Winning grooming tips?

Question

I have been competitevely riding for years now, but this year, for the new show season, I want the new horse that I'm riding to just shine in the show ring. Does any body have different/secret tips that will help??

Answer 1

I have a lot... here goes!



-avoid bathing the horse more than once every 2 weeks. Bathing strips a horse's coat of its natural oils, which gives the coat a dull appearance. Only bathe with shampoo just before your show, and use a special color enhancing shampoo. You can hose your horse off whenever, but restrict bathing with soap as much as possible.

-curry daily. Currying increases blood flow to the skin, bringing nutrients to the hair and making it shinier. Even if the horse isn't dirty at all, it's still a good idea to curry him.

-add a half cup of corn oil into each feed, it boosts the shine and it also helps put weight on hard keepers. For easy keepers, use just a splash.

-clip white markings just before your show as it makes them stand out more. Then apply baby powder or chalk so that they look even shinier!

-if the horse has a scrape without hair on it, put on MTG to get the hair to regrow

-use cowboy magic for a nice sheen while detangling the mane and tail (or quick-braid if you are braiding them). Use show sheen on the coat to make it shine.

-Use hoof polish just before going into the ring, and make the horse stand on newspaper while you apply it so no dirt gets into the polish.

-to avoid sunbleacing, use a fly sheet with UV protection while the horse is outside. This only applies to black/bay horses.

Answer 2

Makes me laugh with all this bathing of horses!



To get a horse looking really good does not require washing or show sheen and in the UK using things like baby powder or chalk on white areas is not allowed in affiliated shows.



People talk about grooming their horses - the old are of strapping a horse is rapidly becoming a dying art.



To get a horse looking really well it starts on the inside, feed should be balanced and there should be no need to add oil of any sort.



Grooming starts with a good curry comb using a rubber curry all over the body and face. Then tou can flick this off with a dandy brush or, if your horse is fairly clean go straight to using a body brush and metal curry to clean the brush.



Each part of the body should have 6 hard strokes of the brush with it being cleaned on the curry every other stroke. You should be facing the rear of the horse and use the hand nearest the horse on each side. The curry needs emptying periodically to rid it of the grease.

Using the body brush involves not only going with the hair but also going across it but finishing with it going in the correct direction. A handy tip is to have the body brush slightly damp as this picks up the grease.

Once brushed the final part is to have either a wisp, a pad made out of hay twisted into a rope and woven into a pad or a leather pad. For this you sand to the side and thump into the muscle. This makes the muscle flex and is therefore fittening the horse (and you) Finish off with a stable rubber for the final polish.

Sponge the horses eyes, nose, mouth and under the dock.



Manes and tails should be brushed out with the body brush so as not to pull the hair out.

Legs should not only be brushed but also felt thoroughly every day so you know every ligament and tendon. Any changes will be noticed straight away if something is going wrong.



By keeping the grease away from legs they will remain white, stains can be washed out with hot soapy water.



A lot of your energy should go into this process.

Answer 3

I like to use baby powder on any white markings before I enter the ring. It makes your horses white markings look the perfect white.



Wash your horse every 3 weeks or if you have a show comming up For example if you are having a show on June 1st wash your horse May 2nd, May 16, May 30th, and the morning of the show June 1st.



Use Mane N' Tail products. They work AMAZING!



Clip what ever needs to be cliped 5 days prior to the show so it has time to grow back a bit if you make any mistakes



Wash and Dry your saddle pad so it looks brand new and make your tack look brand new. That gives your horse a new finnish.

Answer 4

The fact is that most of us horse lovers don't groom our horses properly. This could be due to lots of things - time, motivation, circumstances etc. What we need to realise is that time with our horse is bonding time. Remember that in the wild, horses groom each other and that's the basis for their relationships with each other. If we don't take the trouble to groom our horses properly, then we can't expect to forge the bonds we want between us and if this doesn't happen then we can't expect the partnership benefits we look for either. If we take the time, if we have the patience, if we use the right techniques AND the right products, then we'll forge a bond of trust between us and our horses that will last forever.



Domesticated horses rely on humans to provide the opportunity for skin care, unlike the wild horse where they have the opportunity to groom each other! Grooming should be incorporated into the daily routine of owning and managing your horse to maintain its health and happiness. This practice increases the circulation to the skin, releasing necessary oils that promote a vibrant and lustrous coat. Daily grooming allows the coat to be shed gradually, easing the burden of trying to remove long hair and excess dead skin. A horse that is worked regularly should be thoroughly and properly groomed at all times. Grooming not only allows us to give our horses a shiny, short, healthy coat, it also gives us the opportunity to go over our beautiful animals from head to toe, to notice any abnormalities such as cuts, wounds, irritations, fevers that your horse may have developed.



Horse Grooming - http://www.riding-stable.com/articles/grooming-results.htm



Basics of Horse Care - http://www.riding-stable.com/articles/basics-of-horse-care.htm

Answer 5

Although not a grooming tip, my bestfriend insists on swapping her stable rug for a turnout rug a couple of nights before a showm after her horse has had a bath. He loves rolling in his own wee and poo.He is supposed to be completely white all over but most days he has green-brown patches all over him even after grooming. A turnout is waterproof and so helps to stop wet poo and wee penetrating the material and causing stains.

Answer 6

I really like to use baby oil in their mane/tail/forelock and also on their whole body. I use a soft horse hair brush or towel to finish up with. Ribbing it into their mussel and around the eyes looks great too. Also baby powder works very well on white socks. Those are mainly the only two things I have come up with on my own. Hope it helps.

Answer 7

I have a gray Arabian (he has white hair though) and getting him ready for shows and stuff can be challenging, because he doesn't like to stay clean afterwards.

I use Ivory dish soap to get all of the stains out of his coat, but I mix it with a little bit of bluing, which is how it helps to make it white.

If your horse has just a little bit of a stain on it somewhere, you can use a little bit of rubbing alcohol to get it off, just put it on a rag and rub it on the stain. Don't use too much though, because it can dry out their skin.

Baby powder and corn meal helps to cover up dirty spots on white, just get the spot kind of wet, and rub either powder so that it will stick and cover up the spot.

Baby wipes can also help get rid of dirty spots.

After you hose off your horse or give it a bath, spray it with show sheen, it makes it harder for dirt to stick, because it makes their coat really slick and shiny. Just don't put it on the saddle/girth area.

Cowboy magic and Mane & Tail have really good detangling and shining sprays, they really work!



Good luck!