From Barbie Horse to Swamp Monster...

... in a matter of hours.

When Katie and I went to the barn last Wednesday we bathed Dude and Bestie. They were way overdue; Dude had probably last been bathed before Katie left in August and I think I did Bestie some time in September. The blankets went on in November and stayed on until April. Of course they were getting groomed for the most part every day, but still, they just get so gunky and dandruffy that the first warm day with enough time for a bath is cause for great celebration.

Our barn has a great wash stall. It's centrally located in the building with cross ties and hot and cold water. So bathing is not a logistical big deal at all. The most challenging part of the whole process is getting the water temperature right, because it seems that when anyone turns the sink on in the tack room it affects the water temperature in the wash stall. Bestie very definitely likes her water lukewarm.

She's very cooperative in the wash stall and stands pretty still the entire time but does NOT like having the hose anywhere near her face. I usually have to towel rub her face. Toward the end of this particular bath she got a little prancy because the cart with everyone's grain went by, but all in all the bath was pretty painless. I took her out afterwards to let her graze and she looked nice and shiny. I always see a few spots I missed... grrr. I left her tucked in the for night, bright-eyed and sleek, happily eating her hay.

The Horse Illustrated cover girl look didn't last for long. Her field has a wet spot that runs right through the middle of it. Some horses don't like to go in that area, but it doesn't bother Bestie. So of course I was thrilled (yeah, right!) to arrive at the barn the next day and see my formerly clean little princess with caked mud up to her hocks and splatters of mud on her sides and stomach like some kind of wierdly marked Appaloosa. I could just see her happily trotting through the muck to get mouthfulls of the tall grass in that wet area, splashing right through it and probably throwing in a roll at the mucky edge for good measure. Clean-and-shiny NEVER lasts very long. There's definitely a lot of elbow grease involved in keeping horses somewhat clean.