The Summer Grooming Guide: Sweat, Dust & Everything In Between
By the time August rolls around, most horses have settled into their summer groove. Spring shedding is a distant memory, fly season is in full swing, and between sweat, dust, mud puddles, and the occasional bath, even the tidiest horse can start looking a little rough around the edges.
Good news: summer's actually the easiest time to hit reset on your grooming routine. A few small changes can keep your horse more comfortable, protect their skin and coat, and make those evening rides or weekend shows a lot more enjoyable, for both of you.
Here's what we check around the barn every summer.
1. Start with Clean Grooming Tools
It's easy to focus on cleaning your horse and forget about the brushes doing the work.
Brushes collect dirt, sweat, hair, skin oils, and yes, bacteria, over time. If yours have been living at the bottom of a grooming tote since spring, they're overdue.
Take a few minutes to:
- Remove built-up hair.
- Wash brushes with warm water and a little mild soap.
- Let them dry completely before putting them away.
- Wipe down hoof picks, sweat scrapers, and curry combs.
Clean tools work better, plain and simple, and your horse will notice the difference too.
2. Don't Overdo the Baths
When it's 90 degrees out, hosing your horse off feels like the nicest thing you can do for them, and honestly, for yourself too. There's nothing wrong with that. But frequent shampooing strips away the natural oils that keep the coat healthy.
If your horse just needs to cool off, plain water usually does the job. Save the shampoo for when they're actually dirty, and reach for products made for horses rather than whatever's under your kitchen sink.
If the coat starts feeling dry from all that washing and sun, a good conditioner or coat moisturizer earns its keep.
3. Sweat Hides in More Places Than You Think
Even after a quick rinse, sweat likes to hang around in spots we don't always think to check:
- Under the saddle pad
- Between the hind legs
- Around the girth area
- Under the mane
- Around the dock of the tail
Leave it there too long and you're looking at rubbing, flaky skin, and irritation. Worth the extra thirty seconds.
4. Give Your Horse a Daily Skin Check
Grooming pulls double duty. It makes your horse look sharp, and it's also your best early-warning system for problems you'd rather catch small.
As you brush, keep an eye out for:
- New cuts or scrapes
- Swelling
- Heat
- Fly bites
- Rain rot
- Missing hair
- Skin irritation under tack
Catch it early, and it's usually an easy fix. Miss it for a week, and it's a vet call.
5. Don't Forget the Hooves
Dry weather doesn't mean hoof care gets a summer off too.
Pick out your horse's feet every day, paying attention to:
- Packed stones
- Cracks
- Loose shoes
- Thrush hiding in deep grooves
- Changes in hoof odor
A clean hoof gives you a much better shot at spotting trouble before your farrier does.
6. Protect the Mane and Tail
Summer is surprisingly hard on long hair. Sun, fly swishing, burrs, trailer rides, and enthusiastic tail brushing all conspire to leave tails thinner than you'd like.
So brush from the bottom up, use a detangler when you need it, and work through knots gently instead of muscling through them. Sometimes patience really is the best grooming tool, even when you're staring down a knot the size of a grapefruit.
7. Is Your Fly Protection Still Doing Its Job?
By late July, fly masks and fly sheets have earned their keep and it shows. Give yours an honest look for:
- Torn mesh
- Loose stitching
- Broken buckles
- Worn elastic
- Rub marks on your horse's shoulders or face
A fly sheet that no longer fits right can cause more problems than it solves, so don't let a worn-out one limp through the rest of the season.
8. Check Your Leather While You're At It
Summer sweat doesn't only affect horses. Bridles, reins, girths, and halters soak up sweat and dust every single ride.
A quick wipe after riding, plus a more thorough cleaning every couple of weeks, keeps leather soft, safe, and ready to go. Pay extra attention to billets, reins, and anywhere that flexes a lot.
9. Restock the Little Things
Every summer we run into the same problem: you reach into the grooming tote and somehow everything's bone dry. It happens to all of us, like a rite of passage nobody asked for.
Time to restock:
- Fly spray
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Coat polish
- Sponges
- Towels
- Rubber bands
- Hoof dressing
- Leather cleaner
- Leather conditioner
They're inexpensive, but having them on hand makes every trip to the barn easier.
10. Finish with a Few Quiet Minutes
One of the nicest parts of grooming has nothing to do with brushes at all. It's the time you spend with your horse.
Once you've finished up, stand with them for a minute. Scratch that one itchy spot they can never quite reach. Watch them relax. Notice how they're feeling that day.
Those quiet minutes often tell you just as much as the grooming itself.
A Little Time Goes a Long Way
Summer grooming isn't about keeping your horse spotless. Most of us know that lasts about five minutes, tops.
It's about keeping them comfortable, catching little problems before they turn into expensive ones, and enjoying the everyday routine that comes with owning a horse.
A clean brush, a quick hoof check, and a few extra minutes after each ride go a lot further than most people realize.
If your grooming kit is looking a little tired, or you're just ready to replace a few well-loved favorites, stop by Equine Exchange Tack Shop. We've got everyday brushes and shampoos, coat conditioners, fly protection, hoof care, and leather care products to help keep both you and your horse ready for the rest of the summer.
Happy grooming, and we'll see you at the barn.