What’s In My Grooming Kit?

Over the years I’ve had my horse, Pea, I feel like I’ve refined the contents of my grooming kit to cope with all weathers and all events – am I missing anything?

Coat care

SleekEZ – An absolute necessity at this time of year – the best thing I’ve found for helping to shed a winter coat and we’ve tried plenty!

Metal curry comb – This will be out of my grooming kit for the summer months but right back in for winter as it is the best thing for dry mud on hairy ponies.

HAAS brushes – I have the white/grey/coloured pack from Eqclusive.  The Schimmel brush (the first in the pack) is particularly amazing and I also keep the second in my everyday grooming box though I reserve brushes 3 and 4 (the dreamy sheepskin Diva brush) for my competition kit.

Curry comb – Forget traditional rubber and plastic curry combs, this “New Generation” one (from Eqclusive) is so good for mud, hair and using with the HAAS brushes to clean them after each stroke.

Magic brush – These get rid of dried mud but are also really good for scrubbing during a bath.

Hair care

Pea’s thick, gravity defying mane is pretty hard to manage but I think I’ve got as many tools as anyone can think of to keep it under control!

Mane and tail brush – Basic, robust – also functions as an emergency hairbrush!

Mane and tail conditioner – Carr & Day & Martin Canter Mane & Tail is my conditioner of choice.

Rake – A useful tool – this thins the mane (or tail).  Mine is a Smart Grooming one and they have different grades depending on the type of hair you are trying to thin.

SoloComb – For those who are opposed to mane pulling the SoloComb is a good alternative.  It doesn’t thin the mane as much as pulling but it is definitely kinder.

Metal comb – I’m not generally a mane pulling fan but I have given it a go.  I usually use this to help me to trim Pea’s feathers – she is not a clipper fan so I have got pretty good at scissor trims in the last 6 years!

Hairdressing scissors – Perfect for trimming feathers and beards alike!

Equi-Shave – A Smart Grooming tool – some people use these on fine horse’s feathers or whiskers but I use mine for refining the trimming of Pea’s beard!

Dog trimmers – These don’t do a proper clip (and Pea doesn’t like clippers anyway) but they are useful for light jobs like beards and not-too-floofy feathers.  I am using mine to try to get Pea used to the sound and feel of clipping.  There are loads of different ones like these on Amazon and Ebay and they are cheap too.

Hoof care

Looking clean and pretty is all well and good but there is a important saying “no foot, no horse”.

Hoof pick – A staple in every grooming kit.

Hoof oil/dressing – I keep a homemade hoof dressing in my grooming kit which is made from lard, oil and tea tree.  I do have black hoof ointment too but I keep that in my competition box.

If you would like a more visual tour of my grooming kit favourites head over to my YouTube.

Falling In And Out Of Love

Time for a confessional to address a slightly taboo subject – falling in and out of love with riding.

Before I start, just to clarify, not a day has gone by where I haven’t loved Pea.  Even in the early days when sometimes I couldn’t catch her for love nor treats.  Even when her tankiness caused me to have plastered fingers for weeks.  Even when she reared whilst being held by my ‘horses are dangerous’ boyfriend! I’ve never fallen out of love with Pea or horses.

There has also never been a point where I haven’t wanted to WANT to ride.. Just the achieving the wanting has been hard.. Have you got that?

ANYWAY, I have had my fair share of roller-coasters when it comes to how I have felt about riding (even having only started five years ago) and in the interests of honesty I thought I’d share my experiences and tips.

The Lows

Unhappy Hacker –

If you’ve read Riding – How It All Started you will know that I had a major confidence wobble right at the beginning.  There was a time when I didn’t want to leave the yard.  I even walked miles and miles leading a horse when I was too scared to ride it after half a hack!  And cantering our? Forget it!

There have been plenty of days when I have opted not to ride because I had no-one to hack out with.  If I do go out alone, I never go far.  I’m too worried about what might happen if something went wrong.

Confidence/Nerves –

The confidence issues continued.  Prime example being the time I managed to enter a hunter trial but turned into a complete nervous wreck/stranger and ended up falling off due to losing all control over my own limbs/ability to do anything!

A special mention also goes to the preparation and occasion of my Level 2 Diploma riding assessment – there were a LOT of tears.  The utter fear of assessment is something that really affects me.

Pain –

If you are reading this you are probably aware of my hip situation (if not, you’ve got a lot to catch up on.. My Hip Story).  There have been many many occasions when I have forgone riding because I couldn’t face the pain and the after effects on my hip of having ridden.

The Highs

The Summer Of Jumping –

There was a time when I did weekly clear round (small) jumping, jumped a yard horse 1m 15 in a ‘Chase Me Charlie’ and was happy to go to a friend’s house and jump their horse!

Happy Hacking –

Also, in what feels like a past life, I was hacking out three a day!  Kilbeggan Blade/Brian (an ex National horse) and Bobby (a 4 year old driving pony just starting ridden work who I also competed at Intro dressage) alongside Pea.

Horse Confident –

As I’ve said, in the past I was jumping onto different horses left right and centre, even riding the yard’s most infamous team chaser AND I went to try horses and ponies for the yard owner.

Finding My Goal –

The catalyst to writing this post was that right now, with a new hip and a dressage ambition – I am SO in love with riding. I have a very long way to go before I get to where I want to be but I’m happy I’m on the right track.

What I’ve Learnt

– Identify the problem. Be honest with yourself. What is the reason you’re leaving your riding kit at home or using other avoidance tactics?

– Find what you enjoy and stick with it. If you don’t want to jump, don’t. If you never want to ride in an arena, don’t. If you don’t want to hack alone, don’t!

– If you want to make a change, don’t be an island – allow someone to help you. If you need to build your confidence, book a lesson. If you need a hacking buddy, find one! If you’re struggling with your horse, get someone else to ride it and see if they can help.

– Measure your success against yourself and be realistic with your expectations. Albert Einstein wrote ‘if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid’. If yesterday you wouldn’t walk over a coloured pole, don’t expect to be eventing any time soon.

– Celebrate your successes! Walking over that coloured pole may have been a massive achievement over your confidence issues! Celebrate that!

– Be aware of the Olivia Towers ‘stretch zone’ theory (read about it in Tips from HOYS). You’ve got to branch out of your comfort zone a bit but don’t tip yourself over the edge.

– If you don’t like something – change it. Are you avoiding going for lessons because you’re not keen on your instructor? Find a new one.

– Go with the flow. Accept that sometimes you will feel better than at other times. If you’re feeling good, roll with it.

There are some loves worth fighting for!