Horse Care

Grooming

If your pony is worked hard and is kept in a stable then it must be groomed at lested every day to keep it's skin healthy and it's coat clean. On the other hand if your pony is outside in a field, then it shouldn't be groomed often, especially in the winter time because by grooming him or her it will remove the oil from the coat. However you should still groom him to keep all of the dried mud off a field ketp pony. Here are some typical grooming supples you may want to use: Hoof pick, body brush, rubber curry comb, sweat scraper, sponge, and a stable rubber.

Groom the Horse's Body

Start by using your currycomb. (Hold it in your “natural hand”) The currycomb is used by making small circular strokes, all over the horse’s body. Generally it is best to start at the horse’s neck and work you way down and back over the withers and chest, the legs, barrel, underside of the belly, croup, rump, etc. After doing one side of the body, switch and curry the other side. It is important not to curry the face.
After currying the horse, take a hard brush and brush vigorously all over the horse. It is important to always brush your horse in the direction that the hair grows. The hard brush will remove most of the loosened hair, dander and dirt that the currycomb produced. Next use the soft brush, to remove finer hair and any remaining debris. Use the soft brush in the same manner you used the hard brush. Brush in the same direction that the hair grows with this brush too.

Using your face brush or soft brush gently brush your horse’s face. After brushing your horse’s face take a clean cloth and dampen it. Use this cloth to wipe around the horse’s eyes, ears, nose and nostrils. You can also run this cloth over his whole body to give it one final shine.

Finally dampen another cloth (make sure this is different than the cloth you use for his face) and clean the horse's bottom, underneath the tail. This area on the horse is equivalent to a human's armpit, and can get rather sweaty and dirty if neglected.

Picking the Horse's Feet

Begin by standing next to your horse, facing towards his tail. Take the hand which is not holding the hoof pick, and run it down your horse’s leg, squeezing it (gently) as you get near the hoof. Your horse will lift his leg up. Support his hoof with one hand (it is easiest to hold it up by his toe.), and pick out the debris with the horse pick. When picking, it works best to start by the heel and move towards the toe. Make sure to clean the hoof well. Also, at this time check to make sure that your horse’s frog does not have a foul smell, and make sure it is not soft and squishy. These are signs of thrush. Make sure as you move from one foot to the next that none of his shoes are loose.

Grooming the Mane and Tail

Finally, spray a bit of show sheen on your horse’s tail and brush through it with a hairbrush. If you come across any large knots do not try to rip them out with the brush. It is much easier to untangle them with your fingers. Brush through the mane also. Do not put show sheen in the mane, for it will become very slippery. If the mane is unruly and will not stay on one side, you can ‘train it’ by braiding it over with rubber bands and leaving them in for a day or two. Do not leave them in for much longer for they can cause small pieces of hair to break off, or cause split ends. If you do not have time to braid the mane, use the hand brush and run it over the mane to make it lay flat on the proper side.