What’s yours?
I groom my horse meticulously each day but for a show I give a bath the night before which is really the only thing that I don’t do every day (obviously). For regular grooming I use a shedding brush in the spring everywhere except the head and legs, then a hard brush, curry mitt all over which is great for getting mud off the legs and face without being harsh. I pick out feet every day and brush them off, check for thrush, etc. I make sure all whiskers are clipped and clip feathers if necessary. I pull the mane all year as I feel it keeps the volume manageable not only for you to pull but for the sake of your braider. I wash the horse and use a mitt or hard brush to scrub the hair. I use an antifungal shampoo on everything to keep skin in good condition. I really focus on the tail bone and the roots of the mane.
Once the horse is dry I brush the hair and show sheen the tail and brush it out from the bottom up. I cut the ends of the tail straight across, leaving it as long as possible.
If I have a grey, then usually you are at least touching up the lower legs, possibly the hocks or belly. I try to use a little soap and water. It’s best to put a stretchy on or a mud knot in the tail if it’s grey.
I also basically just give my horse a bath and clip his fuzzies if he’ll let me.
I groom him very well before/after I ride or if he has a day off I still groom him once. I do a good curry with the hard curry on his body then curry mit on legs and face. Every day I put hoof conditioner on and avacado mist. I also use mane and tail (white bottle pink label) for mane/tail.
All year his mane is kept short but not pulled usually since we are jumpers and he hates it.
Similar routine here. I bathe my horse a day or two before the show, make sure his whiskers/ear hairs aren’t getting crazy and out of control.
I’m gearing up for a small schooling show this weekend. Parker doesn’t like his mane pulled but since it’s so thick and I plan to braid him, I attacked it with a pair of thinning scissors today. That made it so it will hopefully be workable.
Day of, just a really thorough standard grooming, put detangler in the tail and brush it out. Also finish off with a bit of show sheen
Pre show grooming starts long before show day with good feeding and health care and of course frequent good grooming. All this makes pre show pretty simple-a bath, a trim, and a good grooming!
My pre-show grooming routine is actually shorter than my normal grooming routine. My normal routine takes close to 30 minutes. First I pick out the feet and brush off the dirt, because I have before finished tacking up and gone to pick feet, only to find that we’re missing a shoe. I use conditioner on the hoof sole and wall. I curry everywhere, then flick brush, and repeat until I’m satisfied. Then I spray down with fly spray and coat conditioner (the pink stuff), and soft brush. Then I make sure his face is clean, using a damp rag on the eyes and nostrils and the inside of the ears. Lastly I rub down the hoofs where the first dressing has soaked in, and put a second coat of hoof dressing on the hoof wall, that way it doesn’t pick up as much dirt.
Right before shows I bath really well, this is probably the Sunday before a show, if they’re going on a tues/weds, it gives them time to rebuild some natural oils. I prefer Ivory soap as my shampoo as it’s gentle and does a good job of getting his socks white. I use undiluted on the socks, and diluted for the body. I repeat until I’m satisfied with the cleanliness of the water coming off of him. For the tail/mane, I wet thoroughly and use undiluted as close to the base as I can get, as that’s where any dander will accumulate. I make sure to rise that extra so that they’re not itching from residue. If I’ve got a bad stain, I’ll use some quicksilver. To clean the face I have a soap made by some local brand I think that comes in a pink spray bottle, it’s a dry shampoo, but my horse will let me rinse it. I then condition with a mix of conditioners in water. It’s like a dash of pink conditioner, a small squirt of mane and tail conditioner, or whatever brand I have on hand, and a small dash of vetrolin sheen (I don’t like the silicon in asorbine show sheen on the whole coat). I sponge that all over, but avoid the mane and top of the tail. Bottom of the tail gets some conditioner. I rinse that off after letting it sit for a while. Then dry and spray down with pink conditioner everywhere and spray down with show sheen in areas where tack doesn’t go, avoiding mane and tail (braiding is tough with show sheen in the hair). I also have my horse clipped by the barn, though generally that’s frequent enough that he stays with a short coat.
All this allows me to do it super quick on show day, so that I’m not rushing.
Quick hoof picking, a flick brush down, spray with show sheen, soft brush, detangler/shine on the bottom of the tail, paint hoofs, and a light rub of baby oil/mineral oil/face shine on the eyes, nose and inside ears and I’m good to tack up. I’ve gotten enough practice that the quick version for me can take about 5-10 minutes, especially when there’s not much hoof picking to do, legs have been wrapped so no stains, and the horses are scrimmed and mostly clean. The biggest pain is picking shavings out of the mane though and that always adds time.
Pre-show grooming starts every day :lol:
Every day:
- GOOD QUALITY FEED
- Body: Thorough currying (oval one and mitt) and 3 brush useage (Flick, body brush, finishing brush).
- Face: Curry with a child's curry that's super flexible, rub down with a rag with lanolin-based conditioner, and follow up with a child's size body brush and finishing brush.
- Tail: Spray down with lanolin-based conditioner, focusing on tail bone. Let it sit. (Pick out feet). Spray conservatively with Carr & Day & Martin Canter Mane & Tail. Brush it out with paddle brush.
- Mane: Spray down with lanolin-based conditioner, focusing on roots (he get's flaky). Also doubles as wetting his mane to tame it to lay on one side (it's getting there). Brush it out.
Night before show:
- Shampoo & Condition tail. Follow up with normal tail routine. Cut tail length if need be.
- If he looks dull/dirty, I will shampoo him. Otherwise, I will just wash his whites and spray down his body with water and use a curry mitt. A horse's natural oils is what makes a horse look sleek and shiny. So unless your horse is dirty (pee stains, whatever), I really don't bathe**
- Trim bridle path, remove whiskers, trim ears, trim the hair above the cornet band and fetlock.
- No turn out; hand walk him if he will be missing his turn out time between show prep and loading onto the trailer.
** Scientific(ish) explanation: Similar to human skin, horse skin has a pH range of 4.5-6. The acid mantle of the skin is important for keeping bacterial infections at bay. MOST shampoo products for horses are ridiculously basic (above a pH of 7), which raises your horse’s skin pH temporarily and could irritate it. So unless the horse absolutely needs it and dobbins is very dirty (or has a medical need), I refrain from shampooing.
