what's in your grooming box?

I take a lot of pride in the way my horses look. There is nothing like seeing a beautifully turned out, good looking horse at a three day. The grooming, however, does not just take place at the event. It has to happen at home.

I have a pretty strict grooming regime that I follow most days.

It starts with a curry mitt. Smellie has sensitive skin and does not tolerate most curry combs (cough...spoiled...cough). Plus, I think the mitt helps get the dirt up better, especially in the legs and face.

The mitt is followed by a relatively stiff brush. Obviously not too stiff as to irritate my favorite boy, but just stiff and long enough bristles to produce a satisfying flicking, swishing action.

Assuming this got the worst of the dirt and dust, I move on to step three. Sometimes I need another go around with the mitt, however. Like on those days Smellie decided to wallow in the pond.


Step 3 is to curry him again with burlap. I also sometimes use a mitt that had cactus cloth on one side and sheep skin on the other. This works just as well. Burlap just happens to be less expensive. Rubbing with a rough cloth like this gets some more of the dirt up and also moves oils about the skin.

I follow the burlap 'curry' with a body brush. This gets any remaining dust and dandruff off. It also really makes them shine.

Finally, I follow with one last towel. This time with something soft. I rub in circles but then whisk off in the direction of the hair.

I brush him before I ride, but I also try to do it afterwards because that when his pores really open up and the oils in his skin are most likely to be spread around. Unfortunately, Elliot sweats a lot so I cannot always just brush him after riding. More often than not, he needs a shower.

Sometimes I pull out the horse vacuum just because I'm lazy, but this routine is pretty effective to make them look good.

About once a week I also check tail, mane, and clipping needs. Each gets attended to as needed.

I pull the top of the tail versus clipping it because I'm old fashioned. I usually just do it with my fingers, but for the short little hairs that need to go, a good set of needle nose pliers is very handy! The bottom I keep short and banged. I like it about half way between his hocks and his pasterns. It makes it look more full. I do not brush it unless I'm going to a show or clinic. His tail is not especially thick, and I do not want any to break off needlessly.

I keep his mane tidy. Maybe a little on the short side at time because he hates having his mane pulled,which is funny because he stands for his tail, though perhaps begrudgingly. Pulling Smellie's mane is a bit of an ordeal. One person has to hold the twitch and one to pull fast and furious.

Clipping includes muzzle, a short (about 1") bridle path, and cleaning out his ears. Again, a twitch is necessary for his ears, but he's good about the rest.


I'm not big into using products. Mostly a good diet, good exercise, and a good dose of elbow grease are the trick for keeping Smellie looking great. These are the things I DO use: Muck Itch for the scurffy patches he gets on his legs during the muddy season, MTG for to top of his tail where he he looses hair in the summer, Tomorrow for his feet to treat thrush, and various antibiotic creams for scrapes and cuts.

At shows I will use Show Sheen to brush through his tail, and I also spray his tail with Pink which adds an amazing luster. Effol Hoof Ointment is my go to hoof dressings. It is a bit of a waxy consistency versus oily so it is less messy plus makes the feet look great!

And of course sun screen is always in my grooming box! Need to protect my skin as much as possible!



*Professional Equine Grooms Website has some great tips about grooming and how to keep you horse looking good. It's worth checking out.

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Just Happy to be Nominated

It's always good when you show up to a three day with your horse's leg pressure wrapped above the knee.


After the week leading up to the CIC2, I was just happy to be get there and pass the jog.


I rode Elliot at Chatt Hills Thursday Evening and he felt much as you might expect after running through a three board fence, getting cellulitis, not being ridden for a week, and then being on the trailer for six hours. He was wound up and crooked.

I did not have high hopes for the dressage. I wasn't even sure I really knew my test. I held off really learning it because I thought it might be the kiss of death. My warped, superstitious logic: 'If I learned my test, Elliot was certain not to come sound. If I didn't learn the test, I would have a sound horse, but probably forget the test all over the place'. It was a chance I was willing to take.

My goal was to score under 75 in order that the weekend could be a qualifier for Fair Hill in the fall. My secondary goal was to finish in the top half.

Elliot warmed up reasonably well, and then put in a solid test considering the circumstances. He was not elastic like he had been at Poplar Place a few weekends before, and the canter was disjointed. However, we muddled through. He was not last by any means, AND we got our qualifying score: 67.80!

CHC International was trying to make quite a spectacle in order to draw more of the general public. They had the international levels jumping under spotlights late in the evening the same day as dressage.

The time between Dressage and SJ was good. We had a chance to have Dougie Hannum work on Elliot. Doug worked his magic and made him more comfortable. It was also reassuring to have someone as knowledgeable as Doug tell me that Smellie was okay to run. He basically said 'treat him like a horse'; continue icing and keeping an eye on him. So we did.

I was lucky to go around on Heidi, who was brilliant, first. By the time Elliot went, it was dark and the spotlights only put off so much light. Plus, we had never jumped under lights and I was feeling especially rattled since I had not jumped him since Poplar Place two weeks before. He was brilliant. I had two rails. Elliot was a star. When I learn to show jump, we'll be unbeatable!

It rained all night long, which was not the end of the world. The ground was firm the day before so a little rain would only make it better. I didn't go until later in the afternoon, so I got up early and walked around course a couple times. I decided not even to wheel it. I am still green at this level, and Elliot was only there to jump around some tough questions and come home safe and sound. There were some big old tables on the course. There were also some big old skinnies on the course including two impressive corners as the out of combinations.

Going late in the division is sometimes a blessing, but sometimes a curse. As out time got closer, I listened to all the people, many of them combinations with more experience than me, who were having trouble on cross country. This was compounded with the fact that I was already nervous, and the rain over night made the warm up deep. I was struggling to find a distance. Kyle Carter made a remark to Betsy about setting up a grid for me to help me find a distance. I'm sure he meant it as a jest, but as one of our 8 year old students says 'some jokes are not funny'. I didn't need help to know I was missing all over the place.


I had talked with Betsy before and we both decided if Elliot didn't feel like he was taking me to the jumps or he had a couple stops on course, I would call it a day. It is always better to listen to you horse. Save him for another day.

We got into the box and the rest was history.


Elliot cantered around a big, imposing 2* XC that was giving other, more experience pairs trouble like he had been doing it his whole life. He jumped through those corners I had been sweating no problem. He saved me when I missed. He even ran straight as an arrow after I saw a shoe fly by us at the second water (a bit like having your hub cap pass you on the highway).

We got our qualifier and we finished in the top half (even if just barely). Everyone thinks their horse is amazing, but mine really is. He's got a lot of talent, but more importantly he's got a lot of heart.

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Struggle City

Any one who knows me or Smellie probably has heard (and probably has heard ad naseum) about Elliot's tough road to the CHC International Two Star. However, in an effort to document Team Smellie's entire journey (and for those of you who missed this epsiode, I'm laying it all out here too!

Our goal is to qualify for the Fair Hill CCI2 this fall. To do that, we need two Intermediate HT with NQRs and either one CCI1 and a CIC2 with NQRs or two CIC2 with NQR. Since we just moved up to the intermediate level, we wanted to get a jump on the FEI qualifications in case we ran into trouble. There are not as many FEI qualifiers as horse trials.

In our usual tardy RBF fashion, we entered Chatt Hills late. Rick Dunkerton is a saint and got us in. No sooner did I receive an email that I was accepted into Chatt Hills, than Elliot ran through a three board fence and banged himself up.


We rushed out to the farm found that in fact, he was not putting weight on his left hind, though the leg itself looked pretty good. After a full body scan, we discovered a skinned and bruised left stifle, a 2" puncture on the left front, and a big old lump on the right front cannon bone. Also never good to have a one legged horse the week before a FEI event.

FEI is very strict about what substances are allowed and now allowed. Basically, their zero tolerance policy, means that your horse cannot have any type of substance in its system. This means you have to know all the drugs withdrawl times and not use them within that window before an FEI event. Otherwise your horse will test positive and then you will be in big trouble. And for thorse wondering, the FEI controlled substances list is vast.

These rules meant we had to be very careful about what we gave poor Elliot. In the end, we decided not to give him much. We iced 4-5 times the day, cleaned him up, flushed his puncture, wrapped, hand walked, and gave him arnica.

By the end of the day, he was walking much better and feeling comfortable. We all took a sigh of relief.

However, it was a little too soon.


The next morning, the left front which had the punture was swollen and very senative to the touch. By midday he was very lame even at the walk on it, despite icing, flushing, and wrapping. After talking at length to two vets (both of whom believed it was cellultis and did not inferere with the joint or tendon), we started him on IV antibiotics, continued icing it, and sweat wrapped the leg. He was very uncomfortable, but Betsy and I thought if we can just make it to tomorrow, the antibiotics will kick in and he will feel much better. It was a long night. We stayed with him until about 3AM icing and keeping an eye on his vitals. The last thing we needed was for him to colic on top of the cellultis.


Thank heavens it paid off! And for all the flac we give him, Elliot is one tough man. He never stopped drinking or eating, despite having to hobble around his stall.

By morning, he was already walking better, and everyday through the week that followed he continued to visibly improve.


It was very close. I rode him for the first time on Tuesday. It amounted to an hour walk with a little trotting at the end. He felt stiff at the beginning, but warmed up to feel pretty okay. Wednesday we did the same thing with a little more real work. He was better still.

By Thursday AM he was trotting sound. We made the decision to take him even though we knew we were pushing him.

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Legit

We ran our second Intermediate horse trials at Poplar Place last weekend. My goal was to have another solid cross country round before we head off to the CIC 2* at Chatt Hills in a couple weeks. River Glen was spectacular, but getting around one event makes you lucky; two makes you legit.

Elliot was on form! He put in a stellar dressage test. Getting more and more rid-able every day. All the hard work at home is definitely paying off. Sandy Osborn gave us a 37.60 which put us in 4th our of 21! I was over the moon!


It was pouring down rain all day Saturday. We're talking where's the arc. Warm up for SJ was miserable and the footing was getting deeper and deeper with every ride. I was the weakest link. I let our placing after dressage, the big intermediate fences, and the weather get to me. I forgot my turn to fence three an incurred 4 penalties for a technical refusal. Then had a couple rails trying to race the clock. It was a disappointing way to throw away fourth place, but I have to say I was also so happy to get around a course that was causing some more seasoned horses trouble.


I was a little worried about the cross country footing after the deluge on Saturday. After much hemming and hawing Betsy and I decided to run Smellie slow so that we had another good gallop and another run before attempting a 2*. I walked the course Sunday morning and found a four leaf clover. He ran around that course and made it feel easy. We both had a couple green moments, but ran safe and solid and came away a more educate pair. Corners, tables, angled tables, skinnies, his first sunken road!

We ended up finishing 7th of 21 including a number of seasoned advanced horses. Elliot is getting better and better. We're feeling very good about the CIC 2* at Chatt coming up!

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