Show Ready: Alan Davies

[Music] people often ask me about how I care for Mane's you know the the mains are really important with a dressage horses because the plats are on show big time so the main thing I would say about main care is you need to know each individual horse's mane type and hair type this is a Valerio he's got a very thin fine hair so I always trim his Mane with scissors and some people will find that horrifying but I have to do it because otherwise I'd end up with no men no players but I tend to just trim upwards with the scissors not a long ways just to try and keep it as feathered as possible but looking neat and tidy it keeps the ends straight and even and but I just feather it slightly so then I can plastics it is too thick and too cut then I can't get the end of the plat up and under and then also with Mane's I don't tend to wash them too much and I like them clean but I would only shampoo maybe once or twice a week and just before a big show I would maybe shampoo them but not not every day and not running up through the show because then you can take out the natural oils and you can take away some of the oil that you need to hold the plats in so it's an ongoing thing with the Mane's and the tails and I like the Mane's to be slightly longer because I like biggish players but then you know you have to you have to guide it towards each different horse and how they are and how their manes our utopia has a really thick stallion mane and it's got a lot more natural always being a studying so I had to be careful with that and I would probably pull that every now and again in between doing it with the scissors to make sure that it's thin enough that I can get the plats in nicely so you just have to judge it to each individual horse grooming is a really essential part of everyday life for the dressage horse I mean they the to keep the coats looking really good nutrition is it really important but also I use a curry comb on every day it's a good time to spend on the horse get to know them get to know their how they're feeling how their muscles are you know especially at a top competition if I'm getting the horses ready in the morning curry comb them before I brush them and then and it's important to field your horse too and to feel any lumps bums anything out of you know out of order feel the legs and everything is a huge important thing and it's a good time for spending with your horse and getting to know them and bonding with them so it's a it's a massive part of everyday life and and my grooming regime so this is one of the most important things in my grooming kit is the curry comb and the flicky brush I have other brushes as well that I use but on the whole these are the most important ones and I think you know the the curry comb is a good way of bringing up the natural oils in the coat the horses get washed off every day after working when they get hot and sweaty but I don't use shampoo or any products on their case I like to just wash them with water every day and then when they're dry then they get curry comb and brush to bring up the natural oils again in the in the coat so and then will also will then groom them again and in the afternoons before I walk them or when they've come in from the field or anything like that okay people often ask me about care of tails the dresser or horse's tail is quite important part of the turnout and the whole picture they usually have a longer tail and the dress that I always like to see the tails swinging behind them Velichko here's got quite a thick tears become quite famous tail and it's quite a hot topic of conversation about caring about tails between grooms and things I only ever use a comb with big teeth and big gaps or even just pull the shavings out of my fingers but I try not to ever use a brush use wash shampoo the tail maybe twice a week and put a tail conditioner on nearly every day and then just generally be really really careful and try not to put anything out [Music]

Channel: NOËLLE FLOYD

Views: 57,085

Rating: 4.9484348 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: TfCb4cGiqI0

Length: 5min 29sec (329 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 08 2018