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| it obviously works for him |
And that was pretty cool. It was beauty time and bonding time and everyone is happy.
Enter Courage.
Little man HATES grooming. I had to go out and buy him his very own special long-bristled-super-soft dandy brush and even that used GENTLY makes him pick up his feet and dance. Heaven forbid I get out the TORTURE CURRY MITT.
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| i like this mane. there is so much to grab. |
My grooming routine has radically altered--quick dust off, check feet, run a brush through his mane if I have lots of time. If I hose him off after a ride, I try to rinse his tail and throw some conditioner in it to limit breakage. Anymore, his mane is on the long side. It's a dressage horse look, I like it, and why not. Those are my reasons.
So. What else are y'all doing out there? Does anyone have a horse that likes being curried I can borrow?
All my joy in grooming and bathing was ruined by owning a (mostly) white horse who loved to be dirty. These days I try to make Paddy look at least presentable, but that generally means picking out feet, currying, and using a body brush on him. I do his mane and tail for shows. He's horribly neglected, so you should probably come and groom him or something.
ReplyDeleteYou can curry, massage and brush Pongo til the cows come home. I call him my adult my little pony. I (used to, pre baby) fuss over him for days!
ReplyDeleteMy new guy hates being groomed, too. This summer I just knocked the dust off and relied on his post-ride bath to keep him respectable. I don't know what I'll do this winter.
ReplyDeleteMy tb mare hated being groomed too. Girthy as well. However, she adored smelling a goat hair brush I got. Track memories?
ReplyDeleteI would shrivel up and die if I had a horse that hated to be groomed! Dino LOOOVES his daily massage time. Every day, I pick feet, THOROUGH curry (sometimes 2 or 3 different ones if he is shedding), stiff brush, soft brush, sometimes finishing brush, towel off. Mane and tail get brushed through (with detangler!) once a week or so. Hosed/sponged/curried off after every ride. I am a grooming nut. I realize this. I make no apologies.
ReplyDeleteCourage is the first horse I've had that wasn't wild over grooming. It's a little sad.
DeleteYou can come groom Emi anytime. She's pretty much a life sized my little pony and loves to be doted on. Roz on the other hand...not so much. He stands fine but he gives you lots of cranky faces. I generally groom Emi 5 days a week and Roz maybe once. Haha.
ReplyDeleteAnytime you want to come groom Riley you are welcome to! Homeboy LOVES to be groomed. In fact, it's downright embarrassing how much he loves it! He can be thin-skinned for certain things (like girths) but he's got quite the tolerance for currying and the like!
ReplyDeleteMy TB hated to be groomed too.. I think some of them just have REALLY sensitive skin.. (but oddly, he loved being clipped!)
ReplyDelete:)
None of mine mind grooming at all...you can come groom mine. :)
ReplyDeleteO is the thinnest skinned little redhead I've ever met and she LOVES to be groomed. LOVES it. Pet me human, pet me allllllll day. She loves the people. Pax too - loves the people.
ReplyDeleteP on the other hand has no use for humans aside from food. She has thick skin and she is a total cow and she still doesn't care for grooming. She tolerates it because she knows she will get in trouble if she fusses about it, but she'd rather I just leave her alone to eat.
You can have my two. They will just about do a cartwheel for a good rub/scratch.
ReplyDeleteYou can curry Simon anytime. It took him a year or two, but he's decided it's the best thing ever.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there's hope? He protests mildly less than he did two years ago.
DeleteMiles hates to be brushed! He's gotten a lot better but only tolerates a grooming mit or a rubber face curry and he still HATES any brushes. And I don't even bother trying to touch his tail unless at a show and I just cut his mane -- absolutely NO pulling
ReplyDeleteMax doesn't enjoy being groomed until I hit his favorite itchy spots. However, if he has food in front of him, he will let me do just about anything (including some light sheath cleaning).
ReplyDeleteMikey HATED the curry comb and stiff brush. It was a major part of why I body clipped him in winter (he has to wear a blanket and therefore majority of his body won't get dirty). I used an OLD (ie so old the teeth wore off) rubber curry to shampoo him. God forbid I use a real mitt of some kind. He loved the attention, but the body grooming, not so much. A long bristle dandy brush got dirt off, and I used a stiff brush gently when the long bristle wouldn't do the job. He didn't give two hoots about anything else, just that stiff brush and curry comb. Oh, he didn't like mane pulling... so I did it every 2-3 months so each time I pulled, I was pulling minimal amounts of hair out and I was done in five minutes... long before he'd run out of tolerance.
ReplyDeleteYup, we do this too. Clip and blanket, because you might as well try to take his skin off as curry the mud.
DeleteGina tolerates being groomed, although she seems to get zero enjoyment from it (or anything else in her life). Moe doesn't really like it- he dances around, flinches, etc. etc. Both of them REALLY like this super soft body brush (the aptly named HAAS Diva brush), though, especially on their faces.
ReplyDeleteYou can come curry Misty! She'll even point out the really good parts to groom. Plus she is currently filthy... Poor neglected pony.
ReplyDeleteVal is a little touchy along his back, but in general will fall asleep in the cross ties being groomed, to the extent that the cross ties are basically the only things holding him up. He more just tolerates bath time, but has gotten happier about it since I started doing it more and he has figured out the it usually means he's being pampered and he'll get to dry out in the sun munching grass.
ReplyDeleteWe need warm water for baths. He's such a princess.
DeleteHannah loves her face to be towel rubbed but besides that she doesn't show much enthusiasm for grooming. She prefers rolling in the dirt and sand.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, I couldn't groom Eli. He now tolerates a soft dandy brush, likes some light curry ing with a soft rubber curry, and enjoys being bathed, especially having his mane scrubbed. Lately, I have also been wiping his snotty nose every 10 seconds ...
ReplyDeleteBobby loves being curried but abhors being brushed. He'd prefer to have all that unearthed dirt stay on his coat, thanks.
ReplyDeleteMi papi adores grooming time and falls asleep on the cross ties. He's not big on the girth area or chest, but that's getting better with regular liniment massages and saddle fit corrections. He gets curried, stiff brushed, body brushed every day with particular attention to his ears. I could curry the inside of his ears all day and he'd be in heaven! His massive tail has to be tended to daily and completely brushed out weekly.
ReplyDeleteMine enjoy being groomed, but I don't like grooming. I actually like when they're shaved and blanketed in the winter as even less grooming is required. I have been known to just throw my tack on without grooming at all - I know: I'm a terrible horse mom.
ReplyDeleteRico likes to pretend that he hates being groomed but he secretly loves it, especially now that he isn't being groomed very much. He leans into the curry. The baby horse enjoys any sort of attention except mane pulling so grooming fits in that category. My old horse though, he is a grooming fanatic, he will contort his body so you are forced to get all his favorite spots. He has almost fallen over trying to get someone to scratch him in the right spot. It's adorable but it can be quite obnoxious.
ReplyDeleteoh I hate washing white tails - next time, no Haflinger ;)
ReplyDeleteThoroughbreds- Grooming is either the best thing in the world or the absolute worst. There's not much in between.
ReplyDeleteYou can rub on my ponyman anytime. He absolutely loves it and if you stop he will give you a strong 'hipcheck' to, shall we say... encourage you to keep going? He will even look back and aim for you too. He loves grooming so much he will stand and make all sorts of faces while biting the air as if he were grooming you back.
ReplyDeleteThe WB mare is either or. It depends on the day
The TB mare is much the same as Courage. "Dust me off and leave me alone dammit!"
Pilgrim is not a fan of being groomed either, and I've checked for ulcers, saddle fit, soreness, etc. Being gray and turned out nearly 24/7 makes grooming a necessity sometimes, so I went out and bought this: http://www.healthyhorseboutique.com/diva-sheepskin-finishing-brush/
ReplyDeleteHe tolerates this brush best of all (although the price tag made me gasp a little) and if I need to use the curry at all, I stick him in his stall with hay or grain in front of him so he's distracted.
Have you tried those small and super soft face curry combs on his body? I had a TB who was super sensitive at first that that did the trick till he learned to love it! Also... If you're ever in Oregon let me know. Id be more then happy to have all my bathing/grooming stuff set out and lord knows he's got hair to brush ;)
ReplyDeleteDoes he like sheepskin? My anti- brush Arabs hate curries and brushes, but love when I use a cactus cloth and sheepskin buffing combo mitt. It is a conpromise we have come up with....
ReplyDeleteThe last barn I rode in was full of snuggly quarter horses. In the spring I could groom until my arms fell off.
ReplyDeleteOne gelding in particular would get very into it, lip twitching and leaning, the whole 9 yards. I very much miss that place.
My Savvy needs you! I hate grooming and white horse tells no lies. 😢
ReplyDeletemy mare doesn't exactly HATE being groomed, but she doesn't savor it either. i find she prefers the harder plastic curries to the rubber or jelly ones tho.
ReplyDeletePig likes being groomed in exactly two places (neck and chest plz). Everywhere else is TORTURE OMG. But, he loves face cuddles, so I can't complain too much. Nothing like hugging a big ol horse face.
ReplyDeleteI have both. Baby loves any and all attention, Poppy hates grooming with a passion. My retired guy always hated grooming and now likes it. Just part of their personalities :)
ReplyDeleteCopper loves being groomed in spring, but the rest of the time it's a "Do you have to?" face, and "Don't fuss for too long, or grumpy pony is here!"
ReplyDeleteAnd the only way I can brush his face is with a tiny goats hair brush. He is so thin skinned I call him my Princess Pony!
bonita of A Riding Habit