# How long to groom?



## wanderlust (Nov 18, 2008)

I just started helping out at my barn. I love spending time with the horses, and everyone there is really nice.

It's probably because I am new, and probably slow at in, but to groom a horse it takes me about 30 minutes. And it's a thorough, but not perfect groom. I use a curry, hard brush, soft brush, pick through the tail, and do the feet....

How long does it take everyone else to groom their horse?


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## TralissaAndalusians (Sep 7, 2007)

While I was at college, we usually didn't have much time to groom before tacking up for a lesson, but we'd still have to make the horse look presentable.

So usually we'd just get the shavings/straw out of the horses tail and brush the girth/saddle area and bridle area, pick out hooves and then tack up. Usually 5 minutes that took.

After a ride, we had to spend an hour grooming the horses thouroughly, our tutor was very strict and hated to see a speck of dust on the horses coat.

It's best to groom after riding/excercise because the pours in the horses coat are open.

At home, I spend as much time as I want on grooming my horses. Usually when I'm trimming them and giving them a totally big groom, it's around 3 hours. I'm lucky enough to have horses that stand that long, but I do give them hay and everything while their tied up.​


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## BeauReba (Jul 2, 2008)

15 minutes is usually plenty of time for me to curry, hard & soft brush, hooves, and a quick run through the main and tail. If you ad de-tangling the tail it usually takes another 15 at least lol


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## appylover31803 (Sep 18, 2007)

it depends on the horse and how dirty they are for me.
Vega and Montana will take 15-20 min. I curry, then do a hard brush, then medium brush, then soft. Then pick hooves. If i dont have a lot of time, I'll use a hard or medium brush to get mud/hay out of their mane/tail.

If i'm grooming Gem and he's really dirty, it'll take me a good 30-45 min to get him halfway decent. Picking his hooves take some time as he's had some bad experiences but I can do them in about 5 min, if he's in a good mood.


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## Got2Gallop (Oct 22, 2007)

It really just depends........
I always do a 5 minute groom when I go out to the barn (daily) 
that way I can take note of anything out of the ordinary (wounds, skin problems etc.)
Lily loves to be groomed, so if I have time I'll groom her for at least 30 minutes (have to scratch the length of her neck right at the mane line...she LOVES that!!)
Horses get dirty thats unavoidable so I just try to keep the poop stains off and most of the crusty mud and chill about the rest especially in winter (very muddy in these parts) If I'm going to show then I obviously go to greater lengths :wink:


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## equineangel91 (Oct 8, 2008)

i do a full groom before i ride. takes at least 30-45 minutes for me to be thorough and meticulous


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Takes me about 15-20mins.  Sometimes I do a quick groom; & that takes about 10.


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

It really depends. The grooming I do with my guy right now is more so to take him thru the motions since he's still so young. When it's done for riding purposes it really depends on how dirty the horse is, but unless he's really filthy I usually spend 15-20 mins.


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## Connemara93 (Nov 7, 2008)

I usually spend about 30 minutes before a lesson or ride to groom Galina. I use a rubber curry, then hard bristle, then body brush on her coat to make her nice and clean and especially shiny! Then I pick out her hooves and comb her mane and forelock, since they're normally pretty yuck looking when she comes in from the paddock.

I don't do much to her tail normally, cos if you comb it out too much it will thin out. When i do her tail it'll take me another 15-20 minutes or so.

After a ride I'll hose her down, pick out her hooves again, put hoof oil on her hooves, sponge her face to get rid of the bridle marks and give her a quick brush with the body brush. That normally takes me about 20 minutes.

When I've got time though, I'll groom for about an hour or so - I actually love grooming my horse


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## emmasacha (Oct 26, 2008)

It depends how dirty my horse is and whether I'm in a rush. If someone else is waiting for me I can be done in 10-15 minutes but if I've got a lot of time and the weathers nice I can spend over an hour messing around.


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## Jubilee Rose (May 28, 2008)

I agree, it depends on how dirty my horse is. But I am usually a thorough groomer and like taking my time. Jubilee loves it too, so I'd say I usually take around 20-30 mins. If I don't have a lot of time, I'll just do the basics --- a once-over with the hard brush and hoof pick. Usually if I take a lot of time brushing before I ride, I won't brush as long after, or vise versa.


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## dbadaro (Dec 8, 2008)

i'm very meticulous about grooming. i spend about 20-30 min. grooming. usually i lightly brush the tail and mane but if i'm being extra picky then i spend an extra 10 on those.


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