The Hooligans Get Baths

Thursday, 2/12/09

Today was sunny and temperatures were mild, but the winds gusted over 50mph. It was the last warm day before temperatures begin to drop again, so I decided to give Wizard and JR baths. Whenever I see Wizard and JR playing, the word “hooligans” always comes to mind. They wrestle, they buck, they rear, they bite, they kick, and at the end of the day, they snooze in their shed. Today, the hooligans got baths. They have not been bathed in a very long time so I was not sure what to expect. As a racehorse, Wizard would have been accustomed to frequent baths, but that was a long time ago.

JR was the first victim. He stood really nicely, even when the wind gusted hard and the barn door slammed LOUDLY. I fed him carrots every few minutes and told him what lovely manners he had- flattery worked ;^) JR is now about 4 shades lighter than he is in these photos, taken before the bath. Due to the crazy wind, I did not have the chance to photograph JR after the bath. I sprayed his face with water but did not shampoo it. We’ll try that another time.

Wizard was next. He was equally polite and brave when the wind whipped through the door. He was a little goosey but perfectly mannered, even when I stepped on a rake and almost fell on him. I’m oh-so graceful, you know… When I was done, Wizard was sooooo soft- he felt like a big teddy bear.

OK, here’s a confession… I’m kind of a product freak about horses. I cannot walk out of a tack shop without some sort of little purchase: hoof conditioner, shampoo, something. Today, I cleaned out my tack trunk and found all sorts of goodies for grooming. The hooligans had better watch out.

For both horses today, I used my leftover Absorbine Special Care shampoo and Vetrolin shampoo. I use many different varieties and I don’t have an overwhelming favorite at this time. I try not to over-bathe horses since it can disturb the balance of oils in the coat. If I bathed horses frequently, I’d use the mildest shampoo possible. To condition their manes and tails, I used Cowboy Magic. For their feet, I used my old jar of Epona Diamond Hoof Ointment.

Due to the recent discussion on the Chronicle of the Horse forum about coat conditioners, I tried Pink Sheen Spray on Wizard’s tail a week or so ago. I disliked how much it attracted dust and it seemed sticky at first, but as soon as it dried, it felt quite nice. I would not use it too frequently, but in the winter, I like to condition manes and tails to keep them from drying out and splitting. JR and Wizard have natural manes that are not pulled, so they require more maintenance than a short, pulled mane.

And speaking of grooming, have you ever seen a person perform the art of singeing a horse? Pretty cool way to remove the “cat hairs”.

I said goodnight to two soft, clean, conditioned horses. I have a feeling I’ll be saying hello to two grubby hooligans in the next day or two.