My Least and Favorite Aspects of Grooming a Horse
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Grooming horses is an art, or at least it is to me. Once a show groom for Class A Horse Shows, one never returns to simply “knocking off” the dirt and getting on to ride. Not only is it a disservice to the health of your horse and its coat, but grime left on creates a very dirty saddle pad that can create sores and needs cleaning often.
The time spent grooming a horse helps to develop a bond between the two of you - a bond that doesn’t necessarily translate into riding him/her, though. Horses naturally stand next to each other and groom each other's withers and top spots that are difficult for them to reach on their own. It’s how they learn about each other and their connection to the herd. It pays to spend the extra time with the horse to develop a connection, too, which pays off in better handling of the horse all around.
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Spring and rainy weather always means mud, unless the horses are kept on a dry lot. Rubbing off dried on mud isn’t always easy. When I used to work at a hunter/jumper stable, they had horse vacuums to remove caked-on mud. A luxury to say the least! If you don’t have one, a lot of elbow grease is necessary to get off the clumps of dried earth stuck all over their coats and halters. Expect to get their mud’s dust all over you if you have to groom by hand.
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My LEAST favorite part of grooming is picking out hooves, especially if they are covered in mud. There is just something about the thick slime of wet mud that’s difficult to get off of bare hands. Washing off their hooves in a wash rack works, but you have to be careful of rinsing too much dirt down the drain, which can easily clog it. I always have to grin and bear it and just dive into getting the job done. Hooves HAVE to be picked out daily. I immediately head for the bathroom to wash my hands when I’m done.
I least like picking out hind hooves. I was kicked in the face when I was around 21 while picking out the hind hoof of a horse I was going to turn out. The barn I worked for had us cleaning hooves out before they went outside to check for loose shoes and other such troubles. The horse wasn’t being malicious. He had a soft spot along his frog and simply pulled back when the hoof pick touched the tender area.
It was a good thing I saw him jerk his leg back and then shoot his hoof forward. I pulled my head away before my face took the full brunt of the impact. All he did was push the hoof pick into the bottom of my nose, causing a vessel to burst. I dripped blood down the barn aisle until I made it into the club room where I could check out the damage. If he had been shod, the damage would have been much more severe. I still bear the scar along the bottom of my right nostril. I was VERY lucky.
To this day, I stand back whenever I have to clean hind hooves. I might look weird, but I want to be prepared just in case a horse gets a little obnoxious.
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My MOST favorite part of grooming is currying their coats with a hand-sized, black rubber curry comb. I love how those methodical circular motions loosen hair and dirt from deep in the coat and start to bring out the oil and shine. Unless a horse is very sensitive, most of them appreciate this part of their grooming session. I’ve had horses push into me to show me where the “good spots” are that need more attention. They will often stretch out their necks when I’ve hit the itchy sides of the wither area, an area they can’t reach on their own. I always give extra attention to them because I know how much the horses enjoy the scratch.
I used to groom the Junior show jumper when I worked at the first hunter/jumper stable. He was very sensitive and hated all grooming. I had to be quick about it and never used anything on him except a soft brush, that is until it was spring. He would almost sit down as he pushed against me when I used to curry the top of his rump. The shedding hair and rubbing of the blanket all winter long made him especially itchy in that spot. He enjoyed a good grooming session then. When he was shed out, it was back to being crabby at being groomed.
I hope you don’t have too much mud to deal with on this first day of spring.
Happy Horses!
MHWF Website.
I donate regularly to the Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation. I have followed them for years and send a portion of the book sales to them quarterly and for their annual fall hay drive. They always need donations for the rescued horses they have in their care.
Author Kerri Lukasavitz and the middle grade Oak Lane Stable Novel Series: Books written for young readers, but enjoyed by horse lovers of all ages.
