Bath Time!

How many of you wrestle with your horse at bath time? I would guess that many of you do. I have one who despite every effort, cannot tolerate having his head bathed. The poll and ear area is particularly difficult to get to. So instead of arguing, we compromise. It takes time to hand bathe with a sponge, but hey, that is a small gift to give to a horse who gives much. I didn't start this horse. Sometimes behaviors cannot be "fixed", but they can be modified. Maybe it is human expectation that could stand a little modification.

Now if I used cross ties to restrain the horse, I might have quicker success, but I am of the belief system that cross ties are not the answer until after bathing is comfortable for the horse. I prefer not to use them at all, but that is a matter of choice. Horses are not free to see what's going on around them when tied this way, but it is convenient for the human, so most use them even though they may cause stress. Excess pressure and stress are not things I would like my horses to experience coming from me. So what does one do with a difficult horse?

It helps if you are able to be the one to introduce your youngster to his/her first bath. You may have to experiment a bit. I like to have a long hose and an open area, so that I can observe when the horse needs to leave and when he is comfortable in staying put. If a horse is uncomfortable with the hose spraying water from a particular direction, I change it up until I find one little comfort zone, even if it is only a foot or a tail hair; I gradually build from that and work slowly from there. Sometimes the horse needs to have the water out in front of him for a while so he can feel like he has some control over it. I have one little filly who soon found that even though it was stressful to have water sprayed on her body, it was fun to drink the water and play with it. I also found that when I turned the water off, she would try to get me to turn it back on so that we could play some more. I used that to my advantage. Now she chooses when the water goes on by bumping the sprayer with her nose. I can now wash her, but she gets to decide when the water goes on and I watch for signs that the water needs to go off for a bit. Usually when she starts to get a bit stressed, all it takes is a moment or two of play to relax her. Her bath times are even fun for me as she is hysterically funny when playing with the water. The key is to stay relaxed, don't force, observe every detail and stay aware and present. It may mean that the bath doesn't get finished in one shot, but it gets better with time. If the horses opinion is considered, bath time can be a "BLAST" for both of you. No cross ties, no fights, just a halter, rope and a hose.

What about the horse who comes to you with bath time baggage? I like to use the same techniques I use with the little ones, but patience and consciousness is even more important here as the adult horse is twice the size of a youngster. If a horse is rushing to you for comfort, you can easily be hurt or worse. Learn to go slow with pressure and be quick to stop; VERY quick to stop. You may or may not have total success in your expectation. You may have a horse who is never completely comfortable with bathing. You can ease the pain of the experience by considering the horse and what he must feel. Although dwelling on the past doesn't do either of you any good, there has to be something that you can work with. Lowering your expectations may be the key to raising his confidence.

There are schools of thought that spraying until the horse stops moving is the way to desensitize to bathing. Be aware that horses freeze in fear as well a run or fight. Both are possibilities. It is up to you to know whether you have a fearful horse who cannot move or a comfortable horse who chooses to stay put. I rarely use this method. I am very quick to turn off the hose when I see discomfort. Many will argue that the horse can train a person to quit spraying when they act up a bit. This is also part of the observation process. If you can manage to change your approach to something the horse has not experienced before, you just might get the response you are hoping to get. Remember the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over; expecting a different result. It is fine to add pressure as long as you are not adding undue stress. I am suggesting that the excess of pressure causes undue stress.

Every horse is different. The cookie cutter approach works about as well with horses as it does with humans. Think about it. Happy bathing!!!