It’s Showtime!

Hello! I’m Monica Stewart and I am a Lakota Young Professional from Marshfield, Missouri. I am 19 years old and I have been competing in rodeo since I was 14. I also show in working cow horse events around the Midwest. With spring right around the corner, you may want to start preparing your horse for show season or rodeo season, one thing that doesn’t take much more than a little elbow grease that can really put you ahead in the show pen is a slick hair coat. Below are a few tips to help you get started on your horse!

1. Try artificial light!

Horses begin to shed because of the lengthened number of daylight hours in the spring, not just because it’s getting warmer! Ideally, you would put this in their stall-as that’s where they will be spending a lot of their time in the winter. The artificial light before spring actually comes will trick the hair coat into thinking it is time to shed the hair! Cool, right?

2. Cover ’em up!

You will need to have a sheet on your horse to keep them comfortable as they start shedding hair. Your horse will need to stay warm for this process to work. I like to put an attachable head on as well on the super chilly days!

3. Brush, Brush, Brush!

Each day you will grab a brush and see the magic happen. My choice of brush is a rubber horse grooming glove or rubber curry comb style brush, with these you can really rub the hair and get the most out of your grooming time!

4. Don’t give up!

As you begin the shedding process, it may feel like you’ll be covered head-to-toe in those itchy little hairs forever, but with these tips you’ll have your horse slick as summer in no time!

If you have your own spring horse care ideas, post a picture and use the hashtag #LakotaBlog and #LakotaTrailers so we can share!

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