Winter is on the way out (hopefully)! As we head into spring, it is important to remember that spring presents its own challenges when it come to keeping your horse in prime condition.
Top Spring Haircare Tips:
1. Wash Regularly: Now that things are starting to warm up, it’s important to wash your horse regularly again. It may depend on where you live, but as long as it’s not too cold and the winds not blowing, be sure to wash them as needed and let them dry before brushing out their hair. Watch how we wash our horses here
2a. Brush Your Horse's Coat Frequently: Brush frequently! ‘Tis the season of shedding. The more you brush your horse, the less likely he/she will rub. If you aren’t getting that extra coat of hair out, your horse will take care of it by rubbing, which can really impact mane and tail growth. It takes about 2-3 weeks to get all of that extra hair out, so don’t feel like you need to force it or brush too hard. Make sure to use our grooming tool. It is effective, safe, and the best around for removing hair and dirt. Watch how to use our grooming tool here.
2b. Don’t Forget to Brush Everywhere: A lot of people forget to brush underneath their bellies and the armpit area. Horses tend to sweat a lot in those areas, so if they are not brushed out really good the hair grows long, bunches, and the horse can get sores. Another spot is around is the forehead and the dimples around their eyes. For this area use a fine tooth comb or fingers to scrape that area. This will also help prevent rubbing!
3. Brush Your Horse's Mane and Tail Frequently: As you wash mane and tail regularly, make sure that you use the right brush. Our mane and tail brush is comfortable to use and won't damage or break hair. After you brush, make sure to braid the mane, braid the tail, use braiding tape, and use a tailbag.
4. Keep Saddle Blankets, Pads, and Cinches Clean: After every ride you’ll find a lot of hair covering blankets, pads and cinches due to shedding. If you don’t clean these as you use them, bacteria will grow and can cause infections. Be sure to clean each item in the way that the manufacturer recommends. If you are riding multiple horses a day, be sure to use separate blankets, pads, and cinches for each horse so you aren’t transferring sweaty pads between horses.
5. Keep Pens Clean: Keep your pens clean! We know this can be a difficult one, but if you’re regularly cleaning your horse's pen, your horse's hair will benefit. A horse rolling around in sand or hay is much different than manure (which is not good on hair). Trenching around the pens may help with runoff as snow melts as well, making clean up easier.
6. Pick Hooves frequently: This is just another example of why it’s important to keep the horse’s pen clean. If your horse is standing in manure or urine, and it gets packed in your horse's hooves, you may increase the risk of your horse getting thrush.
7. Wash Tailbags Inside and Out: Make sure to clean out the interior of your horse’s tailbag when you wash, brush, and braid the tail every 7-10 days. . Be sure to regularly turn it inside out and dump it. If the tailbag is not cleaned out regularly, dirt will build up and that can grind against your horse’s hair and cause damage. If you are short on time and can't redo the braid and wash the tail, make sure to remove the tailbag, dump out any dirt inside, and put it back on when it's clean.
These small details will lead to major improvements in your horse's mane and tail growth. Have a great spring!