Horse Grooming

Grooming a horse is very important and crucial part of maintaining horse health. It allows the handler to check on horse's general health and well-being. Usually, it is more preferred to groom horses before being worked, and are usually groomed and cleaned up after a workout as well.

The main for daily grooming include:

• Improved health of the skin and coat.
• Decreases the chance of various health problems such as thrush, scratches, and other skin problems.
• Cleans the horse, so chafing does not occur under areas of tack.
• It gives a chance to check the horse's health, such as looking for cuts, heat, swelling, lameness. A change in temperament which could indicate the horse is sick, and look to see if the horse has loose or missing horseshoes.
• Helps to have a relationship between a horse and handler, which can carry over to other handling duties and riding.

Horse showmanship is a horse show class that considers the quality of grooming for as much as 40-50% of the total score.

Grooming is very beneficial for horses, not only because it cleans their coat and it adds beauty to their appearance, but also because can promote healthy emotional bonding and trust between the horse and the person. Grooming a horse encourages healthy blood circulation and helps to release natural oils into the coat that help protect him from natural elements such as wind and rain. However, horses that live more naturally, as in a large pasture, groom themselves by rubbing on trees or fences and rolling. You may not believe, but it is true that dirt and mud are part of your horse's natural grooming regimen.

Grooming is also highly important in training young horses. This is applicable to all pet animals. It gives us a reason to put them in cross-ties or tie them to a hitching rail. They learn to stand patiently and enjoy what is happening to them. We can also teach them to stand quietly for the farrier when their feet are picked up and worked on by routinely handling their feet. Grooming also serves as a training approach for standing quietly while being saddled. 

 One must be aware, however, that one size does not fit all when it comes to grooming. It is an individual thing. Understanding each horse enables the groomer to pick the proper tools and use them in such a way that the horse is not irritated.

However, horses are much like cars in certain aspects. Like a car, if you don't perform regular maintenance, the performance suffers. Also like a car, sometimes it's easy to forget about the maintenance or to grow complacent after years of good performance with little effort. Whether you ride them or not, horses should receive daily care in the form of grooming. 

Grooming involves caretaker hands, and as a most sensitive animal, the horse feels the essence of the hands used for grooming. He feels like there is someone who cares for him and is always with him whenever he is in need. He can just smell the hands and judge the nature and mood of the person. He always feels safe when the person who grooms him is nearby or present due to the smell and feel. In turn, he also starts taking care of his groomer and master. This makes a strong bonding between a horse and his groomer which anyone can identify. This is a take and a given relationship, whatever you give you receive it in back. If you take care of your horse, your horse will take care of you. And if you ignore your horse, horse will ignore you. So grooming is important part for one who owns horse.