Bath Time Blog Hop, Still So Freakin' Hot, and Barn Reno Ideas

 Courtesy of Bel Joeor - a timely topic given our extreme temperatures right now and my barn reno plans!

We are lucky to have a few nearby lakes suitable for some more rustic horse bathing :)

Do you bathe regularly, or only before shows?

Currently, I board at a place with very few amenities, so any baths are cold water, from a tap in the field. So...a few times in the summer if either of them have a skin funk or if I need to cool them down or hose some sweat of. I go all in a few times a year and give them a proper bath.

I feel like I'm kind of expert level right now using damp cloths to get them presentable for mid winter clinics :)

Previously, I had access to a wash stall and hot water. I'm adding that to my small home barn because I really miss being able to hose off muddy legs. Bathing before clipping is something I miss, plus just having warm water for winter buckets will be a treat.

I'm getting an Eccotemp on demand propane hot water set up that will hook up to the tap at my barn. At about $200 of our dollars, I think it's worth it. Especially since I will be off the grid power wise.

What’s your temperature cutoff?

It was 110 degrees yesterday afternoon, and the girls had their first cold water baths of 2021. When I have access to warm water, there really aren't many days I wouldn't bath in our climate. We very rarely get cold here. Google tells me we average 7-8 degrees Celsius/ 45-ish Fahrenheit through the winter, so on the warmer dry days I'm happy to give them a bath if needed.

Any favorite gadgets or shampoos?

I often have blond highlights, so take my bottle of human white/blond brightening shampoo to do Sophie's tail. It works, and for the amount of times I actually wash her tail, saves having another bottle of expensive horse products sitting at the barn. Ditto for conditioner - I use my human stuff for both ponies' tails.

I've had a bottle of this for about...forever. No idea how it rates as compared to others, but it makes ponies shiny and clean and is inexpensive. The Ecolicious products are amazing and I would recommend, but I go through them pretty quickly and they're a bit of a splurge purchase for me.

A mini sweat scaper is my secret weapon. I thought it was full sized and reasonably priced, but no, it arrived child sized ;) BUT it's awesome for getting in under their chests and elbows and between back legs.

Another top tip is to add a capful of concentrated fly spray in the bucket of rinse water. It ends up weaker than recommended, but it's an easy way to ensure they get full coverage.

Any other strong opinions?

I don't have overly strong opinions - I let my horses roll in the mud and get filthy and just be horses, and am quite happy to just curry off the worst of it and ride. I'm a bit fussier about sweaty ponies and definitely like hose them off if I can. Baths are a rarer thing - as someone with detergent allergies I try to use gentle products only when necessary.

I'm going to add one final thing: This brutal heat has taught me Bridget would very much appreciate some kind of misting/shower set up. I literally stood with the hose attachment set on 'mist' for an hour last night while she happily stood under it. I'm tempted to set up something more convenient for her right now, but as they're on a well, I don't think it would be appreciated by the barn owners. Instead, I've ordered a cheap-ish greenhouse misting set up I'm going to put around the roof of the new grooming area at my barn. Like her own personal mist tent :)

MS Paint skills always relevant. The bright blue is how I imagine the hoses and sprayers set up. Excited to see how it works in real life :)