LFP 211: Livestock Farm Practice (0+1)

INTRODUCTION TO GROOMING

• Objects of grooming are
  • For cleanliness and appearance
  • To massage and stimulate the cutaneous blood and lymph circulation
  • To remove waste products
    • Skin secretions
    • Scurf
    • Loose hairs
    • To prevent spread of skin infection.

Horses

• The process of grooming
  • Quartering: Consists in wiping the horse’s coat with a damp sponge or cloth to remove urine stains and brushing off pieces of dung etc.,
  • Wipe out the eyes, nose and dock with a sponge. This is done after the body brush and curry-comb have been used.
  • Dandy Brush: This is made on stiff whisk of fibre generally of the yellow variety. The neck, behind the ears is groomed first in the same direction as the flow of the hair. Cross or back brushing is allowed to remove the dried mud at., For the dandy brush, short, quick, vigorous sweeps give best results.
  • Body brush and curry comb: The former is made of strong bristles of vegetable fibre with a broad handloop, for slipping from the grasp. The curry-comb is used as a scrapper the body brush. The brush bound be scraped on the curry comb after, every three or four strikes on the horse’s coat and should be used with length strokes. The head and face are then brushed either with the body brush or dry water brush.
  • Wisp: This is made up of straw or Hay. To make, a wisp, twist straw into a 8 or 10 feet long. Form two loops at one end and then twist the rope ever and under each loop alternately finishing up by passing the free end through one loop. It is laid on with a dullthud, followed by a pressi sweep. Each thumb should fall near the last so that then surface of the neck trunk and quarters and the superficial muscles are massaged equally. If used properly the wisp puts fine gloss on to horse’s coat.
  • Sweat scrapper: It consists of a curved metallic plate with a handle in the middle. It is used to remove superfluous moisture from the body of a horse. This is firmly applied to muscular areas, but should be used with care over bony prominences.
  • Water brush: Water brushes are made of longer, finer and softer bristles than body brushes. They are meant for brushing the mane and tail and for washing the feet and legs. They are also sometimes used for the face.
  • Mane-comb: When the mane, forelock or tails are tangled, the mane comb is used on them by taking small strands and combing them out separately. Mane combs made on metal are better than horn.
  • Stable rubbers: Are generally used to give the coat a final polish after the rest of grooming is completed.
  • Hoof pick: To remove the dung from the clefts of the frog, from the sole of the foot and from the fuller of the shoe. It is an important part of grooming to avoid through and to prevent small stones adhering to the dung and causing injury to the hoof.
• In commercial and farm stables horses are groomed twice daily i.e once during early morning feed and again after return from work in the evening. In reaching stables the times for grooming vary.