Does anyone else’s horse not like being groomed?

meleeka

meleeka

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My cob hates being brushed. He will walk off if he’s in his stable and fidget if tied up. He has a long mane which I’ve always tried to be gentle with, but it’s now got so many wind knots I’m thinking it must be uncomfortable. He’s not rugged so has a very thick coat and currently looks like a hippo. He likes a good scratch and will even let me hoover him but that’s impossible at the moment as the mud is caked on. Do I just force him to be brushed or do what I have been doing and look forward to coat change when he’s more ‘self cleaning’ and I can wash the mane?

My other two love being brushed, so I don’t think it’s what I’m doing. I’ve tried being gentle and being firmer with the same results.
 
Have you tried different brushes? I had a cob on loan who only liked the softest brushes �� Although that was in the summer.

I have two unruled natives and touch their coats as little as possible, just a magic brush where I need to clean. Manes and tails get pig oil occasionally and teased out with fingers.
 
If you're going to ride them, horses have to be at least minimally groomed. If they're roughed off, no absolute need. I used to have one who was so sensitive I could only groom him with an old woollen jumper, but he was a unique being - his skin would mark and come up in welts if brushed. If they are fussy I just tie them and get on with it, if they are narky about it they get a wallop.
 
P doesn’t really enjoy it, when she arrived she would just walk around and fidget. She’s got super sensitive skin, a fine coats and is quite scurfy and twitchy so I use soft brushes. She absolutely has to be groomed, she is here to work and must be clean for tack.
She now stands quietly. I can tell she doesn’t enjoy it like the Diva does, so I don’t torture the thing and make her stand for ages fussing over her with brushes, but she has a decent groom before riding and a brush over afterwards.
 
Oh yes, but sadly the dislike doesn't extend to rolling! Oddly he enjoys having his tail done & tolerates his mane, but the rest is under protest. I've sort of given up - he's clipped so I just hot clothe (with a very soft cloth) where the tack touches & ignore the rest.
 
Friend’s mare was very touchy round her belly, and it turned out she had ulcers. They’ve cleared up but the behaviour remains. She’s fine if there’s someone scratching her poll while someone else gently grooms her belly. She’s head shy too (had a terrible time with previous owners) so we always groom from the shoulder and work up, rather than just going straight for the face.
You could also try a grooming mitt, with a rougher side (hessian is good) for getting the mud off and a soft side for buffing and polishing :)
 
If he likes a good scratch, can you give a jolly good scrub with something like a plastic curry comb? Some horses don't like the feeling of a brush, but really enjoy a good scrub.

When I rode in Portugal, every horse got a really good scrubbing with a sort of aluminium curry comb as a first stage in grooming - which to my English eyes looked like some sort of instrument of torture, but the horses universally seemed to like it. If you had a ticklish horse, a scrub to get the lumps off, then a firm wipe with a rag, will at least get them rideable if not show-standard!
 
My horse is very ticklish so light brushing is annoying for him, so I have to be very firm with the brushing. Scrubbing is heavenly as far as he is concerned. He refuses to have his head brushed but we are working on that. I can now play with his ears and scratch his poll and gutteral areas.
 
I have one horse who hates being brushed, but dies enjoy being scratched and is happy enough for me to knock the mud off with a rubber curry comb and then take the worst of the dust off with a super soft body brush, then I hot cloth to take off the sweat and sand from the school after riding.

In contrast, my super fine cost and skinned horse loves being groomed with a super stiff dandy brush - strange creatures

I've just got sick of the endless wind knots in my third one's mane and have cut her mane off :eek3: she seems much happier like this, even if a short mane on a super hairy native thing looks a bit odd.
 
My spotty started not wanting to be scratched when I fed him alfalfa, and loves it again now I've taken him off it. He was only getting a tiny bit, too.
 
I think loads of horses dislike being groomed.
Certainly at work probably 40% aren't really happy about it.
My own horse hated it until he retired. Now he loves it weirdly! I can just brush him for ages loose in the field. I wonder if he associated it with being ridden which as he was arthritic maybe uncomfortable (hence he's retired!)
 
My ID/cob mare was really nowty about being groomed for the first year that I had her. I put it down to her having previously been on working livery at an equestrian college and having been mithered by numpty students for too long.

At the risk of being jumped on by the 'Oh no, not another random suggestion of PSSM' brigade :D, she improved dramatically within 48 hours of her diet being supplemented with 5000 iu of vitamin E per day. The improvement remains to this day, and she now loves being massaged and groomed. It stands to reason that if her muscles were tight and sore from the untreated PSSM, she wouldn't have welcomed being groomed.
 
There is no accounting for some! My mares favourite "grooming" tool is the pooey rake I use for mucking out! Barely tolerates her lovely soft (and expensive!) Lemiux body brush.
 
One of mine doesnt like it. He's retired now so I usually let him be. But I put him in the cross ties and groomed him a couple of days ago because he was starting to look unkempt. As soon as I released him he ran off to roll:D
 
Mine are a mixed bag. Tudor only likes it if he's clean to start with, but really isn't keen if any dirt needs removing. However, being bathed is his favourite thing in the world! Six enjoys being groomed but has never liked you messing with his face. Flower and Mary both love it, although Mary would rather you left her forelock alone. She'll let you do whatever you need to with it, but does have a bit of a fidget until you're done.
 
Alf likes the shedding blade, or a metal curry comb, but doesn't appreciate a soft body brush at all. He swings his head at me with every stroke - doesn't actually bite, but he lets me know that he'd like to. I use the metal scratcher of choice during the winter, and flick the dust off with a tea towel in summer.
 
Your cob isn't itchy is he? My Ardennes is not a happy boy at the moment and really dislikes being brushed. Its coat change season, I think the lice have been hibernating on him over winter and although a good groom would really help he gets very stompy and cross with me.
 
SEL said:
Your cob isn't itchy is he? My Ardennes is not a happy boy at the moment and really dislikes being brushed. Its coat change season, I think the lice have been hibernating on him over winter and although a good groom would really help he gets very stompy and cross with me.
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No, he’s not a particularly itchy pony at all, although he loves a scratch. I’ve never seen him itching on anything.

I think it may be because he associates being brushed with being worked. When he was in work he didn’t mind, but he’s been out of work for one reason or another for 3 years now. He thinks exercise is a dirty word so is very happy about this. For something that doesn’t actually do anything he’s had far too many Chiropractic and physio treatments over the years so I’m fairly sure it’s not muscular pain (it was my first thought).

I’m pleased he’s not as odd as I thought he was and that they don’t all enjoy it.

Roll on Spring when his yak coat will shed and take all the dirt with it :)
 
I bought a 'jelly' curry comb in desperation for my ticklish grey mare and now wouldn't be without one. One side is like a normal rubber curry comb but the other has tiny 'bristles' which are brilliant for getting off dried sweat and mud from sensitive areas. Over the last couple of winters where my gelding was doing minimal if any work and in at night I used it to get mud off anywhere that might get sore - around ears etc, and off his belly and thighs if it was 'wallowing' weather and on nice days would give him an all over groom with it. To keep mud and knots out of the mane and tail Eqyss survivor serum is unbeatable (Le Mieux sell it as does www.tailgator.co.uk ) smells gorgeous too!
These too items were enough that he didn't look or feel abandoned without removing protective oils from his coat.
 
B doesn't mind his neck & body being brushed, doesn't seem to enjoy it but doesn't hate it. A neutral feeling towards it. He doesn't like his legs brushed (soft or firm bristles) but doesn't mind a really stiff brush, like a magic brush or curry comb... ticklish, perhaps?

He loves having his forehead brushed, the harder the better. But only for a short time :)

Aren't they funny?
 
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