How to Win The Model Class With Your Horse or Pony

Winning a model class requires many groom tricks. This article will help you learn how to win that model class.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A quite horse or pony with great conformation.
• The horse or pony should be a Bay with 4 white socks (jk, but that seems to be the trend)
• General Grooming supplies
• Corn Starch
• Baby oil
• Alcohol
• Cowboy Magic Green spot remover
• Glossy spray in the color of your horses coat.
• Show Sheen
• Hoof Polish

1. Your horse should be clipped freshly and accordingly and should have been getting proper daily grooming for months before the show. Wake up early and give your horse a bath. (pick feet, quickly run a brush over him before) Do not add any conditioners, simply make sure his coat, mane, and tail are clean. Use Shout (yes the dish soap) on any white parts of your horse (It works!). Make sure to rinse well. Use a mild soap on the rest of their coat.

2. Sweat scrape and towel dry your horses body and legs well. Grab a spray bottle full of alcohol and lightly mist your horses coat. Wipe their coat again with a towel to get excess dirt off. DO NOT spray show sheen or a leave in conditioner in their tail!!

3. If you timed yourself right, the braider should come to do their job. If they came the night before you CAN still bathe them! just avoid their mane and tail. When the braider has finished pull them out of their stall and into the cross ties.

4. Your horse should be pretty clean. Run a soft brush over your horses coat. Take a rag and start rubbing your horses coat in the direction of hair growth to produce sebum. This will make your horse shiny. But some muscle in it and really "buff out" your horses coat.

5. Take your can of spray gloss, in your horses coat color (hopefully you do not have to turn a flea bitten gray into a gray, trust me it can be done) spray it lightly on your horses coat following by more "buffing" of your horses coat to blend it in. Repeat! Your goal is to see your reflexion in the horses coat.

6. When you are done "buffing" your horse out, take a rag with some baby oil and apply the oil to the horses nose and mouth. Make sure it is perfectly clean! Also apply it above the eyes. Do not cake it on!

7. If your horse has white socks, on dry legs, spray a light mist of alcohol. Then, apply corn starch liberally all over the sock. Make sure it is covered evenly. Take a rag with some alcohol and outline the sock using your fingers. Make sure their is a clear line between the sock and the coat.

8. Finishing touches! If your horse has any visible scars, take your gloss spray and cover them with a couple of sprays. Paint your horses feet with hoof polish. Check your horses braids for dust that you can remove with a wet rag. Don't forget your groom tote on the way to the in gate!!!

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you clean every little spot of your horse! The judges will notice!
• Do not make is obvious that you are trying to cover up scars
• If they wear a fake tail, make sure it has been braided in correctly, and make sure you wash it before the braider puts it in.

[LEJockimo]

on 1/9/2009 It's interesting learning the insider's tips and tricks!