Any good grooming books?

Quite simply put, I am a horrible groom. I can't seem to get my horse clean no matter what I do. Does anyone have any books they really like for getting a horse to looking respectable?

HI My BoyPuck! Have you looked in your Library to find a good book? :) Hope this helped some! :)
- horsecraz

If you are attempting to get him clean so that what appears to be dandruff isn't showing, you are trying to remove a protective waxy dander. This helps prevent rain from going right to the skin. Some breeds have more than others. When you are finished brushing, try a white cloth dipped in baby oil and water and wipe with that. It will pick up the surface dirt that sits on top of the hair.

Unfortunately Saddlebag, what I can't seem to remove is plain old dirt. I curry, curry, curry, get it all to the surface (or so I think), stiff brush and then body brush, and he's still standing there looking like pig pen. I'm embarassed to take lessons with him looking like that, no less going to a show. It's not help that he's now growing in his wooly bear coat which really traps it all in. I just want to know I have him clean enough that the girth and saddle pad aren't going to be irritating him.

My trick? A tiny wet/dry Vac, got it on sale for $25, takes all the dirt, mud, dust, and dandruff right off. Making my mare's winter coat stand on ends tho, so looks a little silly. But works like a charm without removing the natural oils like washing. Once the horse is use to the sound of course. Other wise lots and lots of elbow grease, like until you've gone past the point of feeling the burn to if I didn't see my arms I would know they were there.

How often do you groom him? If he's in an environment where there is plenty of dirt for him roll in and he is not groomed every other day at the least, he will remain dirty (probably even if he is groomed every other day - every day is always best). If you do groom him every day and he's not able to find patches of dirt to roll in in his turnout, I am at a loss for a solution.

I'm up there all but 2 days a week, so he gets groomed a lot. He's just one of those horse's who's got all the mud fully caked back on before you've left the driveway. I very well might try the vet/dry vac. He doesn't give a crap about noises, so that might work.

How often do you groom? I also find it good to give them a really good curry, lunge them and get them moving, and that lets the dust sail off. Then after you can groom him completely.

MyBoyPuck, I recommend looking for them on sale, you board so something like the little one I have would be good, can use a car to bring it no need for something huge to bring one of the vac's that weigh a ton. Plus you can pick it up with one hand. I find the noise is very steady, so it doesn't all of a sudden scare the horse too easily.

I feel your pain.. you just described Casey. Groom her for an hour then hand graze for 10 minutes and by then a coat of dust might just have well settled on her. Actually.. We have one of those car vacuums, I wonder if that would work..