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Show Clothing Fitting Tips

• Helmet – one finger width above the ears and eyebrows.  Snug enough that you don’t have any movement.  Velvet for show or if you have a schooling helmet, use a velvet cover over it.

• Hunt Coat – tailored fit, not loose or baggy.  Length – down to middle of butt and across widest part of hips.  Sleeve length – long enough to cover wrist bone.

• Hunt shirt – cuff should peek out about ¼” from sleeve of coat if long sleeve. For 4-H either long sleeve or short sleeve is appropriate. If you do wear sleeveless blouse, you can not remove your coat if they call coats at the show.  For hunter/jumper riders, you must wear white shirts in the EQ classes. Colored shirts are OK for other classes.

• Breeches – should be snug with minimal wrinkles, lie smoothly – not baggy.  Knee patches should be centered over knees – if too high you need a longer length.  Breeches come in regular and long’s.  Put on by gathering up (like pantyhose).

• Gloves – black only, not colored.  Leather or synthetic.  Snug fit so fingers go all the way to end.

• Hair nets – for neat look hair should be contained in a hair net or show bow.  Bring along bobbie pins and rubber bands to help contain hair.

• Belts – if coats are called you should have a belt on.  Either a brown  or black belt not too wide.

• Stock pins – Acceptable for 4-h and open shows.  Monograms for hunter/jumper, or leave plain.

• Zocks  -  Provide thin easy-up help getting those boots up.  Boot slip and boot pulls are a must. 

• Make up and  jewelry-  Don’t overdue the makeup.  Saddleseat riders and western riders wear more.  If wearing lipstick, hunters should keep it neutral.  Wear small earrings, no dangles, no necklaces.

• Boots- Should be the right height , come up to the bend in the knee.  Not too loose or gapping at the knee.  Boots should be clean and polished.  Boot shine sponges are convienant to take to shows.

• Other needed items: Boot pulls, boot jack, heel lifts, leather cleaning wipes, boots trees, rain coat and plastic helmet cover.

Grooming Tips

• When bathing your horse, use diluted shampoo or it will take too long to rinse it out thoroughly.  Either pour the shampoo into a bucket of water or use a squirt bottle. (You can use an empty, clean ketchup or dish soap bottle.)  Fill bottle about 9/10’s full of water and then squirt shampoo into bottle, close top, then invert gently several times to mix evenly (don’t shake).  Use this to apply directly to horse’s wet coat.

• To really enhance your horse’s coat color, use a color intensifying shampoo like Quic Color, Quic Black, QuicSilver, or Super Whitening Shampoo.  All of these shampoos are gentle, safe, and ph balanced. 

• After bathing, apply a leave-in conditioner/detangler, like Mane ‘n Tail Detangler , Cowboy Magic Detangler & Shine, or Eqyss Avacado Mist Conditioner/Detangler on tail. Wait until it is dry to pick apart, as wet hair is more fragile and breaks off easily. Then put the tail in a tail bag.

• After bathing, in addition to the tail bag, cover your horse with a stretchy hood, sheet, and standing wraps or polo wraps on the legs, especially if he/she has white on his/her legs.

• Use Quic Braid on your horse’s mane before braiding or banding.  This product offers the perfect grip for your fingers, neither slippery nor sticky, and minimizes stray hairs.  It combs right out after the show without washing.

• To make the little hairs around the dock of the tail lie down flat, wet hair, spray Quick Braid on it, then wrap a standing wrap or polo wrap around  the dock of the tail.  Let in place until dry (while you do other grooming chores), then gently slide the wrap down off the tail.  Spray again with Quick Braid or hair spray.

• When applying hoof polish, stand your horse on a hard surface or large piece of cardboard, to keep the hoof polish brush clean and free of dirt and debris.  Remember to do this also before you have your show clothing on. Use clear hoof polish on light colored hoofs or if your horse has striped hooves, such as Appaloosa breeds do, and black polish on dark colored hooves.

• To add extra shine to your horse’s hooves, after polishing them, spray Ultra Hoof Polish Enhancer on the hooves.  Then after the show, remove the polish with Ultra Instant Hoof Polish Remover, because hoof polish, if left on, can dry out and damage a horse’s hooves.  ( Fiebings Hoof Polish is water based, so it does not need to be removed, however, it will also not last as long especially if being worn in wet, rainy conditions.)

• As part of your pre-show grooming, use a small damp sponge or a pre-moistened disposable towelette, such as Miracle Groom Touch Ups, to wipe around your horse’s eyes and nostrils.

• Use Quic Shade or baby oil to highlight your horse’s face.  Pour a small amount into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together, then rub over horse’s muzzle, around the ears, and eyes, then down front of face and over the cheekbones.  Quic Shade is also a sunscreen to protect those sensitive pink noses and white areas.

• The last grooming tool you should do before going into the show ring, especially before showmanship class, is rub a Tail Tamers Sheepskin Grooming Mitt or small towel over his coat, to remove the last traces of dust and flatten down all the hair to give the hair coat the brightest sheen possible.

• To really add shine and bloom to your horse’s coat, add a fat supplement to your horse’s diet.  This could be in the form of corn or vegetable oil, flax seed or flax seed oil, or a commercial fat supplement/weight gain product, like First Companion’s Perfect-Coat or Miracle Weight Gain.

• Use cornstarch to whiten your horse’s socks, or the white Shapley’s Show Touch Up Spray.  Shapley’s Show Touch Up spray comes in many other colors too, to cover up scars and blemishes or enhance yours horse’s color.

• If it is too cold to bathe your horse, you can use a “dry shampoo” product like Miracle Groom or Cowboy Magic’s Green Spot Remover, to clean your horse.  Another great product is Carr & Day & Martin’s Under The Tail Wipes.  These remove the dirt and grease from under the tail, sheath and udder areas.

• The last thing you should apply to your horse’s coat before going into the show ring, is a shine product, like Show Sheen, Cowboy Magic Super Body Shine, or Grand Champion Pepi Coat Conditioner.  However, do not apply in the saddle area as these products make the hair coat slippery.

Winter Tips:

If your horse has rubbed-off areas of hair on his or her shoulders from blanketing, spray Quic-Sheen on the rubbed area. It has a silicone free formula that will help prevent the blanket from abrading the hair as well as moisturize the hair and skin to encourage regrowth.

Healthy Hair Care is a good product to apply liberally to the entire coat after body clipping. It's lanolin rich formula moisturizes the skin and coat to prevent that dull, fuzzy look that occurs after body clipping.