If your horse is sweaty but not especially dirty, rinsing him clean with plain water in lieu of a bath may suffice. Save the sudsing for special occasions like shows.
a thick winter coat that a soft brush couldn’t possibly penetrate, don’t skip that final finishing step.
• For your horse’s mane and tail, use a comb with the widest teeth you can find to minimize hair breakage. Mane and tail hair grows constantly but slowly. Every lost long tail hair takes years, literally, to replace. When combing, start at the bottom and work your way up, dividing the hair into sections if necessary, and removing tangles by hand (a spritz of detangling spray can help). Trying to comb straight through hair from the crest or dock will just lead to frustration and broken hairs.
• Less is more when it comes to shampooing your horse’s coat. Shampoos work by “grabbing” dirt particles, allowing them to be rinsed away easily. Shampoos, however, also grab oil particles, including the oils that protect your horse’s skin and produce a shiny coat. Shampooing your horse too much can result in a less-than-lustrous coat. If your horse is sweaty but not particularly dirty, rinsing him clean with plain water in lieu of a bath may suffice. Save the sudsing for special occasions (it takes a few days for natural oils to return, so if you can shampoo well before the big event, even better) or when the dirt is beyond the scope of a simple water rinse.
Make sure to use a shampoo formulated for horses, never dish detergent, which can be hard on equine skin. Also, use shampoos according to the directions on the label. You’ll notice that many call for adding the product to a bucket of water and then sponging the diluted soap onto a horse, not putting shampoo directly on the coat. This ensures that the suds will rinse clean. Soap residue leads to a dull coat and can even irritate a horse’s skin.
• Equine coat conditioners restore oil that may have been stripped from skin and hair by shampooing. They can also help detangle hair and combat “frizzies” on a molecular level by neutralizing negative charges that can make hairs stand on end. If you regularly shampoo your horse, following up with a conditioner is a good idea. Again, make sure you follow the label directions. Some conditioners are