Aren't all confessions guilty? I will ponder that at a later time.
I never ever groom my horse. I make sure the tack areas aren't grungy, scrub with my fingers a bit on any accumulated grime on her back, and do a quick feel in the girth area. Sometimes I pick up her feet. That's it. After our ride she gets a rinse down, without soap, again focusing on tack areas.
Sometimes I feel slightly guilty about this.
Most of the time I think we do all right.
Before a 100 I usually give her a good scrubbing so accumulated dirt etc doesn't cause any issues (since I have a sensitive, thin skinned arab).
What's your dirty little secret?
I forget to pick out my horse's feet far more often than I should... I think it's partly because they are not shod, so I tend to think it's less of a big deal. Still not a good habit though and one I really should work more on!!! : /
ReplyDeletebonita of A Riding Habit
No bridle path!
ReplyDeleteI do not like the way it looks. I just smooth down his mane instead.
Unnecessary OCD about having a clean horse. If she gets bathed, goes out completely dry and rolls in a somewhat dusty spot, I will bathe her again. On the spot.
ReplyDeleteA non-guilty confession = a secret that you're not ashamed of?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't groom either. A nice rinse to get all the sweat out afterwards, then I turn her out and let her roll wet. Andrea would have a heart attack :D
I brush my horses off before I ride them. I never comb manes or tails, other than with my fingers. I don't bathe except maybe once a year or if the horse has crud. I never pick feet unless I think there's a problem. All my horses seem to thrive with this system--but many horse owners would think I was sadly neglectful.
ReplyDeleteBrush the saddle area before I ride. Hardly ever comb mane or tail except to pick stuff out. Don't believe in bathing horses -- it really does the horse NO good, horses usually hate it, it's only for the "feel good" it gives to the owner and I don't need a feel good. I pick up his feet (barefoot) to see if gravel is stuck, if not then put it back down. Probably pick them once every few weeks. I have a homemade linament that I sponge over the saddle area at the end of a long hot ride to get rid of sweat and gunk. That's it...
ReplyDeleteMy horse loves to be groomed with his shed flower comb, like a good scratching all over. He makes cute happy faces. But that's about it. I never comb mane or tail, rarely bathe except for a quick hose down after a ride, then he can roll in the dirt.
ReplyDeleteMy non-guilty confession: I rarely clean tack. That's why I love biothane, but my nice leather saddle? Maybe twice a year. And it's fine. (girth and saddle pad get hosed off a lot more often).
Looks like I'm in good company!!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just that I grew up working for people who would ream my butt if the horses in my charge so much as had a sweat mark or a dirty sock or a slimy mouth after the bit came out... and have done my fair share of reaming out the grooms under my care when I was in a management position. Dirty horse with tack on top = recipe for girth and bit sores and missed wounds/areas of heat/mystery swellings/etc. I go over them with a fine tooth comb every day and I know anything and everything that comes up... maybe I'm just nutty about it but I'm totally unable to let it go!
ReplyDeleteAlso I'm in the unique position of being a professional in a field where it puts a bad light on me if my horse looks unattended for. If my horse is dirty and unkempt, how am I ever expected to be able to keep your horse healthy and well turned-out?
Then again, having a horse out 24/7 is giving me ulcers (she is sooooo dirty all the time and I hate it!!!) but at the same time is good for me.... she's a horse, she's a horse, she's a horse... just keep repeating it, she's a horse, relax, she's a horse!
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I think you do make some really good points. I think that dirt and grime can and do cause issues in the tack areas. I do feel like with I rub and scrub the areas with the tips of my fingers I am doing a "good enough" job for the purposes of an every day ride - one that is a couple hours or less long. At the same time that I am rubbing out any loose dirt, I feel like I'm also evaluating whether my horse is sore, whether there are any injuries/skin issues, and any other defects that could cause issues. I wouldn't use my fingers in the same way if I was brushing and then just running my hand over the areas. I think that my fingers do a MUCH better job thoroughly evaluating those critical areas doing it this way and I've caught stuff really early. In fact, the one time I've ever had skin issues was when I got overexcited about grooming --> after a ride when she was still damp I tried to brush some of the salt and dirt out of her coat ( it wasn't possible to rinse her completely) and I gave her rain rot everywhere I had brushed. It was a mess. I also don't think it's necessarily good to bathe a horse (with soap) very often. It isn't good for dogs and other animals, and it isn't even necessarily good for humans either. I think I have a couple of things going in my favor of why I haven't had issues with my system (although my horses will never look as good as Andreas!): 1. I use clean saddle pads every time (because I use the kind I can wash off and they dry quickly - like the haf pad). Likewise, my girths are always clean 2. I always always always scrub and rub and explore with my figures before tacking up. 3. I give a good water only rinse in the tack areas after I ride (although this might even be debatable about how truly necessary it is if you aren't riding the next day and/or are willing to curry/rub out the sweat next time you saddle up.
ReplyDeleteAs far as professionals, I LIKE seeing professionals riding horses with whiskers and fetlock hair, hooves that are free of polish, etc.. No obvious tangles in the mane and tail, and a generally clean appareance (no obvious mud clogs etc) but other that, I like the horse to not be quite as polished. It says to me (especially if the professional has a good ride) that more time is spent on training, and possibly that horse gets to spend a lot of time in turn out doing natural, stress releiving behaviors, instead of bagged and blanketed and scrubbed to death in order to be kept the right color etc. However, that's probably the endurance rider talking in me :). I was proud of how pretty Farley was during our dressage competitions, but I always felt a bit like a fraud and I think farley liked to sigh and take a big roll in the dirt, more than she liked her hair pulled into braids and being scrubbed half to death.
I have started confessing to some of my guilty secrets - see http://ridegroomfeed.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/confession-i-caught-my-float-on-fire/ and http://ridegroomfeed.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/confession-i-literally-washed-my-saddle/ ;)
ReplyDeleteI clean my saddle once a year, maybe. Unless we slip and fall in mud. I will clean off mud.
ReplyDeleteAs for the horse >shrug<. Don't you suppose there's a reason that God made her that color?
I was at the SPCA clinic one day and there was a woman there with a chihuahua puppy who had just gotten shots. While she was waiting for the receipt she mentioned that it was having some skin issues. When I asked her if she'd been bathing it (this just after I'd come from the dermatologist with instructions to practically forego soap). She said shed been washing it every couple days with Dawn dish soap (detergent!) because she didn't like the doggy smell.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn: OMG that is just sick!! Seriously, washing every day, and in dish soap? People at the barn wash their horses off after a half hour traipse in the indoor arena. When they ask why I don't bathe my horse, I point to the water soaking into their hooves, the shampoo stripping all the "good" natural stuff out of their coats. Their answer is that they then use a conditioner to put stuff back in. My farrier said he can tell the people who wash their horses alot by the quality of foot. AND thanks for reminding me of my other confession -- I also hate cleaning saddles. All my other tack is biothane, but that damn leather saddle...
ReplyDeleteI tried to at least explain that dish detergent isn't like soap, and is terrible for skin. Also that the puppy did not need washing. I tried not to be annoying about it, so she would listen. But there is probably nothing that can be done about the fact that she can't put up with the smell of a dog.
ReplyDelete