Brush Me Not

Wednesday April 24 2013

Ever since I've known Stormy, starting on the racetrack in 1997, he has always hated being brushed. Many of my Thoroughbred racehorses hated being brushed; I assumed most Thoroughbreds were 'thin-skinned' for lack of any better idea.

With Stormy, it doesn't matter what I try - a hard brush (forget it!!!!), a soft brush (no!), a soft rag (no!), rubber glove (no!), a steel curry comb - most excellent for removing thick itchy loose hair (heck no!), a rubber curry comb (no! no! nothing!). You'd think he'd like his itchy hide being brushed, especially with the still-long winter hairs that are still clinging, but any brushing of the sort irritates him. He'll pin his ears, and if I keep brushing, he'll turn his head and snap with his teeth, and if I dare ignore that, he'll threaten to kick, or even double barrel, with his hind feet.


Of course he LOVES it when I scratch him all over with my fingers; you'd think a curry comb with finger-like projections would be similar, but NO!

A wise horseman once told me that if you brush and brush and brush (and bathe and bathe) your horse, he won't have his natural protective dirt and oil layers that can help keep the bugs from biting. It makes sense to me, especially when Stormy rolls and coats himself with a thick layer of Owyhee dirt.

Or maybe he's still re-living his childhood, always playing in the dirt and avoiding baths and preferring to stay unkempt.

The Sweeper

Sunday September 23 2012

Forget your grooming kit - your tedious brushes, curry combs, oiled rages and rubber mitts. Just get out your broom and take care of your horse in a couple of swipes!

Finneas was not quite sure this new grooming style was dignified enough for a 5-day-ride-finishing, 100-mile-finishing, Best Condition-winning, Grandson-of-The-Black-Stallion kind of endurance horse, but when Connie assured him that it was indeed quite dignified (for all his bravado, he can be manipulated with words and tone of voice), he felt pretty smug.

It's also good for the groom - you don't get dust in your eyes. Connie said she doesn't have to wear her goggles to protect her eyes when she brushes her horse anymore.

This could totally revolutionize the horse grooming industry.

The Sweeper!

Only 39.99 in 3 easy payments! Details to follow.

The Dirt

Monday December 14 2009

Are you one of those who thinks your horse has to be clean? Do you
obsessively brush him to get all the dirt and dust out of his hair? Do you frequently give your horse baths, thinking it's good for him to have a clean shiny coat?

What's the first thing he wants to do after you bathe him? Go straight to the dirt and roll.


I'm not big on brushing horses - never was. Maybe that's because almost all of the Thoroughbred racehorses I groomed on the track did not like it, no matter how soft the brush. (Thin skin?) I was not known for sending a clean horse to the racetrack in the mornings. My trainers were not always pleased with me. The horses didn't enjoy the brushing, so I didn't do it. Why aggravate them?

Stormy will still try to bite me if I take a brush to him. I bathe him once in a while, really just to turn him loose immediately and watch him have a good roll. There's just something humorously satisfying about that.


Here's the real dirt a horseman once told me. The dirt and oils on their coats help protect them from insect bites. When we bathe them, we wash that natural protection off that Nature gave them.

Of course, it doesn't keep all the bugs away, and if we do coat them in insect spray, it's nice to wash that toxic stuff off sometimes, because that's certainly not natural either.


Maybe that's true, and maybe it's not, but I know the horses prefer being dirty to smelling like a human hair salon. It makes us feel good, seeing a shiny coat and smelling a Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Lemon Sage mane and tail, but maybe the horses have a different opinion about that.

Dirt - it does a body good.