Archive

Posts Tagged ‘horse grooming’

Super Quick Horse Grooming Techniques

June 19th, 2012

Super Quick Grooming

Super Quick Grooming


There are many reasons why grooming your horse on a regular basis is essential. As well as giving you the chance to check him for injury, you’ll be stimulating his blood flow and his endorphins as you bond with him. In essence – if you want a happy and healthy horse then you need to groom him every day. Ensure when you are looking for a horse to buy or horses to loan you ensure he has been well looked after.
Many people now find themselves with less time than ever on their hands and if you’re one of them and the thought of an hour long grooming session on a daily basis fills you with dread then you might want to consider some of the following, which are super-fast and efficient ways of giving your horse the exact same benefits but leaving you more time to exercise and ride him.

1. Ask your vet about adding vegetable oil or an essential Omega-3 fatty acid supplement to his diet for added shine and texture to his coat.
2. Sponging his face clean after his exercise will help prevent any hair loss and a different sponge for every part of his body will prevent any cross contamination.
3. Use a tail bag to keep his tail thick, long and protected. Washing, conditioning, detangling and rebraiding him once a week will also keep his tail looking glossy.
4. Clip his bridlepath and whiskers once a week. If done regularly, this should only take a few minutes but could make a huge difference.
5. A de-tangler or a wide toothed comb (or even your fingers if you forget to buy a comb) is a great way of remove any large snarls from his mane and tail.
6. The sunlight can cause fading or bleaching if you’re not careful so shade and a sheet could stop his coat greying or fading. A further good idea is to rinse him after work to remove any sweat and make the sun’s rays less likely to take effect.
7. Regular use of coat polish after bathing will prevent dust and/or dirt from clinging to his coat.
8. Regular disinfection of brushes and combs will help prevent against skin infections or diseases and will get better results than dirty or dusty brushes. Furthermore, you’ll get much better results if you rinse in between brushes. Tucking a towel into the top of your jodhpurs and wiping your brush on there every five (or so) strokes can get rid of any build up on the brush.
9. Brushing from the front to the back, and the top to the bottom is the most efficient and comfortable way for your horse.
10. Why not multi-task and have a brush in each hand – just try not to go too fast or you risk spooking your horse.
11. Grooming wipes are a great way to a fast and effective finish and your horse will love them too!
12. Check for any infections or imperfections in his skin as you groom as this will save having to perform a lengthy and time consuming exam later on.
Linda Carter enjoys blogging on horses, family farm life, horse trailers and animals.

Horses ,

Caring for your pony – Grooming

May 30th, 2010

Grooming your pony

Grooming your pony

Besides water, food and sufficient exercise, another important aspect in horse care is grooming. Whether you own or loan a pony, or simply help out at a friends house, grooming is an important skill you need to learn beside riding.

As well as keeping a ponies coat clean, grooming promotes blood flow, stimulates breathing, strengthens the bond between you and him /her and it removes dead skin cells and dead hair.

If you think of grooming as flicking a random brush over your pony, then you are mistaken. That certainly is NOT the way to groom a pony. When you groom a pony you should do it methodically so that you do not flick dirt back on to a part of the pony that you have already brushed. Start by picking out the hooves but remember to pick them out from heel to toe as otherwise you may hurt the frog(!) (the sensitive middle part of the bottom of the hoof) if your hand slips.

Check for signs of thrush (smelly feet, black discharge) and carefully put the ponies hoof down. Next, start grooming the mane and use a body brush or your fingers to comb the mane till you can go through it without trouble. A de-tangler spray would really help.

Remove mud from the coat with a dandy brush and and then use a body brush to remove grease and scurf. After a few strokes with the body brush use a metal curry comb to remove the hair from the body brush. Note: the metal curry comb is only used for cleaning the body brush, and should NEVER be used on a pony.

Now set to work with the tail, but stand to the side to avoid getting kicked and pull the tail to the side. Use a body brush or your fingers because, however tempting it may seem to use a plastic curry comb, this is not advised as it breaks the hair and can give your pony split ends.

Now as a finishing touch, why not add some hoof shine?
Otherwise you can use effol or another well known hoof strengthening cream or paste.

Horses , , , ,