Horses 101: your guide to everything horse

Grooming

In the above video ^ (if you didn't already watch it....do) you just learned how to groom a horse. Why is it important to groom your horse? What are some health related issues with grooming? 

A good grooming session increases blood flow to the skin's surface, massages large muscle groups, and daily hoof picking keeps the feet clean and helps prevent common hoof issues such as thrush, a bacterial disease of the sole. Horses out in the wild don't have this luxury, but they have each other, and mutual grooming takes the place of brushes and combs.

When you remove a horse from its natural environment and stick it alone in a stall, you need to take on the responsibilities of herd mates for the health of the individual.

Why do horses roll? 

  Grooming means different things to you and your horse. In a natural situation, horses take care of their own skin. They do this by rolling (which as well as having other benefits helps to remove dead hair and exfoliate the skin), rubbing on protrusions such as a low tree branch (for the same benefits as rolling) and by mutual grooming. Mutual grooming is where two horses use their front incisor teeth to rub/nip each other to reach the parts of the body that are difficult to reach. This is a literal case of 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'. The weather also plays a part as rain also helps to wash out dead hair and skin.  

This vid shows rolling behavior:

How often should you groom your horse?

If your horse lives outside in a herd situation and does not wear rugs (and is, therefore, benefiting from mutual grooming sessions with other horses) then the only grooming you need to do is just before you ride him or her.

In this case, you need to make sure that the areas that the tack will sit on the horse are clean and free from any dirt/grit etc. Other than that you only have to do the minimum grooming required to make the horse look tidy enough to ride, but by all means groom your horse as often and for as long as you like if he or she enjoys it. Brushing leaves the essential oils in the coat whereas washing (hosing/sponging) does not, so limit washing if your horse lives outside without rugs.

During those times of the year when horses are shedding their coat, you can do your horse a favor by grooming him or her with a tool especially for the job – such as a hard rubber curry comb etc. Be aware that during grooming sessions some horses may attempt to groom you with their teeth as this is how they tell other horses where to scratch. You should not allow your horse to do this to you (push their face away gently but firmly) because you could easily end up with an unintentional but still painful nip.

Horses that are not rugged should be cooled down and dried with a towel after exercise and before being put back in the paddock to roll in the dust. After exercise on a warm day, the sweat can be removed with a wet sponge or a hose (no detergent or a mild detergent).

A horse that is living outside does not necessarily have to have their feet picked out every day. It is quite natural for the soil to build up in the hooves. Again, just before you ride you can pick out the hooves. Hoof dressings are not necessary and can actually cause problems in a pastured horse as they prevent the hooves from absorbing moisture from the grass (such as the dew in the morning).

  Grooming is the perfect opportunity to improve your relationship and connection with your horse. It improves your horse's health and appearance, promotes circulation, and allows you to check for injuries, irritations, bumps, or scrapes.