In winter it is friction, not dirt

Most winter skin trouble comes from friction and damp rather than from dirt. How to use rugs, brushes and drying time so the skin comes through intact.

In November the grooming routine changes. It is dark, it is cold, the horse is damp to the skin and nobody fancies a wash. The rug comes off, something gets a quick going over, the rug goes back on. By February: scurf, a bald patch on the withers and skin nobody has properly touched.

What damages skin in winter is friction on a damp coat, not muck.

Wash less, brush better

Every winter wash means a coat that needs hours before it insulates again. A brush does the same job and one thing more: it lifts scurf and grease to the surface and spreads the skin’s own oils to the ends. Curry comb in circles on the fleshy parts, dandy brush with the lie of the hair, soft brush last. Two extra minutes and the hose stays coiled all winter.

Dry stable air does the rest. Hay dust, bedding dust, air that barely moves, and dark horses carry a grey haze in the coat. That is not dirt, it is dead skin. Ventilation helps more than any bottle.

The horse who goes under the rug still warm

A clipped horse put away damp does not dry under the rug, he carries on sweating. Damp coat plus rug plus movement is the mixture that makes rubs and sore skin. So cool off first, under a cooler or a layer of straw, then rug up. A hand behind the shoulder tells you whether he is dry, a hand on the back does not.

• Cool off first, rug afterwards. Half an hour usually does it.
• Take the rug off once a day and look underneath, not just at the straps.
• Run a flat hand over withers and shoulder. The first bald patches appear there.
• Shake rugs out through the season, wash them at the end. Salt and hair abrade.

Rugs rub at the withers and the shoulder

A rug too tight at the neck presses on the withers every time the horse lowers his head. One that is too loose slides and rubs the shoulder at every stride. You see both in the hair first: it stands against the lie of the coat, goes dull, then thin, then bare. A smooth liner takes out much of the shoulder friction.

Reading scurf and dry skin

Scurf on its own is normal in winter, especially while the coat is coming through. It turns suspicious when it sits in one place rather than everywhere, when itching comes with it, or when the skin underneath is red or thickened. Then you stop brushing and look closely.

The best winter skincare is a brush, a dry rug and five minutes in which nobody gets cold.