Clean Horse with Mrs. Conn’s Bath Day Sponges

My horse became the smelly kid this winter. I’m embarrassed, but I might as well own it. I am a disciplined groomer. But with the unusually long and intense winter and the copious mud, she became a dusty smelly fur-ball. Exhibit A:

I coat her legs in poultice at the slightest hint of heat. It gives her a nice crusty clay residue. Exhibit B:

For our first show this season, we were greeted by freezing rain and snow. I curried hard and gave her a hot towel to conceal the grime. But by the second show, it was time.

Having ridden horses for over twenty years, I thought I had tried every shampoo, sponge, and method known to man. Except one: Mrs. Conn’s Bath Day Enriched Sponges.

Please ignore my dirty fingernails…

These guys come beautifully packaged. Upon opening the box, the smell of clean pours out.

The Lemon Meringue formula has bamboo extract that is supposed to bring out high-shine and is “perfect for show prep.” Tools for this endeavor:

• Dirty horse
• Hose
• Mrs. Conn’s Lemon Meringue Sponge

Take note: no bucket and no curry.

I rinsed Murmer and dirt was visibly pouring down her body. I wet the sponge and got to work.

First, her neck and mane. The sponge is the perfect size: not to small and not too big. It was easy to scrub down to the base of the mane.

Then, her haunches. As you can see, the shampoo creates a thick and rich lather that is a magnet for ground-in dirt.

Finally, her back and tail. Having evenly distributed lather made it easy to clean down to the root of her tail. And because the formula doesn’t dry the hair, it actually helped detangle.

Murmer doesn’t let me wash her head. But because the sponge requires relatively little water, I went for it. She enjoyed the good scratch and when I rinsed, I was thrilled with her blazing white star.

With shampoo left, I scrubbed her hooves inside and out.

In a Washington Washing-Day miracle, the soap stayed on the horse and the sponge, and not on me. It rinsed out easily and thoroughly.

Tail braided, fluffy, clean, and dry, she was ready to load up and head out:

After the show, she was sweaty but glossy:

Two days and a few good rolls later, her star was still blinding:

And four days later Bally notices her shine:

Smelly kid no more! Take the poll below and let me know what you think. There might just be a follow-up to this post…