Benefits of Grooming Your Horse

As well as keeping your horse in good condition, grooming gives you time to develop a close relationship with your horse. Horse grooming also means you can check for injuries - cuts, swellings or insect bites. The horse's blood circulation is stimulated with good grooming aiding your horse's well-being. Whilst grooming, you can find out where your horse particularly likes and dislikes being touched. Use this grooming time to chat with your horse. The bonding develops and you can confidently give directions when riding.

Equipment Needed to Groom Your Horse
Hoof Pick, Curry Comb and Stiff (dandy, body) Brush
Choose brushes suitable for your type of horse. For horses with a thin short coat, you will need a soft brush. Horses with a very thick coat will need a very stiff brush.

Steps for Successful Horse Grooming
Make sure the horse is tied up and in a safe place.

Pick Out Your Horse's Feet Using a Hoof Pick
Clean each hoof in turn making sure all dirt, pebbles etc are out. The hoof pick should be used from the heel towards the toe being careful not to penetrate the soft part of the frog. After you have cleaned their feet you can apply oils such as hoof oil to improve the quality and appearance of their hoof.

Detangle Your Horse's Tail
You have to be very careful that you do not pull out the horse's tail hairs. It is better to use a Body brush or your hands. Use spray so your brush slips through all the tangles taking care not to pull out hair. You can use a metal comb or stiff brush depending upon your horse. Take the entire tail in your left hand and run your hand down toward the bottom of the tail until only a couple of inches remain below your hand. Hold the tail hairs against your thigh and gently use your comb to separate the ends of the hair. When you can comb easily through these few inches, move your left hand a little further up the tail so that you comb through the bottom 4-5 inches of tail hair. Now you can remove it from your leg and comb through the tail with it hanging in the air.

Brushing Your Horse's Body
Use the curry comb to loosen the dirt, scurf and dandruff. Using a circular motion, press down firmly on the horse's heavily muscled areas and rub lightly on tender spots. Bang the comb against the back of your brush or boots when the curry comb fills with dirt. Nest, use the body or dandy brush and use short, vigorous strokes so the brush gets through the hair coat and down to the horse's skin. The body brush will clean the skin free of larger dirt.

Be careful and if your horse is showing any signs of distress you will need to choose a softer brush. Clean the body brush frequently so you are removing dirt as you groom and not merely moving the dirt around the horse's body.

Once you finish brushing and the skin is clean, the horse's hair may still be dirty. Use the finishing brush to remove extra dirt.The final step is to spread the sebum over the hair. Use a soft rag to rub your horse thoroughly to leave the horse's coat soft.

Cleaning the Horse's Eyes, Nose and Dock
To clean, you will need soft sponges and make sure you use a separate sponge to deal with their dock area. Be careful when sponging their eyes - sponge away from the corners of the eyes and around the eyelids. Always be careful when sponging your horse particularly when sponging their dock area.

Keeping Your Grooming Kit Clean
Grooming kits can be expensive and need to be kept very clean if they are to be effective in keeping your horse clean. As well as cleaning your brushes throughout the horse grooming process, you will need to wash your brushes in warm water and a cleaning agent (use a non-detergent based cleaner) and soak them until the dirt is removed.

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