Your Guide on How to Groom Your Horse

Apart from getting your horse clean before you tack up to ride, horse grooming removes any patches of dirt and mud that could cause uncomfortable rubbing under the saddle. It will also give the chance to check and see if your horse has any soreness on its body that could possibly affect your ride.

Horse grooming provides many benefits for you and your horse. It gives you the opportunity to spend time with your horse and at the same time, allows your horse to understand that human touch is a good thing. If you attended a horse lesson program before, you would probably remember that grooming a horse is one of the first things you've learned. This is because grooming a horse is an essential part of being a horse owner. Make sure that you have a horse grooming kit so that you can groom your horse.

How to Groom Your Horse: A Step-By-Step Guide

Step 1: Make sure that your horse is secure.

The very first step and the most crucial step when you are grooming a horse is making sure that the horse is secure. Horses can get easily distracted, which means that they are likely to wander off frequently. If your horse isn't secured while you're grooming them, you may get frustrated with them when they keep on wandering off. It will also take too much of your time. Another reason is to keep them from reaching back and biting you. By securing your horse, you maintain a level of safety when grooming them. You can either tie them or have someone hold them while you're grooming the horse.

Step 2: Decide! Just Grooming or Washing?

You might come from a long ride and either a partial or entire wash is needed with horse shampoo coat conditioner is needed? If you have a horse that is sensitive to water for example in the face a good wipe with a wet cloth or towel can be enough. Putting the whole tail into a bucket of soapy water and swishing it around is a great way to rinse out dirt and when you're done, give your loved horse o good rinse since you don't want to leave any soap in the coat.

Step 3: Curry your horse.

When it comes to horse grooming, the first tool you need to use to brush your horse is a curry comb. The curry comb will break up the mad patches and help bring any underlying dirt to the horse's surface coat. This grooming tool is also great for getting all of your horse's scratches. You can use the curry comb from the neck to the dock of the tail. However, you should not use it on the face, legs or other sensitive areas unless you use it very gently. To use the comb, make circular motions with your hand across your horse's coat.

Step 4: Remove the dirt from your horse's coat.

After you've brought the dirt to the surface of the coat, you can now remove the dirt using a hard brush. A hard brush contains stiff brushes that resemble a broom. To remove the broken dirt and mud, use this brush all over your horse's body. When using a hard brush, make sure that you brush the way the hair lays on your horse. You can use his brush on your horse's leg and face, make sure you brush it lightly. It may cause discomfort if you brush it too hard.

Step 5: Remove the remaining dirt and brush the sensitive areas.

Another step for horse grooming is removing the remaining dust on your horse's coat. All you need to do is use a soft brush by following the way of the hair in your horse's coat. You can use this brush on their whole body and even on sensitive areas such as the face, legs and belly. Compared to curry comb and hard brush, this brush is more gentle and is excellent for removing the excess dust.

Step 6: Clean your horse's hooves.

Don't forget to pick out the hooves of your horse. This part of horse grooming is essential as you need to keep your horse's hooves against bacterias like thrush. Make sure to do it at least once a day. To clean out the hooves, stand beside the leg, you want to pick up. You can pull up the feathers or pinch their leg right above the pastern to cue them to raise their hoof. Once the hoof is up, you can start cleaning the foot by taking the hoof pick and beginning at the corners of the heel. At these corners, there is a groove in the hoof that will allow you to get a better hold of the mud as you remove it. Make sure you understand the anatomy of the hoof before you clean it. Browse our range of hoof care products.

Strep 6: Brush the mane and tail.

Another part of horse grooming is brushing out the mane and tail of the horse. This step shouldn't be part of your daily horse grooming as if you do this every day, the mane and tail of the horse will be too thin. You can do this at least once a month to keep them from tangling and dreadlocks from forming. You'll be needing a tail brush for this step. To properly brush the mane tail, hold the tail and stand on the side of the horse to avoid getting kicked. From there, start at the bottom of the tail and work your way up as you get passed the tangles and knots.

How Often Should You Groom a Horse?

You should groom a horse at least once a day. Through this, you'll be able to inspect your horse for any injuries or cuts they may have, and their coat and hooves can be cleaned to prevent any bacterial or fungal infections. If you can't groom your horse every day, your horse should be visually inspected once a day, either from you or the barn staff that cares for your horse.

Take Care of Your Horse Coat!

At some stage, you might not groom or wash your horse but you will need a hair coat stain remover or a hair coat conditioner for your loved horse.

Here at Pet Station, we understand that you always want what is best for your animals. That is why we only offer the best horse grooming kit at competitive prices. Feel free to browse all our products and if you have any questions about our range of horse products, get in touch with our friendly and experienced team members who are happy to go above and beyond for you and your furry friends.