Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Bathing horse in cold weather

From: Darla

My vet said that my horse has a mild case of rain rot on his withers, shoulders, back, and rear. You can feel the small scabs under his winter coat and they can be scratched off. THe vet told me I needed to bathe my horse with a betadine shampoo. I purchased the shampoo but am concerned about bathing him in this cold weather. I do not have access to warm water outside...only cold. I have read your archives about bathing in cold weather. That is why I am even more concerned about doing this. I need to rid my horse of this stuff but am afraid that he will catch cold. We do not have a barn with stalls to keep him up in. I am really concerned and not sure what to do. Can you help me? In the past 25 years of horses I have never had this problem before. Thanks for your time. Darla

Hi Darla - you're going to need some hot water to make effective use of the shampoo, especially in cold winter weather when horses have thick, greasy coats. This doesn't mean that you must lay on hot running water for the occasion, though - a couple of bucket heaters will suffice to keep two buckets of water warm, and you can carry a couple of buckets of hot water from inside the house to do the main job of washing. Then you can use a series of hot towels (wet them, wring them out til they are almost dry, and then use them to scrub the horse clean), and finally put a cooler over your horse and walk him dry.

Choose a day with sun and no wind - and start around noon, so that there will be as much warmth as possible to help the drying process and keep you both warm.

Thatching - putting hay or straw on the horse's back under the cooler - will speed up the drying process.

Whatever you do, be sure that YOU don't become soaked with water. Handle it carefully, and wear long rubber gloves and your waterproofs, because even a just-off-the-boil splash on your clothing will quickly turn to ice and make you miserable if it's really cold out.

Do you have a trailer, or access to one? I ask because another, and perhaps the easier, option would be to take the horse somewhere else for his bath. Do you know someone in the area who has a stable you could use? It wouldn't have to be fancy, anything indoors with an aisle would serve! As long as you have all of your horse's current health papers handy, you should be able to find a sympathetic stable owner somewhere in your area who will let you come in for a few hours - and if it's a posh stable, there may be a wash stall with hot water laid on, and lights to work by, AND possibly even a heated aisleway with a vacuum cleaner (a wonderful item for bathing horses, because it reverses to an air-blower).

If you can't think of anyone who might be able to help, ring your vet and explain the situation. He may be able to suggest someone who would help - or, at the least, he may be able to reassure you that your horse can be washed this week or next or even the week after that, without suffering dire consequences if weather and other conditions prevent you from using that shampoo immediately.

Good luck, and DO try to stay dry!

Jessica

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