Cleaning
BODY AND LIMBS
A curry-comb stroke followed by a vigorous "dandy brush stroke"
• For a horse not in a training condition, you will have to avoid metal curry-combs at all costs. As he is not muscled, you'd risk hurting him by rubbing on sensitive areas as the back. On the other hand, the metal curry-comb could tear off scabs and dermatitis, and cause infections. Before using a metal curry-comb, it is therefore necessary to wait at least fifteen days, so that muscles stretch again and skin is healthy, even though, once that your horse is clipped, its use has no sense…
• You will prefer a rubber curry-comb, soft and with big teeth, allowing to rub limbs without any risk to injure.
TRICKS
Rubber curry-comb allows taking dirty hair away without tearing off scabs and without stressing relaxed muscles.
TAIL AND MANE
You will disentangle them later, after shampooing. Don't take into your head to use a curry-comb or a brush in an entangled hair. You would only break it without disentangling it. For the moment, you just need to break clods and mud stains. To do this, take the locks in your hands and friction them the ones against the others from top to bottom.
FROGS
When a horse leaves the paddock, it is highly recommended to call the farrier. Grooming him, take deep care of hooves to verify that everything is normal and to find the « scales » of dead horn on the frog, which could detain dirt, risking to create an abscess. Gently scrape the frog wall with a knife to take away and cut these scraps of dead horn.
CHESTNUTS
• Only dead scabs must be taken off and avoid scraping chestnuts. It is possible that they do not grow. Don't persist in wishing to change something.
• On the other hand, you can soften dry chestnuts with some goose fat. They should become more elastic and would not risk tearing away.
FLY EGGS
• For health reasons, it is essential to get rid of them. Only solution: clip all limbs short enough each time that some eggs appear. When necessary, you can use a little razor for areas where the eggs firmly hold.
• Pay attention to take everything away.
TICKS
If you leave the tick head in your horse's skin, you risk creating an abscess. Using some alcohol, you can anaesthetize the tick which will easily take off. Once removed, crush or burn it.
SCABS AND FISSURES
• If your horse is full of scabs or fissures, Mastijet (Intervet) is the perfect product. Remember, this antibiotic cream for cow udders is to be ordered at a chemist's. It results as positive at doping test and it is very expensive.
• It also exists a homemade mixture which is very useful if the scabs and fissures are not too persistent and purulent. The recipe ? A mix of sulphur and white Vaseline (both items can be bought at a chemist's), at a rate of a spoonful of sulphur for two spoonfuls of Vaseline. Advantage: you can paint pasterns and bulbs before training (waterproofing) and after (to treat).