How neat do you like your horses to be?

I like my boys mane pulled, but leave his tail for the while winter until the spring as he roles in the mud, sits up on his bum & tail & it currently looks like dreadlocks but don't see the point in cleaning it when he gets turned out every day!! It's also touching the floor.. A good look for a tb!!! I wash his legs every night just to get the mud off, but have no worries about riding him muddy! The pony is muddy but he's trimmed as I hate beards & feathers
 
nikkimariet said:
Umm.... Fig went out hacking today like this:

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:o

I will happily admit I'm a 100% certified neat freak!
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I'm as impressed by the gravel and neat yard as I am by the horse!!! Wow!

I dropped my boy off (clean and groomed) at bootcamp on saturday and "trimming" was mentioned a few times by his trainer, lol!
I will ride whatever the state providing the tack areas are clean. My mare hates being groomed anyway so she's ok with that. For dressage they'd be pretty clean (though maybe not showing standard clean).
 
My boy is 27, and he gets the royal treatment when going to shows, but when we're just plodding at home, I don't usually bother about brushing! Just as long as his tail is clean of prickles and his feet have been cleaned out, I am happy to ride :)
 
I used to be obsessed with keeping Chester clean but he loved being groomed.

My mare is 'allergic' to being groomed and shows nothing but hate towards it ..... so now im like 'wotever' stay drity ... brushing belly and back legs is over rated anyway :rolleyes:
 
I like them to be immaculate. They aren't so keen - why stay clean and tidy when there's all that lovely mud?

They're all at the point where they're so stained that it's going to take a bath to get them clean, and I'm not bathing them while it's so cold. Besides, they're all in full winter fuzz, so they're going to look a bit scruffy no matter how clean they are.

As it is, they get dried mud brushed off, feet picked out, and bedding picked out of mane and tail. A couple of them are losing their winter fuzz, so they get a good going over with a shedding blade, too.

Although that's when nobody's going to see them. ;) When they're being used for RDA, I'm a bit more thorough.
 
My OH baths/stain removes our grey stallion everytime before he rides him :p he hates seeing them dirty. I'm not so bad, as long as he looks cleanish and has his mane and tail brushed I don't mind the odd stain, but they are all sparkling for shows, think everyone should have them spotless at shows, hate seeing "messy" looking horses out, but I suppose we're just clean freaks with 4 greys!!! :D
 
Brush and feet before riding, main and tail pulled/tidied once a month, make more of an effot to look spotless when competiting...

my tack on the other hand could do with more cleaning!
 
weebarney said:
I couldn't care less as long as the horse is happy and comfortable. Some people must have way more time to faff about than me.
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During the week its either grooming or riding ... I'm the same, just don't have the time so a quick flick of the brush around tack area and on i get.

I am however now feeling slightly guilty so will be making more of an effort to get the lumps of mud out of her half mane (good old full neck rugs!!!!) :rolleyes:

Still not brushing her belly ... Im not on a death wish :p
 
In the winter, I don't really bother, aside from getting mud off where the tack goes.
In the summer, I do like to have him a bit more neat and tidy, purely because it's easier!

And well, when you do hacks like me, there's not much point.

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Mine are usually clean and tidy, but my priority for grooming is based on health needs rather than prettiness. Feet are always looked after and the hairy boys feathers are checked for malanders, greasy heels etc.
Black mare is easy, just white socks which get covered in Ketatex Mud Shield and therefore stay clean.
Manes and tails are trimmed but whiskers are never touched. Bathing is never done just for looks but sweaty/sticky areas are sponged when mare is in season etc.

I've never rugged just to keep clean, having a horse enjoy a roll in the dirt and feel the sun and warm rain on their backs is a real pleasure.
 
I've been known to ride my horses with their necks plastered in mud, tails full of straw and manes wild! I'm very short on time so I'm more of a "groom what's absolutely necessary, throw the tack on and get on with it" kind of person! :D
 
Well, see I have this theory that I have a horse :D I don't have a doll, or a rocking horse... and I want him to be a horse, I don't want him to be a My Little Pony to allow me to sublimate all my suppressed urges to brush and tweeze and tweak and snip and curl and plait :D

So he lives in a field, he has a nice muddy roll to plaster down his coat when it's windy, he has a nice roll in the snow to clean all the mud off, he and his mates have nice mutual grooming sessions to reinforce their friendships, he has a nice long mane to keep his neck warm instead of having to wear an itchy neck cover, and a nice bushy tail to keep his bum warm. He has whiskers to help him find food in the dark, as well as to tickle my face, and he has tufty ears for the same reason that outside broadcast microphones have big fluffy covers ;)

And he tolerates me brushing off the muddy bits where the tack sits because he likes to go out exploring. Because we mainly pass pedestrians, cyclists and dog walkers, I don't have to worry about justifying a bit of mud when passing riders on clipped spotless horses - and oddly enough, the pedestrians, cyclists and dog walkers love to stop, chat and tell me how beautiful he is, so mud must be in the eye of the beholder :D
 
Well my horse is 34 currently not ridden, but will be shortly, recovered tendon injury.

I have to say I do like to keep him looking smart regardless if he is ridden or not, so his mane is pulled, tail cut and he looks quite smart all the time. He is stabled at night and out in the day.

We're lucky we don't have much mud so he stays clean as he's rugged
 
I do like to have my horse clean. I think it's been drummed into me from when I was little and then working at a pro yard, standards were very high! So I guess I'm just used to it.

My boy isn't broken yet (will be this Spring) but even so I give him a good groom at least once a week, and brush off the mud every day...I'm a bit weird about it! In the summer I used to bring him in nearly every day to flick a brush over him and give him some attention - he used to be wary of people when he came to us, and I think our grooming sessions really helped.

I'm quite obsessive about his mane :o but I don't mind, it makes me happy and doesn't do him any harm :D

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and his tail :)

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Tangled said:
I do like to have my horse clean. I think it's been drummed into me from when I was little and then working at a pro yard, standards were very high! So I guess I'm just used to it.

My boy isn't broken yet (will be this Spring) but even so I give him a good groom at least once a week, and brush off the mud every day...I'm a bit weird about it! In the summer I used to bring him in nearly every day to flick a brush over him and give him some attention - he used to be wary of people when he came to us, and I think our grooming sessions really helped.

I'm quite obsessive about his mane :o but I don't mind, it makes me happy and doesn't do him any harm :D

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and his tail :)

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That's a really nice mane and tail
 
Brightbay said:
Well, see I have this theory that I have a horse :D I don't have a doll, or a rocking horse... and I want him to be a horse, I don't want him to be a My Little Pony to allow me to sublimate all my suppressed urges to brush and tweeze and tweak and snip and curl and plait :D

So he lives in a field, he has a nice muddy roll to plaster down his coat when it's windy, he has a nice roll in the snow to clean all the mud off, he and his mates have nice mutual grooming sessions to reinforce their friendships, he has a nice long mane to keep his neck warm instead of having to wear an itchy neck cover, and a nice bushy tail to keep his bum warm. He has whiskers to help him find food in the dark, as well as to tickle my face, and he has tufty ears for the same reason that outside broadcast microphones have big fluffy covers ;)

And he tolerates me brushing off the muddy bits where the tack sits because he likes to go out exploring. Because we mainly pass pedestrians, cyclists and dog walkers, I don't have to worry about justifying a bit of mud when passing riders on clipped spotless horses - and oddly enough, the pedestrians, cyclists and dog walkers love to stop, chat and tell me how beautiful he is, so mud must be in the eye of the beholder :D
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Like this
 
when in work I like them to be kept look smart and all trimmed up and groomed/tack clean before every ride. but then my youngster is on a holiday at the moment so he is left a bit more "wild" as such...only groom him a couple of times a week and dont bother keeping him trimmed...cant wait to get my scissors out in a few months time!
 
I like him to be kept neat and tidy to be honest, but riding is the priority and if i'm short in time i'm not worried about going out with a bit of mud on him. I know some people who spend an hour grooming and by the time it's done don't have time to ride, seems a bit silly to me!
 
Before I'd just brush the mud off the face and saddle area and get on with it.

Now we've moved to a posh competition yard, they're immaculate every time they go out. I feel like a total scruff compared to some of the other liveries :o

I prefer to keep all of mine clipped out and manes/tails/feathers/whiskers pulled or trimmed. It makes it easier to keep them clean. That said, the old boy is currently sporting a rather impressive beard. :p
 
I like to keep mine relatively clean! I keep legs clean and always brush his mane, tail, face and belly, he is clipped so rugs keep his body clean :D He has a white mane and tail so they're not sparkling white but free of knots and I plait his tail as he lives out 24/7. To be honest I cannot wait for a nice spring warm day to give him a proper wash!!
 
What's a brush....... :-)
Luckily (I have a grey) she seems to be a self cleaning pony as I have time for riding or grooming before work (although have just moved to a new yard so less stable duties and more time to spend on neddy) usually only notice the stains etc while riding!

Just as an aside as a few of you have greys-what's the best shampoo to get the yellow stable stains out? Everything else washes off but her hind quarters remain slightly tinged with yellow despite scrubbing at least 4 times with shampoo! ;-(
Ps I do scrub her up for a party but not hacking through the mud or schooling
:-)
 
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