have to think that through. But they're left outside all the time on BBQs so I suppose I could leave the propane tank out and just haul out the hot water heater (which is light and has an easy to carry - or hang - handle) when I need it. I don't really want to leave the whole thing outside all the time, but the propane tank is the heaviest part.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

My horses learn about baths as babies. They all love their baths out on the lawn. We put a hot water faucet on the house then you just use a Y attachment for the hot & cold Faucet....warm water for baths . Usually use a sponge or wash mitt to do head,most won't accept the hose to face only usually the cheek:wink:. I have managed to get a couple of them to accept a mist spray held right up to face so not really getting effect of spray but a slow wetting of the hair to rinse:-o


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## Dustyisace (Dec 11, 2014)

I never wash Dusty's face, personally, because (just like your grey) she is a wimp! I leave it out completely when washing for a show, instead, using wrung out sponge, dampen her eyes, nose and mouth leaving it at that. Sometimes I'll add a bit of baby oil in there too for markings.

If he has a stable stain just rub at it gently with your face brush then dampen that area too. He still won't like all this but it's better than the sponge and more comfy for him as well.

Good luck....


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## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

A damp wash cloth is what I use to wash my greys faces. Touch of mild soap. Rinse the washcloth and rub the face again. I don't wash the forelock. 

A few of my horses allow water to be run over their faces of I kink the hose. But I prefer not to because I think it is rude to them. Too much of a chance for stray water down an ear. 

I will say, I bought a wash wand and it is my new favorite bath buddy. I have 5 grey horses and it makes baths so much faster and easier.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I wanted to add that I used baby wipes on Harley's face for our first show. They worked really well! Harley will let me rub his face all day long, so the wipes went totally unnoticed by him and I was able to scrub him clean from ears to nose!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I didn't realize Harley had so much white on his face. Watch that cute little nose doesn't sunburn!

Great pic, they are a cute team and it sounds like a fun (and successful!) day!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

They sure do clean up nice! ^^ <3


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yogiwick said:


> I didn't realize Harley had so much white on his face. Watch that cute little nose doesn't sunburn!
> 
> Great pic, they are a cute team and it sounds like a fun (and successful!) day!


He gets to wear 60$ horse sunscreen on his pink nose  Well, to be fair, it's like 20$ in the US, but I had to pay a ridiculous exchange rate and shipping fees, not to mention duty fees. Still, well worth it. It's a zinc oxide powder that really sticks well.


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