As the temperatures drop, the days become shorter and holiday preparations beckon, the prospects for giving your horse a studsy bath probably seem about as remote and spraying him with insect repellent or fitting him with a fly mask. Yet horses often manage to become particularly dirty during the winter months despite the best daily grooming efforts. A major "spring cleaning" is one solution, but you don't have to wait for warmer weather to rid your horse of the worst winter mud and grime. In about an hour you can apply several alternative grooming techniques that will leave your horse looking spiffy.

Supplies You Will Need

• clean plastic bucket            

• stack of clean towels

• rubber or latex gloves

• currycomb

• tail brush

• WD-40 Lubricant

• waterless shampoo

• cornstarch

• silicone spray           

HOT TOWELING;

You can "steam clean" your horse with a piping hot barely damp towel and a lot of elbow grease. You'll need a stack of clean towels and a bucket of water so hot that you can not put your bare hands into it. To begin, curry comb your horse vigorously to raise the dirt from the depths of the coat, then brush or vacuum thoroughly to remove as much dust as possible. When you're finished, slip on the rubber gloves, dip the towel into the hot water and wring it out thoroughly. Rub the hot, damp towel in circles over small sections of your horse's coat, working in the opposite direction of hair growth. Rotate the towel frequently to expose clean sections. When the towel cools, dunk it and wring it again. Clean your horse section by section, covering him with a cooler if his coat gets to damp. Hot toweling will take most of an hour, but it can make a midwinter mess of a horse showing clean.

MANE AND TAIL MANAGEMENT:

To restore a dirty tangled tail, first pick out any burrs, or debris by hand (a quick spray of WD-40 lubricant will help even the most tangled burr slip free). Then apply a waterless shampoo product according to the directions on the bottle. When you're finished cleaning spritz the hair with silicone spray and separate the hairs a few at a time by hand or with a trail brush. Dirty manes can be treated similarly. IF you have no plans to braid or band-most silicone sprays will make the hair to slick for either. If showing is on your schedule, simply brush areas of the mane and tail that will be styled or try the hot-toweling on the tailbone and crest for a deeper clean.

SPOT CLEANING:

To clean white socks or remove isolated stains from light colored horses, use a waterless shampoo/coat stain remover, when can be found at tack stores and through catalogs. Most call for the application of the product followed by a brisk rubbing with a clean towel to remove the dirt. If you don't have a waterless shampoo, you can mask mild stains with cornstarch. Simply rub the powder into the white areas, then brush out the excess.

TRIM AND TIDE:

A full body clip is one way to solve most winter-grooming issues, but it will take much more than an hour and necessitate blanketing afterward. Another option is a thorough trimming. Going with the direction of the hair, run the clippers down the back of the cannon bone and fetlock to trim the long "feathers" that collect dirt and mud. The wispy "cat hairs" under the belly can be trimmed in a similar manner. Tidy up the face and head by trimming under the jaw (again, going with the direction of the hair) and pinching the ears closed and trimming the hairs that poke beyond the edges. Whether you remove the muzzle whiskers or just shorten them is a matter of personal preference, but for your horse's safety, do not trim the "feelers" around the eyes; they help protect this vulnerable area by providing early warning of objects that are dangerously close and setting off an instinctive blink.

By Christine Barakat