Grooming is about more than just how the horse looks. The time you spend grooming can be a good opportunity to check your horse thoroughly for weight changes, injuries, signs of parasites, and general physical aspects of his well-being. It should also be "quality time," a quiet, peaceful shared experience that should be relaxing to your horse, and hopefully you too.

Below are pictured some very basic grooming tools. There are many more choices in every tack store and catalog; find ones you like.

At the most basic, however, all you need is a curry of some kind, stiff brush, a medium-soft brush, a good hoofpick, and a shedding blade in the spring.

Tip #1: Go from Stiffest to Softest

A currying implement is really for the skin: its teeth should be long enough to reach through the hair, but gentle enough not to hurt when it contacts the skin. I like the rubber and gel products better than the old, black, really hard curries, but some horses like a very firm massage.

Start by currying to lift old skin cells and stimulate circulation. Use a circular motion if your horse permits - but don't insist on brushing the hair backwards. To some horses, this feels good, others resist strenuously. Use some pressure, but again, be guided by your horse's reaction: flinching, moving away, or laying ears back are good hints that you're pushing too hard.

Next, use the stiffer brush in sweeping movements to brush the dander and dirt out of the hair. End each sweep with a flick for maximum effectiveness.

Finish up with the medium-soft or soft brush to distribute the skin's natural oils throughout the coat and get the last of the dust out.

There are many choices in the stores - try some of them. A wire curry is handy for knocking wintertime mudballs out of long, thick winter coats, but may be too severe for a thin summer coat. There are small brushes proportioned for faces, and many styles of hoofpick. Find the sizes and styles that are comfortable and effective for you and your horse.

Tip #2: Manes & Tails

There are entire books written on this subject. I will add just this: for long, thick manes and tails, when it comes to grooming, less is more.

The less you do, the better. Frequent combing will keep a mane and tail thinned. If you keep the mane and tail de-tangled (there are some good de-tangling products available) and free of debris, they will grow as much as your horse's genetic programming will allow.

If you choose the keep your horse's tail wrapped, then you must do a lot more. Wrapping should be changed frequently, about once every week or two, to keep it secure. Choose your wrapping method carefully: the hair will have a tendency to break off just above the wrapping, so you may be defeating the purpose. Horses who live in pastures or runs will have more opportunities to catch the wrappings in a fence and rip out huge chunks than those who live a stall. It might be better not to wrap. If you do wrap, remember to provide some sort of switch in the summertime so he can still shoo the flies away.

To learn how to hand-pick out a tail, click below:

Hand-Picking a Tail

Tip #3: Bathing

Less is more holds true for bathing, too. As tempting as it is for those of us with grays or horses with a lot of white, the less you bathe, the better the skin can establish its own natural healthy condition.

If you do need to bathe your horse, use shampooing products made for horses. These have pH levels balanced for horse's skin. And consider the weather: in my area, unless you have a completely enclosed barn with a washrack inside, bathing season ends by late September and doesn't begin again until late April or even May, if we're having a cold spring. If you're showing, you may have to find some creative ways around these limitations.

If your horse is uncooperative about bathing, click the link below for some suggestions.

Bathing Basics

Listen first, whisper later...