Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
I've always had just one grooming tote that I used for both horses. I also keep a second grooming bag in my horse trailer. I don't share my grooming stuff with other horses, but I am okay with using the same brushes on my two boys. Recently however, I realized that I now have a grooming bag/bucket for each horse. It has nothing to do with communicable diseases though. I know how it started, it was for convenience, but it has turned into a permanent situation. In an effort to help Izzy relax and feel more confident, I started grooming him in his dry lot pasture. After a while, I found that I enjoyed grooming him there as I often do bodywork with him. In his pasture, I have all the room I need to stretch him or do some quick groundwork. At first, I just carried a hoof pick and a jelly scrubber. I found that I was running back to the tack room for the fly spray or something else. To minimize the number of trips, I dug out a spare bucket and started dropping things into it that I might need. The next thing I knew, Izzy had his own grooming bag. For every day use, I pick out his feet, scrub the gunk from his coat, and then brush him smooth. I also cover him with fly spray and brush on some Knotty Horse Conditioner. If I need to do more, I tie him at the trailer where I tack up. For Speedy, I use my full grooming bag. It has tons of brushes, a variety of hoof picks, shedding tools, scissors, and a few other things. Since I groom him at the trailer in front of the tack room, I don't mind schlepping the heavier bag from the tack room to my grooming spot. While Speedy's bag is jam-packed, I only use a few things in it. Like Izzy, I pick out Speedy's feet, scrub the gunk off his coat with a jelly scrubber, and then wipe him down with a soft brush. He also gets a minimal amount of fly spray - the flies don't really mess with Speedy, and I doctor his skin ailments with Equiderma.
While I own at least 59 different bottles and tubes of conditioners and wound treatments, my daily routine is pretty simple. Is your routine similar or more complicated? 6/7/2018 06:47:51 am
Especially when they have their summer coats, there's not much else you can do unless you give them a bath. But seriously, my winter routine is exactly the same. LOL 6/7/2018 06:49:06 am
II really need to do that! I know Speedy's bag has at least three hoof picks in it, and there are brushes in that bag that I don't even like!!! Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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