Clipping And Grooming Horses For Shows?

Question

I'm getting ready for show seasion, and I was wondering what do you do, or have herd of, to gussy up your horse., and get them looking great for shows. I would also like to know what equitment you use, because i have a horse, and have showed in open shows and county/state shows, and I am wanting to start to goto very good shows with my red roan quarter horse so I was hoping for little things that help them look great,

Thanks So Much
~ Miranda

I'm getting ready for show seasion, and I was wondering what do you do, or have herd of, to gussy up your horse., and get them looking great for shows. I would also like to know what equitment you use, because i have a horse, and have showed in open shows and county/state shows, and I am wanting to start to goto very good shows with my red roan quarter horse so I was hoping for little things that help them look great!

~ Thanks so much, Miranda

* By the way I show Dressage, Jumper, Hunter.. so pretty much all of the english riding*

Answer 1

I feed a rice-bran + flax-seed supplement to bring out my horses coat shine and color with the daily grooming. Beauty comes from inside: there are other supplements well worth their price ,for shiny coats,all have rice bran, soy extract and flax-seed in their ingredients. For even more iridescent color, try *Cheval Red D-Vinity for the best red you ever dreamed of.
Immaculate grooming bathing and prep do count a great deal, a well turned out horse always draws the judges eye,and that is the point! I even lightly oil muzzles and rasp shoe edges for sparkle,brush their teeth with kid toothpaste,and mist a non oily fly spray just before entering. I never use a product like show sheen:its fake and judges at this level hate it.
Luck Miranda!
*Link to Cheval below

Answer 2

We usually body clip our horses before the start of winter, so by spring and summer, they have a glossy coat and not that horrible dull undercoat you get when you clip them. The coat needs time to grow in, so if you didn't blanket your horse this winter and he's still pretty hairy, you can either clip him and wait for the summer coat to grow in, or just do your best with a shedding blade and waiting for it to shed out.

When trimming for a horse show, you'll want to clip the whiskers from the muzzle and the the stray hairs around the eyes (not the eyelashes). You'll also want to trim the inside of his ears and the bridlepath. If you don't know how long to make the bridlepath, here's a tip a dressage groom taught me. Fold one of your horse's ears against his neck. The bridlepath shouldn't extend any longer than the length of the ear. About a week before the show, I also like to clip the chrome on my horse, especially the stocks. This keeps the whites bright and leaves enough time for the hair to grow in enough.

Before the show, you'll also want to bathe your horse. If he's gray or white, you can add a bit of Quic Silver to the shampoo to brighten him up. If he's darker, add a splash of Quic Black. Be careful, though, too much or when used on a lighter horse, it can give a slightly blue tone. Don't let the Quic Black bleed onto your horse's chrome, either. You'll also want to keep some show sheen on hand for the day of the show. Be careful not to spray on the saddle area or by your leg, as it will make the coat very slippery.

You'll also need to braid if you want to get into the rated circuit. I've included below a few links to some good braiding tip sights, as there's too much information for me to type in one post.

http://members.tripod.com/~tisca/plaiting.html
http://www.thetackbox.com/braid.htm
http://www.statelinetack.com/global/articles/article_detail.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673322917&bmUID=1145791945581
http://www.raspberryridge.com/Kids-Mane%20Care.htm

Answer 3

How you want them to look varies on discipline. For hunter/jumper, hunter under saddle, and dressage you will want to braid the main and tail. For pleasure and western a nice even pulled main will work fine. For saddle seat and Arabians then leave the main long.

Clip the bridle path (the length varies on discipline as well.), trim the whiskers, the fetlock, the pastern and ears.

Brush baby power on white legs and face to help brighten them up.

When washing, do not put the shampoo directly on your horse. Rather put the shampoo in a bucket with water and sponge onto the horse's body.

Check you breeds and discipline's requirements. Try asking your trainer. A good book to check out is Grooming To Win by Susan Harris

Answer 4

1) Clip whiskers.
2) Clip bridle path
3) Band mane so it stays on one side (except for morgans/arabs with a natural mane)
4)Trim tail just slightly--- just any longer than normal stray hairs, so that it's a little more straight at the bottom. Buy some tail bags if your horse is a stall horse and use them all spring/summer so that the tail will grow out.
5) Get all white super white!!!
6) hoof polish!

Answer 5

polish and clean your boots and tack
trim the bridle path, 'beard', and whiskers with clippers
trim the tail to the fetlocks
there are some really nice color-enhancing shampoos for reddish horses, but don't wash him too much or the coat won't be shiny
french braid the tail
since you do many disciplines you're best doing button braids for the mane
use showsheen everywhere but the saddle area
since of your horse's reddish color you're best wearing a chocolate coat for hunt-seat

good luck!

Answer 6

take it from someone who's showed for years.....

things u'll need
>oster face wipes (tuoch ups b4 entering a class)
>black hoof polish (read directions on back)
>pepi champion spray (makes your horse shine and smell AWESOME)
>if ur horse hasn't shed out body clipping is a must!
>usual clipping (whiskers, ears, throat latch, around feet, bidal path)
>fancy show saddle, bridal, breast coller, (expect to pay a minimum of $800 for that stuff)
>saddle pad that will match ur cloths, navajo pads r the best (western)(if u wants some tips to make ur saddle pad more pretty e-mail me)
>careful using cowboy mamgic or other hair gels that r sticky cuz dust atracts when ur riding.
>simple green (if ur horse gets stains on its legs or other parts of its body)
>also use oster face wipes to wipe out dirty nostrles

i think thats about it! if u hav specific questions e-mail me and i'll do my best to answer them!

Answer 7

First make sure that your horse is regularly groomed well. Top judges can always tell when a horse has consistent quality care as opposed to a quick "show fix". I like to use a diluted spray of leave in conditioner on my horses after every time I rinse them off.
Next, since you show English, pull your horses’ mane to about 4" long. Make sure you have the mane thickness consistent throughout too. Practice the various braids for each type of competition (if you use white tape for dressage, make sure it is all the same height and width otherwise you can be marked down). "Bang" the tail (cut to the height of the top of your horses back fetlocks. Practice the hunter/jumper braids for the tail too. Don't braid for dressage (you probably know this)
Also, many people use tailbags, hoodies and slinkies of various forms to keep their horses clean and form rubbing manes and tails. Others use tail extensions for horses with thin or short tails (if you do this, please remember to attack it securly so that it will not fall off as you go ‘round the ring).
The day before the show, make sure your horse is clipped (bridlepath, nose, ears, fetlocks, legs, chin OR whole body; Whal & Oster are the best clipper brands), and then give your horse a good bath. Make sure to use bluing or a white enhancing shampoo on white areas if your horse has them (even the smallest spot). There are also many “color enhancing” shampoos and products for every color horse.
The day of the show, rinse your horse off after a good, deep curry and grooming. After your horse is dry, apply 2 or 3 coats of hoof polish to each lightly sanded hoof. Take showsheen (I like Silverado, Absorbine and EZALL) and spray it all over your horse to make him really shiny just before you saddle up. Next, take a product like Silverado Face Glo, and rub it on places you really want to stand out (black around the eyes, or again, on white spots, etc.). NEVER use baby oil to do this as it can cause major burns.
Just before you enter the ring, remember to wipe off your boots and tack (be sure to clean those regularly too). I’m won many tie breakers by doing this and it shows not only respect to the judge, but also that you take the competition seriously.
One thing that can help get your horse looking his best is to feed him right. Make sure he has plenty of water, salt, good quality roughage and grain (if you give any). Personally, I like to give my horses about a cup of apple cider vinegar with “mother” in it to help make their coats shiny from the inside out (it doesn’t work unless you don’t have the vinegar with “mother” in it, so check labels). Wheat germ oil works well too for this.

As a last tip, try not to follow fads or trends (for either you or your horse). Some judges think they are “cute” or “stylish” but many don’t. Its always good to remember to fall back on traditional colors (navy jacket, white long-sleeved shirt & stock tie, beige breeches, black fieldboots, black flat belt for hunter/jumper; black coat, white long-sleeved shirt & stock tie, white breeches, black dressboots and black flat belt for dressage) and tack you have regularly used, so that you can let both you and your horses talent shine though.

Best of luck in the 2007 show season!

PS. As mentioned, the book Grooming To Win by Susan Harris is a good book to look at.

Answer 8

Well just really give them a good bubble bath and let them dry before you put them in the pasture like a few days before the show(s).
There is also like polish that you put on your hooves that I'm sure you might use. Also, make sure their mane and tail look not so frizzy and that they have nice meat on their bones but like not skinny just really in shape.

Sorry! I didn't help that much but thats just really what I do! :o) lol

AlWaYs..
♥melissa♥