GROOMING YOUR HORSE ON THE TRAIL
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PHOTO 1: Back at the trailer, Annakate is untacked and ready for grooming. Although she only sweated lightly under the saddle, cleaning up the moisture before it turns into a hard crust will save you time in the morning. PHOTO 2: Post-ride, Gypsy is groomed and ready for dinner. PHOTO 3: A fl eece cooler can help your horse wick away moisture and keep the large muscles warm as the sun begins to go down. PHOTO 4: Before tucking your horse in for the night, a “windbreaker” will keep your horse cozy without overheating him if the temperatures are dropping.
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hen you’re camping with your horse, you may not have the luxury of power hoses, high-pressure sprayers and other grooming tools, but you can keep your horse clean day after day with little more than elbow grease, a scraper and a stiff bristle brush. Follow these guidelines to enhance your camp-over:
n START YOUR CAMPING TRIP WITH A CLEAN HORSE
Giving some horses a bath is an en-
graved invitation to head for the nearest place to roll. While giving your horse a thorough bath occasionally will get them squeaky clean right down to the skin, if he rolls in the interim simply hosing off your horse the morning of your ride (weather permitting) will ensure you are starting out with a clean steed.
n KEEP YOUR TACK CLEAN Wash and dry all saddle pads and girths
before packing for your trip. If your horse has sensitive skin, use very little deter- gent, and stick with a natural brand that is less irritating. Double-rinse the pads to get out any residue, and air-dry your pads in a sunny place. In fact, be sure all of your equipment
is clean before loading. Sweat and grime can build up unseen on headstalls, reins, breast collars and cruppers. If it touches the horse, keep it clean! Pads and girths are especially impor-
tant to keep clean and dry throughout your camping trip, given their extensive contact area with the horse. A dirty, sweat- encrusted pad can cause rubbing, leading to saddle sores and girth galls over the course of your ride. Be sure to bring plenty of spare equipment—ideally a fresh pad and girth for each day of the ride. If you use a synthetic saddle pad or girth, clean it up
with a damp sponge to remove sweat and hang to dry in the sun. If you use synthetic tack, you can clean
it up quickly between rides by dunking it all in a bucket and then hanging it out to dry. If you prefer leather tack, run a damp cloth with a small amount of leather cleaner over it post-ride to remove sweat.
n CLEAN YOUR HORSE UP FIRST, BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE
You’re back in camp after a long day on
the trail, and all you want to do is crack open your favorite beverage and get the campfi re going. Well, hold your horses! Take care of your horse and tack first. (Note: If you know your horse wants to roll, let him do so before you start clean- ing him up!) “You need to fl uff up the coat to allow
the dirt to lift out,” says Karl Phaler, endur- ance rider and horse-camper from southern Arizona. “The stiff bristles get the crud off the coat and get it shiny again. A soft brush won’t work—it just redistributes the dirt.” While your horse is still wet or damp,
get the grime off before it dries to a hard crust. Prime places to check include the belly, insides of the hind legs, along the back edge of the saddle pad near the loins, the chest and the ears. If you began the day with a clean saddle pad, you can minimize the amount of dirt that migrates from the bottom of the pad onto the horse’s back. You can use a metal scraper or shedding
WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US • June | July 2010 11
blade (though not on the head or near joints), “nubbly” cloth, stiff dandy brush, “jelly scrubber” or curry comb. You may not want to get your horse too wet since the sun will be going down soon. There are products, such as Epona’s Lavender Wash,
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