by Linda Ann Nickerson

Created on: February 09, 2007   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

EXCELLENT EQUINE GROOMING

When grooming your horse's mane and tail, the single most important thing you can do is brush, gently and regularly. The second is to keep the mane and tail hairs clean and well-conditioned.

GROOMING SPOT

First, pick your spot. If you have a younger, greener horse, you may choose to groom him in his stall or a wash rack. Otherwise, you might situate your horse in the barn aisle and fasten the cross ties to his halter. As a third option, you could enlist a helper to hold your horse, using a lead line, while you groom his mane and tail.

MANE AND TAIL TRICKS

Begin by finger-combing the entire mane and tail of your horse to remove any burrs, straw, shavings, twigs and tangles. Carefully pick out all foreign objects without pulling out any of your horse's beautiful mane and tail hairs. After all, those lovely and lengthy hairs take a long time to grow.

Use a soft brush to smooth out your horse's mane and tail. Avoid using a comb or hard brush on your horse's tail. This is acceptable for grooming his mane, however, if you are trying to thin it for braiding. Just be careful that you do not break the hairs.

Begin at the ends, and work your way through the horse's mane and tail in small sections. Always brush in a downward direction to prevent splitting your horse's hairs.

SUPER MANE AND TAIL DETANGLING

For really stubborn tangles, knots or matting, you might try Shapley's Original M-T-G Mane & Tail Conditioner/Skin Treatment/Hair Growth Producer. A 32-oz. bottle is about $15.00 at tack and equine supply stores.

Squirt this product quite liberally on the horse's mane and tail, and massage it into the hair fibers, particularly at the top, if the hairs are dried-out and frizzy. Let this soak in for a while. It is fairly greasy and smells like bacon, but it does the trick.

After several minutes, you will find that you can brush through your horse's mane and tail quite easily.

SHAMPOOING A HORSE'S MANE AND TAIL

When weather permits, you can give your horse's mane and tail a good shampooing and conditioning. Tack stores and catalogs sell a full array of horse grooming products. Honestly, however, our horses seem to like apple-scented Suave shampoo and conditioner, and we like the affordable price.

In the warmer months, you can leave hair conditioner in the horse's mane and tail overnight. After exercising your horse the next day, you can hose him off and rinse out the conditioner. When you do this, you will find that his mane and tail are quite smooth and comb out easily.

A WORD OF CAUTION:

Avoid standing directly behind the horse ever, and particularly when you groom his tail. Be sure to stand beside the horse's rump and hold the tail out to the side, just in case the horse decides suddenly to kick or stomp at a fly.

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