Anyone who owns a grey or a coloured horse knows they tend to always need washing. Horses either like or hate bath time, but the job needs to be done occasionally. Bathing helps to clean the horses coat and skin particularly when they are losing or have lost their winter coat, in addition to show preparation. A clean horse is less tempting to flying insects in the summer months.

It is not advisable to bath a horse in the winter unless they are clipped and stabled because their coat will take a long time to dry and they may catch a chill. A spot cleaner can be used for particularly dirty patches. It is a good idea to have all the items you need ready at hand before you wet your horse so the job can be completed quickly and efficiently and have a rug ready to pop on afterwards that will wick them dry.