My wonderful readers!
I have a contest for YOU!
Actually, for FIVE OF YOU
Absorbine knows how much Laz and I love their Natural Hooflex dressing (with arnica in it!!)
and offered a contest for me to giveaway
5 bottles of their 15 oz size HOOFLEX
in the brand new packaging.
You will love this dressing.
It's great to use all year long and with the natural Avocado and Tea tree oils, I know it's only benefiting my horse's hooves!
So-how to win???
Leave a comment on your best grooming tip!
To be entered TWICE; re-post about this contest on your blog along with a picture of your horse displaying your best grooming job!
The five winners will be selected by random by Lazarus (creative juices flowing...) and will be chosen the week of November 8th.
GOOD LUCK!!!
xo
**Contest officially ENDS November 9th at Midnight Eastern Time"
Awesome contest!! Here's my best grooming tip: Wipe out your horse's nostrils with a warm, wet cloth. He or she will probably find this obnoxious, but this small effort makes a big difference and you will look extra polished at shows. :)
ReplyDeleteSee my blog for my shameless plug. finalchapter.karen.blogspot.com
Yay for a contest. I love the spray that Hooflex has with the Avocado Oil so I am sure this is just as great!
ReplyDeleteMy best grooming tip is for getting those white socks super white. Wash the socks with your choice of whitening shampoo(I personally like Mane & Tail's). Then while still wet cover in baby powder, and I mean cover(until you have a horrible mess in the wash stall). Let the socks dry and then brush out the next day.
I will try to find a picture of when I have done this and then post to my blog. Thanks for the fun contest :)
My best grooming tip is to curry and brush the horse normally, and then spray the coat with coat conditioner (Absorbine's Santa Fe works GREAT). Take a small towel and rub the conditioner into the coat vigorously in a circular fashion, and then go over the horse once more with a soft brush to put a finishing shine on him or her. It really makes a difference! It makes the horse's coat shiny and soft to the touch. I will post a blog entry about this later :)
ReplyDeleteSweeeeeeeet deal, Laz.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite grooming tip to share is to use your favorite conditioner on your horse instead of an equine-only shampoo. If it makes you shine, you can bet its gonna make your horse shine twice as much and come out with the softest mane/tail/coat ever!
And my blog post:
http://liz-stout.blogspot.com/2011/11/attention-horse-lovers.html
Nice giveaway!
ReplyDeleteMy tried and true tip:
Use Listerine before a competition to remove dandruff from mane and tail. Simply wet main and tail, massage Listerine into the roots and rinse. All the itchy and unsightly dead skin will be gone!
katy dot americo at gmail dot com
Hmm... My grooming tip that I used for Katy who had the most giant white tail ever is to soak the dirty tail in warm water, then rinse it to remove some of the dirt. Then soak it again in a bucket with some whitening shampoo and a little bleach. After that, use a bunch of conditioner and leave it in for as long as possible. Rinse and braid from there and you'll have the whitest tail possible for a show the next day :)
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway!!
ReplyDeleteMy grooming tip is to use Silverado Face Glo to accent eyes and muzzles to add some extra polish in the show ring. Plus the sorrel Face Glo smells like bubble gum!!
For those with grey or light colored ponies, I discovered the secret to getting rid of manure stains without a bath. Vetrolin has a Green Spot Out product (as do several other companies) that works fairly well, but isn't perfect. So what I do is first massage in the the Spot Out And then curry in dry shampoo. Works like a charm!
ReplyDeleteMine is a little odd. But, it's waterless sheath cleaning! It can even use it in the cold if really needed. I use KY jelly only or generic brand(costo). Put gloves on and put large golfball size amount in your hand a few times. Then work as much as you can up the sheath and work it around(if your horse lets you). It will lossen all the gunk up and you can use small wet hand towel to wipe clean. Even if your horse will not drop? You can clean the opening and the opening sides(that even helps a ton). There is usually lots of gunk there. You can even put a lot of ky like mentioned above to let is losen up things and go back to your regular grooming. Then go back after grooming to wipe off. Then if you don't get it all the KY off. NO big deal! The KY(or generic brand) is completely safe and if your horse drops another day? You can wipe the remainder off then(usually glob balls by then)! I am also lucky that I have 2 boys that love having their sheath cleaned. Enzo will even tell me when it needs to be cleaned. It's sooo funny! I am not sure I will be posting this on my blog, LOL!!!! But fun contest for sure!!!!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh fun contest! I bet I'll learn a lot from the comments:)
ReplyDeleteThe best grooming tools in my basket are a damp cloth and show sheen. For the spring and fall grungies, curry the beast, then go over them with a damp cloth. Brush, then finish with another clean cloth and show sheen. Also, for dirty faces, nothing beats a cloth as opposed to a brush.
Also for our boys', ahem, sensitive area, KY jelly (or a knockoff generic) is cheaper and does the trick, along with latex gloves of course:)
Oops, I see at least one person knows all about the KY thing:)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite grooming tip is to use your horses conditioner on yourself. Personally my favorite is Mega-Tek Rebuilder by EQyss. My hairstlyist is jealous of how fast my hair grows and how even though it is bleached blonde it is stronger than anyone elses hair she works with...OHHHHH you wanted HORSE grooming tips not PEOPLE grooming tips....okay, when spring finally rolls around I use a furminator, the biggest one they have (bought on ebay for cheap!) and brush, brush, brush! Helps shed out that nasty winter coat. Also when putting detangler in the monsters mane and tail I wear disposable gloves (I reuse them a few times) that way when I am done My hands aren't super slippery and I can tack up with out slick hands! kind of dumb tips but It's all I could think of!
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy grooming tip is to use vineagar on your horses coat when you wash them. It's good for sensitive skin and really brings out the shine :)
For horse shows- don't paint your horses feet with the gooey slops or the drying semi-permanent paints. Take a fine grit sanding block and lightly buff then use plain baby oil! This is what is used on the high dollar thoroughbreds when they go through the sales.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the geldings (and stallions), when they are letting their manly parts get some air- douse them with baby oil. It doesn't need to be rinsed out and it will eliminate the gunk without having to srub by hand! Learned this at the track as well.
My other favorite- Mane and Tail's Protect Spray works great on rainrot and scurf. Just curry it then pray good. A couple days later it is gone and your horse doesn't have the funky MTG Bacon grease or smell!
My groomig tip is, when you need to bathe a horse in cooler weather, and you want them to dry faster, use rubbing alcohol! After you give them a warm water bath, take a bottle or 2 of rubbing alcohol and splash it on your horse, rubbing it in by hand quickly, then scraping off the excess. This will get them to dry faster!
ReplyDeleteMy best grooming tip, use your elbow grease! The best way to get a great shine on your horse is daily grooming, twice a day. Brings up the natural oils, keeps your horses coat and skin healthy and you are more likely to see any problems or changes. I also like to feed my horses flax. It promotes health skin, coat and hooves :)
ReplyDeleteShapley's MTG is great for dry skin, hair growth, and mane and tail growth!
ReplyDeleteSadly, owning two grey horses has forced me to adopt some unconventional grooming tips. White or grey tails tend to be stained to the point where no amount of “ White and Brite” can turn them silver again. I have found that cornstarch is the cure for this evil. Using a generous amount of cornstarch , pour it onto your horse’s tail from top to bottom. Then take a stiff brush and brush one inch sections of hair until to tail is finished. Do this outside, or else your barn aisle will look like a winter wonderland!
ReplyDeleteSadly, owning two grey horses has forced me to adopt some unconventional grooming tips. White or grey tails tend to be stained to the point where no amount of “ White and Brite” can turn them silver again. I have found that cornstarch is the cure for this evil. Using a generous amount of cornstarch , pour it onto your horse’s tail from top to bottom. Then take a stiff brush and brush one inch sections of hair until to tail is finished. Do this outside, or else your barn aisle will look like a winter wonderland!
ReplyDeleteMy best grooming tip: after a good bath, spray your horse off with Avon's Skin So Soft bath oil. Not only does it smell great, but it keeps their skin soft, which we all know that happy skin makes for a very slick and clean coat. Also, flies hate the smell of the Skin So Soft, so it works as a fly repellent as well!
ReplyDeleteMy best grooming/horse care tip is to use a product called "Tomorrow" (made for cow's udders) for cases of thrush. This time of year the ground can be very wet and if you have a sensitive guy like mine, thrush can happen! "Tomorrow" can be found at any farm supply store, I get mine at Agway, for about 3 bucks a tube (sometimes it is sold by the box too). It is used for mastitis (sp?) in cows, but contains the correct antibiotics for killing thrush quickly without killing the healthy tissue in the frog. Clean the hoof well and just squirt into and around the frog and any splits you may see. My farrier swears by it and after my own success, I do too. Once the frog is healthy again the best maintenance is to rub with cortisone cream (40%) and then dust with Gold Bond powder. This maintains healthy tissues and moisture balance without allowing bacteria and fungus to grow!! A healthy hoof is the foundation to a healthy horse!!
ReplyDeleteMy horse Jake also swears that peppermint treats are the cure-all for any ailment!
Happy Riding :o)
Cait and Jake
Showsheen isnt just for shows! It my go-to product in the winter when my horse decides to roll in the mud when its too cold to hose him off. Showsheen makes my horses shine inside the show ring and out!
ReplyDeleteKeeping up with daily grooming makes a bigger difference than doing a massive groom before a show. I tend not to use a lot of products and rely on good old elbow grease, but I do love Cowboy Magic Detangler for my horse's tail.
ReplyDeleteWrote a blog entry about the contest and my grooming tips for a second entry:
http://jessandprinceofthieves.blogspot.com/2011/11/mirror-mirror.html
I'm with the few others who said regular grooming is the best secret to grooming...although I suppose it's not really a secret. I also religiously follow the brush rules too...curry first then hard body brush then soft body brush then pumice stone.
ReplyDeleteGrayson is always super shiny in the winter...the white hairs throughout his coat look like silver!
Regular grooming and I just recently started to cheat a little with some Show Sheen. :)
For muddy, dirty, dusty horses! - Buy cheap baby wipes in bulk, they are moist, pull of dirt and grim easily, and leave your pony smelling innocent!
ReplyDeleteMy secret is using shoe polish. I have a older ottb with black legs and he has some white hairs from old soring scars. I rub a touch of black shoe polish on his white scar hairs to blend it in naturally! My other tip is for his tail. Every fall i "bang" his tail, and only gently brush it once a week with cowboy magic detangler. By spring its grown out long and its thick down to the tips! Its hard to not brush it, but the results are worth it! I love thick tails!
ReplyDeletewell when youre at the ripe old horse show age of 17, as i am, you tend to have a large (and i mean huge. Elephant huge. Sky scraper huge. The Dictionary on understanding women huge, and thats a big one!) collection of bits of show grooming wisedom. Most arnt better than taking hair spray to your butt before a bareback class or religeously running semi damp towels over your mount to get off the dust before a class, but there is hope! I had to think long and hard about what my answer would be (the peanut gallery, ''yeah, 5 whole minutes of thinking'') but i have come up with the best grooming tip! Use quality horse shampoo. Think about it..shampoo touches almost every place on the horse, and since most of what you want to see on show day is that beautiful shine, it's important to make sure your horse is washed (ans rinsed) well and youll bring out his natural shine and stand out in the ring!
ReplyDeleteMy general tip is to remember to keep brushes clean. I wash with dish soap or just vinegar water, being more delicate with natural bristles.
ReplyDeleteHave the winners been chosen for this yet?? Thanks!
ReplyDelete@Dianne-Yes, see my blog for the winners.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Darn! I missed this. I hate being behind on reading blogs lol. I'll have to come back and read the comments. They look so interesting.
ReplyDelete