Help - Pony and I need a makeover!

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LittleGinger

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With all the rain and mud, Pony and I both resemble hippos at the moment.

Yesterday I went out for a hack - normally I do like to leave the yard looking really smart, but this time of year is a race before it gets dark and I only get to ride once or twice a week at this time of year, so I don't miss those opportunities for anything!

Off we went, sort of clean under rug areas but with muddy patches on legs, dreadlocks in his mane and quite a short tail (I got tired of detangling it so chopped quite a lot off it... It's thick enough for four or five ponies!), patchy hi viz draped over Pony's bum and a tatty vest for me (proper hi-viz coat still drying out!). Not to mention where I'd smeared mud all over myself pulling off his soggy, filthy turnout rug and nearly lost a boot in the quagmire at the field entrance.

On our hack, we met a pair of riders who quite openly looked me up and down and I'll be honest, I had a real moment of embarrassment. Their muscly, clipped out horses were immaculately turned out, right down to their chalk white socks and oiled hooves. :o Riders looked straight out of a catalogue. :( I suddenly felt really inadequate and scruffy on my unclipped Welshie, pottering along the lanes as they marched smartly towards us, throwing in some shoulder-in every now and again.


It doesn't bother me too much - Ginger Pony is happy, healthy and very much loved - but just for fun (and to avoid such shame in future!), what tips/tricks/products are there to keep us looking respectable?

Here is the little bog pony:

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Please dont feel inadequate!
You never know - maybe one of those ladies you met was envious of you being able to enjoy going out hacking on your own.....

TBH, I understand where you are coming from - long gone are the days when I had clients horses turned out immaculately. These days as long as my horse has clean patches to put tack on & tack is safe, then I'd rather be riding than sitting at home (as cannot now ride for at least 2 months due to newly broken leg :rolleyes: )

So missus - chin up & enjoy your horse :)
 
HeavyHorseHugger said:
Pony is happy and healthy....who cares what you LOOK like..?? He is very cute by the way :D
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Thanks HHH, I think he's rather adorable too. :D


It was a tongue-in-cheek post (never sure that comes across in writing) as I went out regardless of all the mud (and I'd do it again, too! :eek::p) but it just got me thinking... how do super-smart people manage it? Do their horses just not get turned out, or are there wonderful time-savers/mud removers that I don't know about?
 
The Xmas Furry said:
Please dont feel inadequate!
You never know - maybe one of those ladies you met was envious of you being able to enjoy going out hacking on your own.....

TBH, I understand where you are coming from - long gone are the days when I had clients horses turned out immaculately. These days as long as my horse has clean patches to put tack on & tack is safe, then I'd rather be riding than sitting at home (as cannot now ride for at least 2 months due to newly broken leg :rolleyes: )

So missus - chin up & enjoy your horse :)
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Aww thanks, we do love our hacks and I do appreciate the fact that he will go out on his own :) Grooming has definitely become a 'saddle and bridle patch' thing though, whereas in summer I have a full routine :D Not out of vanity, just because I enjoy doing it and have the time to spend with him.

Sorry to hear about your broken leg - ouch! I hope you're not in too much pain. Not being able to ride must be horrendous, although (not meaning to sound flippant at all, I am sympathetic really!) with all the rain and flooding etc. you have timed it well :p Silver lining?
 
When I worked as a groom, there was one horse on the yard that was always immaculate - the other horses all looked like pit ponies in comparison. His routine, so you can follow suit, included: legs always bandaged, bandages to be removed and replaced once a day, a full groom twice daily, 15 minutes grazing in-hand twice daily, 15 minutes walking in-hand around indoor arena once daily, no turnout, always clipped, rugged up even during the summer, mane kept at an even five inches all the time.

Not sure about yours, but I suspect my ponies would rather be a bit muddy. :D
 
To be honest, they probably had nothing to do with how smart their horses looked. I'm sure they turned up and were handed their immaculate horses all tacked up and ready.

I make sure my liveries never leave the yard unless they look immaculate, but my horses are often less than smart as I've spent all my time on other people's!
 
Don't feel inadequate- I look like a clampet riding something that's just been dug out from a bog....I don't own hoof oil, or chalk....I DO own brushes, but you probably wouldn't know it!
 
Ginger pony is lovely :)

Perhaps they have more time on their hands

They were probably happy to see another rider out and about - nothing unites people more than a shared passion :)
 
Full neck rugs and hose pipes! If I wasnt on a livery yard which is concrete everywhere except his field it would be a different story.
 
7 Day Mud away spray- a hose with good pressure, snuggy hood and a good turnout rug- all help

I cant imagine as above that the immaculate riders had much to do with things tbh or they have amazing all in one type coveralls ;-)
I bet your horse is happier!
 
I felt like this last weekend, went out with both the boy & myself covered in mud & met a girl (18ish - I'm 22) who always likes to give us dirty looks when she sees us on her beautiful clean horses.
However, my friend & I once had to rescue her when her horse was napping & eventually she managed to get her to come with us as we were heading towards her stables & I rarely see her with her horses being well behaved so while she thinks she's better than me (and definitely looks it) at least I know my scruffy mess will go where I want him to & (usually) behaves!
 
Sometimes muddy horses are the happiest horses! And if that's all you've got time for then it's nobody else's business!

If you are really asking for grooming advice I'd just say do it everyday - I do it with my mare and she never gets too gross. It also helps spread the oils in their coat, if you do it correctly, so that it gives them a nice shine. But I know a lot of people don't have time and therefore their ponies are a little dirty - but just as adorable and wonderful!
 
Just go out in the rain and let him play in the puddles! Some of them are so deep it's no different to giving them a bath at the moment!! He's the cutest bog pony ever and probably prefers being covered in mud. Xx
 
Personally, it kind of depends with me! I always make sure my 17hh Hanoverian ex-Grade-A-showjumper-now-turned-elementary-dressage mare is always looking wonderful, and has the most expensive gear, while my little welsh cross something else mare always looks like a little gypsy thing haha :)
 
You think thats bad when i was a horse mad small girl running a riding stables with best friend (very pullein thompson type thing) (owner completely nuts but thats another story) We used to bath and plait up to ride out on a weekend. Now i only use a big hair brush and a large bottle of coat shine and thats about the only effective thing for my probably cushioniod dales pony who has an addiction to burdock bushes, last week you could sculpt his mane into little mini animals !
 
i went to the yard the other day to go for a hack with a friend, got my horse in and gave him a quick brush then she had to race off somewhere which gave me another hour of grooming! by the time we tacked up my horse was spotless. we set off for a hack and met another person out hacking, her pony was a mud monster (much like my horse was 2 hours earlier!) we all had a laugh at the mess they get into and she joined us for the rest of the hack, she did say that she was a bit worried how we would be with her as we were on bigger, cleaner horses but once she realised i'd spent ages (just killing time!) grooming she relaxed and we all laughed about it.
i even showed her a picture on my phone of what my horse normally looks like!

don't worry about what you look like so long as you and pony have fun that's all that matters.
 
Groom every day, slather with coat shine, 7day mudaway, mane and tail detangler, and cover with t/o rug with long neck. Bring in every night, repeat as above as necessary. Clean tack every time used. Clean saddle cloth every ride. Make sure hooves are clean, polish/ oil as necessary. Plait mane in a running plait.
Wear hacking jacket, waistcoat, soft collar viyella shirt and plain dark tie. Yellow string gloves if raining, brown leather if not, brown hard hat, with bow ends cut off ( you are not a hunt servant?) hair in hairnet and off collar. Plain beige breeches, leather gaiters and brown boots, well polished.
If you can't be ***** to do this, just carry on as you are - they probably have vast amounts of time, money, grooms or all three! And don't dare hack out by themselves, either. Smile pleasantly when you meet them and say "good morning/ afternoon, ladies"! And carry on enjoying your gorgeous pony!
 
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