| Bath
Time
Doris Eraldi
Does your horse squirm and stomp when you
bathe him? Or maybe pull back, kick, or simply stand there
and shake? Problems while bathing seem to be common – I’ve
even had customers bring a handful of broken lead ropes along
with their horse, to demonstrate how impossible it was to
hose him off.
Teaching your horse to stand quietly while being bathed
is just like any other training process, but for some reason
the training part is often overlooked. Don’t wait until
the day before your first event to introduce your horse to
the hose and water (or the clippers, but that is another
subject!) and keep in mind a few simple rules to make the
bath training go easier for both you and your horse.
Start slowly: I like to hose my horses off after a ride
whenever possible, so the hose is something that training
colts in my barn experience early on. Introduce the hose
while holding the horse – never tie a horse hard and
fast during a bath. Turn the hose on low pressure and start
by squirting the water near his legs. If he’s accepting
of the noise and the few splashes, hose off his front legs
and work your way up to hosing off the sweaty parts of his
chest and back. Many horses realize that the cool water feels
good and quickly accept the hose, but if yours does not,
just hose up as far as he will let you go for today. You’ll
have another chance tomorrow!
Keep the water pressure low and check to be sure the water
isn’t too hot. Horses have very sensitive skin and
a blast from a high pressure nozzle or hot water that has
been solar-heated in a long hose is very uncomfortable. I
usually avoid nozzles altogether in the beginning because
the added noise can be the last straw for a nervous horse.
A nozzle can be a real bathing aid, though, as it directs
the water right to the area we want it. I prefer the adjustable
type nozzles – my favorite has settings for “gentle
shower” (which is where I start) up to full spray or
a vertical line of water, both excellent for really getting
the grime off right down to the skin. Be aware of each individual
horse’s tolerance. I’ve had thin-skinned Thoroughbreds
who would only tolerate the most gentle settings, and then
others who seemed to find that vertical power-wash setting
like a massage! Let your horse tell you what he can stand
and enjoy.
Always turn the water on away from your horse – don’t
point the nozzle at him and then hit the trigger. The horse
has no way of expecting the sudden blast and it can have
startling results. Often the problem with bathing is pulling
back (as my customers with the broken lead ropes will attest).
There is no rope strong enough to hold a panicked horse,
and if the rope and halter won’t give it could be your
horse’s neck that does. For this reason I don’t
tie my horses when I am hosing them off. I wrap the rope
around the fence or use a release ring. I’d rather
have a loose horse than a dead horse.
I have met very few horses who like to have their face washed,
but most can be taught to allow it within reason. Blasting
a horse in the face with a spray nozzle is about a guarantee
for a wreck. Start with the water on low, and work your way
up the neck, being careful not to pour water in the horse’s
ear. Some horses will learn to drink out of the hose and
this is a good way to get them to accept the hose around
their face. Be sparing with soap used on the face – it
burns their eyes just like ours! I like to use my hand to
sheet water away from the horse’s eyes as soon as I
have finished hosing. I think they appreciate it and it lessens
the blinking and eye-rolling that most horses do to rid themselves
of the water in their eyes.
When working with an inexperienced horse,
set up the situation for success, just as you would with
any other training process. Make sure you are in a safe place
with safe footing. Do away with other distractions, and have
your equipment readily at hand. Take it slow and let the
horse tell you how much he can tolerate today, always asking
for a bit more each session. A little time and patience goes
a long way when teaching a horse to stand for a bath. Getting
in a hurry, tying the horse up and blasting away with a hard
stream of water is not likely to be a pleasant experience
for either of you. And, that horse who’d broken all
the lead ropes? When her owners came to see her after two
weeks of training, was standing in the wash rack to be hosed
off after the ride. I honestly think they were more impressed
by that, than the work the youngster was now doing under
saddle! Doris
Eraldi of Eraldi Training in Potter Valley specializes in
Pleasure horses and Equitation riders. She can be contacted
at 707-743-1337, or by e-mail dyan@eraldi.net.
Read Doris' previous article
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