The wash routine

Washing is not an event. It is an order of operations. Keep to it and you take half the time for twice the result.

Most mistakes in washing happen before anyone touches the horse: the water is too cold, the shampoo goes on neat, and the combing starts while everything is still wet. Each of those three costs hair.

Before

• Groom thoroughly. A shampoo that has to shift dust first never reaches the sweat.
• Lukewarm water. Cold water closes nothing, it simply leaves the grease where it is.
• Shampoo into the bucket, not onto the horse. Diluted, it spreads evenly and rinses faster.
• Have it all ready: sponge, second bucket, sweat scraper, towel.

The order

From the bottom up, and the head last of all. Legs first, then belly, then back and quarters, then neck. Start at the top and you wash the same dirt twice.

Mane and tail get a pass of their own. Stand the tail in a bucket of shampoo water, leave it two minutes, then rinse. It is unspectacular and it works better than any amount of scrubbing.

The step everybody skips

Conditioner follows shampoo. It closes the surface of the hair that the shampoo had to open in order to lift the dirt out. Without it you are combing against open hair, and open hair breaks.

Afterwards

• Scrape the water off with the hair, legs included.
• Into the sun or under the solarium, but never into a draught.
• Only comb once the hair is almost dry. Always from the bottom up, section by section.
• No rug on a half-dry coat. Underneath it turns clammy and stays that way for hours.

Wash once a week and show day takes ten minutes. Wash only before a show and it takes two hours.

How often

In summer, a full wash once a week, and in between only saddle patch, girth line and legs after work. In winter, fewer full washes and more disciplined dry grooming. A rule of thumb that holds: often and mild beats rarely and harsh.