What's In My Grooming Box and How Do I Use It?

Down time at work and I haven't blogged much in 2 months, so, because I know you care so much. 

My contents have been pretty standard for roughly the last 4 years- tried and true stuff. Right now, I have some random things (*cough* for the grey horse) I wouldn't normally have, but it's still pretty consistent.

On the left:

The brush side

Black hard curry

Purple glitter gel curry (Hell yes)

Royal blue hard brush

Baby blue medium brush

Oster soft brush

Oster mane/tail brush

Pink glitter comb (Hell yes)

Royal blue hoof pick

Royal blue scissors

Mane pulling comb

Sheepskin mitt

I'm trying to slowly transition my brushes to Oster brushes- I really like the ergonomic grips.

On the right side:

Lotions and potions

Vetrolin Shine (I swear by Eqyss Marigold as my coat conditioner, but I mixed it up a bit; I like it fair enough, but will be back to the Eqyss when this bottle is done)

Pyranha Wipe & Spray- seriously the best, and so satisfying when the flies die as you spray it.

Swat

Fungicide- Candy has been known to get "funk" sometimes, and lately it's been growing on his right leg from being wrapped so much. I used to use Lysol, but picked this bottle up a year or two ago.

Baby wipes- picked these up for Sawyer's green spots and I don't know how I lived before! Great for cleaning up Candy's allergy-related eye goop.

Shapley's Easy Out- for the grey. Probably going to go live in my tack trunk with my ShowSheen as a a "show only" potion.

Vetrolin Liniment gel- I like the gel because it's easier to apply (in my opinion). I use it to massage out all the knots and tense spots.

Black sweat scraper

How I use it to make Candy beautiful:

Hard curry body and upper legs for 10 minutes.

Soft curry body all the way to the coronet bands for 10 minutes.

Flick off dirt with hard brush.

Soft curry face (more like Candy aggressively rubs his face on my hands).

Candy's motto for all brushing/wiping of the face. "If you have no hands, use your face."

Medium brush face.

Soft brush EVERYTHING. Spray a lil bit of coat conditioner, swipe until it dries, and repeat on the ENTIRE horse.

Rub down/buff with sheepskin mitt for about 10 minutes.

Pick feet (fascinating, I know)

Baby wipe face/tears/eye goop/snot bubbles/nose sawdust particles.

Brush tail- let me add, Candy is half Andalusian. He has enough tail for about 3 horses. I can brush that sucker every day and it will not thin.

Brush mane- Andalusian horse. The more I brush, the less I have to pull later.

Fly spray as needed.

This whole she-bang takes a good 45 minutes.

So shiny. Even shinier when he's fly sheeted 24/7.

And then we get turned out and roll. (Circa 2010)

And then snooze in the mud and scare the sh!t out of everyone when we refuse to get up. And no, he wasn't colicking. Stood up, streeeeetched, yawned, and shook it off. (Circa winter 2012)

What do y'all use? I am always looking for more things to add to my arsenal. Right now, all I'm doing is grooming, hand walking and a handful of bareback rides, so anything to pamper Candy is welcome!

-K&C

P.S. Walked in to re-wrap Candy's legs this morning, and saw a barn hand (a guy) petting Candy's nose and face. So sweet.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The good: Candy's rehab is going great! His left pastern area has been relatively consistent in staying tight and cool. The vet added 15 minutes of hand-walking (or a bareback ride 3-4 times a week) to be increased up to 40 minutes by the end of the month. If all goes well, Candy will be off stall rest and back out in the pasture!

My summer research position has been going well- I really like the lab I'm working in, and enjoy the topic of research.

I found and  (stupidly?) purchased a pair of TS Trophy Hunters for $110- that's $70-$80 less than everywhere else. I couldn't resist.

The bad: I terminated my lease on Sawyer (since he is technically for sale, I won't divulge details), and am currently horse-less. I am dabbling in lessons periodically, but haven't really been consistently riding for the last month.

I entered a 5k trail race (wut? WHY?)

I got the OK to pursue a second horse, but-

The ugly: I have to pay for that second horse myself (board/vet/farrier excluded- so the least expensive part of a horse). I currently have a small chunk of change from my research stipend, and am still working 8-18 hours a week in the ICU. I'm scraping my pennies together to see if I can afford anything that fits what I want: young, sound, 16h+ ideally, with a brain+scope to do 1.10m jumpers. Obviously, anything I do get my hands on will be green as grass. I just can't justify leasing when I'm scraping pennies together to afford something. I like the idea of buying because I could flip the horse and sell it when I graduate.

Missing out on show season because I have nothing to ride.

Feeling guilty because I have swapped around Candy's SmartPaks- I added Bute-less and changed from SmartCombo Senior to SmartFlex III to see if I can get Candy sound. If I can get him sound, ideally, I would love to do low, low level stuff with him, and maybe lease him out to an advanced beginner. I just feel so guilty- he's earned his retirement, and is content, even though I know he misses being in work. I hate the idea of having to drug him to be pain free, but, as my mom put it, most athletes have aches and pains they either work through or take mild pain relievers for. My trainer back home phrased it well, "Keep him comfortable, and ride him until he tells you this isn't what he wants anymore." Of course, bringing him back into work will be after the rehab process has ended, so for now (and for always!), I'm just working hard on keeping him comfortable, happy, and handsome!

Quick graze after his first hand-walk. He only tried to buck, rear, and bolt like 5 times while screaming his head off at his friends in the field down the hill. Old man tantrums. Then he tried to buck me off when I rode him bareback two days later, the sassy pants. Once I reminded him who was in charge, he was so proud of himself. He strutted around and stood in front of every jump. I was scared he might jump from a standstill- I could feel him tense and jig a little, the ding dong.

He's still so handsome, and in great condition for hanging out in a stall for two months!

"I want to roll in the dirt, jump things, eat peppermints, be treated like a prince, and run around with my friends."

-K & C