Horse grooming
Horse grooming is hygienic care given to a horse, or a process by which the horse's physical appearance is enhanced for horse shows or other types of competition.
Reasons for grooming
Grooming is an important part of horse care. Grooming a horse daily allows the handler to check on horse's general health and well-being. At a minimum, horses are generally groomed before being worked, and are usually groomed and cleaned up after a workout as well.
The main reasons for daily grooming include:
improved health of the skin and coat
decreases the chance of various health problems such as thrush, scratches, and other skin problems
cleans the horse, so chafing does not occur under areas of tack
gives the groom a chance to check the horse's health, such as looking for cuts, heat, swelling, lameness, a change in temperament (such as depression) which could indicate the horse is sick, and look to see if the horse has loose or missing horseshoes
helps to form a relationship between horse and handler, which can carry over to other handling duties and riding