Grooming tips please :D

Okay so I recently got this pony, she came from a dealer so as you can imagine she wasn't exactly in a lovely clean stable every night. Anyway she is extremely dirty at the moment, like hardenned dirt stuck under her belly and tail and legs etc. Her health and weight is all perfect, its just her coat. I don't want to clip her cos I want to show her at the end of the summer. Its also cold over here (Ireland) at the moment so washing her would be a bit iffy. Basically are there any tips to try help her lose her coat faster or to get that hard dirt off her?? Its really caked like she's such a sweetie too!!

Thanks guys

I'm in the UK so with similarish weather.

If her coat is matted to the extent that she's likely going to get skin infection then first and foremost you soften the matts with cream or some baby oil. Really work it through with your fingers.

Then after it's softened you get a bucket of hot soapy water and do a little bit at a time and work out the filth to the ends away from the skin and cut it off.

Then once you've done that you then give her a good bath and I'm saying this in the context of the weather we're currently having: so finally you would bath her and turn her out to roll and just get nice and muddy and then each day you'd bring her in, allow her to dry and groom her using a good body brush.

Then when spring has properly come and it's 5 degrees warmer, repeat, rinse and recycle....

P.s. Please appreciate that REAL horse dealers don't sell dirty matted ponies. What you've done is the equivalent of going to a shadey second hand car salesman who's selling something cheap to the market that is prepared to buy it unkempt and dirty.

Thanks, I'll try that on her. I know I just saw her and fell in love with her. Couldn't leave her behind me.

I personally think it's a mistake to pay and reward folks for running businesses where they're making money from selling horses in poor condition.

IMO it's also a mistake to buy a horse out of pity or because it's pulling on your heart strings.

Often people in the former rely on the latter to keep on doing what they do.

While I very much respect your opinion on this matter, I don't believe that this helps the OP. The horse is already purchased and OP needs some help getting the animal cleaned up for a new start.

If the hair is just full of organic matter it should come out with a couple good scrubs. JMO but I may hold of on the baby oil unless the first bath doesn't do it. It will be hard to get it all out and will attract more dirt to the coat if you don't get it all out. Good luck with your new pony. Post some pics!

I'd try using a good rubber curry to just gently 'worry' at the clumps and see if I could loosen them up that way. Also, a grill cleaning brick (pumice stone) will help take the dirt and mats down without a lot of scrubbing. Then when it's warmer you can give her a good scrub and hot oil conditioning treatment to put her coat fully back to rights.

Yup, I'd use the grill cleaner, or a curry and just scrub in circles. I bet you find a few days in a clean stall and that dirts going to start falling off. Good food and care will bring her around.
Photos would be awesome!

HELLLLLLLLLLP>All of this sounds good but my horse hate's the water hose or water pouring on her from a watering container. How do I get my horse used to water that is outside of her drinking tub? She will stand in the rain all day no problem. She is caked with mud really bad!

Personaly I'd clip her by the end of summer she will have a reasonable coat. Perticularly if she hasnt yet started shedding.

I'm in the UK (north wales some of the time Hull the rest of the time) so fairly similar weather, I'd say today was warm enough to bath. I washed my pony 2 weeks ago so it's not that bad, just wash her in patches and rug the sections you have washed.

To teach a horse to be bathed I often will use a garden sprayer so the hose mimics a gentle rain. To start I spray near the horse's hooves and wait until they stop moving around then take the spray away. Basic approach and retreat. Each time I put the spray on them I go a little further up the horse's leg, then chest, and back, retreating for a short period each time the horse is standing quietly.

Using this method I can usually get a horse to be accepting of the hose in 20-30 min.

Horse Dealers? Interesting concept. Here in the US we really don't have such a thing, most horses are bought and sold privately with no dealer. The term Horse Trader, here can mean someone who is shrewd and a bit shady in business.