Groom Groom

I think everyone has a routine when it comes to grooming our horses. I'll admit, I haven't groomed as much lately as I should because I haven't ridden much. However, when I do ride and groom, I have a routine. I learned my grooming habits from my first English trainer. She was very picky about grooming, to the extent of no dust before a ride and no sweat marks after. So, I thought I would share with you my routine and tools for grooming my horses.

Step 1: Rubber Curry Comb

Used in big circular motion on large body, down to knees and up to head. This step stimulates the skin and gets blood circulating while bringing dirt up to the hair surface. It also loosens dried mud and hair.

Step 2: Summer: Medium Brush Winter: Hard Bristeled Brush

In the winter when coats are thick and dried mud is more prevelant, the brush with stiffer bristles does the job better than a medium brush. This step will remove most of the dirt, dust, and mud from your horse's coat. Sometimes if I am in a hurry, I will skip Step 1 with the curry comb and Step 3 with the finishing brush and only do this step. It does a good job.

Step 3: Finishing Brush

Using this brush last will remove all left over dust from your horse's coat and really make it shine! These brushes are usually very soft. Sometimes, the will have short bristles like the ones pictures and sometimes they will be longer so you can really "flick" off the dust at the end of your brush stroke.

Step 4: Hoof Pick

Some people do this step first, some last, some in the middle. Wherever you do it doesn't matter, it just has to be done. I like the hoof picks with the brush on the end so I can brush off mud on the front of the hoof too while I'm picking out the bottom. Every horse person has a ton of hoof picks laying around, I can guarantee it!

Step 5: Mane and Tail

My single most important tool when grooming mane and tail is my Oil Sheen Hair Spray by Isoplus! It can be purchased at any grocery store that sells African-Amerian hair products. This product is really cheap, like 2-3 bucks for a can, and it works wonders! It smells great, helps tangles tremendously, and puts a nice shine in hair. It won't dry out tails either! I will NOT brush my horse's tail out without this because breakage is a lot more prevelant when it isn't used. I also use a human hair brush for mane and tail because I think it offers less breakage than a tradition horse comb, especially when you use the oil sheen. There are horse products similar to this oil sheen and they smell exactly the same. But why pay 20 bucks for the same product when you can buy it for 3 at the grocery store? ....Just sayin.

Step 6: Face Grooming

I always do the face last for some reason. I use a soft rubber face curry and then use the finishing brush to brush away the dirt lifted up by the curry. Then, I take a damp cloth and wipe the nostrils, around the eyes, ears, and anywhere else that needs a damp cloth to take off dirt.
So, that's my full routine. Granted, I don't do every single step every time I ride, but this is my most used routine.

If you do this routine with your horse, I can guarantee your pony will look fabulous!

Happy Grooming!

Quiet!

This weekend was hot! Steven and I didn't do much. Saturday night, we went to the local auction. Tack started at 5 with horses following. I'm shocked at what they are going for these days. Registered AQHA broke mare....you'd be lucky to get 300. I keep meaning to bring the list of horses and prices they sold for to work so I can post it but my memory is failing I'm afraid.

Steven and I went to get another chicken from the same guy we bought our first two. Somehow, we ended up coming home with 3 instead. *Sigh* We should have PLENTY of eggs now!

It's been rainy most of the day. I need to call the new farrier. Twiggs needs a trim and Ronan needs front shoes put on. I kept them off recently because I knew I wouldn't be doing much riding with the move and his feet do better if they have a break every now and then.

I really want to go riding soon....I'm having withdrawals!

Trip to the Vet

I took the horses to the vet yesterday for teeth floating. Twiggs needs to go back in 6 mos to file one exceptionally tall tooth down again. The vet gave both horses the same dose of sedative but I guess Twiggs is a light weight! She was much more "drunk" than Ronan.

Here is Twiggs getting her teeth floated:

Here is droopy! HAHA she kept her tongue out for about 20 minutes I think!

Ronan went first and this pic was taken once he finished and was waiting for Twiggs. You can see his head is only being held up by his halter! haha

I think sedated horses is one of the funniest things to see haha.

Back to Life!

Whoa! Crazy week! Steven's parents and sister and the youngins are all gone. They all helped so much. If you are reading, Cherie Thank you soooo much for tackling the laundry pile. Hopefully now I will be able to keep it under control. Steven's dad managed to get a lot of projects around the house finished. We were able to get a railing up on the side patio. He finished the baseboards and shoe molding in the bath and kitchen. They also built a chicken coop for our new chickens. Not sure of their breed but we have already collected 4 eggs! I'm pretty sure only 1 is laying though. Hopefully the other will start soon! I didn't get any pictures while everyone was here. The girls had a lot of fun playing with all of our animals. A, the youngest girl, received a special treat. Cherie signed her up for a reading program and she received a reward for reading 25 books this summer! Her first request? To spend some alone time with me! How cute! So, we saddled Ronan and rode to the top of the mountain behind our house to look at the pretty views. She had a lot of fun! I'll miss them all! I guess now I've got to get back into the routine of everyday life.