Show grooming questions!

[lovepintos]

Next year I am really wanting to get serious over showing.

I planned out an conditioning program that I believe will work. We are going to start out slowly like 10 min. 3X a week of trotting and build up 5 min. from there. I was wondering whats the longest you would excercise a horse in a day with solid trotting? We have no sand but a small square pen with couple of hills.

I talked to several people at Nationals and they were telling me this dye used for black horses. It was something you put on there hair before you clip them? It looked fantastic when it was done right.

Now a couple of questions about clipping. I plan to clip there bodies with a 10 or 15 blade. Solid color horses with a 15, and horses that are pinto or white with a 10. I was told to clip there muzzle and above there eyes with a 40 to 50 blade, but was wondering what do you do with horses that have blazes. I would think a lot of pink would show if there is white at the nose of a horse's blaze. Also when is the closest you clip a horse before a show? Mine are mostly black horses but with a couple of whites.

Thanks for helping me out!

 

[ruffian]

You cannot dye the body of any horse. Manes and tails can be dyed.

Sounds like you have the right idea for the body, but it's good to trial and error to see how fast your horse's hair grows back.

I personally don't close clip or shave my horses with blazes. It is too pink. I just do a 30 blade to make it clean.

There's a lot of posts about shaving and razoring on this forum if you search for it.

Good luck - showing is a lot of fun! Plus a lot of WORK!

 

[midnight star stables]

Well.. for the dying the hair.. My Midnight is 26 and had white marks on his head and neck.. so some die fixed that right up! Also dying the whole main & tail for that extra black doesn't hurt

I don't clip with a 30 or 40.. 10 & 15 + razoing are good for me.. & you asked when to clip? I have a roan pinto & 2 blacks, and honestly, the More you clip them (once every week or every other week) will keep your darks darker, not brown and your whites whiter, not pink! Trust me on that one

If you clip about every other week, clipping 3 days before a show will look great and NOT mess their colour at all

-Desiree-

 

[pepperhill]

I usually use a 10, but have used others now and again. For me, I clip about 5 to 7 days before a show. The pink is gone, a little luster is starting back in and any clipping ooopsies have smoothed out. But, I do agree that you should give it a try and see for yourself which look you like the best. I end up clipping about every three weeks through the summer due to the show schedule we follow and it seems to work out fine. A little dye in the tail and mane really does help with the sun bleach...especially in the darker colors. We are more the "local fair" type show people, and the minis go right back out to pasture when the kids are done with them so sunbleach is a problem for us. I also wait until the day before the show to clip the inner ear as my horses need the fly protection. Best wishes, Linda

 

[rabbitsfizz]

You do not have to clip if you do not want to, and I find the problem with the ears is solved by clipping a tiny bit inside the ear, making sure all the hair is off level with the edge of the ear and then just running some black or dark brown grease around the inside of the ear. Once the inside id dark you do not see the hair!!

I only clipped once, at the beginning of the year, for my show horses, then I blanketed and fed BOSS. They came into full summer coat and looked glorious!!!Because of his age (he is 26) I will not clip Rabbit, he is also, obviously, almost retired apart form his stud duties, so I like to keep him out as much as possible.

This is him in full coat, unclipped. See, it can look good!!

If I do clip I would never clip a light or very dark coloured horse immediately before a show. Blacks tend to go a sort of dull greyish colour and Palominos and light horses look pinkish if you are not careful. You also need to decide whether to "bald" the nose or not. Again, you do not HAVE to do it, it is personal preference.

You are NOT permitted to dye anything except the mane and tail, and, strictly speaking that should only be back to it's original colour.

Yo could, potentially, get disqualified for dying any part of your horses body including the head. Manes and tails ONLY!!!

 

[minimomNC]

Everyone has their own ways of doing show prep. Not everyone agrees with everyone else, doesn't make either wrong. Some don't clip at all, some clip very close. Do what looks best for your horse and with enough practice you will find that out.

As for working, ours are in the round pen or on the golf cart 20 minutes working hard 4 days a week. They get alot of turn out time to play. But your feeding program will help condition your horse just as much as the work he does. Work with the feed to see what works best for your horse.

As for clipping, ours horses were clipped at least once a month most of the year because thats how much we showed. We have solid and pintos but all were clipped pretty much the same. Bodies were done with a 30 one or two days before the first class, heads and faces were blended with a 40 and 50. Muzzles were razored the night before. THats how we like them. Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

Our program worked for us. In our first year of taking horses to R Nationals and The World, my daughter and the horses got 14 top tens with 7 of those being top fives. Her sr gelding was out of reserve by 2 points at World. We are amateurs, we do it ourselves in our own barn. So no matter what anyone says, if you have good horses and you are willing to put in the time and hard work, amateurs can do well at the National level.

Good luck and I hope you find what is just right for your horse.

 

[kaykay]

it is very much against the rules to dye body hair on a horse and you can be disqualified for it. the only thing you are allowed to dye is the mane and tail. I use just for men hair dye as its very fast and lasts longer then womens hair color

 

[lovepintos]

it is very much against the rules to dye body hair on a horse and you can be disqualified for it.  the only thing you are allowed to dye is the mane and tail.  I use just for men hair dye as its very fast and lasts longer then womens hair color

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Wow I must have seen like tons of people do it at Nationals with there black horses. I thought you couldn't do it with there body but if they were able to at Nationals I must have been wrong. Good thing to know.

Thanks for the comments keep them coming!

 

[kaykay]

Heres the AMHR rule im not sure about AMHA

N. Changing the coat color of a horse is NOT permitted but highlighting the mane and tail, eyes, ears, muzzle etc IS permissible

 

[Secret Hills Ranch]

I usually clip approx 1 week to 3 days before the show. I try to clip a week before in case of mistakes, then they will have time to grow out. While clipping I try to get as close to the mane as possible, and still leave a straight nice line. This is especially important if I need to plait the horses mane for a jumping or CDE show.

When clipping I use a 10 on the body, regardless of horses color.

40 on the muzzle and blend with a 30

30 around eyes.

40 inside ears.

Before doing the 30 and 40 on the face I first go over the entire face with a 10.

I have an attachment that goes onto my clippers that sands their feet. I always sand their feet pretty well and then put hoof polish on just to make sure it looks good. I do this the day before the show.

As for grooming the day of the show I dilute baby oil and water in a spray bottle and spray it on their muzzles and around their eyes and use a towel to rub it on. I also use Face Glo in the same areas before I spray the baby oil on. Then I use Champion Pepi on their body and mane/tail. I spray a lot on their forelock so it gets that goopy shiny look and then i twirl the forelock a couple of times and put it underneath the halter. Then it's time for hoof polish. Have your horse stand on a towel or carpet of some sort. Clean their hooves off real well then put on hoof polish. It's not neccessary, but I love hoof polish enhancer. It really makes their feet look good. <Make sure your horse stands on the towel until their feet are completely dry, you don't want dirt to get all over the polish.

Then go show and have fun

That's Cinder about a week after being clipped.

Good luck at your shows!And have fun!!!!!!

 

[Sunraye Miniatures]

We pretty much do what Secret Hills Ranch does when it goes to clipping.

Just make sure to watch your horse "squeaky" clean before you clip them. If your horse isn't clean it burns up the clippers really fast and dulls those blades.

As far as the longest to condition them goes we at times do it 60 min. 5X a day, but thist isn't straight trotting, we let them cool down and relax at the 30 min. mark and we do it again, of course you really want to watch out when you do this during the summer months.

Good luck!

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

depending on the horse our work outs here are about 30-45 min long with about 20 of that being at a working trot.. another 5-10 at a slow trot and the rest walking and transitions.

Everyone clips different for me alot depends on the show meaning local or Nationals and what area i am showing in.

 

[Leeana]

I keep it simple ..i dont clip at all. Natural Beauty beats horse prep bootie! Thats how i put it ...im with fizz here.

Leeana

 

[midnight star stables]

I keep it simple ..i dont clip at all.  Natural Beauty beats horse prep bootie!  Thats how i put it ...im with fizz here.

Leeana

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But you show in Open classes

 

[Meavey]

As far as the longest to condition them goes we at times do it 60 min. 5X a day,

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5 hours a day?

 

[Jill]

I have a tip for those who need to dye manes and tails. I used to dread it and put it off since it makes such a mess but then "discovered" Just For Men hair color. I use the foam in kind not the brush on kind. It doesn't drip and you can get it in a near black (real real dark brown) that looks very natural. It's a breeze to use it and no draping the horse or anything. Easy, easy

 

[Sunraye Miniatures]

As far as the longest to condition them goes we at times do it 60 min. 5X a day,

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5 hours a day?

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Oops sorry its suppose to be 5X a WEEK!! If I did that 5X a day I would have keeled over.

 

[Secret Hills Ranch]

As for workouts, I generally have this program:

Monday - - Turnouts on grass pastures

Tuesday - - Driving

Wednesday - - Lungeing/Jumping/Halter Obstacle

Thursday - - Driving

Friday - - Driving

Saturday - - Halter Obstacle

Sunday - - Driving on the Trails

Mondays and Sundays are generally easy days. During the winter we usually slow down to driving 3-4 times a week and we do a lot of turn outs. After shows I always give everyone 2-3 days off with grass pasture turn outs or maybe 30 min on the hot walker.

Good luck to ya

Edited to add:

I usually change it up a little bit, the horses get tired of doing the same thing everyday. Sometimes we'll jump one more day, or instead of driving one day we'll do halter obstacle or go for a long driving trail ride. They really enjoy getting out and its so good for them.It makes them happy horses to see what's outside of the barn