As the temperature starts to drop and the prospect of shorter days for months lay ahead, we share our top grooming tips and tricks of the trade to ensure you lose those winter woes.
The Big Reveal
When grooming a clipped horse in low temperatures, fold the rug back in sections and groom as much of the exposed areas of the horse as you can before removing the rug. This way your horse won’t get cold.
Not All Brushes Are Made Equal
Our brush bristles incorporate professional human hair brush technology because this solid technology is proven to improve the experience and ultimately the results achieved. We know from extensive equestrian trials that our ergonomic brushes have the same effect on your horses’ hair as human hair: Less frizz and flyaway and a shinier, cleaner coat, mane and tail as a result. Choosing the right tools to start with will give you a more significant advantage over time. Better results with less effort. Make sure your grooming tools are ready to tackle whatever winter throws at your horse.
Climate Control
Rug your horse according to the weather. Ensuring your horse is wearing good quality rugs which will not only keep him comfortable and warm (meaning less rapid post clip regrowth) but it will also keep him drier with less mud and stable stains to tackle. Rugging up your horse in our variable climate can be tricky, but keeping a close eye on temperatures will ensure that your horse is comfortable and doesn’t sweat because he is too hot.
Mane & Tail Care
Plaiting a horse’s mane can make a long mane more manageable during winter but you risk your horse rubbing the plaits out, and it can damage the hair over time. For Freisan, Lusitano horse and traditional cob owners, some choose to keep it in a lose running plait, while others just recommend using a good quality rug with a full neck for keeping long manes clean and dry. Our intelligent Tail & Mane ‘T Brush‘ enables you to both comb and tease out knots with the dual head in one tool. The antibacterial comb untangles hair and allows deep penetration into the mane and tail, while the static free bristle helps promote shiny, healthy hair.
Winter Washing
A full bath may not be possible, so take a bucket of warm water, use a cloth or hand towel (wringing out the excess water) and wipe over sweaty areas such as under the saddle, around the girth area and poll and noseband. This will be easier to brush off than dried sweat. On milder days, if the temperature allows, wash only the mane and tail to help remove grease build up. Remember not to go overboard with the application of shampoo so that you don’t have to spend ages rinsing it out. Using a bucket to wet and rinse the tail might be more time consuming than a hose, but a bucket wash will allow you to focus on just getting the tail washed, as opposed to his quarters. Folding back the rug to reveal the horse’s rump when bathing the tail will also ensure you don’t accidentally get this wet too. After washing, wring out the tail by hand and rub dry the mane. One groom we spoke to also wraps a dry clean towel over the wet mane and then puts a stable rug with the neck on, so the heat of the horse helps dry the hair, without getting the rug wet.
Grooming Rules
Groom in good light. Grooming your horse outside of his stable or underneath lights will enable you to give him a thoroughly good groom. The importance of grooming a horse is also to ensure you spot any nicks, lumps and bumps early enough to treat.
Groom your horse often. Daily grooming will help keep your horse clean and help promote a healthy coat and skin. With our horse grooming kit, you will find grooming time will be reduced, with improved results.
Stabled horses still require daily grooming and attention. You might not be tackling mud, but you will be dealing with stable stains and potential problems with feet if you don’t regularly pick out feet and stop manure packing into the hooves and causing thrush in the feet.
Cleaning With A Conscience
Over time you will need to clean your brushes. We have created a comb especially for the regular job of removing dust, debris and hair from the bristles. How to clean your grooming brushes will depend on the manufacturer’s recommendations, and even the best brushes will need to be looked after to ensure they can do the job efficiently. Our bristles incorporate active anti-bacterial properties and are self-cleaning within a couple of hours; we still recommend that you don’t share brushes with other horses and when needs be, wash them following our guidelines.
Invest In The Best
Invest in quality grooming tools. With winter comes mud and stable stains, so you need a grooming kit fit for the job. Having the right tools for each job is imperative if you want to use your time effectively. Our horse brushes have been designed to achieve fantastic results with minimum effort. In fact, with continued use, they help cut down on grooming time, thanks to their ergonomic styling and technical bristles. Our patented Curry Comb design, for example, makes light work of the thickest coated mud with it’s reinforced elastomer pyramid teeth. These get a grip on dust, loose hair and scurf bringing everything to the surface for easy removal with our brushes.
We believe that grooming your horse should be a pleasurable experience for both of you. To find out more about why our collection of grooming brushes are revolutionary click here.
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