Instructions
Wash and condition your horse’s mane and tail as close to perfect as possible. You want to make sure there is no grime or dirt in the tail or else it will tangle and not condition properly. After the tail has been washed thoroughly, then condition it so that it will be flowing as he trots around the arena during the class. The process that you use for conditioning your horse’s tail depends on how dry it is, but for many horses massaging a conditioner into the tail then rinsing it out, followed up by sparingly applying leave-in conditioner, will do the trick. Once your horse’s tail has finished drying, then it should be brushed out until there is not a single tangle and it is flowing behind him.
Groom your horse’s body immaculately. First curry your horse all over his body to disengage any clumps of hair and dislodge any dirt from his coat. Next, use a hard brush to get all of the dirt off the horse’s coat. Use strokes that follow the direction the hair grows. To give your horse’s coat a little extra shine, use a coat of shining liquid. Spray the liquid in a thin, even film all over the body of the horse. You can use your hands or a clean piece of fabric to work the shiner into the coat and get maximum performance out of it.
Clean, buff and polish the hooves . The judge spends a lot of time inspecting the conformation of the legs and the hooves of each horse in the class. Use a sanding block to buff the hooves. Hold the sanding block with a firm grip and rub in fast, small circles around the entire hoof. Continue to do this until the surface of the horse’s hooves is very smooth and nothing is coming off when you sand it. Get into the corners with the sanding block.
Pour rubbing alcohol onto a paper towel and rub it into the hoove. This will clean them even more and give you a preview of what to expect once the polish is applied. If you are satisfied with the appearance using the alcohol, apply a clear polish all over the hoof in either one to two coats. Make sure you apply clear polish, not black polish, or your horse will be disqualified.
Clean out your horse’s nose and ears. When the judge comes over to inspect your horse’s head, he will not judge you well if there is any dirt in your horse’s nose or ears. Use a damp cloth or a baby wipe to clean them out. Be careful when you do this, especially around the ears, because horses are very sensitive in these areas. Use gentle strokes to get all the dirt, then wipe them out once more with a dry cloth.
Grease your horse’s face and gel his forelock. Greasing a horse’s face means to apply baby oil or a product that shines his face (such as FaceGlo). Doing this gives the horse a more finished and professional appearance, which judges in halter classes expect, especially if it is an Arabian show. To apply oil or FaceGlo properly, you need to get a large glob of the substance you’re using on your finger tips. Rub it into your hands and then rub your hands all over the nose of your horse, beginning at the tip and going up as far as the softer part of the skin. The further up you go on the nose, the lighter the shine needs to be. Rub the product into the skin about halfway so that it’s not completely absorbed but doesn’t look like it was randomly smeared on. Then rub a little more FaceGlo or baby oil into the skin around his eyes and on his eyelids.
Get your horse a little riled up before the class. If your horse is half asleep during the halter class, he won’t set up well or go around the arena fast enough. If these aspects are missing in your performance, the judge will not be impressed with you or with your horse. You can get your horse going by trotting him around in small circles or in some other pattern. After he has trotted, begin to set him up and work with the whip a little in front of his face. This does not exactly scare him, but it makes him very alert, which improves his performance in the ring.
How to Prepare a Horse for a Halter Class in a Show
Halter classes have been part of horse shows for a very long time. In a halter class, the goal is to show off how well your horse listens to you, his conformation and the attractiveness of all his other features. Judges inspect the horse’s movement through a series of patterns that you are asked to perform. The judge will call you to the middle or the arena and carefully look over the horse’s body. To get the highest score in this class, your horse must be articulately prepared.