Does anybody groom their horses any more?

I have to say my mare isnt always clean when I ride at home. I make sure there is no dirt where her saddle goes, but if she has a bit of mud elsewhere I dont worry about it too much!

That said, when we go out anywhere (hunting/jumping etc) she is always pristine, and she always has people saying she is the cleanest horse they have ever seen....

I have 4 kids, so riding time is a premium........
 
I'm covered in chestnut hair to prove it
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As ours live out as much as possible the grooming is kept light to keep the oils in. When we go out most mud is off, manes and tails are brushed, all areas that come into contact with tack or saddle cloth is brushed. When we get back they have a brush over where tack has been, and if sweaty then the brush is wet to get the sweat off. The clipped ones are still rugged, as are the wimpy ones
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I groom mine every day when they are in - but when they are out 24/7 if its a day off they don't - they get to roll and get muddy if they want too! I have a grey and a piebald - the grey is a hippo and the piebald surprisingly clean. I bath them and groom them to keep them healthy, non scurffy and to check for cuts etc but in the winter when time is short I prioritise riding/excercise over a clean horse so will groom the bits where tack is going and get on. They can be fussed over and cleaned up when they have been ridden before being rugged up for the day/night. I guess it is a question of priorities and time management - for me I have a full time job and two horse to excercise so a full groom, sawdust free tail (my cobs tail is the size of four normal tails and she has full feathers) just is not a priority day to day. If wish I had the time to keep them shiny and white - but they are allowed to be horses and horses roll and get mud on them its just a fact of life.
 
Our four live out 24/7, and only one is rugged, so excessive grooming of them would be counter productive. I'm more than happy to dandy the mud off where the tack touches, and get out for a ride, rather than run out of time and not ride, which has happened to me before. I did used to spend more time grooming when I had just one horse, was single and kept him on a DIY yard.

The pic below will horrify some people, it was taken on Christmas day, we had about a one hour window to ride before parents arrived, we'd got all the food ready, and managed some spare time to ride around the block - 20 minutes. Of course I'd prefer my horse looked cleaner, but if I'd spent the time grooming, I wouldn't have been riding!
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I groom before I ride. Depending on the time I have available it might be the whole horse or just where the tack will go. Once a week I groom properly, all over. I am obsessive about not having any dirt/sweat under my tack in case it rubs, but mud left on the bottom of the legs when we're going hacking off road and will only get more doesn't bother me!
 
Yep, I groom! My baby positively gleams. I keep her trimmed and tidy, and her rugs clean.

Another thing which shocks me; I'm in awe of the number of people (at my yard, at least) who do not pick out their horses feet. I pick my horses feet out at both ends of the day but I rarely ever see anyone else hoof picking. Their horses leave an annoying trail of hoof print sized clumps of wet shavings or straw trailed across the yard when they turnout in the morning. And it drives me nuts as I am the only one who bothers sweeping the yard, either
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And I don't see them picking out when they bring in at night, either!
 
TGM, if the pics in your signature are anything to go by, your hosses look immaculate! One mans scruffy is another mans pristine I guess! Everyone at our yard grooms and there's a mix of live-outs, not riddens, pleasure horses and show horses. All of them are looked after as appropriate to what they do and to keep them in good order, comfortable, shiney and healthy.
 
All 3 of mine live out, so dont get excessively groomed and I never wash the mud off of their legs in the winter. My mare gets groomed before and after being ridden and I hot cloth her if we are going somewhere (in the summer she gets a bath) My other 2 are youngsters so I do groom them but not everyday. Yesterday I spent absolutely ages grooming and just fussing about with my 11 month old filly and today I spent 2 hours with my gelding it helps with bonding I think. But it certainly wouldnt bother me if I only had time to brush saddle and bridle areas before hacking out in the winter life is too short and over grooming of a horse who lives out is not encouraged.
 
Tend just to make sure saddle/girth area is clean and that does me! Although like to keep mane/tail pulled and in good order. Decent groom before a show but just quick flick over in between really. Life's too short to groom properly every day
 
I have to admit, as mine mostly live out i don't overgroom, nor do i over rug......TBH having to hold down a full time job and other commitments means sometimes i have to fit in a ride quickly and i just groom where the tack goes - if i am hacking through the woods and my horse has mud on his tail - so what??? it is of no detriment to his health (all mine are native) But if i'm showing i am known to have an obsession with white bits being persil white
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Ther is nothing i hate more than dirty white socks or yellowed tails...Mine don't have crusty eyes though or horrible smells - whats that about??!!
 
i love grooming my pony! she enjoys it, especially with all that itchy coat falling out at the mo, its good exercise for me and helps with our bond. she sometimes joins in with the grooming if there's an itchy bit i've missed, she'll start to hve a scratch to show me where, then i take over! i love to see her all clean and shiny. i run a pet grooming business so its kinda my life to make animals look gorgeous!
 
At this time of year I groom more than usual, but the normal routine if I'm going to ride (they live out 24/7) is brush off the saddle patch, girth area and head, pick out the feet, pull anything major out of the tail - and off we go!

It's a different story if we're going off to compete - I think it's rude to turn up at any kind of competition with a grubby horse and tack.
 
I give my horse a good groom at the weekends when I have time. During the week I do the tack area and don't worry about the rest of the mud. He's only going to go into the field and add to it!
In winter I have limited time to spend with my horse and I'd rather spend it exercising than grooming. His coat is in very good condition and doesn't smell.
Obviously when we go out we have a proper grooming session to make sure he looks smart, but at home I'm not bothered as long as he's comfortable.
 
i tend to just flick over with a dandy brush before i ride- i can't be ar$ed to spend all day faffing with them, i like to get on and ride.

sometimes mine still have muddy manes and necks in the winter (and muddy legs if they don't wear boots) but tbh i'd rather that and be able to spend the time working them than faff all night to get an immaculate horse and not have time to ride.

atm, ellie (ridden) gets flicked with a brush before and after a ride and has feet picked out- she is nice and shiny but looks a bit rough where her coat is coming out.
they certainly don't smell but i am sure a lot of people on here would consider them filthy but i really don't care! they are happy with their treatment and they always look good at shows.
 
They all live out so they spend the winter covered in some kind of ming - you just learn to embrace it
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Tack areas are clean if we ride out, but until the summer they regularly come with added mud patches elsewhere. The grey's tail is currently a manky shade of dark brown and will be until he has his first proper bath. And my veteran lad currently looks very motheaten as his moult is patchy.

That said, I do groom, just not for cleanliness - I'm a big fan of old fashioned strapping as part of the fitness programme. And this time of year I'm generally at them with the coat stripper every day.
 
I don't groom any more than I have to. I flick mine over and make sure there is no mud under the saddle or girth areas or round their head and face where the bridle goes. I try and get any big clumps of mud off and mane brushed out and feet pciked out but I don't spend ages doing it. For a show it is different but I usually bath them then rather than spend ages brushing dust out.
 
mine get groomed once or twice a day if they are rugged, usually for 10mins each.it \adds up when you have 3!

if they arent rugged they get a groom every other day, unless they are going to be wearing tack or going out.they always get groomed before doing anything.
 
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