Horse Grooming
Learn to groom your horse
The process of horse grooming not only enhances the appearance of your horse but also contributes to horse health. Regular horse grooming can help to prevent thrush and other skin problems and provides the opportunity to assess the horse's physical health. The close contact of horse grooming allows owners to see and feel differences in the horse's skin, tendons and hooves, thereby leading to early diagnosis of potential problems. It also allows the owner to communicate with the horse through touch as well as voice, strengthening the bond between human and animal.
Horse Grooming Supplies
There are several essential pieces of horse grooming equipment. First is the array of horse brushes: the curry comb, the dandy brush and the body brush.
All of the horse brushes have different applications. The curry comb is an oval brush with rubber teeth used to loosen dirt. The dandy brush is used to get the dirt off the horse. Finally, the body brush smoothes the coat for a tidy appearance. You will also want a mane comb to remove knots from the horse's mane and tail.
Aside from the brushes, you will need a hoof pick to clean the horse's hooves and a polishing cloth to keep the coat shiny and give it that healthy glow.
How to Groom a Horse
Proper horse grooming can take up to an hour, so plan enough time to make sure you can get the job done.
Start with the horse brushes. Rub the hard plastic bristles of the curry comb in circular motions, starting at the neck and working down to the rear. Don't use the brush on the horse's face or legs, or any other especially bony part of its body, as it may cause injury.
Once you've loosened the dirt, follow up with the softer dandy brush to "sweep" the dirt off the horse. Using a sweeping motion prevents the hair from getting back underneath the horse's coat. Again, start at the neck and work down to the rear. This brush can be used along the legs, but be gentle. You can also use this brush to smooth out the tail if you've noticed your horse has thin or easily broken tail hair.
Then, the body brush can be used to smooth down the hair. Finally, you'll want to comb out the mane (and tail, if you'd like) with the mane comb. Plastic combs cause less hair to break than metal ones.
After you've finished brushing the horse, it's time for the most important step to horse care: cleaning the feet. You'll want to carefully pick up the horse's foot slightly off the ground — just enough to have access to the hoof. Use the hoof pick before and after a ride to scrape off dirt, scraping away from you to prevent injury.
When you're done, buff up the horse with the polishing cloth for a clean finish.
