After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the
My grooming routine tends to fall within the "hurry-up-I-wanna-ride" style and the "it-is-only-a-proper-grooming-if-it-takes-a-full-thirty-minutes". I enjoy grooming my horses, but there are definitely times I am more focused on getting out to ride. Ahh, the life of a busy, working mom. ;-) Obviously, I am sure the horse is clean before I ride, no matter how long I take to brush them!
I keep my grooming tools and routine simple, and I wrote about everything I use here in another blog post. I like an old fashioned black rubber curry, plastic bristled hard brush (not too stiff and preferably with a handle made of webbing - which I cannot seem to find anymore which is a bummer because the hard brushes need replacing!), and a horsehair soft brush.
I use a human hair brush for manes and tails, and while I generally dislike silicone based products, I do use a spritz of Showsheen every few days on tails to make them brush out more easily. I prefer a hoof pick with a brush, but I have a bunch of picks kicking around and as long as the hoof is cleaned out, I will use whatever. I use Effol hoof oil for hooves, but I don't apply it every single day, just depending on what the ground moisture is like and if hooves look dry. Nowadays I like the look of an oiled hoof for showing rather than use hoof black (though I have used many bottles of hoof black in my years, too!). I like the Effol because it goes on easily, doesn't smell terrible, and it isn't "goopy" so things immediately stick to it. I use shedding blades and a Furminator in the spring to get rid of winter woolies!
This is what is inside Ellie's tote (she inherited Snappy's brushes after a thorough cleaning):
This is what is inside Dreamy's tote:
I keep my grooming tools and routine simple, and I wrote about everything I use here in another blog post. I like an old fashioned black rubber curry, plastic bristled hard brush (not too stiff and preferably with a handle made of webbing - which I cannot seem to find anymore which is a bummer because the hard brushes need replacing!), and a horsehair soft brush.
I use a human hair brush for manes and tails, and while I generally dislike silicone based products, I do use a spritz of Showsheen every few days on tails to make them brush out more easily. I prefer a hoof pick with a brush, but I have a bunch of picks kicking around and as long as the hoof is cleaned out, I will use whatever. I use Effol hoof oil for hooves, but I don't apply it every single day, just depending on what the ground moisture is like and if hooves look dry. Nowadays I like the look of an oiled hoof for showing rather than use hoof black (though I have used many bottles of hoof black in my years, too!). I like the Effol because it goes on easily, doesn't smell terrible, and it isn't "goopy" so things immediately stick to it. I use shedding blades and a Furminator in the spring to get rid of winter woolies!
Simple Kensington grooming totes |
This is what is inside Dreamy's tote:
Top: hoof pick, hard brush, soft brush, mane/tail brush, shedding blade. Bottom: shedding curry and flower curry (Dreamy loves the flower curry!) |
ahh hoof black. LOL I always had that on me once i was done. :) HA memories ;)
ReplyDeleteOMG that stuff is nasty and it ALWAYS gets all over you, no matter how careful you are! When my husband was in 4-H, he was about to compete at the Big E, the biggest regional competition, with his working steers. He had a white shirt on and somehow got hoof black ALL OVER HIMSELF. I guess it was quite the fiasco LOL and his former 4-H leader loves to tell me that story.
Deletemy fingernails were perm stained with that crap all thru my teenage years of showing MOrgans LOL!
DeleteHahaha agreed. It just stood out a little more than the normal dirt. ;-P
Deleteaw that's nice that your horses have their own totes and brushes! i get weirdly attached to my favorite brushes and want to use them and only them, no matter the horse lol.
ReplyDeleteLOL I feel you! I have a thing about everyone having their own stuff. Sometimes I think it is just so I can buy all the things multiple times LOL!
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