WORLD-CLASS GROOMING FOR HORSES

By Cat Hill and Emma Ford
Trafalgar Square Books

*This review originally ran in The Chronicle of the Horse.*

Cat Hill and Emma Ford offer tips from their years of grooming and stable keeping for top riders of all disciplines in World-Class Grooming For Horses.

Even if you learned how to care for your horses from a mentor, Pony Club or by picking up tips from others, you’re sure to find something useful. It’s all there in one spiral bound book, making it a great resource for experienced horsemen and novices alike, and it should be considered required reading for those looking into working student or groom positions.

The book covers all aspects of horse care, from getting tacked up to ride, cleaning the barn and basic equine health care, to more detailed jobs like clipping, taking care of horses at a show, wrapping and studs.
Ford has spent most of her career as a groom for top eventer Phillip Dutton, and Hill works mostly as a freelance groom for eventers these days, but they’ve both worked for a variety of riders, so even if you’re not an eventer, you’ll find their knowledge useful. Both authors spice up the book with personal stories of mistakes and lessons learned from their years of working in the industry, which gives a fun insight into the care of upper-level horses.

Everything a groom does for a horse is done not only for its health, but also its safety, so the authors make sure to point out every little detail. Nearly every page is full of step-by-step photos to make sure you’re raking your herringbone pattern on the barn floor properly or folding your horse’s winter blanket so it doesn’t look messy.

Whether you’re looking for instructions on how to do hunter braids, wrap a leg or properly adjust a figure-eight noseband, you can be sure Ford and Hill have done it thousands of times, and they’re eager to share their knowledge.