Horses have been part of the human family ever since Aesop was a baby. One of his favorite bed time stories was about the time a horse and a man signed a treaty to catch a stag. When the stag was caught the horse asked the man to take the bit from his mouth and the masked man responded, "Huh Uh Silver. This arrangement suits me just fine." Human beings have cherished the opportunity of keeping horses in the family ever since.

As a general rule of thumb, horses require more maintenance than the family sports car. Their fuel tanks must be topped off about twice a day whether they have been driven or not. On a hot grueling day their radiators can need as much as 20 gallons of extra water added. Rips and tears in their upholstery must be treated quickly or else the whole coat could lose its beauty and charm in a matter of weeks if not days.

Taking care of the horse's upholstery is a unique process technically referred to as GROOMING.

Most horses do enjoy the grooming process. If you've ever seen two horses facing each other with their necks intertwined you have seen horses grooming each other. They groom each other with their teeth.
Just like humans there are places horses can't reach on themselves. Consequently, they especially appreciate you scratching them in certain places -- like under their belly. Elfie Bowling, a full time wrangler at Horse Heaven Ranch Resort had one horse that was especially appreciative. "When I began scratching under his belly he wouldn't let me quit. When I wore out and had to stop he would walk back and forth using my hand as a stationary curry. He was really enjoying it."

Not all horses will enjoy being groomed. Not all horses are the same either. For example, maybe one will like being groomed, but won't accept a clipping to save your life. Most horses also have times they don't want to be groomed at all. For example, if a horse tends to irritate easily or is grouchy, I would not groom him while he is eating, especially in a stall. "Just think about it," Elfie suggests. "If you are eating at your dinner table would you want someone raking a brush through your hair?" When you are in close quarters is no time to irritate your horse. Some horses are fine with this, but it is your responsibility to decide when it is safe.