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Grooming tips for your show horse
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A show horse with plaited mane
The grooming process starts long before the show. It's important to regularly groom your horse in order to keep it happy and healthy. You can also add supplements to your horse's diet to get an extra shiny healthy coat and hooves. It's a good idea to bathe your horse one or two days before the show. Don't cut any corners - to get a really good looking horse you're going to have to put in the work. Use shampoos specific to your horse's coat color and make sure to get any stains out of the coat.
Clipping
There are several places to clip on a horse's body. One is the whiskers on the muzzle. Make sure you gradually introduce the clippers to the horse, especially around the face, as it can spook horses. Look at the horse's muzzle from several different angles to make sure you get all of the long whiskers. There are some long hairs above and below the horse's eyes that can be clipped. Be very careful when clipping near the eye. It's a good idea to cover the eye with your free hand. Next the bridal path should be clipped. If your horse doesn't mind you touching it's ears you can lay one ear back and that will be a guide to show you how far back you should clip. If you can't do that, then you can guesstimate the approximate length of the ear. You also want to clip the hair on the outside and inside of the ears. You might need someone else to distract your horse while you do this, as many horses do not like it. If you are in a showmanship class you should consider clipping your horses legs. You can clip the hairs that hang over the coronet band and the long hairs on the fetlock.
The Mane and Tail
There is a wide variety of things you can do with the mane. This usually depends on the type of show you are competing in. You should make sure that the mane is even in length; the length you choose will depend on the type of show and personal preference. You will have to remove all tangles from the mane and tail. It's best to take care of the mane and tail the day before the show and just touch up on show day. Depending on the level and type of competition you may want to either band or braid the mane and tail. If there are some stray hairs you can apply a little bit of gel to keep them down.
On Show Day
After doing a regular grooming you can start on the legs and hooves. Clean off any dirt on the legs or hooves. If your horse has white markings you can apply a spray or baby powder. Be careful not to get spray on the hooves or tail. If this happens, rubbing alcohol can work well to remove the paint. Then have your horse stand in an area away from dirt and shavings and apply the hoof polish. Make sure you use a polish acceptable to your breed of horse. Again be careful not to get the polish anywhere it doesn't belong. Let the polish dry while you move on to the mane and tail. Make sure to pick out any shavings that got in the mane or tail. You can also add in a tail extension if you want to. Tighten any braids or bands that need tightening and spray in some Quick Braid or hair spray if you want. Go over the coat with a brush to get any new dust off. Then you can spray on coat polish. Go over the horse's face with a soft brush to get any dirt off the face. You can use a little grease or highlighter on your horses muzzle, eyes and ears to make the face really shine. Then you're ready to show. Make sure the rider or handler is also neat and presentable!
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