the accidental smallholder :: diary archives

Sparkly Smokey

Now, I'm not one who baths her horse regularly. In fact, I don't bath Smokey much at all, which is why he's probably the dirtiest horse on the yard. That and his sweet itch, which makes him roll - I think the mud must be soothing. I also don't bath him because he winters out without a rug, so he needs the oil in his coat for protection. I DO wash his mane and tail with a soothing insecticidal shampoo during the summer, again for the sweet itch.

However, it was a really nice day today; sunny, warm with a wee breeze and I decided it was time for Smokey's annual bath. He was really mucky and it seemed like a jolly good idea. I think he enjoyed it - he had a good scrub with shampoo and a rubber curry comb, which really worked out the dirt, then a rinse with the hose, a scrape down with the sweat scraper and a rub with a towel. He held his feet up to get his feathers done, then got his mane and tail done with conditioner. All finished, he got his fleece on and we went for a walk up the road to dry him off.

When Dan came home from work, we shot up to the stables to get some photos of Smokey while he was still clean. By tomorrow, he'll be back to normal, so I wanted a pictorial record of him "sparkly".

Dan will put some further photos in the Gallery in due course.