Keeping Your Horse Clean and Pretty

In This Chapter
  • Grooming your horse’s body, mane, tail, and hooves
  • Bathing your horse beautifully
  • Clipping your horse’s head and body
Few things make a horse lover happier than being up on a horse that looks really good. Mane and tail flowing, coat glowing — you’ll feel proud passing other riders on the trail as you sit astride such a glamorous beast.

Of course, your trusty steed isn’t going to come out of the pasture looking so great — you have to make it happen. Although cleaning up a half-ton animal after he’s been milling around in the dirt for days may not sound like a picnic, we consider grooming is one of the most enjoyable parts of horse ownership. And besides, most horses absolutely love the attention.

If you groom your horse every time you take him out for a ride, the effects are cumulative. His coat shines more every day; his tail is silkier. He looks pretty darn good, even when he’s just standing there eating in his stall, provided he hasn’t just rolled in the mud, that is. In this chapter, we give you the essential information for making your horse look his best.

Getting Down to Business: Grooming Basics


Take a look in any tack store or equine supply catalog and you’ll see oodles of grooming tools for sale. That’s because grooming is an important activity in the horse world. You’ll soon discover just how important it is after you spend more and more time around horses. But for now, several of the really good reasons for grooming your horse on a regular basis are that it _ Removes sweat and dirt from your horse’s coat, helping keep his skin healthy.
- Prevents chafing and skin irritation by removing dirt, burrs, and other material before you put on the tack.
- Gives you a chance to inspect your horse for any unusual lumps, bumps, or blemishes. You’re more likely to notice changes or problems as they arise if you’re familiar with your horse’s body.
- Helps build that all-important bond between you and your horse.
- Gives your horse the attention on which he thrives.
- Earns the high regard of other horse people, who will respect and admire your dedication to your horse.
- Helps you (and your horse) relax, and reduces the daily stress in both your lives.
- Makes your horse look handsome and well cared for.
If you’re still not convinced that you need to take time out as often as you can to groom your horse, then hear this: Regular grooming is important to your horse’s health and welfare, and it’s a requirement of every horse owner, pure and simple.
Remember
Grooming your horse isn’t hard. In fact, it’s one of the easiest and most enjoyable aspects of horsemanship, and it needs to be done as often as possible. The optimum schedule is to groom your horse once a day. If you can’t spruce him up every day, grooming your horse before and after you ride him is imperative. When you groom after you ride, make sure that the horse is completely cooled down (no longer hot and wet); trying to groom a sweaty coat is aggravating and nearly impossible.
With only slight variations for personal style and preference, horse people around the world use the grooming procedures described in the following sections. If you hope to fit in with the horsy set, you must practice proper grooming procedures and protocols. After becoming familiar with the basics, you can vary the steps to suit your own personality. For example, some people prefer to clean the hooves before grooming the body, and others tend to the horse’s head only after taking care of every other part of his anatomy.

Starting with the right tools and setup

Tip
The first thing you need to do is assemble all of your grooming tools in a tack box or organizer. Make sure that everything is clean and in good working order. At a minimum, your tools need to include the following items:
  • Rubber currycomb
  • Stiff brush
  • Soft brush
  • Shedding blade
  • Cloth (any old soft, clean rag will do)
  • Mane and tail brush
  • Hoof pick
  • Hoof brush
You can find descriptions of these items and their uses in Chapter Getting into Gear with Horse Equipment.

After you organize your tools, put a halter and lead rope on your horse, and lead him to a roomy area in the stable where you can tie him securely, either in crossties or at a post.
Remember
Never try to groom a horse that is loose in a stall or pasture. When the weather is inclement, you also want to find a spot to shelter you and your horse from wind and wetness. (Directions for leading and tying up your horse are in Chapter Working with Your Horse from the Ground.)

Working the body


Start with the biggest part of the horse: his body. The body includes the head, neck, legs, rump, and everything in between.

Everyone knows that horses are covered in hair, but unless you’ve spent some time around horses, you may not realize that a horse’s hair is a trap for every speck of dirt, mud, and dust that he comes into contact with. Your job as a groomer is to get as much of that grunge off the horse’s coat as you can, exposing the clean-looking, shimmering coat beneath.

If your horse is stabled indoors all the time, the amount of dirt in his coat will be minimal. Horses that live in pastures or paddocks, however, usually require a bit of elbow grease to get them clean.

Use a rubber currycomb, stiff brush, soft brush, and cloth to clean the body of your horse. With these tools at your disposal, follow these steps:
1. Use the currycomb to bring the dirt to the surface of the coat by rubbing in a circular motion. (If your horse has a thin coat, proceed gently or skip this step altogether.)
Protocol
Start on your horse’s left side with your currycomb in your right hand (although if you are left-handed, you’ll probably be more comfortable holding the comb in your left hand). Begin rubbing at the end of your horse’s neck (where it joins the head) and work down toward the horse’s body. (See Figure 9-1 for the correct way to stand and groom.) The order in which to groom is: neck, chest, shoulders, back, belly, rump, and haunches.
Warning!
Be gentle when working around the horse’s flanks and underbelly. Some horses are sensitive in these areas and may kick out at you.
If mud is caked on the horse’s legs, use a gentle circular motion to shake it loose. Do so only with dry mud; wet mud is impossible to remove.

After finishing the left side, move over to the right side, switching the currycomb to your left hand and repeating the process. If your horse is the least bit dirty — and we’re sure he is — the dust comes to the surface of his coat.
2. Use the stiff brush to dissipate the dirt into the air by brushing in short strokes in the direction of the coat. Again, start on the horse’s left side with the stiff brush in your right hand (or left hand, if you are a lefty) and start at the top of the neck, moving down the horse’s neck, to his chest, shoulder, back, barrel, belly, rump, and haunches. You can also use the stiff brush to loosen the dirt from your horse’s legs, but you need to be gentle.
After finishing the left side of the horse, move over to the right side and repeat the process with the stiff brush in your left hand.
3. Use the soft brush to remove the remaining dust from the coat, brushing along the lay of the coat by using short strokes. Again, start on the horse’s left with the brush in your right hand (or left, if you prefer) and move from the horse’s neck, to his chest, shoulder, back, barrel, belly, rump, and haunches. Move to the right side of the horse with the brush in your left hand, and repeat the brushing process. You should begin to see a shine on your horse’s coat.
Tip
As you brush your horse with the stiff and soft brushes, clean the brushes continually by rubbing them against the rubber currycomb. Doing so helps to get rid of the dust that has accumulated in the brushes and keeps the dirt from going back on the horse.
4. Complete the body-grooming process by wiping down the horse’s body with the cloth. This step gives the coat even more shine and removes any dirt and dust you may have missed.
5. Use the cloth to clean out the insides of your horse’s nostrils, where dirt and mucus tend to accumulate.
6. Use the soft brush to gently groom your horse’s head with long, soft strokes. Stand at the side and in front of your horse to do this step.
Warning!
Although most horses enjoy having their heads groomed, some don’t. Be sure to calmly approach your horse’s head with the brush, showing it to him and letting him smell it before you use it on his head. Be careful when brushing his ears because some horses are funny about having their ears touched. If your horse objects to having his ears brushed, try grooming them with a soft towel.
Figure 9-1: To groom a horse, start at the top of the neck and move along the body.
Tip
When your horse is shedding (something that occurs in early spring), you can use your shedding blade to remove the loose hair from the coat. Use the blade before you groom, starting on the left side of the horse, moving down the body, and then starting again on the right.
Shedding blades work best on horses with thick winter coats. If your horse has a thin winter coat and is shedding only minimally, you can use a shedding stone or metal currycomb to remove the excess hair.
Warning!
Use care and caution whenever you use the shedding blade. The sharp teeth on this tool can injure your horse’s skin. Apply only minimal pressure, and never use this tool on your horse’s legs.

Managing the mane and tail


Your horse’s mane and tail are made up of hair not unlike human hair. And as with human hair, regular cleaning and brushing helps keep it looking luxurious.

You need the soft brush and the mane and tail brush to tend to your horse’s mane and tail whenever you’re grooming him. You may also want to use a mane-and-tail detangling solution — the kind you apply when the mane and tail are dry, not wet.

Follow these steps for grooming your horse’s mane and tail:
1. Using your fingers, pick out any shavings, burrs, or other foreign material lodged in the mane, tail, or forelock. The forelock is the area of the mane that hangs between the horse’s ears and down onto his forehead.
2. Separate tangles in the mane and tail with your fingers, if you can. If the hair is badly tangled, use dry-detangling solution (available in tack stores). Put some of the detangler in the palm of your hand and work it into the mane and tail for later combing.
3. Using your soft brush, groom the base of the horse’s tail, where the hairs are short. Try to reach the skin when you do this step, because brushing helps stimulate the circulation.
4. Using the soft brush, groom the base of the mane, where it joins the crest of the neck. Again, let the brush reach the skin to help with circulation.
5. Using the mane and tail brush, brush out the hair of the mane and tail, gently removing any tangles with your fingers first, until you get a silky look.

Attending to the hooves


The health of your horse’s hooves is extremely important, and you should try to clean them daily, if possible. Hooves that are not cleaned regularly can develop thrush (a fungal disease), stone bruises (sore spots on the bottom of the hoof), and other problems. (See Chapter Examining and Treating Equine Health Troubles for more information on maladies that can affect the hoof.)

You need a hoof pick and hoof brush to properly clean your horse’s hooves, and your horse needs to be securely tied to a hitching post or crossties.

Picking up the feet


Before you can clean your horse’s hooves, you have to be able to pick up his feet. Standing on the left side of your horse, facing toward the horse’s back end, bend down and run your left hand along your horse’s left front leg, starting above the knee and moving down toward the pastern (ankle). Some horses pick up their feet for you automatically. If yours doesn’t, lean your shoulder against your horse’s shoulder to shift his weight to the opposite leg, and squeeze the back of the leg you’re hoping to lift. The horse should then pick up his foot, enabling you to cradle the left hoof with your hand. Be sure to bend the leg back at its natural angle and not off to the side. Support this uplifted foot in your hand and begin cleaning.
Tip
Some horses are trained to pick up their feet if you gently squeeze the horny growth on the inside of their elbows and hocks called the chestnut. Give this a try if you’re having trouble getting a new horse to lift his feet.

Cleaning the hooves


To clean out the inside of the uplifted hoof, take the pick in your right hand, with the handle in your fist and the point of the pick facing away from you. Stand at the horse’s left side at his shoulder, looking toward the back of the horse. You’ll know you’re in the right position if your left shoulder is next to  your horse’s left shoulder. Ask your horse for his hoof (see the previous section),and then support this uplifted foot in your left hand and start scraping out the dirt with the tip of the hoof pick. (Figure 9-2 shows the correct way to hold the hoof and the hoof pick.) Be sure to clean out the areas around the frog (the triangular area on the underside of the hoof), but don’t scrape the frog itself. Look for rocks, nails, or other items that may be lodged around the frog.

Figure 9-2: Support your horse’s hoof in one hand as you grip the hoof pick in your other hand.
Tip
Get to know the anatomy of a horse’s foot so you can scrape in just the right areas. See Chapter Understanding Horses from Head to Hoof for details on what the underside of the hoof looks like under all that dirt.
After you dig out the dirt and debris from the hoof, use your hoof brush to wipe away any excess dirt in the foot. You get a good view of the foot after you do this, so you can spot any stones or other objects that may be lodged inside.

Managing the mane with a pull


Some horse owners like their horses to have long, flowing manes. Others prefer a shorter, thinner look. In fact, people who show their horses in western rail classes — such as western pleasure, equitation, trail, and horsemanship — must keep their horse’s manes short and trim. The same goes for those who show in English events like dressage and hunt seat, where manes are often braided for competition and need to be kept short and manageable.

Keeping your horse’s mane short and thinned out is not as simple as you may think. You can’t just take a pair of scissors and cut it. If you do, it will look thick and chopped up. Instead, what you need to do is pull the mane, using a mane comb.

Here is how you pull a horse’s mane: 
1. Shift the horse’s clean, dry mane, to one side of the horse’s neck. Stand next to the horse on the side where his mane hangs down.
2. Beginning at the center of the horse’s neck, hold your mane comb in your right hand and take a 1-inch wide section of mane in your left hand, between your forefinger and your thumb.
3. Stretch down the mane hairs you’re holding. Then, using the same fingers with which you’re holding the hairs, push up some of the hairs that you are holding. This leaves you with several hairs still between your fingers.
4. Wrap these remaining hairs in the metal mane comb and yank down in a short, quick pull to remove some of the longer hairs, leaving shorter mane behind.
5. Perform this step repeatedly over the length of the entire mane until you have a nice, neat look.

If you use short quick pulls, mane pulling shouldn’t bother your horse. If it does, ask an experienced horse person to help you get the hang of it. If your horse is extremely sensitive when it comes to having his mane pulled, you may have to have a veterinarian come out and give the horse a sedative before you can proceed.

When you’re satisfied that that first hoof is clean, move to the hind leg on the same (left) side. Facing the back of the horse, again run your hand down the horse’s leg and lift the foot off the ground. If the horse doesn’t lift his foot right away, push gently on his thigh so he shifts his weight to the other leg.
Protocol
After you finish the hooves on the left side, move over to the right. Don’t start with the front leg on the right side, though. Tradition dictates that you move from the left foreleg to the left hind leg to the right hind leg, then to the right foreleg. Face the back of the horse with your shoulder to horse’s right shoulder, and lift the horse’s right leg with your right hand. The hoof pick should be in your left.
After you clean out each hoof, use your hoof brush to clean off any dirt clinging to the outside of the hoof. If the outside of your horse’s hooves are caked with dirt, you can also use the brush to clean them off.

Taking action when your horse refuses to lift its feet


Some horses simply won’t lift their feet when you try to clean out their hooves. Among the different reasons for this problem are
- A lack of training — horses have to be taught to have their feet handled at a young age.
- A lack of balance — horses have to learn to stand on three feet.
- A prior bad experience — a horse may have fallen when having his feet worked on or may experience pain or discomfort in one of his legs.
If your horse refuses to lift his feet for cleaning or for the farrier (a specialist in trimming and shoeing horse hooves), have him examined by a veterinarian to make sure he isn’t experiencing pain in one or more legs. Doing so is especially important whenever you have an older horse that is stiff when he moves or is somehow lame.

If your horse is sound and still won’t lift his feet, he needs to be trained how to have his feet handled. Calling in a patient, gentle, experienced trainer or horse person is best for solving a foot-lifting problem, as opposed to trying to deal with it yourself.

Sticking to safety rules

Remember
Although grooming is a relaxing activity for you and your horse, you don’t want you to get too comfortable while doing it. Remember these safety tips when you’re working on and around your horse:
- Never duck under your horse’s neck or belly. If you want to get from one side of the horse to the other, walk around.
- Never stand directly behind your horse when grooming him. Stand off to the side in case he decides to kick.
- Never kneel down or sit while you’re working on your horse’s legs. Stay in a bending or squatting position so you can move out of the way quickly if necessary.
- Never stand directly in front of your horse’s legs when grooming. Stay to the side of the legs to avoid being struck if the horse moves forward or strikes out.
- Never groom a horse that is loose in a stall or pasture. Always make sure that the horse is correctly secured before you begin grooming.
- Never assume that a strange horse is open to grooming. When grooming a new horse, use caution, especially when brushing the flanks and underbelly.

Scrub-a-Dub: Bathing Your Horse


Bathing a horse isn’t that much different from washing a car, except that with a horse, you don’t need to wax. Both objects are large, however, and require plenty of soap, water, and elbow grease.

You can choose any number of ways to bathe your horse, but we show you one of the fastest and easiest methods in this section.

Knowing why and when horses need baths


Why wash a horse? In nature, horses don’t get baths. In fact, the only time wild horses ever get wet is during a rainstorm.

Captivity is essentially the main reason for washing horses. Humans like to be around clean horses, and most horse owners see their horses as extensions of themselves and want their equine companions to look just as good as they do. Likewise, the fact that humans take pleasure in riding horses, more or less demands that we keep them clean. A dirty horse is prone for trouble after tack is placed on his body. Sweat and dirt underneath a saddle and girth can cause chafing, itching, and sheer misery. Tack also is a breeding ground for fungus that can infect your horse’s skin.

No firm rule exists for determining when and how often to bathe your horse. Some horse owners bathe their horses once a month like clockwork; others do it just before a show. Some people wait until the horse is really, really dirty. Still others, by necessity, wait until the weather warms up or simply until they have time to do it.

How often you bathe your horse depends on several factors, including:
  • How dirty your horse is
  • The purpose for which you’re using your horse

Because they’re graded on their looks, show horses get more baths than noncompetitive equines. On the other hand, bathing a horse too often isn’t good because the shampoo can strip natural oils from the horse’s skin and coat.
Tip
If your horse works hard and gets dirty and sweaty often, you can simply opt to rinse him all over with clear water, without the shampoo. Clear water doesn’t hurt him and keeps his skin and coat free of irritating debris.
Remember
Because horses live outside, check out the weather forecast before you give your horse a bath. If you live in a cold climate, for example, and it’s the dead of winter, bathe your horse only if you can provide him with warm water and a place to wash and dry him that is warm and free of drafts. Otherwise, only sunny warm days are good days for a bath.

Making preparations to bathe your horse

Remember
Don’t start washing that horse unless you’re prepared. Consider the following:
- Be sure that your horse is amenable to being washed. If you can, find out the horse’s history with bathing. Short of that, you can try bringing him into the washrack with the help of another person and watch his reaction carefully as you administer the bath. Most horses are fine when tied in a washrack (a place made especially for bathing horses, complete with asphalt or concrete flooring and hitches for tying the horse) and when hosed or sponged down with water. However, until you know for sure that your horse won’t panic in the confines of a washrack or freak out at the sight of a garden hose, hold off on the bath.
- Make sure that you have enough time to do the job right before you get started. Washing a horse is a big chore. It takes at least 20 minutes, maybe more, to thoroughly wash and rinse a horse and another 30 to 45 minutes to get him dry, depending on the weather.
- Have a good place to bathe your horse. Use a specially designed washrack, or a roomy, hard-floored area where you can securely tie the horse to a hitching post or crossties (see Chapter Working with Your Horse from the Ground for information about tying your horse).
- Use a nylon halter and lead rope if you can. Nylon halters and lead ropes can best withstand the rigors of being soaked with water.
- Make sure you have access to running water. Garden hoses are the most convenient way of bringing water from the faucet directly to your horse’s body.
- Have at least 72 gallons of lukewarm water on hand. If you don’t have access to running water, warm the water in buckets using an electrical device called a bucket warmer, available in tack and feed stores.
- Wear clothes and shoes that you don’t mind getting wet: Bathing a horse is messy business (see Chapter Getting into Gear with Horse Equipment for more about proper footwear).

Making your equine’s locks more luxurious


Soft, silky manes and tails are both made and born. Although Mother Nature certainly has much to do with the quality and texture of your horse’s lovely locks, you can do plenty to enhance what’s already there, such as:
- Keeping it clean. Washing your horse’s mane and tail once a month or so with a good shampoo keeps them looking really good and prevents them from getting dirty, sticky, and stringy. Use a gentle shampoo, one made especially for horses.
- Condition, condition, condition. If you put a really good made-for-equines conditioner on your horse’s mane and tail every time you wash them, your horse will sport some glorious tresses. Buy a premium conditioner, one that moisturizes. Be sure to rinse it all out after you apply it.
- Brush it out. Before every ride and after every washing, brush that mane and tail with your horse’s body brush to keep snarls from getting out of control. Avoid using a comb or any other implement that can break and pull out the hairs.
- Wrap it up. Protect that magnificent hair when your horse is at pasture or in the stable with braids and bags. Large, loose braids in the mane keep the hair from getting dirty and tangled, and keeping a braided tail in a tail bag protects its’ hair from knots and mud. Just be sure to undo the braids every three to four days to keep the hair from falling out.

If you want your horse’s tail to grow, keep it loosely braided and in a tail bag.

Having the right tools on hand

Tip
Assemble your bathing tools before you bring your horse to the washing area. You need to have the following on hand:
- Shampoo: Plenty of equine shampoos are available at tack and feed stores. You can also use human shampoo on your horse if you prefer. (Some humans prefer to use horse shampoo on their own hair instead of human shampoo, in an attempt to have full and glossy manes.)
- Conditioner: Some equine (and human) shampoos have a conditioner built in. Or, you can add one later as a second step. Other horse owners use conditioner only on the horse’s mane and tail. This decision is strictly a matter of personal preference.
- Body sponge: For sale in tack and feed stores, body sponges are large sponges that are good for working the shampoo into your horse’s coat.
- Face sponge: You use this sponge, usually a natural sea sponge, to clean delicate areas of your horse’s face.
Sweat scraper: The sweat scraper is great for removing excess water from your horse’s coat after the bath.
 Towels: Use towels to dry the horse’s face (and probably your own) and to clean up any other wet areas. You also want to use a towel to dry the back of your horse’s pasterns to prevent the growth of any fungus in this area of the leg.
- Cooler or sweat sheet: If you’re bathing your horse on a hot summer day, you won’t need this piece of horse clothing. However, if your horse will be exposed to drafts while you are walking him to dry him off, a cooler or sweat sheet (see Chapter Getting into Gear with Horse Equipment) is necessary.

Washing your horse properly


With your horse securely tied in a wash area and your tools assembled, you’re ready to start scrubbing. Now, follow these steps to give your horse a bath:
1. Starting on the left side of your horse (you wash and rinse only one side of the horse at a time), run lukewarm water from the garden hose on the horse’s legs if your washrack has a hot water faucet. If not, you have to use warm water from a bucket for this step. Wetting down the legs first enables your horse to get used to the water and to the idea that he’s about to be bathed.
2. After the horse adjusts to the water, slowly move the hose up to where the neck joins the head and wet the body all the way to the rear end of the horse.
3. Apply shampoo to your sponge and begin lathering your horse’s coat, starting where the neck joins the head and working your way down across the body. Be sure to scrub underneath your horse, where the girth lies, and along the back where the saddle sits, because sweat and dirt tend to accumulate in these areas. Wash your horse’s legs and the outsides of his hooves.
4. After you’re confident that you’ve loosened the dirt and sweat from your horse’s coat, take the hose or a bucket of water and begin rinsing the shampoo from your horse’s coat. Warm water is best if you have access to it, but if not, cool water from the hose will do.
Remember
Rinse thoroughly; you don’t want to leave behind any soap residue that can irritate your horse’s skin.
5. Shampoo, condition, and rinse the horse’s mane. If the mane is on the right side of the horse, move over to that side.
6. Repeat Steps 1–4 for the right side of the horse.
7. Wash the horse’s tail. Wet the tail with water and apply shampoo. Be sure to work the lather into the tail so that you lather up all of the hair. Rinse, condition, and rinse again. Be sure to rinse out all the soap residue from the base of the tail. Soap residue can irritate the horse’s skin, and he’ll probably rub his tail on whatever he can find, dirtying those luxurious locks. (See the nearby sidebar “Making your equine’s locks more luxurious” for additional tips about maintaining your horse’s tail and mane.)
8. Wash the horse’s head. This step can be tricky, depending on the horse. Most horses are cooperative when having their faces cleaned. Others have had bad experiences or are wary of the process and give you trouble. In either case, be gentle and considerate when washing your horse’s face.
Wet the horse’s face with a sponge and warm water. Don’t forget to wet and wash the forelock when you do the head.
Warning!
We recommend that you just rinse the face with a clean sponge and water and avoid using shampoo on your horse’s face. Shampoo is difficult to rinse off thoroughly, and it can get in the horse’s eyes — ouch! Avoid the temptation to wash your horse’s face by squirting it with the garden hose. Some horses tolerate it, but all clearly hate it.

Private parts


Like it or not, the private areas of the horse need to be washed on a regular basis. In the wild, the normal course of equine reproduction keeps these areas clean, healthy, and in working order.

When cleaning your mare or gelding’s private areas, use a mild soap or a gel product made specifically for that purpose. It’s available in tack stores. You also want to have a supply of latex gloves on hand for these kinds of procedures.

If your horse is a mare, your job is relatively easy. All you need to do for her is to clean out the waxy substance that builds up between the teats, located underneath her body between her back legs. Wet the area with warm water and apply shampoo between the teats. Manually remove the wax that builds up there — the latex gloves come in handy for this task. Rinse thoroughly to remove all that soap. Be aware that your mare
may not like all this attention and may try to kick out at you. Be cautious until you know how she reacts to this process.

If your horse is a gelding, you need to clean his sheath at least once a year. A lovely little item affectionately known as the bean can form from a build-up of secretions in the pocket at the end of the penis and result in irritation and swelling. The bean needs to be removed annually, sometimes more often.

If you’ve never cleaned your gelding’s sheath, we recommend that you have a veterinarian do it the first time. Some geldings react violently to interference in this very delicate area — who can blame them? — and it’s best to have a trained professional deal with this situation.

If your vet tells you that your gelding is amenable to having his sheath cleaned, you can try doing it yourself. Start out by putting on a latex glove and covering your hand with a very small amount of soap. Wet the area with warm water and loosen and remove the built-up material inside the sheath. If your horse is very cooperative, he will drop his penis, which enables you to wash that, too.

After you finish cleaning your horse’s private parts, rinse the entire area thoroughly with cool water, making sure to remove all the soap. Any residue left on the horse’s private parts will irritate him.

Although you can try clean your own gelding’s sheath, the truth of the matter is that most geldings are uncooperative when sheath-cleaning time comes and require a sedative before they allow their genitals to be handled. Don’t feel that you’re cheating if you opt to skip performing this aspect of horse care. It’s perfectly reasonable to have your vet do the cleaning each and every time.
Remember
There is a right way to bathe a horse and a wrong way. Your horse wants you to do it the right way by adhering to the following list of do’s and don’ts:
- Do have patience with your horse when bathing him. Bathing makes no sense to horses; they put up with it only because we ask them to.
- Do have consideration for your horse during the bath. Use a comfortable water temperature and appropriate water pressure.
- Do talk to your horse when bathing him. Constantly reassure him and tell him what a good horse he is.
- Don’t spray your horse in the face with water. How would you like it if someone did that to you?
- Don’t get water in your horse’s eyes, ears, or nostrils. Doing so not only causes the horse fear and discomfort, but it also can result in medical problems.
- Don’t put your horse back in his pasture or stall while he’s dripping wet.

Caring for your horse after his bath

Tip
After giving your horse a bath, it’s time to dry him off. How fast your horse dries depends on the thickness of his coat, the air temperature, and the humidity. Here’s some advice to help you get that 1,000-pound, dripping-wet animal dry in the shortest time and safest manner possible:
- Whisk away as much excess water on the body as you can by using your sweat scraper. Start at your horse’s neck on the left side and scrape in long strokes in the direction the hair grows, working your way across his body. Do the same for the right side of his body. Finish by scraping the front of his chest and his belly.
- Dry your horse’s face with a towel, being careful not to scare him with it. Move slowly and talk to him gently and give him a chance to sniff the towel before you put it on his face.
- Walk your horse around in the sun, if the weather is hot and sunny, preferably on a hard surface or on grass so dust doesn’t stick to his newly washed legs and hooves. If your horse is amenable to going on a hotwalker (a mechanical merry-go-round of sorts), you can put him on one of these contraptions as long as you stay there to supervise.
- Cover your horse with a cooler or sweat sheet before walking him if the air temperature feels cool to you.
Warning!

Never put your horse back in his stall, paddock, or pasture while he still is soaking wet. Not only is this unhealthy for the horse (he can get a chill if the weather is cold), but all your hard work goes down the drain when he gets down and rolls!

Carefully Clipping Your Hairy Equine


You’ve seen those before-and-after makeover photos, right? Well, the equine equivalent to those images are before-and-after clipping photos. Clipping is the practice of shaving a horse’s hair, or sections of his hair, so the hair is close to the skin. If you clip a horse that hasn’t been clipped in a few months, chances are you won’t recognize the beast afterward. And just like in the makeover pictures, the after photo looks a whole lot better than the before shot.

Clipping is a simple and easy way to make your horse look good. Even a less-than-beautiful horse can be made to look much more handsome with a simple head and leg trim.

Several ways of clipping exist. Basic maintenance clipping involves trimming the head and legs. More extensive clipping is necessary in body clips, where large amounts of hair are removed from the horse’s coat to help him cool down quickly after a workout.

The type of clippers you use depends on what you plan to clip. Maintenance clips require nothing more than a good pair of small horse clippers. Body clips, on the other hand, call for heavy-duty equipment: body clippers. (See Chapter Getting into Gear with Horse Equipment for more information on clippers.)

Clipping your horse is a relatively simple chore, provided your horse cooperates. A simple maintenance clip shouldn’t take more than 15 or 20 minutes at most. Body clips can take anywhere from half an hour to all day, depending on the extent of the clip.

The scoop on maintenance clipping

Remember
To keep your horse looking nice and neat, perform a maintenance clip on him at least twice a month, which means trimming the whiskers off the nose, clipping the excess hair from his ears, and removing the overgrown hair on his fetlocks (ankles). Unless you show your horse in a discipline that forbids it, you also need to trim your horse’s bridle path (the area of the mane just behind the horse’s ears, measuring about four inches in length) as part of this routine.
Before you clip your horse, make sure that the clipper blades you’re using are sharp and well oiled. Read the instruction manual to learn about setting the clipping depth and make sure your horse is clean and dry before you clip. Several hours after a bath when the horse’s coat is completely dry is a good time to remove hair.

Follow these steps to perform a maintenance clip on your horse. Remember to move the clippers along the hair in the opposite direction that it grows:
1. Tie your horse securely at a hitching post or at crossties (see Chapter Working with Your Horse from the Ground). If you’re not sure whether your horse is amenable to clippers, ask someone to hold the lead rope while you do your clipping instead of tying your horse. If your horse is cooperative, you can tie him up next time.
2. Stand to one side and start clipping your horse’s head at the jaw line, lightly trimming hair that extends beyond the horse’s jaw line. Clip up to the level of the jaw, removing that shaggy look. Many horses are frightened of having their heads trimmed. If your horse gets panicky when you try to clip his head, recondition him to tolerate the clippers.
Tip
If you have a clipper-phobic horse, try trimming his fetlocks, bridle path, and whiskers with scissors. Most horses afraid of clippers don’t mind being trimmed this way.
Tip
3. Trim the whiskers from your horse’s muzzle gently, one whisker at a time. Although a muzzle full of whiskers isn’t pretty, some equine experts believe that horses use their whiskers as feelers in the dark. If you prefer that your horse keep his whiskers, simply skip this part of the process. Nevertheless, you need to be sure to leave the long whisker-type hairs around the horse’s eyes intact. Experts believe these hairs help keep horses from injuring their eyes on objects in the dark.
Warning!
4. Move up to the horse’s ears and trim the hair protruding around the edges. Don’t trim the inside of the horse’s ears because the horse needs that interior hair to protect the inner ear from insects, dirt, and other intrusions.
5. Shave a bridle path for your horse, just behind the ears. The length of the bridle path depends on the discipline in which you ride your horse  and/or your horse’s breed (see Chapter Selecting a Riding Discipline for discipline details). If you plan to show your horse, this detail is important. Talk to other equestrians who ride in your discipline to find out the proper length of bridle path for your horse.
If you aren’t showing but just want to create a comfortable landing strip for the top of your horse’s headstall so his mane doesn’t get tangled in the bridle (the actual purpose of a bridle path) clip back about three inches of mane from behind the ears.
6. Check the back of your horse’s fetlocks to see whether your horse has ergots, soft, horny growths at the point of the fetlock joints. If so, take scissors and cut down the ergots so they’re only about half an inch long.
7. Trim your horse’s fetlocks. Before you start clipping, use your hand to feel the shape of the bone at your horse’s ankle. The object here is to clip short the hair around the anklebone.

8. Trim the long hair that hangs over the coronet onto the top of the hoof (see Chapter Understanding Horses from Head to Hoof for a diagram indicating the exact location of the coronet). Clip the hair gently until the line between the top of the hoof and the coronet is straight and void of shaggy hairs.
Warning!
When clipping your horse, don’t ever put your head in front of or behind your horse’s legs or under his belly. Doing so puts you at risk for getting kicked in the head.

Caring for your clippers

Remember
If you take good care of your clippers, they’ll take good care of your horse. Follow these rules of clipper care:
- Keep your clippers well lubricated. Buy quality clipper lubricator and lubricate the clippers before, while, and after you use them. You can buy clipper oil at the same place where you got your clippers. Most tack stores carry clipper oil.
- Use only sharp blades on your clippers. Ensure that you use blades specifically made for your model, and make sure they’re sharp. Take them to a blade sharpening service for maintenance. Places that sharpen scissors and knives often sharpen clipper blades, too. Some tack stores also offer this service.
- Don’t let your clippers overheat when you are using them. Check them often while you’re clipping. If they get hot, turn them off and let them cool so you don’t burn your horse.
- Keep your horse from stepping onto the clipper cord. If the cord breaks, the horse can be shocked or electrocuted.
- Check the cord and plug regularly. Make sure that they aren’t frayed or broken.
- Dismantle and clean your clippers periodically. Clean all the various parts with a soft rag.
- Store your clippers in a dry place.

The basics of body clipping


One of the banes of the busy horse owner’s existence is the equine winter coat. If you live in a cold climate where you don’t ride much in the winter, and if your horse is out in a pasture, this wad of fuzzy hair is a blessing to your horse — he needs it to keep warm. However, if you live in a temperate or, worse yet, a mild climate, and if you ride in the wintertime, then that long shaggy coat can be a real pain in the you-know-what.

Here’s the dilemma with winter coats: Nature designed this shaggy hair to keep the horse warm in the coldest of winter months. In the wild, this warm fur coat works great. Wild horses do little in the winter besides forage for food and huddle together for warmth. But the domestic horse has a whole other lifestyle. He is usually ridden in the winter and often is kept indoors in a stall, where a thick winter coat is unnecessary.

When a horse in full winter coat is ridden, he sweats profusely, and it’s no wonder. Imagine moving furniture all day dressed in a down coat! After the horse’s workout, the thick hair is filled with sweat, and it can take hours to dry out. In the meantime, the horse is subject to draft, chill, and ultimately illness, while you, the poor horse’s owner, spend half the day desperately trying to get the horse to dry.

Humans have found a way out of this predicament: body clipping. By removing some or all of the horse’s body hair in the wintertime, you can avoid having to deal with the time and trouble it takes to properly cool down a hot and hairy horse. And another perk: Clipped horses are easier to keep clean.

Grooming your horse for show


If you’re planning to show your horse, you may have your work cut out for you in the grooming department, depending on which riding discipline you’ve chosen (see Chapter Competing on Horseback for details on competitions). Although some events like reining and cross-country jumping don’t call for special grooming, some of the more popular types of showing require that your horse look a certain way.

We’re not going to try to explain every aspect of how to groom a show horse for every possible discipline. You can find out this information from your trainer or from your fellow equestrians after you become immersed in the show world. But we can give you some general advice on how to make your horse look good in the ring:
- A good trim. All show disciplines have one thing in common, and that’s the requirement for a neatly clipped horse. Ears, muzzle, and fetlocks must be properly trimmed. In some breeds, the bridle path (the area of the mane just behind the ears) also needs to be clipped. To find out how to clip these areas, see “The scoop on maintenance clipping” earlier in this chapter.
- Winning sheen. No matter what type of showing you plan to do, your horse stands better chance of winning if his coat is clean and shiny. Bathe your horse a day or so before the show to give his coat time to regain some of its natural oils. On the day of the event, you can apply any number of commercial coat polishing products meant to add sheen to a horse’s coat.
- Beautiful braids. A number of disciplines — including dressage and hunt seat — call for the horse’s mane (and sometimes the tail) to be braided. Although we could describe these procedures for you here, we don’t think a written description will help you that much. The best way to find out the proper braids for your discipline is to have a trainer or fellow competitor show you how. Don’t be shy about asking for help. Everyone has to learn sometime, and most knowledgeable horse people are happy to teach newcomers the braiding ropes.
- Proper manes and tails. Some disciplines, such as western pleasure and saddle seat, require trimmed mane and tail styles. Learn the particulars of your discipline and acquire the skills needed to make your horse look like it should for the show ring.
Warning!
Of course, body clipping has its downside. In cases where horses receive substantial body clips, you must keep the horse constantly blanketed, which is only logical because body clipping removes the horse’s natural means of staying warm in winter. If you choose to clip your horse, you need to make sure your horse wears a blanket in cold weather and that the blanket comes off when the weather heats up. And if you have a particularly hairy horse, you may have to do a body clip more than once during the cold weather season.

Surveying types of body clips


If you plan to ride your horse often in the wintertime, you may want to consider body clipping. Depending on your horse’s living conditions, work schedule, and your personal preference, you can choose from several different types of clips, shown in Figure 9-3.

Figure 9-3: You can choose from several different types of body clips.

The following list explains the uses of the different clip styles:
- Trace clip: The trace clip is a good choice for horses that live outdoors and do moderate work in the winter. With the trace clip, only the bottom third of the horse’s coat is removed. The underside of the neck, belly, and chest are trimmed. With this clip, the horse sweats less during workouts, but still retains enough coat to stay warm outdoors in temperate weather. In cold weather climates, a horse with a trace clip must be blanketed on cold days and every night.
- Blanket clip: This clip requires removal of the hair on the horse’s head, neck, chest, shoulders, and the lower portion of the abdomen and hindquarters. The blanket clip is good for horses that work hard in the winter but still need some protection from the cold on their legs, back, and hips. Horses with blanket clips must be blanketed on cold days and every night.
- Hunter clip: The hunter clip is helpful to horses that work hard out on the field, such as foxhunters, cross-country event horses, and endurance horses. This clip leaves a patch of hair on the back where the saddle lays and a patch of hair on the legs. The rest of the horse is completely clipped. Horses with hunter clips must be blanketed on cold days and every night.
- Full clip: With the full clip, the entire winter coat is removed from the horse’s body. This clip is chosen by many riders who compete with their horses in events year-round or who work them hard. This clip is best used on horses that are stabled indoors. A blanket is required for cold days and every night.

Clipping your horse’s body successfully

Tip
Body clipping is an art that takes a bit of practice. You may want to find an experienced horse person to help you show you how to do the clipping the first time around — or to at least get you started, anyway.
Before you start clipping, assemble everything you need to do the job:
- Body clippers: If you plan to do a full clip, blanket clip, or hunter clip, you need a good pair of body clippers. (You can usually do a trace clip using regular horse clippers.) If you don’t want to invest in a pair of body clippers, you can usually rent them from a local tack and feed store. Make sure the blades are sharp before you begin your task.
- Clipper lubricant: To keep your clippers from getting jammed or overheated, keep lubricating them as you clip. You can purchase clipper lubricant at a tack and feed store.
- White chalk: For any clip other than a full clip, use a piece of white chalk to draw the outline of the clip before you start trimming. You’re better off with grooming chalk purchased at a tack and feed store rather than blackboard chalk simply, because grooming chalk draws better on horsehair.
- Towels: Wipe the oil and hair from your clipper periodically with a towel. You can also use a towel to wipe the hair from yourself. Clipping is messy business, especially on windy days.
- Work goggles: You need goggles to protect your eyes from flying horsehair, if you’re clipping on a windy day.
Remember
When you’re ready to do the actual clipping, keep these pointers in mind:
_ Wear work clothes. You’ll be covered with horsehair by the time you finish. Consider wearing a windbreaker suit that you can just strip off before you get in your car or go back into your house.
- Feed your horse. Give your horse a hay net filled with hay to occupy him as you clip.
- Make sure that your horse is clean and dry before you start clipping. A dirty coat is nearly impossible to clip.
- Lubricate your running clipper blades frequently. Lubricate before you start trimming and frequently as you go along to keep the clippers cutting smoothly; remove hair fragments with a brush.
- Start at the front of your horse and work backward. Start on one side of the horse first and then work your way to the other side.
- Clip against the lay of the hair.
- Hold the clipper so the blades lay flat against the horse. This keeps you from cutting too deep.
- Give your horse frequent breaks. Clipping not only is tiring for you, but also for the horse. He has to stand still for long periods of time. Consider doing your clipping in segments over two or three days.
- Check the temperature of the blades frequently. If they start to feel hot, let them cool down before you continue.
Protocol
- Sweep up the clipped hair after you finish. If you’re boarding your horse, sweep up as a courtesy to others who use the facilities. If you keep your horse at home, clean the hair up before the wind scatters it around.
Tip
If you clip your horse in the early spring, consider leaving some of the hair on the ground. Birds love to use it as nesting material.
by Audrey Pavia with Janice Posnikoff,DVM

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