Following, the secrets to a horse’s healthier and most beautiful coat, mane, and tail. Certainly, almost all horse owners groom their horses regularly or, at least, before going for a ride. But, not all horse people know the importance and best ways to do each grooming activity. That is the purpose of this article.
- COAT CARE
The condition of a horse’s coat is a sign of his nutritional state and general health, although excessive cold will make it grow. When the coat is soft, shiny, and silky, it indicates that the animal is well cared for and healthy. A dry, bristled, and opaque coat indicates the opposite. Following some practical routines that help a horse maintain a beautiful coat.
A. Daily grooming: Some important tools for grooming a horse daily are:
- Curry comb
- Stiff bristle brush made of nylon, polypropylene, palmyra, or union fiber.
- Soft bristle brush
- A piece of cloth or small towel
Their proper use is explained below:
The rubber curry comb has a series of ´teeth´ on the surface that come in contact with the horse’s coat and skin when being used. The proper way to use the rubber curry comb is by rubbing vigorously in circles all over the horse’s coat.
This activity serves five functions at once:
- Removing the old hairs of the coat that are being shed, so that the horse will replace them with new ones.
- Removing dirt, dust, dry sweat, and dead cells from the surface of the epidermis, so that the skin will be in better condition and the perspiration process will be easier.
- Massaging the skin to improve the flow of blood, which helps accelerate the biological processes of the dermis, making it healthier.
- Massaging the sebaceous glands to make them increase the production of sebum (oil) that helps the coat become shiny and silky.
- Reviewing the entire skin, inch by inch. If the horse refuses to be “scratched” with the rubber curry comb in a specific area, it is important to determine if there is a sore, wound, inflammation, or any other abnormality.
After using the curry comb, the horse should be brushed all over the coat, in the direction of the hair growth, with the stiff bristle brush (nylon, polypropylene, palmyra, etc.). The purpose is to comb the coat and remove the rest of the old hair and dust. And while doing it, after every three strokes with the brush across the coat, it is important to clean the brush by chafing it two or three times against the “teeth” of the rubber curry comb. This causes any dust and hair trapped in the brush to fall onto the curry comb before they fall back over the horse.
Note: These activities (using the rubber curry comb and the brush on the horse) may lift particles into the air and cause discomfort to both the groomer and horse; this may be prevented by rubbing the horse’s coat with a moderately wet piece of cloth or small towel before using the curry comb and also before brushing. Slightly wetting the surface of the coat prior to grooming causes particles to form into “pellets” and, thus, keeping them from flying into the air.
Next, the horse’s face may be brushed gently with the soft bristle brush. Additionally, it is important to clean the horse’s eyelids, face, and nostrils with a wet towel. Finally, rubbing the coat with a dry piece of cloth helps the coat become very silky.
Note: Using a separate curry comb, brush, and towel for each horse at the farm avoids spreading skin infections among horses. Additionally, all grooming implements should be washed and disinfected periodically.
B. Giving the horse a bath: A horse does not need a bath as frequently as it needs grooming. Giving the horse a bath, with abundant water and mild soap or shampoo once or twice a week, is very effective for cleaning the horse’s coat and skin. However, when a horse is bathed more often, the action of the soap/shampoo removes the natural sebum of the hair, resulting in a dry and opaque coat. Furthermore, increased coat hair growth is a normal response to frequent bathing, either with or without soap/shampoo.
Different skin conditions such as rain rot, ringworm, cannon crud, dandruff, mane/tai itching and rubbing, scratches, and/or wounds require the use of a medicated shampoo.
When washing a horse’s face, a tear-free formulated shampoo for horses should be used or, as last resource, baby shampoo. Conversely, if the shampoo being used stings his eyes, a horse will likely develop fear of having his face and eyes being washed. Moreover, during high-fly infestation season (usually when temperatures raise), besides using all possible strategies to have them under control, washing the horses’ faces and eyes often (with tear-free formulated shampoo and abundant water) is a great procedure to keep the animals more comfortable (with less flies attacking them) and (their eyes) healthier. The reason is that one of flies’ (especially face flies) favorite parts on a horse are the eyes because they feed on the tears. As flies attack a horse by the dozens and feed on his tears, this may lead the bacteria they carry to enter the eye and cause conjunctivitis (also called ‘pink eye’). At this point more flies will be attracted to the infected eye because it will continue to release more tears and a smelly, thick fluid where to feed on, making things worse.
When the horse is sweaty after working during cold weather, rinsing certain parts, preferably with warm water, is recommended rather than complete bathing. The face should be gently rinsed with low-pressure water or with a clean, wet towel or sponge. The forelegs should be rinsed from the elbows to the hooves. The hindquarters should be rinsed under the tail (including the anus in both genders and the vulva in the mare) down to the internal surfaces of the thighs to the hooves. Also, rinsing the testicles and prepuce in the male and the udder in the mare will help reducing further infections. The sweat on the rest of the body should be removed with a scraper (stick). Then, when the sweat dries (either the same day or the day after), it may be removed by grooming, which helps to shed old hair from the coat.
Conversely, if the horse is very sweaty during hot weather, the entire body (including the face) may be rinsed with cool water to help him cool down.
Tips to accelerate coat shedding: Shedding may be accelerated by wetting the horse’s coat (neck, barrel, and legs) with salted water (one pounds of salt to one gallon of water), using a piece of cloth and letting the coat dry while the animal is tied. Vigorous grooming after three days, during which time the horse has been kept dry and not groomed, makes the coat shed a great amount of hair. If necessary, this process should be repeated two or three weeks later.
On the other hand, clipping the horse’s coat after winter helps three purposes: make the coat hair look more presentable while it gradually sheds, ease grooming activities, and keep the animal cool when the temperature starts going up.
Offering commercial nutritional supplements based on fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals help shed the old coat and keep it shiny and silky. Additionally, some products intensify the coat color, making it a deeper black, golden (for palomino horses), or white, depending on the horse’s natural color.
- MANE AND TAIL CARE
In some horse breeds, it is highly desirable that the animals keep long, abundant, and luxurious manes and tails, for which, besides genetics, special care is required. Mane and tail hair grow healthier and stronger when their skin areas are clean and free of dandruff, mites, fungi, and dirt. Therefore, it is recommended to wash the mane and tail carefully with a good shampoo (having conditioner in it or not), and to rinse them with abundant water, during the horse’s regular bath. Thereafter, a lotion that promotes mane and tail hair growth may be applied on their skin areas.
Proper nutrition that includes enough protein of good quality (which depends on the amino acids in it), minerals, and vitamins is needed for mane and tail hair growth. Nutritional supplements specifically formulated for the horse’s mane, tail, and coat are available in the market.
To reduce damage to the mane and tail during daily grooming, they should not be detangled with a brush or regular comb, because this breaks many hairs each time it is done. To see that damage, check the number of hairs trapped on the brush or comb after just one session of detangling with them. The mane and tail may be detangled easily using the fingers after applying any commercial product that contains substances for this purpose (e.g., silicone coat spray).
(5-4) about 6” wide, and centered
“Candeloso de Casta” exhibiting his beautiful mane and tail. Owner Rebecca V. Anderson, Criadero Hidalgo, LLC. Jay, FL. Photo by Olga García.
For special occasions (e.g., photos, showing), the mane and tail may be detangled fully as follows:
- Applying abundant detangling product.
- Removing shavings/hay attached to the mane and tail with the fingers and detangling any possible knots.
- Washing the mane and tail with a shampoo and rinsing them with abundant water
- Applying more detangling product.
- Detangling the mane and tail carefully with a special comb for this purpose, starting at the bottom (of the hair), working your way up.
- Rinsing them again, if needed.
| PRODUCTS / SERVICES TO PROMOTE / SELL in this article | |
| Grooming tools | Curry comb. Stiff bristle brush made of nylon, polypropylene, palmyra, or union fiber. Soft bristle brush. A piece of cloth or small towel. Sponge. Special comb for mane and tail. + hoof pick |
| Horse medicated shampoo: Rain rot, ringworm, cannon crud, dandruff, mane/tai itching and rubbing, scratches, wounds. | https://equiderma.com/skin-conditions/ |
| tear-free formulated shampoo for horses | |
| Shampoo for the horse’s color | White, black |
| Nutritional supplements specifically formulated for the horse’s mane, tail, and coat | |
| products intensify the coat color, making it a deeper black, golden (for palomino horses), or white | |
| lotion that promotes mane and tail hair growth | |
| Mane/tail detangler | For horse use > Show sheen For human use > ??? |