Let’s Review
In my last post, “How to Get a Free Ride – Part III(a)”, I talked about how to turn yourself out. Now, as promised, we are going to cover how to turn your ride out. By now, you’re probably wondering why we can’t just cut to the chase and start talking about getting the actual ride. Just remember, this is a process. You are building your ‘brand’. In some cases, you might be re-branding yourself (google this – it’s a business term).
In this scenario, we are assuming you are taking lessons somewhere. That is your best ‘in’ with getting more rides at any barn. You gotta give a little to get a little. So, again, as mentioned previously, it is recommended that you start at a lesson barn.
Each time you go into the ring, you want to have presence. You and your horse should shine. It should not appear that you showed up late, knocked the dust off of your horse quickly, just to get in on time. You’ll have wanted to have shown up at least a half-hour early so that you can properly groom your horse and so that you are in the ring a bit early or on time, whatever is your instructor’s preference.
Let’s get started!
If you go back to the “How to Get a Free Ride – Part III(a)” post, you’ll notice I listed the contents of my grooming bag. Might be a bit much for the average person but there are some essentials you should have and I’ll cover how you should use each of those items.
Before I even touch my horse, I get all my gear on. I wear full chaps (very old school) – I get those on, adjust my spurs and secure the straps, then I put on my hair net and helmet. I stuff my gloves in my back pocket and my stick is sitting in my grooming bag. The reason I do this is because of: a) safety and b) never make a horse wait on you. In other words, to me, it is not cool to put a horse on cross ties, groom, tack up and so forth, then make the horse wait while you get the rest of your stuff on. Get you ready first, then put the horse on crossties or tie him in his stall and get him ready. That way, once that horse is tacked up, the two of you are ready to do business together at the same time.
Safety first!
If you tack up for your lesson in the stall, you’ll want to find a safe way to secure the horse. Otherwise, his freedom to move around can cause you to get hurt. If there are no tie rings in the stall, you can tie him to one of the screw eyes his buckets hang from. You might even need to take the bucket off of the screw eye because the rope could get stuck under the bucket, startle the horse, then next thing you know, he’s dumped all the water on the floor or worse. You can unhook it and set the bucket on the floor. You just need to remember to re-hang it.
Bottom line, it is not a good idea to tie to the bars of the stall or anything that the horse cannot easily pull away from in a panic. Tying him is simply for encouraging him to stand still. You do not want him in a situation where he panics for any reason and pulls himself to the point where he can possibly snap his own neck. They will do it.
Stay organized
Grooming stalls are great and I like cross ties too. Regardless of where you tack up, keep your grooming kit nearby and keep all of your equipment in one place, being respectful that others might need to work very close by as well. Stay organized and immediately put all your things right back where you got them from in your kit. And, it goes without saying, mark all of your tools so that they are not mistaken as someone else’s.
If you use the barn’s equipment, same applies. As soon as you are finished using the tool, put it right back where you found it, or where you know it is supposed to go. Especially because you are sharing the equipment with others.
Work front to back
First thing I do on every horse I ride is start at their head. I never just reach up and go at it. I first gently touch their muzzles, then the bridge of their nose, then start between their eyes. This avoids startling the horse. I take my tiny curry, which is gentle to begin with, and I gently yet firmly curry the horse’s entire head in circular motions. I go around their ears (taking care here – some horses are very sensitive about their ears), I lift their forelocks, I do their cheeks and the bars of their jaw. They all love that curry.
I then take the small curry and brush it in several quick strokes across my face brush which is a horse hair Kiwi shoe-shine brush (found in the Housewares section at the grocery store) to knock any loose dust, dirt or hair out of it. Then, I brush the whole head again, this time, going with the growth of the hair. If your horse doesn’t seem to mind, you can be more quick and aggressive with this brush so that you are able to ‘flick’ dirt out of his coat.
A secret about goat hair or horse hair brushes is that they are soft enough for the most finicky of horses but because the bristles are so fine, they cut deep into the coat and are the best at getting dirt out of a horse’s coat. I notice the head of the horse gets neglected quite a bit because a lot of horses don’t like to be brushed in the face. They’ve just never had the appropriate tools used. If worse comes to worse, you’ll want to use a rag. First, rub all over, then rub with the hair. But I have yet to find a horse that doesn’t enjoy being curried and brushed with the two tools I mention above. I keep those two tools together in one of my side pockets of my grooming bag.
Next, I brush or comb out the horse’s mane. The reason why I do it at this stage is because if you wait until the end, you’ll notice more dirt and debris comes out of their mane and will get back on their coat.
Next, I either get my shedding flower or my round rubber curry. I have the kind that fits in my palm, has no straps and has rubber spikes that move easily when pushed. I also like the Jelly curries that fit over your hand almost like a mitt. Especially for fussy horses.
If I’m using the shedding flower, I’m careful around bony areas including hips and shoulders. I never use the shedding flower on faces or legs. Like the small face curry, I use this in circular motions, going against the growth of the hair. Pay attention to your horse’s reaction when currying. Some are more sensitive on their backs or bellies. Their ears will tell you. Just be a little more gentle if they seem to object. Switch to the Jelly if they still seem sensitive. The Jelly curry is great for legs.
After I have all the dirt and hair loosened, I start back up at the front of the horse, right behind the ears with my dandy brush. This will be your stiffest of brushes and is designed to knock off the loose hair and dirt you just lifted up with your curry. I start on the left side of the horse with the dandy in my left hand and my rubber curry in my right.
I go from ears, to shoulder, down the shoulder then down the legs. And as I’m doing each leg, I run one hand down the inside of the leg while I brush the outside of it. This way, I can feel any cuts or any heat in the leg. After I’ve brushed down the outside of my first leg, I stay down and brush the inside of the other leg, since I can see it best from this angle.
As I’m brushing, every few strokes, I stroke my brush quickly several times across my rubber curry. This knocks all the dirt out of the brush that you just picked up. This is a habit you should get into. Otherwise, you will be putting dirt right back into your horse’s coat, which defeats the purpose of all of your hard work. It also keeps you from having to clean your brushes. I personally never clean my brushes. I knock the dust out of them before I start, while I’m grooming and after I’m done grooming. I do it until I see no more dust come out of it. This method gets rid of the dirt but keeps all the good oils from the horse’s coat in the brush and that gets deposited back into the coat, adding to its shine.
The very last brush I use is this one by Winner’s Circle. It is soft in the middle with horse hair bristles and stiff on the outside. I like this as a polishing brush and for legs. Otherwise, this would be my favorite. This is the one I sent with Buster when I sold him. He was very picky about his brushes. It is goat hair, super soft and I love using it on dark horses. They seem to show the dirt the worse, especially in the winter. This brush will get deep into the coat and picks up everything. You would use it last in your line up.
Details, details, details
If your horse has white socks, you should be prepared to spot clean his socks with your towel and possibly a rinseless shampoo spray. In extreme cases, if I have the time and management doesn’t mind, I’ll put the horse on the wash rack and clean his socks, hand drying them. If the horse is gray or has any white on his body, same applies. You certainly can’t give the animal a bath but you can do your best by a good grooming first, then by rubbing with a dry towel, then try the spot cleaning.
Next, I do the feet. I’m going to assume you know how to pick feet. While I’m picking, I grasp the shoe with one hand and try to wiggle it, just to make sure it is on securely. When I am done picking a foot, I don’t just let go of the foot. I first try to set the foot back down so that the horse either places it flat from there or I let it rest on its toe. You just don’t want to drop the foot. Some horses actually want you to let go when you are done and prefer to place their own feet. Just take the time to see which works for your horse.
After I’ve picked out all four feet, I paint them with an oil. Right now, I’m using Absorbine All Natural Dressing. It is clear and doesn’t smell too badly either. If you are tacking up in the stall, dig a little trench around your horse’s foot first to keep your brush from picking up bedding. I start painting at the coronet (coronary) band on the outside of the foot, and just like I do when I am brushing, I do the inside of the opposite foot. Then, work my way around in that same manner.
Lastly, I spritz the tail with a detangler and using a tail brush, I work through the tail, starting at the bottom. I grasp the tail all the way at the bottom leaving only about four inches of the tail to brush. Once I’ve brushed through that, I inch up a bit more, still grasping the tail firmly in one hand while brushing with the other. Keeping the tail firmly in one hand reduces the chances of breakage. Some barns might not even want you brushing the tail so you might want to check first.
Do it like the pros
Now for the finishing touches! Take your dandy brush and dip the very ends of the bristles in your horse’s bucket. Gently ’sling’ the water out in one motion so the brush is still damp and while standing opposite of the side the mane falls, brush the mane at the roots away from you. Then walk to the other side and continue to brush down the mane. Do the same with the forelock. Then, go to your horse’s rear and stroke down once on each side at the very top (dock) of your horse’s tail. Notice how all the bushy hair now lies flat. Granted, it doesn’t stay but it does long enough for you to make your entrance. It is a finishing touch that I learned when I worked for Beacon Hill Show Stables during the Florida circuit.
And finally, take your towel, dip a pinch of it into your horse’s water bucket again and use the moistened end to wipe any matter out of your horse’s eyes, then his nostrils and maybe even around the corners of his mouth. You can give his coat one last, quick dusting after you’ve tacked up too.
Phew! That’s my grooming routine. Believe it or not, that probably only takes me between 15 and 20 minutes. No matter the horse, they all look better after a proper grooming.
There are so many other things I could share about grooming but we’ll cover it down the road when we start talking about show ring prep.
Next up:
In the next post in this series, I’ll cover some rules of the road while you are in your lesson. It’s all a part of building your reputation as someone who is serious about their riding.
Have a great weekend!