Grooming - I begin to understand

[Jane&Ziggy]

See, I could never see the point. For a start Ziggy was always filthy - yellow or pink instead of grey - and then however much I brushed him he was never shiny.

Mattie will shine, but he really dislikes grooming - I think it must remind him of racing, because he tucks himself up and windsucks.

But now I have a horse who likes being groomed and can be induced to gleam



I might be induced to brush him some more!

ETA, please notice tidy trimmed toesies

 

[Kite_Rider]

You know it’s interesting you saying that, I used to brush Oscar til he was gleaming, he was bright bay.
I just give Belle a quick flick to get the thick off and she will stand all day for a groom, I always say it’s because she lives out naked and I don’t want to brush all her natural oils out, but I wonder if subliminally it’s because she doesn’t ‘shine’
She does have the most beautiful dapples coming again this winter though.

 

[Huggy]

Oh I get you so well! Ramsey, bless his heart, being pure white from age 7 or 8, never gleamed. His mane and tail would come up well though, silver and shimmery. I haven't yet got over the novelty of being able to make Hogan shine! Enjoy!

 

[newforest]

I think some shine and some don't. I do the minimum with mine, but she does get a good scratch over and she loves that.

Maybe the darker they are the more it shines?

 

[carthorse]

Very pretty tootsies!

Little Un isn't a fan of grooming so I tend to be quick but gentle each day while he comes in for a haynet. First I go over him with a Lincoln Miracle Groomer which is like a fine comb with a handle and gets out loose hair (of which there seems to be a lot at the moment, I swear more than there was summer coat) and brings any scurf to the top, then I go over him with a very soft goat hair body brush that lifts off the scurf and gives a beautiful shine to his bay coat. I have to be very gentle though and use long slow strokes otherwise he gets grouchy and moves away. Any mud on ticklish/sensitive areas is either scratched of (gently!) with my nails or hot clothed off - while I could do it "properly" it doesn't seem worth the hassle when there's an easier way. I'm sure if he was a grey he's never be clean, bay is definitely lower maintenance and still gives a stunning shine

 

[Bodshi]

I think bays and chestnuts are the most practical colours. Might add dark brown to the list looking at Charlie, who is gleaming, and very neat little feet too. Is he dark brown @Jane&Ziggy? Do you know what his coat colour genetics are?

The chestnuts I've known never seem to even get dirty. When Raf is in good form and in his summer coat he almost gets a shine but you can only really see it close up Ellen Whittaker's big grey mare (whose name I've temporarily forgotten) used to gleam a creamy silver, no idea how they did that but it must have been a specialist job!

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

I think bays and chestnuts are the most practical colours. Might add dark brown to the list looking at Charlie, who is gleaming, and very neat little feet too. Is he dark brown @Jane&Ziggy? Do you know what his coat colour genetics are?

Yes, he is a very dark plain chocolate brown all over, with the tiniest fleck of white between his eyes and on his nose and half of one white fetlock.

His dad was a big old broad chested bay TB, who had a very similar star to him:



and mum was a dun Highland x Cob, so he has a dilute gene somewhere. I wondered if perhaps he's smoky black but he looks brown, brown, brown!

 

[newforest]

I think bays and chestnuts are the most practical colours. Might add dark brown to the list looking at Charlie, who is gleaming, and very neat little feet too. Is he dark brown @Jane&Ziggy? Do you know what his coat colour genetics are?

The chestnuts I've known never seem to even get dirty. When Raf is in good form and in his summer coat he almost gets a shine but you can only really see it close up Ellen Whittaker's big grey mare (whose name I've temporarily forgotten) used to gleam a creamy silver, no idea how they did that but it must have been a specialist job!

Ladina B

 

[Bodshi]

That's her. Looked quite a handful but so talented. One of those horses that I really admired but would never have wanted to ride myself

Ladina B

 

[Bodshi]

Yes, he is a very dark plain chocolate brown all over, with the tiniest fleck of white between his eyes and on his nose and half of one white fetlock.

His dad was a big old broad chested bay TB, who had a very similar star to him:

View attachment 99708

and mum was a dun Highland x Cob, so he has a dilute gene somewhere. I wondered if perhaps he's smoky black but he looks brown, brown, brown!

We need @chev back on board!

 

[carthorse]

@Bodshi Jim was a chestnut and a real mud monster! Not just mud on top of his coat either, oh no he'd real grind it in until some days his coat was pretty much stood on end and held in place by dried mud. Luckily he was good to groom because I'm ashamed to say an old fashioned square metal curry comb - the type the Pony Club say are only for cleaning body brushes - was often used because nothing else was up to the job. If I did that to Little Un he'd have a full on hissy fit

 

[OwnedbyChanter]

Love my chestnuts can hardly see any mud on them, Ginger has the most beautiful glossy shiny coat and I love grooming him as did Chanter, Eddie is getting better at being groomed he is a slightly dark chestnut but I think it will come up lovely next year.

 

[GaryB]

Harvey isn't keen on grooming - he seems to prefer looking like this:

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Harvey isn't keen on grooming - he seems to prefer looking like this:

Just a bigger version of Ziggy really!

 

[carthorse]

@GaryB I don't envy you when he greys out to white!

 

[GaryB]

I don't envy you when he greys out to white!

That had crossed my mind