How To Groom A Horse

A healthy horse will always look great. You shouldn't allow a single day to pass without having groomed your horse. Always groom a horse before you ride it or exercise it in anyway. Whilst grooming, look for signs of bad health; see if there are any scratches or other injuries on its girth or back. It is a great opportunity to enjoy the beauty of your hourse and to also keep in touch with the horse's condition. When you begin grooming it, make sure there is a safety string firmly holding your horse's halter. The horse will pull most of the time and you want to make sure that any excessive pulling and swinging will not cause the halter to detach. Make sure things are strong and stable. After you have secured the position of the horse, you will need to pick the horse's feet.

The key to making your horse pick up one of his feet is by gently squeezing the fetlock. When you do this, the horse generally picks up his hoof. Once you have got to this point, you need to have a hoof pick somewhere at hand, if not even in hand. Now, with the hoof pick you will clean any dirt or rock spots in the shoe line or around the area in the middle of the foot (this area is called the "frog"). Pay attention, this area is softer; if you press too hard, you might hurt the horse; so be careful at this point of the grooming procedure. Do this with each of the four legs and only afterwards go on to the brushing of your horse.

Now you move on to groom the body of your horse, you will need to brush the horse's body with circular motions. A rubber curry comb is preferred: with its help you will be able to remove dirt and traces of dead skin. You can brush your horse with a curry comb either energetically or more softly. It only depends on what your horse likes best. In the beginning, when you don't know exactly what the preferences of your horse are, do the brushing procedure in a gentle manner. After the curry brush you will embark on a body brush. This is the step necessary to remove all traces of loose hair on the body of the horse.

For good grooming the hair should be brushed in the direction of its growth, so that the overall coat of the horse should get smooth and shiny. You can increase the shine of the horse's coat by additionally brushing it with a soft brush. In point of fact, it is only with this soft brush that you will gently brush the legs and the face of the horse. These are areas on which you should never apply currying. When you come to gently brush the face, have a wet towel nearby; make sure it is a clean one; you will be using it to clean the nostrils and the eyes of the horse.

Finally, you end it by grooming the mane and the tail. A well taken care of tail gives the horse with a somewhat majestic appearance and it's also a sign of good healthy condition. Before brushing the tail, you need to spread some detangling spray over it, because you don't want to pull out or break the tangled hairs. The same goes for any mane that is long. If the mane is short, there shouldn't be too much trouble about brushing it vigorously.

Onced groomed, your horse is then ready to go out for some exercise. You will both look marvelous in the open air. A well groomed horse is a beautiful and breathtaking sight to see. For information on how learning to ride your horse go to the following website: