Welcome to the latest Newsletter.  If you would like to read previous issues of my Newsletter, please go here

If you fancy exploring this site further, then you can go to the resources page which you can find here  where you will find links to all sorts of valuable information, such as articles, my blog, charities and much more.  If you refer others to this site, which you can do from that resources page, I will send you a FREE Screen Saver with beautiful pictures of horses from my readership. 

I will be sending out my second screen saver next week, to all those that have recently sent me their photographs.  If you want pictures of YOUR horse included, then be quick and send me your pictures with some short details about your horse (its' name, where it lives, any story about how you acquired and chose it etc.).  All I ask is that you add the words "there are no usage restrictions with these photographs", so I know there are no copyright issues to contend with.  You can send these details to me at info@anyhorsebackriding.com

Remember, all those who send in their photographs will get a copy of this screen saver completely free of charge

There's another new feature this week called "Book of the Month", in which I will be showing you some books that I think may be useful to you. 

This Week's News

Scholarships for horseback riding program available to students with disabilities Students with a disability in grades 9 through 12 are invited to participate in a start-up pilot program of competitive horseback riding. Funding for the development of this program was provided by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. The program will run for eight weeks over the summer, with practices twice per week at Centaur Stride Therapeutic Riding Facility. Field trips to local horse shows are planned (to watch and learn). The finale will include a horse show and demonstration at Centaur Stride and an awards banquet. Find out more and to register, click here

Veterinarian promotes holistic options: Horse's life prolonged by alternatives "Champ," veterinarian Margo Roman's beloved horse for more than 16 years, was laid to rest Friday after a long battle with cancer. Champ's long life -- he died at 27, an advanced age for a horse -- and his peaceful death have inspired Roman to raise awareness of the alternative therapies available for pets. She is putting together a Web site and several films aimed at pet owners, based on her research and a recent trip to China to research herbs and acupuncture. Read this remarkable story about alternative therapies for pets and how it DOES work here

Three Leg-icing Techniques for Your Horse At the end of a long, activity-filled day, you give your horse a final brushing. Running a soft brush down one leg, you notice a slight swelling. You hope he hasn't pulled a tendon, and make a mental note to call your veterinarian first thing in the morning. But what should you do between then and now? Three important techniques are described here.  In fact, icing--especially during that critical 48 hours post-injury--can go a long way toward reducing the severity of a soft-tissue injury. Read all about the techniques here

One of my readers sent me a distressing story about taking on a horse called Summer who had been badly mistreated and I promised to promote the organisation that is going to bring Summer back to health so my reader can consider adoption.  The picture opposite is an actual picture of Summer when she was brought into the rescue centre. If you want to find out more about the work of the rescue centre or want to adopt a rescue horse please click here

O'Neill Banned For Butting Horse   Given the stories of abuse and maltreatment that abound these days, it seems astounding that a Jockey that head butted a horse for unseating him, can be given a ONE DAY suspension.  Read the story, watch the video and draw your own conclusion.  For the full story click here

Now for this week's tips and advice

Bathing Your Horse

We’re going to tackle this now because if you have a young horse he may already be very good at rolling on the ground and getting himself filthy – so you might already be wondering if you should bath him, so here my advice! 

Washing a horse isn’t much different from washing your car, except that with a horse, you don’t need to wax!  Both objects are large, however, and require plenty of soap, water and elbow grease.  There are lots of ways to bath a horse but I hope that you find this is one of the easiest ones. 

However let’s start with: 
 

Knowing why and when horses need baths 

Why wash a horse? In nature they don’t get baths.  In fact the only time a horse will get wet is during a rain storm.  

Captivity is essentially the main reason why we bath horses. Humans like to be around clean horses, and most horse owners see their horses as extensions of themselves, and want their mounts to look good too! As humans take so much pleasure form riding horses, this means that they are going to be bathed more often.  A dirty horse is also prone to more trouble if tack is placed on his dirty skin, trapping the dirt and sweat beneath a saddle can lead to chafing, itching and misery for a horse.  Tack is also a breeding ground for fungus that can then affect your horse. 

So, no firm rule exists to govern when you bath them so it’s left to your common sense.  Some owners will do it once a month, every month.  Others will do it just before a show, it’s really up to you.  So determine the frequency of bathing by reference to how dirty he actually is and the purpose for which you keep him. 

Bathing him too often isn’t good for him as it strips the coat of essential oils. So if your horse works hard and gets dirty you could just opt to wash him down with clean water, just to remove the surface debris.  This wont affect his coat in any way if no shampoo is used. 

The other consideration is the weather.  If it’s cold don’t bath him unless you can provide warm water and a place free of draughts to dry him off.  Otherwise choose only warm sunny days.

Preparing for a bath

 Get everything prepared before you start! 

• First be sure that he is happy to be bathed.  Until you know that he wont freak at the site of a washrack (especially made to hold him still during washing) or the hose – don’t attempt a bath

• Make sure you have enough time to do the job properly – its going to take 20-30 minutes at least to wash him thoroughly, and the 30-45 minutes to get him dry

• Find a good place to bath him – a washrack or any hard floored, clean dry place will do – but it must have plenty of room, and you must be able to tie him up properly

• Use a nylon halter and lead rope if you can

• Make sure you have access to running water  - a hosepipe is ideal

• Have at least 72 gallons of luke warm water ready – if you don’t have it on tap warm it in buckets using a bucket warmer from any good tack shop – do NOT use really cold, icy water

• Wear suitable clothes – it’s a messy business!

• The you need shampoo and conditioner suitable for equine use

• A body sponge, face sponge and sweat scraper to remove excess water from the coat before you dry him

• Towels and a cooler or sweat shirt (unless it’s a very warm day when you wont need the sweat shirt or cooler)

 
Now to the actual bath 

1.Start on the left side – you will wash and rinse one side at a time.  Run the luke warm water over his legs first.   Let him get used to this before you move up to his body.

1. When he’s all wet, apply shampoo to the sponge and begin lathering his coat, starting where the neck joins the head, working your way down and across his body.

2. After you are confident that you have loosened all the dirt and sweat from his coat, take the water and rinse him off – luke warm water is best but if not use cold from the hose as he will be used to the water by now. Rinse him really well.

3. Then move to the mane, and shampoo, condition and rinse it well.

4. Repeat the same process for the right side of the horse.

5. The wash his tail.  Wet it really well and work in the shampoo well so that all of the hair is lathered well, rinse off then apply conditioner, rinse again.  Make sure that none of the shampoo or conditioner remains on the skin at the base of his tail, otherwise it may irritate him and he will rub up against anything he can thus dirtying his lovely clean locks!

6. The last thing is his head.  You have to be very careful here.  I do not use shampoo at all, I only rinse my horse’s face with a damp sponge and clean water.  I never allow water to run in his eyes, so he is quite happy to have me wash his face any time. Never use the hose on his face.

 Its time now to dry him off

Your objective here is to dry him off as quickly as possible – do not leave him dripping wet, he may get a chill, and if you the put him in a stall and he rolls all of your hard work will be undone! 

• Take off as much water as possible with the sweat scraper

• Start at the neck on the left side and use long downward strokes to remove the water.  Then move on around the horse, including his belly and chest.

• Dry his face carefully with a towel – talk to him all the time reassuring him, and don’t cover his whole face with it, or his eyes come to that.  Treat him very delicately as you would a human and he wont mind what you are doing.

• Walk him around in the sun if the weather is good enough, but cover him with a sweat shirt or cooler if the air is chilly.

 Voila – a clean and beautiful horse!

 Well done You!

P.S.  Do let me have photos and a short synopsis for future "Horse of the Month" features - I am sure your horse deserves the title!