Showing is a BLAST! Weather it be barrels, jumper, hunter, dressage, vaulting, etc…they are all so much fun and everyone gets super excited about them! Now of course you don’t want to show up and have your horse and yourself looking like you aren’t ready at all, that would not be good…so here’s some things you can do to help you both look like the professionals you are! 🙂
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Bath Time!
Bathing your horse is such a great way to help them look shiny, feel good, and ready to strut their stuff! I like to bath my horse the day before the show, and when I’m done I make sure to keep them in an area where they can’t roll around in dirt or mud or anything else that could ruin all my hard work.
Make sure to give them a nice good bath. Scrub them really good, wash their manes and tails and make sure there’s no stains on them when you’re done…I know from experience that white and grey horses can be a HUGE pain in the butt to clean because it seems like every little thing manages to stain them! Don’t panic if you can’t get everything off them, just do your best and they will still look beautiful, I promise 🙂
When you’re done with the bath, put them in an area that will help keep them clean, so like a stall inside. I wouldn’t recommend putting them in a pasture when you’re done, because if you horse is anything like mine, they will go find the muddiest place possible and roll in it…I’ve learned that from experience as well…never making that mistake again!
You can also put a light sheet on them so that way if they roll in the stall, they would be covered in shavings and you can just remove the sheet and they will be nice and pretty for ya the next day 🙂
I LOVE Mane ‘n Tail soap! It cleans my horse so good, and it smells heavenly! It smells so good I would totally use it in my own hair! I have always used Mane ‘n Tail for my horses, and I strongly recommend it!
Trimming!
Take the time to really trim off any stray hair on their mane and tails, feathers on their feet, and you can trim their whiskers but if you do, please don’t trim them all the way off. Please.
Yes, trimming their whiskers makes them look very nice, but horses need them to feel around. They’re sort of like a third eye for them. They use them to find objects such as their food, water, and the ground, making it so they don’t run into any obstacles and get injured, and to make sure they’re not about to eat something bad for them.
If you’re going to trim the whiskers, only do it to a point that they look nice, but please leave them long enough so that they can still use them. Thank you!
Braiding mane and tail!
There’s different hairstyles for different shows. You can hire someone to come and braid your horses mane and tail for you, or you can just learn how to do it yourself and…just do it 🙂 I show in the Hunter so my horses braids are super small and tight, pressed up against their neck and the tails are just braided down a little ways. I have been learning to do it so that I can just do them myself, and I personally think its fun! I love doing hair and so I find it amusing and cool. You can do their hair the day before the show or the day of, just make sure you give yourself, or who ever is doing the hair, enough time to get it done. Some of the hairstyles take a while to do.
Grooming Your Horse!
Give your horse a good grooming after their bath, and right before you show. Make sure to get their legs and under their stomach as well.
Check their feet and make sure they’re good too, and if they’re not, make sure to pick them out so you don’t risk hurting your horse in any way.
You can put some SuperShine polish on their feet to give them that extra dazzling look. It’s basically like clear nail polish for horses 🙂
Give them a good spray of ShowSheen to help their coats shine and look amazing!
Make sure theirs nothing on their face, and if you want to put sone ShowSheen on their face but their being weird about it, I like to spray it on a grooming brush and then brush their faces with it, and it works just as good! Horses just aren’t fans of being sprayed in the face with stuff…but hey, can’t say I really blame them 🙂
Clean Your Tack!
You’re going to want to make sure your saddle, bridle, reigns, girth, and anything else you ride in are nice and clean as well. You can do this pretty quick! I like to use Farnam Leather when I clean my tack 🙂 You just spray your stuff and wipe it down and then, WOW! Look at that shine! 🙂 You can use a baby wipe and wipe down your bridles bit really quick. Your just want to make sure your stuff is nice and clean and ready to show in.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember out of this entire article is this…remember to HAVE FUN! Shows are not supposed to be overwhelming and stressful! They are to have fun and show everyone what you can do with your best friend!
Relax!!
The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember out of this entire article is this…remember to HAVE FUN and to RELAX! Shows are not supposed to be overwhelming and stressful! They are to have fun and show everyone what you can do with your best friend!
