How do you groom your horse? and do they like it (following the article in H&H today)

[catkin]

there's been a article today in H&H mag about some research into whether horses enjoy being groomed. I was surprised at the results that so many horses resented being groomed that I started thinking about the various nags we've had and the way I was taught to groom by an old nagsman who was extremely observant around horses.

It's also got me thinking about the 'nuts and bolts' about how we brush.
Now, I know some people over the years have laughed about how fussy I am about the brushes but we've found that different horses like different brushes and different degrees of pressure etc so I do try my best to find out what the horse responds to the best and then use those brushes and that method on that particular horse.

So,
how do you groom?

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I pay attention when I groom to what the individual seems to prefer-and if they don't seem to love it I keep it to a minimum.

 

[Auslander]

Alf likes anything scratchy, especially a shedding blade, but gets very cross about me using a body brush on him. I mostly knock mud off him with the blade, and then use a towel to get the dust off.

He is a bit head shy, and I have to follow a certain protocol, known as "Law of Alf" to do anything to his head. Basically, I 'm not allowed to touch his head with anything except the brush I'm using, or the clippers, depending what I'm up to. It's surprisingly hard to clip a horses head without putting your spare hand on their nose!

He LOVES having his tummy scratched, and will stand for hours doing tapir nose

 

[milliepops]

Is the article online or only in the mag?

I definitely find that my horses all have different preferences.

Rhino welsh likes a really high pressure stiff brush but then she does everything with maximum force!
WB is not fussed about being brushed but loves a good scratch with the poo picking rake - or shavings fork, she ain't fussy
Millie doesn't enjoy being groomed except around her ears
TB is a princess and has to have a soft brush but then quite enjoys it.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Shamefully I groom to get them clean. At work I do 12 a day then my own on top. We have several that hate being brushed. I try and end with them all on something they like. Eg, one particularly resentful mare loves her ears being stroked (weirdly as I couldn’t even touch them at first!) so she gets that. Another loves a good scrub with a dandy under his jaw so he gets that! One likes to be polished with a towel. I try and do their own little favourite each day after they have had all the nasties done (girth marks etc!)

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

People groom their horses ..

Gray loves a good scrub with a rubber curry comb - even the front of his head!


Jeff likes a decent stiff body brush but is a bit too sensitive for dandy brushes. He loves having his chin scratched.

The Shetlands get the hose pipe before they go to a show ...

 

[Pippity]

For a common little cob, Blue has surprisingly sensitive skin - she much prefers old, soft numnahs, and preferably ones with wool lining. So, for grooming, I use as soft a brush as I can, and make sure I don't brush too hard.

My old share horse loved anything scratchy, and the harder you groomed him the better.

When I bought Blue, I said she was the opposite of my old share horse in every way, and she's definitely carrying on proving that!

 

[criso]

People groom their horses ..

I find if you don't get rid of the mud where the tack goes then you end having to clean your tack.

Bay tb v1 likes scratchy things, metal, plastic, rubber etc but has strong opinions about what bits he wants groomed and positions them under my hand. Nothing quite like 16 3 of overweight tb positioning his bottom right in your face. He's retired so has an very thick untrimmed mane which he prefers with tangles left in.

Bay tb v2.0 is a princess diva pony and will only allow the gentlest softest brush to touch him. He likes the Haas Diva which is completely useless when he has acquired a nice thick layer of Hertfordshire mud. Anything that will actually work induces lots of melodramatic twitching and shivering.

Both tells me it's a known fact that tbs will dissolve in water and put their best RSPCA faces on as soon as they see a hose.

 

[Trinket12]

I was thinking about this the other day. Miss Sugar loves a good scrub on her withers, under her tummy and neck with the rubber curry comb. The lip goes and there has been some dribbling . She's indifferent to the brushing, but would happily stand and let me scrub her for hours I think!

 

[oldie48]

We've never had a horse that didn't like to be groomed but they all had their different tickly bits and places where they loved to be scratched. rose loves to have her ears and the bit between her ears scratched and massaged and will often come over and offer her head to me.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Both mine seem to enjoy being groomed. Mostly I use a jelly scrubber to loosen off hair, skin and dirt then brush off with a flicky dandy brush. They love the scratchy scrubber and sometimes I even use the mane brush on the body for a jolly good scratch. I only really use softer brushes on sensitive areas or if getting ready for a show.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I find if you don't get rid of the mud where the tack goes then you end having to clean your tack.
.

People use tack ... What is this foreign entity?!?!

 

[J&S]

I too groom to get them clean, but, if I found a bad reaction I would investigate and try to find a reason. Both of mine seem to like the process I use, scratchy plastic brush first, flick brush next, then lovely (very expensive) soft body brush last. Because they live pretty au naturel I do comb their manes to keep them under control and get rid of dead hair at the tops of their tails. They both seem quite happy with this arrangement.

 

[catkin]

Is the article online or only in the mag?

I saw it in the paper mag, no idea if it is online as I don't subscribe to that version.

 

[scats]

Polly hated being groomed when she came. She’d just box walk around you and spin to get away. She now stands still but still isn’t overly keen on ‘fuss’. She is groomed because she needs to be, but I don’t spend ages faffing about.

Millie’s not bothered either way, but I don’t get the impression that she loves it. She just knows it’s something I do.

It suits me down to the ground thought because I hate grooming. Give me a stable to muck out anyday!

 

[catkin]

Alf likes anything scratchy, especially a shedding blade, but gets very cross about me using a body brush on him. I mostly knock mud off him with the blade, and then use a towel to get the dust off.

He is a bit head shy, and I have to follow a certain protocol, known as "Law of Alf" to do anything to his head. Basically, I 'm not allowed to touch his head with anything except the brush I'm using, or the clippers, depending what I'm up to. It's surprisingly hard to clip a horses head without putting your spare hand on their nose!

He LOVES having his tummy scratched, and will stand for hours doing tapir nose

Oh, the tapir nose!
and the way they manoevre themselves about so that you get The Spot.

 

[criso]

People use tack ... What is this foreign entity?!?!

Sometime between riding as a child and adulthood, horses got really slippery without a saddle and sharks fin withers interfere with my ability to walk after. At the front end, at the very least I need a neck strap to grab during random spooks and cope with a jumping style from tb v2.0 that my instructor refers to aerial yoga.

 

[Leo Walker]

Mine loves being brushed and would like me to do it for hours and hours! I have a brush with marble sized metal balls that reduce her to a quivering heap! I use that first, then a schimmel to drag the filth up and take the worst off. I finish with either a goat hair body brush or one of those Haas ones with the sheepskin in the middle to get the last of the dust off and leave her shiny.

And mud is scrubbed off with one of those magic brushes usually and her tail is done with the ones that look a bit like a human hair brush.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

there's been a article today in H&H mag about some research into whether horses enjoy being groomed. I was surprised at the results that so many horses resented being groomed that I started thinking about the various nags we've had and the way I was taught to groom by an old nagsman who was extremely observant around horses.

It's also got me thinking about the 'nuts and bolts' about how we brush.
Now, I know some people over the years have laughed about how fussy I am about the brushes but we've found that different horses like different brushes and different degrees of pressure etc so I do try my best to find out what the horse responds to the best and then use those brushes and that method on that particular horse.

So,
how do you groom?

Afraid I am one of the no groom, I used to groom my first mare religeously daily. Now I own 7 part owning 2 of those. I don't groom quick flick of on the ID before I ride otherwise they are left alone. Though the 1/2 owned 2 get brushed off by the share's

 

[ozpoz]

Nothing scratchy - that is not appreciated at all! A flick brush, a soft body brush or slightly harder one in winter. The roller ball massage thing is very good ( and came with him) and a soft rubber curry to get mud off. A face brush is good too - he loves his face being gently brushed. A vigourous groom is fine as long as the brushes are soft enough for Mr Sensitive.

 

[Mule]

One used to hate being groomed. I thought he must have sensitive skin and the brushes were too hard. I used softer brushes to no avail until one day I tried a really hard dandy brush. It turns out he preferred it. He still prefers an ear massage to a groom.

The mare loves her tail being done. If you do another bit of her she'll walk forward and stick her tail in your face.

The other one likes his tummy groomed and a scratch on the sides of his neck.

 

[twiggy2]

I have dealt with horses that don't like certain places being groomed, I worked with one that would stand loose to be clipped and not move a muscle but depending in how he was feeling grooming with anything could bring on a full attack- he had to be double tied and in a single rail pen to be groomed. No reason was ever found he had other odd behaviours too.
I have always loved to groom, it's at least an hour and starts with a rubber curry comb, mane, then magic brush (if muddy and on boney bits), dandy brush, body brush, soft body brush, tail, cloth, oil mane and tail, hooves. My last mare loved the dandy brush scrubbed on her forehead, she would also do tapir faces for scrubbing under her mane, on her withers and along her back and would position herself for extra in these spots.
She also loved the inside of the tops of her thighs and just under her tail to be stroked and would back up to you for you to do this.

 

[Tiddlypom]

 

[Megan V1]

My old mare loves to be brushed with quite hard brisstle brushes whilst my cob likes softer brushes especially on his legs. They both hate their manes brushed.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

I pay attention when I groom to what the individual seems to prefer-and if they don't seem to love it I keep it to a minimum.

This.

And one of mine does like the synthetic plasticy bristles, he prefers natural soft fibres.

 

[Mule]

View attachment 35777

5

View attachment 35777

5% is really low. I wonder why humans got the idea that they like it.

 

[Nudibranch]

So 95% clearly resented being groomed? That's a bit surprising. Out of the 10 I've owned, I'd say 7 couldn't really care less and 3 clearly enjoyed it. Currently, the Fell falls into the couldn't care less category while the Dales loves any kind of grooming. I tend to do minimal grooming - just a dandy brush mud removal job mostly unless we are showing. But she would no doubt stand there all day, especially with a nice soft hair body brush.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

So mine clearly enjoys most of being groomed. He loves the tummy scratches and will drop his hip to help me reach with the dandy brush.

He will stand politely for his mane and tail but he doesn't get enjoyment from these. He doesn't 'enjoy' me picking his feet out.

In this study would he have been coded as 'not enjoying' because he doesn't enjoy every moment? I suspect there's more to this than a headline....but the headline gets us talking.

 

[criso]

I wonder if the horses were familiar with the people grooming them. Horses groom each other and get enjoyment from it but might resent a strange horse invading their space. In the same way they may enjoy bonding time with their familiar human but not a stranger.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I wonder if the horses were familiar with the people grooming them. Horses groom each other and get enjoyment from it but might resent a strange horse invading their space. In the same way they may enjoy bonding time with their familiar human but not a stranger.

It does seem odd as the majority of horses I’ve had have definitely enjoyed the time I’ve spent grooming them. However I also for the most part take time to do a bit of massage and scratching and i enjoy watching them respond to the bits they really like. It’s not really about the cleaning for me as both of mine have fine coats and are not particularly dirty on the whole. For me it’s about checking over, bonding and doing something they enjoy before slapping a saddle on.