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HI Spy: Share Your Grooming Secrets

Horses are ingenious when it comes to getting dirty. They always seem to know where to find the sloppiest mud puddle and just how to properly cover themselves in it. Even a stalled horse will stamp a nice manure stain on himself, usually after you’ve given him a bath with the intention of leaving for a show early the next morning.



This just means that horse people need to be clever about cleaning up filthy ponies. Every groom, barn manager and horse owner figures out new grooming tricks in the ongoing quest for a clean equine.



This month HI Spy wants to know, what are your grooming secrets? What do you do when your pinto comes in from a muddy pasture looking like a solid chestnut? Is there a way to rescue your horse’s tail when it’s been glued together with burrs? How do you deal with those early spring days when you’ve curried until your arm is sore, but that winter coat just keeps on shedding?  Leave a comment below and spill your secrets for the good of horses and the sanity of horse owners everywhere. See more HI Spy questions >>

Horse Illustrated

Horse Illustrated is the magazine for people who are passionate about horses. Each issue offers advice on horse health and care, plus user-friendly training tips for both English and western riders and engaging lifestyle features for horse lovers.

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  • I loved this article. I have a paint so i know how hard it can be to keep them clean. Mane and Tail detangler works great for getting those pesky burrs out.

  • A shedding block works magnificently for helping the horse shed their winter coat. Main and Tail detangler and White and Brite shampoo have been a lifesaver for me and my palimino.

  • Hmmm......I'd say Mane and Tail detangler works best for the burs.I don't have much experience, though,because our pasture isn't really muddy at all.

  • You are so lucky that your pasture's are not extremely muddy. To get the clumps of mud out of my horses fetlocks, I try to crumble the pieces together first, then I use a tail brush. I use the tail brush on his mane when it's too tangled to use the comb.

  • Well the whole tail thing, in the nasty winter months i put my horse's tail in a tail bag. I leave it in for a week or so and then take it out, rebraid it, and put it back in the tail bag. It works great to keep it clean. I let the mud dry completly before i try to get it off. Then with a curry comb or a stiff brush i just flick it off. He will still have a tint of brown, but i have dark bays so that doesn't bother me:)

  • An easy way to deal with a mass of burrs is to simply put baby oil into a spray bottle and apply to mane or tail. The use of childrens detangler also takes the burrs out very well. When the coat wants to shed,daily grooming takes a lot of work out of trying to rid the excess hair much quicker!

  • My favorite is Cowboy Magic...I use it on my horse's tail and it goes from tangled and messy to shiny, sleek, and full.

  • To remove mud I first let my horses dry,than I take a plastic curry comb and pull the mud of.Than I use a rubber curry(dull teeth kind)and spend 5-20 minuets in a vigerous curry.Than a soft body brush followed by a towel.For fet locks same for the body.My horses are Hunters so some get coat summpemts.I always vacume my horses after a grooming.For mane and tall I use a conditioner and keep manes pulled.

  • For the worst of grooming days?
    I have three words for yah:
    Wipes (baby wipes specifically)
    Rinse (rinse now, groom later)
    Work (There's no fancy spray bottle that could substitue for that, eh?)
    I hope that was self explanatory.

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