does anyone else do this?
I recently bought my new mare, and she was quite nervous in the tack-up area. I never really brushed her, because she's always so clean, but one day i gave her a really hard curry-comb scrub....she loved it!!! I bought her one of those curry-combs with the thick round bumps on it, and she gets a "massage" after every ride now... she's relaxed 100% in the tack-up area! It's like magic! :clap:
Does anyone else's horse do this? She also makes funny "llama" faces when she's scrubbed, so if anyone has pictures of their horse's happy grooming face, please post! Sadly i haven't gotten my camera out to the barn yet, it's too muddy..:evil:
oh yeah, is there such a thing as too much brushing? She loves being scratched REALLY hard, but i'm thinking this might not be good long-term... will it effect her in any way? I love the fact that she's SO relaxed now, but i don't want her to go bald!
To the first post - I do this with my lesson horse. He hates being curried if I use a light touch, but if I pour on the elbow grease a bit, he bends right into it and closes his eyes. I don't have an answer to the second question.
I have three different massage-type brushes (varying size bumps/bristles on it). Unless I'm in a hurry, I generally spend 30-60 minutes grooming before I ride. Most of that is with the massage-style curries, and then with a couple soft brushes and a face brush, which includes lots of ear scratching.
With the massage brushes on his neck, he leans hard into the brush - I often put the full force of my body into him (and if he suddenly decided to move away I'd end up sprawled on the dirt, lol). On his belly, he gets the top-lip wiggle going on. Everywhere else, his head lowers down and he practically falls asleep.
I figure it's the least I can do in exchange for the hard work I make him do, especially if we're working on something difficult.
My guy is addicted to having the crest of his mane curried, he would do almost anything in the world for that reward. I am almost afraid to do it in the cross ties anymore, as he hangs his head and drops his bottom lip. I think he might fall asleep in the cross ties.
I curry comb massage my school horses all the time. They love it.
As for scratching really hard, it's the only way a horse likes to be scratched. If you scrub X factor right behind the withers, he will stretch out his neck and do a funny smile. Only does the face though if you scratch REAALLY hard. At first I thought it was too hard, but the lady who told me his fav scratching spot said that horses like it hard because when they scratch themselves, they do so by they biting, picking and rubbing really hard their skin with their teeth. So I don't think our human hands can do as much as their teeth can.
So no I don't think scratching hard is bad on the long run. If the spot does become sensitive from excess love scratches, then do them less often.
my boy absolutely LOVES a good curry comb, I got a video of doing it last night, have a watch! He enjoyed it so much he didn't eat his hard feed.. although he tried LOL!
awww, JustAwesome, your horse is so cute! love the "llama face"!!!! i always joke that i want a massage too, maybe i need to start training my horse to give massages....hmmmmm.
awwww, well my mare loves to lick, so i could get her to lick my head probably... ewww. I had one horse who'd always steal your curry comb from you and then chomp on it, followed by flinging it down and occasionally peeing on it. some horses have the weirdest quirks, but giving you a head massage is a nice quirk!
When I brush Raven, I feel that connection between us grow. It's a quiet time for us to bond with eachother. I curry, then brush, and then I have a soft nuzzle muzzle massager that I use. I love this time with her.
Currying (sp?) your in not only forms a bond between you and your horse, but it also losen ups their muslces prior to being worked. Using something like Country Supplies | Oster Coarse Curry Comb | Ariat Apparel works great at working out the kinks in your horse.
I actually have the entire line of Oster brushes and curries. My big mare LOVES being groomed. I can't tie her up while I do it because she will literally start falling to sleep and stumbling around like she's drunk. It's kind of funny to watch, especially knowing that she is that relaxed afterwards. Her absolute FAVORITE spot to be scratched is right between her front legs. She'll stick her head nearly straight up and point her upper lip and wiggle it around.
Mine loves it!!! Plus, I love thinking he's getting a good loosening through massage, before every ride! He loves it behind his right ear, the crest of his neck, hip, and under his stomach.
Alison-LOL! So cute! I have a gray here, and when she makes that face, I call her a donkey! Heehaw!!!
justawesome-what a sweetie you have! Love that video, his glowing eyes are so cool!
My mare loves the metal curry comb. The withers, the crest of the neck, the butt...just loves it! I also enjoy scratching her in a spot that she has just bent to scratch herself. Like, she will twist and contort her body to get to her hip (for example.) As soon as she is done nibbling that spot, I take the curry comb and rub...you can tell she is just like "ahhhh, thank you!"
My mini Boo, likes his neck done, and especially when I take his fly mask off, he likes the spots the fly mask rests on, right behind his ears.
Poor little Bruno, he is the opposite. He almost seems to have some sensory issue. His skin twitches and he shrinks away from me. He hates being groomed. Makes me sad for him...I think there was an issue in his past that messed him up.
I've been reading this link recently and realized that, despite trying with my leased mare for a year, I still hadn't been able to find her "itchy spot." I was grooming last night (providing a curry comb massage that she was sort of indifferent to) when I realized she had a bit of an inflamed bug bit on her chest that I needed to clean out and SWAT. As I was scrubbing with the sponge on her chest- bingo- llama face!! I think it's hysterical that it took a year of trying to find the spot, and then it happened totally by accident while cleaning up a cut. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me, but now that I've unlocked the secret spot, hopefully I can get a picture soon
You never heard the saying you scratch my back I will scratch yours horses just want to be loved and rubbed too
ALSO most horses fav spots is going to be places they can not get to themselves like biggest one being right under the belly where the girth sits in between their legs
you know what i like to do...to show a horse how much I love him or her? When I am grooming them and they have an itch somewhere and turn around and scratch themselves with their teeth...as soon as they are done, I take the curry comb and go at that spot really good.....now THAT is when I really see a Llama face!!
I havent managed to find Negrita's itchy spot yet. im spending the whole day with her friday, so im now determined to find it then. Charlie's itchy spot was either side of his whithers. got a few llama faces from him :P excuse the sarcoids, his owner never was a fan of getting the vet out to treat them.. poor boy.
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