Making sure your horse is clean and groomed is an important part of caring for a horse and building trust between the rider and animal. There are certain products that can streamline this process and leave the horse fresh and beautiful and you satisfied from a job well done.
Horse Grooming – Before you begin
If you are calm, chances are the horse will be calm. Gather all the supplies you will need so they are close by once you start to bathe the horse. Be gentle and avoid areas known to be sensitive like the eyes, ears and bony areas.
Curry Comb
Before bathing
Begin by using a curry comb on the body of the horse to loosen dirt. The most effective method is to use circular motions as the rubber bristles should remove most of the dust and dirt from the horse’s coat this way.
Dandy Brush
Before bathing
You can then move on to the dandy brush. Its stiff bristles will remove the dirt and hair lifted by the curry comb. It should also make easy work of more stubborn mud on the legs with downward strokes and a polishing motion for the exterior of the hooves.
Mane Comb
Before bathing
The mane comb should be used to gently comb out the mane and tail as this is crucial to thorough horse grooming. Any large knots should be untangled with your fingers as much as possible to avoid tugging at the horse’s hair. If this proves to be too difficult consider applying a de-tangling product to help. Be sure to stand out of the firing line should the horse get agitated and try to kick you.
After bathing
You can repeat the same process after the horse’s bath by gently untangling any knots in the mane and tail.
Horse Shampoo
For the bathing process, you will need a source of water, preferably a hosepipe and a bucket of warm water. You can add a small amount to the bucket of water for dipping the horse’s tail in to make sure it is thoroughly cleaned.
Grooming Sponge
When your horse has been hosed down a grooming sponge can be used to apply shampoo in small circles to wash its coat.
Grooming Sweat Scraper
This is the perfect tool to squeeze excess water from the horse’s coat after a bath. Brush it in the same direction as the hair growth to remove the majority of the water after all the shampoo has been properly rinsed off. It makes the final towel drying quicker, simpler and much less messy.
All horse grooming products should be considered as part of necessary horse riding gear to have. You cannot ride a dirty and unhappy horse. Taking care of your horse is easy when you have the proper horse grooming tools.