Project #8, Visual Aids

I am going to bring my grooming kit and my laptop (working offline) to the podium, but I am not bringing notes up there with me -- here’s what I hope I say:

Background:
I have volunteered to work with Equine Guelph within their Equimania! Program – which is where KIDS learn about horses. One of their sponsors is a chain of tack shops and one of the ideas I have is to present a Grooming lesson to store clients as a way of driving hits to the fanatastic Equimania website and on-line education tools. I know it is asking a lot of non-horse people to provide feedback on a topic such as I have chosen for today, but I imagine an unpredictably diverse public audience should these presentations come to fruition and so I will really welcome your feedback on content, delivery and of course the effectiveness of the chosen visual aids.

Fellow Toastmasters,
In my last presentation I taught you a handy word to catch a runaway horse. Today I will talk to you about the basics of Grooming it! And I have brought what I consider the top 5 tools for doing so for show and tell. I also want to show you the area of the website where kids can review what they have learned about grooming in a fun game!

An experienced horse person will often spend from 30 to 45 min on the process. i like to teach that a cowboy sweats when he grooms his horse. Far more than a cosmetic purpose, new horsemen will finding grooming is a good way to get to know horses and increase confidence around them. It also provides comfort to your horse and can teach him to relax -- in the wild a pony is groomed by a herd companion, and riders can bond in this way with their mount.Remember that not only does this activity maintain the horse's coat in good condition but time spent grooming allows you to check for any scratches, wounds, injuries or skin conditions

1. the CURRY COMB: is to remove loose hair and loosen caked on mud, use the rubber curry comb over the horses coat beginning with the neck on the pony's favourite side. rub in small circular motions over the entire body with exception of bony parts such as head or legs. this is a good massage of your horse's muscles, and good for circulation. Clean the curry comb by banging it on the floor.
2. the DANDY BRUSH has long stiff bristles and is used in short strokes and a flicking motion to take off surface dirt. always brush the coat in the direction of his hair, while avoiding especially tender parts like the face or clipped areas. clean the dandy brush in between strokes by rubbing against the curry comb, in order to ensure you do not reapply dirt to the horse's coat.3. the BODY BRUSH is also used in conjunction with the curry comb, to bring out the horse’s shine, removing grease and deep down dust. this brush is used with more pressure and longer, sweeping strokes, repeated in the same place up to six times, including the legs and head 4. the HOOF PICK is used to clear the feet of any stones that may have been picked up during turnout. run your hand down the shoulder and leg until you reach the fetlock, and are bending down. if your horse does not lift his foot, which he will often learn to do earlier and earlier in the process if you are consistent and efficient in YOUR pattern, then lean into him with your body. if the horse is being stubborn, firmly pinch the tendons while leaning, and lifting his darn foot! once holding the hoof up firmly, supporting it in your left hand, use the hoof pick staring at the back of the hoof and clear each side of the frog right to the tip. The frog is a V shaped fleshy formation in the sole of the foot. continue scraping in this way until there is no debris anywhere else on the hoof.
a skep can be placed in position to catch foot debris, or you can simply sweep your mess.
5. Mane Comb – plastic and metal. Brush the mane downwards on the side it lays naturally.

The Website has a game of identifying the items in the grooming kit. It keeps track of how long it takes you to reload the fallen collection item by designated item – popping up in a different order each time. Do you know any kids who might like to play the game? Let me know and I will jot down the web address for you.

Thanks for allowing me to practice another unmounted riding lesson on you. I hope one day soon you get out and do some grooming!