How to Groom your Horse for a Rodeo Queen Contest

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By westernmom
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A winning look!

Horsemanship is an important part of a rodeo queen contest. If you are required to ride your own horse you need to make sure that you groom your horse as well as you groom yourself!

Judges will be checking your horse for cleanliness and proper grooming. There is often a certain amount of points that are awarded to this portion of judging and so you want to maximize your points!

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Horse grooming tools such as combs, brushes, scrapers, etc
Trimming tools (elec trimmer and razors)
Washing area
Horse shampoo and detangler
Hoof black
Baby oil
Sponges
Plenty of rags

Step 1

Comb and curry your horse completely to remove dirt and dust. This should be done daily and will promote a healthy coat and it also gets your horse used to having you groom him. Building a good relationship with your horse is important when it comes to show grooming as it can be a frightening experience for some horses. Clean hooves at this time with a hoof pick.
Step 2

Wash your horse completely with a good horse shampoo. Use large sponges and soft brushes to do this. Make sure you "deep clean" him as your judges often will pat your horse to check for hidden dirt. Wash from the front towards the back to keep from squirting him in the face. Wash his face with a sponge. Many horses will pull away if water is squirted in their face. Scrub the legs and use a whitener on socks.
Step 3

Take care to comb and brush the main and tail. Wash the tail by soaking in a bucket of water and rubbing the shampoo into it thoroughly. Comb out and rinse. Use a detangler to help take out knots. Never cut out a knot, just comb and work with it. If you like, you can lightly braid the tail and use a tail bag to keep clean. For queening, don't worry about braiding the mane. A nice flowing main is very acceptable.
Step 4

Next comes the trimming part. Using a good set of clippers, trim and clip all long hair off of the fetlocks and around the coronet band. No shaggy hair should go down onto the hooves. The long hair needs to be trimmed out of the ears as well. The best way to do this is to hold the ear closed and take a pair of scissors and trim the long hair that sticks out. Ear hair is needed to protect against bugs so it's best not to trim it completely out. Now the whiskers! Many horses are afraid of the clippers on their face so just use a good disposable razor and trim all whiskers off. Talking to your horse while doing this will calm his fears.
Step 5

Spray the horse with a nice coat shining spray and brush thoroughly. Avoid the saddle area to prevent your saddle from slipping. Cover him with a sheet until "showtime!"
Step 6

Just before you have horsemanship make sure you comb out tail and main and brush and spray your horse once again. Pick out his hooves once more and then use a black hoof polish to make them look finished. Rub a little baby oil on his face (this makes it looks nice and helps get little "goobers" out of his eyes!). Check for straggly hairs or whiskers.
Step 7

Ready for judging!

Make sure your tack and saddle are also clean. Using a nice horse pad/blanket to match your outfit will finish with just the right touch!

Comments

2besure said

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on 6/5/2009 Man or beast, got to get the hair right!

athome said

on 5/18/2009 Can you believe I have never even touched a horse or been to a rodeo. I really want too though. 5*****

joycetmann said

on 5/12/2009 How I wish I had a horse so that I could groom it for a Rodeo Queen Contest. Great article. Thanks!

thomasfence said

on 5/4/2009 How to Groom your Horse for a Rodeo Queen Contest Great helpful information for any one who enjoys western horsemanship. It is something I always wanted to do when I was younger, Now I just love my horses. 5*