Mud Bath Anyone?

There's a saying going around a lot right now with all of the increases in exercise (a direct symptom of resolutions I expect will dwindle as soon as chocolate covered v-day comes closer) "If you still look pretty afterward, you didn't do it right"

Sums up horse care as well.

Horses are dirty. They roll. They love to get a good scratching and some take mud soaks to a whole new appreciation level. Whisper is a mixture of scratchy dusty dirt rolling followed by a long mud soak on alternating sides depending on the day of the week, to keep her complexion fresh and young.

Odds are, if I've planned to ride or I'm running behind in the evening to bring her in and blanket her, this is what I find waiting for me..

If you're not familiar with horses you might be thinking, "So what? It's a large outdoor animal, aren't they supposed to be dirty?" Allow me to explain, horses who are pasture ornaments probably get by just fine just like this and it has been argued that the dirt may even offer some insect protection. The flip side of that is working horses, if they have even small amounts of dirt under tack (saddle/bridle) their skin can quickly be rubbed raw, develop wounds, not to mention giving you really gunked up unsafe tack. Blanketing doesn't have to be as picky, depending on what material lines your blankets, but on freezing nights when Whisper sports a wool lined under sheet I want her at least slightly clean for the same reasons of chafing and keeping the wool somewhat clean.

As a full on, forget-the-foundation-powder-I-just-groomed-a-dusty-horse equestrian, I have to say it's true, "if you still look pretty afterward, you didn't do it right". We barn dwellers are a special grime covered breed of human.