If you’re located in a colder location, and winter has always been a tricky time for you to take care of your horse. If you've tried your best to protect your horse's mane and tail, but you're in a situation where your horse needs a wash, here are our tips:
1. Wait until a warm day - If there happens to be a random warm day in the winter, take advantage of it. We recommend washing, conditioning and braiding and tying your horse up outside to dry in the sun. Remember to make sure that it is warm enough for your horse to be wet and dry safely outside.
2. Wash in the garage - Another option is to put down horse mats in a garage, wash your horse, and then let your horse get warm and dry in the garage before going outside. This is a great way to keep your horse inside longer if you don’t have a heated barn or the option of waiting for a sunny day to do a wash.
3. Bucket Wash - This one works well for us. Sometimes a full body wash isn't an option for a horse during the winter, so we wash just the mane and tail separately in a 5 gallon bucket of warm water or with warm hose water. This type of wash keeps the horse’s body temperature warmer than a full body wash because the body doesn't get wet.
Share how you safely wash your horse in winter in the comments below, and you can watch our podcast on winter care tips here.