FACTOID #53: If you thought Antarctica was inhospitable, think again - its land area is only ninety-eight percent ice. Reassuringly, the other 2% is categorised as "barren rock".
A groom is responsible for the welfare of their employer's horses. Their duties may include cleaning stables (mucking-out), feeding, exercising and grooming horses.
Grooms are often required to travel with their employer to provide support services during competitions. The services required vary with the type of competition and range from simply ensuring that the horse is ready for the start of the competition to warming the horse up beforehand. In carriage driving the groom is the passenger, and at speed is required to shift their weight to balance the carriage.
At large establishments there may be several grooms under the management of the head groom. In many cases the head groom has complete responsibility for the horses including devising training schedules, choosing feeds for optimum nutrition and ensuring the horses are shod, wormed, inoculated and provided with timely veterinary care.
Through a series on hands-on experiences, including diet, grooming, handling, medical and dental care, round pen training and riding, our hope is that volunteers will acquire the knowledge to interact with horses in a positive manner.
During the hot, muggy days of summer and on the miserable, bitter cold days of winter, the horses still need to be fed, the water buckets filled, the paddocks cleaned and the medications given.
In the morning, we pen the horses for feeding, then release them, clean up the ranch (scoop poop, etc.), and interact with the animals (grooming, etc.) as weather and time permits.
In the wild, horses are "groomed" by companions in the herd.
You can observe horses in the field scratching each other, and on their own, rolling and scratching themselves to remove mud and dust as well as scurf, sweat and loose hair, which in combination with the massage action promotes circulation, and cell and coat renewal.
The main grooming session should come after exercise, to remove sweat and dirt and to generally make the horse comfortable before it is returned to the stable.
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