SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Horse Care
Teach Me Horse Care Tips
Daily
Grooming Rituals For a Horse
Every horse owner should be familiar with
daily horse grooming rituals. Grooming your horse should be
something you and your horse enjoy each day. By having this
daily contact with your horse, you will establish a basis of
trust and comfort between you and your horse. You will also
be more in tune with your horses attitude and demeanor, and
you'll be more likely to notice if he's not feeling well, or
if he's injured himself from the previous day. While not everyone
has the luxury of grooming his best friend every day, you need
to make a conscious effort to be more diligent about it. The
more time you spend with your equine friend, the better you
will become as partners.
Begin
your daily horse grooming rituals by finding a halter
that fits your horse well, being fitted, but not so snug that
you can't easily slip two fingers between the noseband and
your horses muzzle. The same applies at the headstall behind
his ears. You don't want the halter to slip off if he pulls
back, but you don't want to strangle him either. Put your halter
on your horse, attach your lead rope and find your most comfortable
location to groom. You can choose to tie your horse, or if
you're more comfortable, drape the rope over your left arm,
near your elbow and begin brushing him on his left, (near),
side with a rubber curry brush, starting behind his ears. With
short, firm, flipped out strokes, you will progress down your
horse’s neck, along the top of his back, to the top of his
tail. This loosens any dirt that may be in his coat. Go back
to his shoulder and continue this process along his shoulders
and front legs, to his belly and up over his flanks to his
hind legs. This should remove any dried mud that's matted into
his hair. Most horses love this, it has a tendency to calm
them, and the teeth on the rubber curry dig in just enough
to stimulate the blood circulation and scratch all those itchy
spots that wouldn't otherwise be reached with his teeth.
Next
you will find a stiff bristled body brush to brush away
the dust and dirt you have loosened with the rubber curry.
You can again, begin behind his ears, brushing away any of
the dried on mud or dirt on his cheeks, with this brush. Brushing
along his mane, paying particular attention to the dip on his
spine just behind his withers, where the saddle would sit.
This spot has a tendency to collect dirt, and if it's not removed
before a workout, your horse may get saddle sores. Continue
with this stiff brush all over his body, under his belly where
a cinch or girth would lie, flipping your wrist as you go,
to flick the dirt off his coat. You will use this brush on
his legs, hooves, pasterns, and fetlocks. You can use this
brush in a back and forth motion along the coronet band to
loosen any stuck-on dirt there as well, without irritating
your horse’s sensitive skin. You will groom the insides of
the fore and hind legs with this brush, being careful around
the teats on a mare, and the sheath on a gelding or stallion.
There is fine, short hair in these areas, and any dirt should
also be removed from these areas. If you so choose, you can
use a softer body brush, or a terry-cloth towel on these sensitive
areas to remove debris.
After you've gone over your steed with the rubber curry and
the stiff body brush, you'll need a hoof pick to clean
your horses hooves, removing any rocks, mud, manure, or other objects
from his hooves. Beginning with the left front hoof, pick it
up, and hold it in your left hand, supporting the hoof. Using
the pick in your right hand, start at the widest part of the
frog, pushing the sharp point of the pick away from you and
your horse.
You will soon notice each time you engage in your daily horse
grooming rituals, that this process will become easier. Each
time you handle your horse’s hooves; he will become more accepting
of you picking up his hooves. For most horses, having a leg
snatched out from under them is not fun. Horses are prey animals,
and fleeing is their foremost defense. Taking a hoof away from
a horse is very threatening to him. Continue with all four
hooves, completing his near side first, then his right front,
then his right rear. Be sure to not drop his hoof back to the
floor where you are finished with a hoof, as this is very uncomfortable
for your horse. Set the hoof down. Remember, you're trying
to establish daily horse grooming rituals, and if you make
him uncomfortable, he won't be so inclined to greet you at
the gate tomorrow.
Some people have a tendency to neglect the horses mane, forelock,
and tail. These are parts of your horse’s anatomy, and should
be part of your daily horse grooming rituals as well. You can
begin on his mane, nearest his ears with a mane and tail comb.
Starting at the ends of the hair, comb down the hair shaft,
and working your way up to the base of the mane. You will do
this the entire length of his neck, until you've combed through
his mane. You can keep the combed sections separate from the
uncombed hair with cheap plastic clips from any health and
beauty aid section of your local shopping store. I've found
them to be priceless grooming tools. Pulling on small tangles
does not hurt your horse as it would hurt you. The mane has
no feeling to it.
However, it's not recommended to pull through the tangles,
as it breaks the hair shaft, resulting in a ratty-looking mane.
Your best defense in this case is to pull the tangles apart
with you comb and your fingers. You might also have good luck
using some commercial detangling sprays that you can buy specifically
for horses, or for children. Both types work well, however,
the children’s version tends to be more cost-effective. These
products can also be used on his tail. The tail is a bit different.
As it's close to those hind feet, and some horses do not appreciate
having their tails combed out. The dock of the tail does have
sensation, and it is very sensitive. Henceforth, you will again,
begin at the end, (bottom), of the tail and work your way up
to the base of the tail. This can be a long and arduous process
if your horse’s tail has been neglected. The same applies to
the tail, as does the mane. Pull tangles out with your fingers
and comb, separating as you go. This helps keep the combed
hair from getting mixed back in with the uncombed hair. After
you've combed out his tail and mane, it's time to head for
that face. You still have to comb out his forelock, face, and
ears.
Some horses love to have their ears cleaned, scratched, and
rubbed, while others can do without it. It is important to
make cleaning and inspecting your horse’s ears part of your
daily horse grooming rituals. Gnats, flies, ticks, and noseeums
can chew horses ears. They do require care, and having him
comfortable with you handling his ears will make grooming easier
for you both. It's of the utmost importance that you are gentle
with the ears, wiping them out with a cotton or terry cloth
rag to remove excess dirt and scabs. Applying fly spray to
his ears will be much easier and will make him much more comfortable
during the summer months when the flying insects are out for
blood.
When you are ready to clean up your horses face, it's important
to have a soft hand. A horse’s skin is very sensitive, and
is even more sensitive on his face. If you choose to use a
body brush to whisk away some of the dirt on his face, it's
important to choose one with very soft bristles. A damp towel
also works well. Push his forelock aside, and beginning at
the top of his head, between his ears, brush, or wipe with
the direction of the hair growth. Do not groom against the
direction of the hair growth. Do this all over his head, making
sure to wipe out the inside corners of his eyes, and also be
sure to make wiping his nostrils out, part of your daily horse
grooming rituals. As time goes on, your horse will become very
accustomed to having your touch on every part of his body.
This will aid in him trusting you, and will be reassuring to
him. The most important thing to remember is to have fun with
your horse and enjoy your daily horse grooming rituals.
Horses tend to look forward to daily horse grooming rituals
like this, as it builds their trust in you as their handler
or leader, and it re-enforces that you may not just hop on
them and ride them each time you catch them. This makes catching
your horse much easier on you and on him as well.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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