How to Groom Your Horse
Good mane is the key to horse health. This for a person looking at an animal mane plays a purely aesthetic role, primarily striking. And for the animal itself, the mane performs an important protective function, as it covers the neck and head from blood-sucking insects. Therefore, the condition of the hair in the mane is directly related to the general well-being of the animal.
You must admit that a horse with a combed mane does not look as elegant and beautiful as its well-groomed brothers. And for the animal itself, and intertwined mane has a number of inconveniences: increased sweating during work, additional skin irritation, as a result of which is itching, and skin wounds. Indeed, if the horse’s neck is itching, it will itch and scratch itself, thereby baldly ugly in the place of the comb. And if the long mane fell down, it will cling to any dubious places, which will bring additional pain and inconvenience to the horse.
Keeping the mane in order is not difficult, but the owner of the animal requires maximum accuracy and patience.
Washing the mane To clean the mane from sweat, dust, subcutaneous fat, it must be washed. The washing regimen may be different, depending on the intensity of training and the time of year. In winter, sweating is less pronounced than in summer, so you can wash your mane less often. However, each horse has its own regime. It is enough for some animal to wash its hair once a week, for another – once a month.
If the hair of the mane is quickly greasy, washing should be frequent. This can avoid irritation of the skin of the neck and the appearance of fungi. In winter there is no way to bathe the horse as a whole, therefore, in cold weather, special mane care products are used – sprays and dry shampoos. Your veterinarian can advise them. Feel free to seek help at a good veterinary clinic!
Washing mane is best done with air conditioning (a special tool for caring for mane). It will not let the hair get tangled, give shine, and health. The exceptions are those days when you have to braid the mane. It is clear that from the influence of the air conditioner, the elastic bands on the mane will not hold well, as the hair will become smooth.
Conditioner plays an important protective role in mane care. Means can have a softening effect, wellness, firming. Some conditioners are applied to a wet mane, some to a dry mane. There are special gel-like products that do not allow dust and other dirt to settle on the hair, thereby protecting them and leaving them longer in a clean state.
Shoeing the mane
You need to clean the horse’s mane daily, but only using the right combs and brushes. Otherwise, you can easily damage the horse’s hair and make it rare and depleted, damaging a large amount of hair. Remember that a good comb has rare large teeth with rounded tips.
Before the cleaning procedure, the horse’s mane must be untangled manually, that is, the first combing and removal of grass and other debris from the mane must be carried out directly with your hands, fingers. Manual cleaning is necessary until the large stain is completely removed. Smaller dirt can be combed out with a brush.
Cleaning technique
When cleaning the comb, it should walk along the mane smoothly, without getting stuck or lingering. The technique of cleaning consists in phased advancement of the combing front from the ends of the hair to the roots. By the way, one can linger at the roots a little to massage the skin with a comb. This will improve blood circulation, which means that the mane will grow denser and stronger in the future.
Also, when cleaning the mane, it is very good to use conditioner, which will not allow the hair to be damaged, allowing less effort to conduct future combing.
Laying mane
It is not difficult to achieve a beautiful laying of the mane, it is enough to use special tamers after washing the mane. These “stockings” for mane are necessary for fixing the hair until they are dry. Tamers are often used for horses, which are important to keep the mane beautiful, for example, for competitions or various performances (horse shows). Tamers put horses on their necks to protect their hair from tangling, damage, and adverse weather conditions. There are lycra tamers on sale, but you can tie such a “stocking” on your own.
There are special gels for laying mane. They are applied from the roots along the entire length and “accustom” the mane to lie evenly. They are also used when braiding braids.
If for some reason your horse’s mane is not lush and thick on any side, as we would like, then experts recommend that in such cases take drastic measures and cut your hair completely. As a rule, this is done with garden shears, leaving a cut of about 2 cm. After this, the mane, as a rule, grows thick.
After cutting, it is recommended to wash the mane, preferably with air conditioning. The haircut is carried out in the warm season so that the hair grows again by winter.
We wish your horse to look his best!