grooming

Question
hello
i have a mare that doesnt like to be groomed (brushed or washed reallly does like the water hose) so im wondering how can i give her a bath or brush winter hair off i tried brushing will she was eatin that did ok we just went in cicrle though she likes to get in creeks with water so its not that she dont know what it is maybe its the hose? any ideas or do i just keep going in cirles to brush and take her to the creek to get clean:)

Answer
Hi Becky-

There are some parts to your question that concern me.  I have come across a lot of horses that don't like to get a bath, and even more that think the hose is a large horse eating snake.  What concerns me is that your mare is so bad about getting brushed.  See I work primarily with wild mustangs.  At first mustangs don't even like being touched, but once they do they have no problem being brushed.  And it sounds like you have had your horse for a while - so it seems odd to me.  With that said I will do my best to help, but if my advice doesn't help or make sense, please write me back and give me a few more details about the horse's history.

First - you have two problems: brushing the horse and washing the horse.  As far as hygiene and health goes, horses don't typically need to be frequently washed down.  Unless your horse has a skin problem that requires special shampoo treatment - don't worry about the bathes for now.  Focus on the brushing.  As far as your horses well being, brushing is more important for the health of their skin.

If you can not touch your mare all over - find a trainer in your area and ask them for help.  If that is the case, your horse needs to go back to the basics of training.

If you can touch the horse all over, then you need to look at other causes for this problem.  For example: Are the grooming tools that you are using uncomfortable for the horse?  Is the horse scared at the very sight of the grooming supplies?  Are you doing something that is causing the horse to move?  If you are using the old fasioned metal curry combs, try a softer rubber one.  If the horse does not like the sight of the supplies, introduce the tools slowly.  Let the mare see the objects, let her smell them, then starting at her neck progress in small increments until the horse is comfortable with the idea.  If it helps, have someone else hold the lead line to help encourage the horse to stand still.  If the horse is otherwise well behaved, you can stand them along the fence or stall wall and brush them.  You can only get to one side at a time but they can't circle easily.  Most horses will circle to some extent the first few times they are brushed but its more becuase they are uncomfortable being touched.

The very last possibility that I can think of is that the horse has a physical problem that the vet may need to attend to.  If this is a sudden change in the horses behavior I would definetly consider that.  Some horses can get very irritated skin for several different reasons.  Muscle and bone injuries can also cause the horse to be so tender that they don't like being touched.  If your horse has a vision problem, they may not like you getting in so close to touch them.  

In all I am concerned that this is not the only problem.  Rather it sounds like the tip of the iceberg.  Be patient with your horse and honest with yourself - it sounds like you need a trainer to offer you "hands on" help.  As I said, washing with a hose is very often difficult for a horse to get over, and I'm sorry I did not really focus on that.  Brushing is a very basic thing that the horse should tolerate, and it is the more important thing to focus on in my opinion.

If you need more help or have other information that could relate to this problem, let me know and I will try my best to help.

Michael Hockemeyer