How to groom your horse correctly! - The Grooming Guide

We show you why grooming your horse correctly and diligently is important and what you need to do to keep it healthy and happy

I. Why ist horse grooming so important?

a You should clean your horse daily - this is not only to remove dirt and dust, but also to detect injury. It is also a nice massage for your horse.

- Sequence for grooming - horses love routine

In order to build up mutual trust, you should keep the same order when grooming your horse. Your horse will appreciate this routine because it knows exactly what happens.

- The best place to groom your horse

Never groom your horse in the box, because hair and bacteria can get into the hay and straw and damage the health of your horse. The best thing is to clean your horse in a place on or outside the stable where you can safely tie your horse. Do not put your horse close to grass or anything like that, so it will not be distracted, moved or even knotted. When tying you must always remember to make a knot, which easily dissolves if your horse should panic.

- What you need in your grooming box!

It is best to keep all things necessary to clean your horse in your Uniqhorse grooming box. You can then the box next to your grooming place. This way you have everything you need for the care of your horse. Please note that each horse should have its own grooming box, since otherwise diseases can be transmitted via the brushes, hoof scratches or sponges.

Your Uniqhorse cleaning box should contain the following things to care your horse:

• Body brush (soft)
• Root brush (hard)
• Harrow (soft or hard)
• Hoof Scratch
• Mane brush
• Sponges
• Hoof cleaning items
• Tail spray
• A cloth or lambskin glove
• Baby wipes

II. What you need to know when cleaning your horse

- The fur

You should only clean your horse when it is dry. You always clean your horse from front to back. For this use a harrow. The most pleasant for horses are rubber bars. With the harrow you can remove the coarsest dirt and mud. Only use this on the muscled parts of the horse body. It is too painful for the horse when the body is unbouled (head, withers, ankle, etc.).

Then the dirt particles are brushed with the root brush. With the this brush you need to brush your horse's hair smoothly. The root brush and body brush can be wiped clean on the harrow. Your horse will get the finishing touch when you rub it off with a lambskin glove or wet wipes.

- The mane

The hair of the mane, head and tail should be untangled with fingers. Then the tail is sprayed with tailpipe, so the tail can be brushed out more easily. It is important to separate the tail into several parts and brush it gradually.

- Head

For the head you can either take a soft brush and gently brush your head. Or rub the head gently with a damp cloth or a damp sponge. If you use wet wipes, make sure that  they do not contain any preservatives or fragrances!!! Eyes and nostrils can also be wiped with sponges or wipes. Do not forget the ears of your horse - remove dust and dirt with a slightly damp cloth.

Using another damp sponge, you can wipe the sex parts, the back and the tail.

• Wash your brushes and sponges regularly with water and soap, so that there is no bacteria deposit on it.
• Never put wet sponges into your Uniqhorse cleaning box as they will mold and form bacteria.
• Always use different sponges for head and tail.
• Clean the hoof scratch before you put it in your Uniqhorse grooming box. Hoof grains contain most of the bacteria and should be placed separately from other cleaning utensils.

- Hoof grooming

The hooves must be regularly cleaned and maintained. Poorly maintained hooves are a common cause of lameness and can lead to permanent damage. In order to avoid distributing the dirt from the hooves in the stable, the hoofs should be scraped in the box. It is important to remove litter and dung carefully from the hooves, as otherwise blast can form. After riding, the hooves must be scraped again, so that small stones can not be caught in it and cause pain.

The hooves are scraped from the bale to the hoof edge. The delicate beam may only be carefully scraped. To keep the hooves elastic, they should be washed regularly and greased. It is best to wash the legs of your horse after riding and grease the complete hoof. The hoof can be wet, the hoof grease / oil still adheres sufficiently. Grease the crown edge as it builds the new horn.

- Massage

If you want to give your horse something special, then give it a massage. This increases the well-being of your horse, promotes the blood circulation and allows you to recognize tensions or even diseases. In addition, you strengthen the emotional connection of your horse to you.