Horse Care – Grooming – EzineMark

Grooming your horse is an essential part of good horse care. Your horse will enjoy a good groom, and you will be able to see if there are any new marks, cuts or rubs on your horse. It is important to give your horse a good groom before you ride as to ensure that there is no dirt around his saddle and bridle areas as well as having clean legs if you are putting boots or bandages on. Having a well groomed horse makes you look very professional at shows and proves to everyone you have pride in your horse!

Your grooming Kit should contain:

1. Rubber Curry Comb
2. Body Brush
3. Metal Curry Comb
4. Dandy Brush
5. Hoof Pick
6. Hoof Oil and Brush
7. Mane and Tail Comb and Brush
8. Shampoo, Bucket and Sponge
9. Sweat Scraper

Each of the above brushes have a specific use and each one should be used accordingly.

1. Rubber Curry Comb – Use this on his body and neck in round circles. This will loosen all the dead hair and skin in his coat and get rid of tough mud if he has rolled in the field. Do not use this brush on his bones (face, spine or Legs) it will hurt him. This brush also acts as a massage for your horse. It will relax him which makes him feel good. It will also encourage his skin to produce natural oils which will make his coat look fabulous.

Tip: Groom your horse every day and you will not only have a happy horse but the best looking coat ever!!!

2. Body Brush – Use this brush his face, neck, body and upper legs in long strokes going with the direction of the hair. This will remove all the dead skin and hair that you have loosened with your curry comb.

Tip: flick your wrist at the end of your stroke – this will removes more dirt and hair!

Tip: If your horse is really muddy – just hose or sponge him off. You may have to dry his saddle area before riding but this could save you lots of riding time!!!

3. Metal Curry Comb – This is NOT made for use on your horse ever! This is to clean your body and dandy brushes while grooming. To clean your brushes while grooming simply run your body brush across the metal curry comb and watch the dirt and hair fly!!!

Tip: Keep your Metal Curry dry and clean – this will stop it from rusting and it will be more effective for cleaning your brushes. (You can wash in water but dry immediatley after)

Tip: Hold your Metal Curry Comb in your left hand while using your body brush in your right hand and scrap your body brush every third stroke or so – aim at getting quicker – but be careful not to loose QUALITY in
brushing!

4. Dandy Brush – This brush is a hard bristle brush and should not be used on anything other than legs. Use it gently because it can hurt but you can be a little more vigorous with this brush especially if your
horse has had a mud bath!

5. Hoof Pick – Your Hoof pick is used to clean your horses hooves, which is one of the most important things you can do and should be done at least once a day whether you ride or not. To use your hoof pick, pick
up your horses leg and locate the frog. Run the hoof pick from heel to toe along side the frog. Be careful not to puncture the frog. Dirt can seriously stuck on your horses hoof so do be careful of yourself and your
horses foot.

Tip: If your horse is kept in a stable then hoof picking should occur at least twice a day.

Tip: If your horse’s foot is smelly or is ‘chalky’ this could be due to wet ground. If the hoof is smelly it could be thrush, and if the hoof if chalky it could be seedy toe. Some iodine spray from the local
horse/produce store can help. If your horse is visibly sore then you will need to call your vet or farrier.

6. Hoof Oil and a Brush – Hoof oil does not have to be used every day, unless your farrier has specified. It protects the hooves from becoming dry and brittle. it provides moisture which some horses need more than others. Apply with a small paint brush. Hoof Oil is different from Hoof Black. Hoof Black is used at shows to blacken horses hooves – this dries the hoof out and should not be used often. It would be a good
idea to use hoof oil after using hoof black to replenish moisture in the hoof.

7. Mane and Tail Comb and Brush – The mane and tail comb is used to pull your horse’s mane and top of his tail. This keeps his mane and tail tidy.

To pull your horses mane correctly is hard and takes practice but is much better than shortening your horse’s mane with a pair of scissors! When you use your pulling comb – brush through the hair, Hold the longer bits between your fingers and push the rest up as if you were teasing his mane. Next wrap the longest hair around the comb and while still holding the comb and the hair pull down sharp and quickly pulling the hair out. Only grab a small amount of hair when pulling, this wont hurt your horse.

The brush (usually just a hair brush) is used just to run through the mane and de-tangle your horses tail. When you brush his tail, grab little sections at a time and start from the bottom and work your way
up to his tail bone. Be careful as some horses do not like their tails brushed let alone the top pulled!

Tip: If your horse is getting annoyed then leave it for the next day. Don’t leave pulling a very long mane until the day before a competition, if you do need to stop you will only have half a mane pulled!

Tip: When brushing his your Horses’ tail, spray some show shine in his tail. This helps de-tangle his tail with very little breakage of the hair. All horses have different kinds of tails, so work with what you
have and keep your horses tail healthy and shiny!

8. Shampoo, Bucket and Sponge – Obviously these are used when you want to wash your Horse. To wash your horse, soak him with a hose from head to tail. Make sure you wet his mane and tail but be careful of his ears. Have soapy water in your bucket ready to go with your sponge and body brush in the water. Scrub his body with the body brush and use the sponge on his face being careful of his ears! Wash his tail (if he lets you). Ensure all the dirt or mud is off and then hose all the shampoo off your horse. Make sure that there is no soap left on him! This will make his skin itch.

Tip: Try not to wash him too often as this will wash away all the natural oils that are protecting your horses skin. Your horses coat will loose its shine if you wash him to often and he may also get dandruff or itchy skin!

Tip: A good groom will always be better than constant washing with shampoo.

9. Sweat Scraper – The Sweat Scraper is used after you have washed your horse. Scrap down his body to get all the excess water off. This will help him get dry quicker. Only use this tool on his body, not his legs
or head!

Extra things that you can have in your horses grooming kit are:
1. Moisturizer
2. Show Shine (for his tail)
3. Iodine / Antiseptic cream.

This is not an extensive list. You should also have a first aid kit at your horses stable or in your car if he is in a field. I will go through What a first aid kit should have in a later article.

If you intend to Show your horse you will need many more items. This is just a basic kit to keep your horse happy in the field!

If your horse is lame or has any serious cuts or injuries, please call a professional to help you. Once you are more experienced you will learn to tell when you need the vet or farrier.

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Christine Turley has 1 articles online

Home: http://www.the-horse-stables.com

Protect Your Horse From Flies – An Old Time Remedy – grease

Being a zen cowgirl, there’s nothing I like better than cooking up homemade remedies and natural horse care products at the kitchen table. One of my favorites is an old-time cowboy remedy people around here (western Colorado) use to keep flies away from their horses.

Are you ready for this? It’s a super-duper rancher secret. Here goes:

Bacon grease.

Yup, I do mean bacon grease, poured straight from the frying pan into an aluminum can after you’re done making breakfast. I accumulate three or four giant soup cans’ worth of bacon grease at a time, especially during the winter, and then use it lavishly in the spring, summer, and fall to keep the horses happy and free of flies. I keep it in the refrigerator or freezer between uses.

How to Use Bacon Grease to Keep Flies Off Horses

Using this grease is simple, if a bit messy. Just take the can of bacon grease out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit, until it’s a little gooey and runny. Then apply it around your horse’s eyes, ears, and face. Slather it down your horse’s midline, top and bottom. That includes your horse’s throat, chest, belly, and the area behind the hind legs. On top, apply it on the midline from the withers to the tail head. If your horse has an itchy tail, you might put a little bit on the tail head as well.

Unlike ordinary fly sprays, which are only good for a few hours, bacon grease will repel flies for up to a week. These include regular flies, giant horse flies, mosquitoes, and even “no-see-ums,” those tiny bugs that you can hardly see but bite nonetheless.

I know the bacon grease works because I have two horses that are super-reactive to fly and mosquito bites. My quarter horse gelding, Walker, will literally buck and run around like a mad-man if a giant horse fly lands on him. When he’s wearing the grease, he rarely reacts this way in pasture. The other sensitive horse, my mustang mare Samantha, develops welts and swellings from fly bites. She also rarely shows signs of these swellings when I apply bacon grease regularly.

Repelling Flies from the Inside Out

Bacon grease works great to keep the flies away from horses, especially if you don’t mind smelling like a short-order cook after you’re done. For horses with sensitive skin that are reactive to fly bites, I’ve also found that certain nutritional supplements help repel flies from the inside out. Two that work well are high-quality mangosteen juice and apple cider vinegar.

I feed my horses an ounce of XanGo mangosteen juice daily, either in their feed or simply by squirting it in their mouths with a syringe. The mare who develops welts from fly bites is much less prone to skin swellings when taking the juice, and the gelding doesn’t seem to attract as many flies. Before I discovered the mangosteen juice, I fed the horses 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar twice a day with their feed. I have also used apple cider vinegar topically, usually mixed with water and Avon’s Skin So Soft, to keep flies away.

Over time I have found that the best combination of home remedies to keep the flies away from my horses is to slather bacon grease on the outside and feed the XanGo mangosteen juice or apple cider vinegar internally. Together they work like a treat to keep my horses happy and relatively free of flies — naturally!

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Stephanie H. Yeh has 1 articles online

Stephanie Yeh is a zen cowgirl obsessed about horses, healing, natural remedies, herbs, magic, MLM, and more. Check out natural horse care tips, ways to fund your horse obsession, natural health products, and more on her blog (http://zencowgirl.blogspot.com) and order XanGo mangosteen products on her website (http://www.mangosteengood.com).