How to Care for Your Horse After Riding

Co-authored by Ryan Corrigan, LVT, VTS-EVN

Last Updated: June 26, 2022 References Approved

After you finish riding a horse, you still have an important job to do: untacking and caring for your horse. In order to keep your horse happy and healthy, you must take proper care of him after your ride. Between making sure he drinks enough water to cleaning your tack, every part of this untacking process is absolutely essential.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Cooling Your Horse Down

1
Walk your horse. While you’re still mounted, walk for ten to fifteen minutes on a loose rein at the end of your ride.^{[1]
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Research source} Especially if you have been cantering or jumping, make sure that your horse has time to cool down his muscles.
- Just like runners walk to cool down after a long run, a horse needs time to cool down before he stops working entirely. You can never walk for too long. Horses that have worked hard deserve to cool down as much as they need to! When you finish walking on your horse, he should not be breathing heavily or still actively sweating.
- Walk your house on a trail or around the property so it's more scenic and enjoyable for you and the horse.
2
Dismount your horse. Take both feet out of the stirrups at the same time and get off your horse from his left side.^{[2]
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Research source} Roll up your stirrups. Loosen your girth by one or two holes. Put the reins over his head so that you can lead him more easily.
- Put your hand between your horse’s front legs. If he feels extremely hot or is still actively sweating, keep walking him by hand. Make sure that the horse is not breathing heavily. If he is, keep walking him by hand.
- If you see white, frothy sweat between your horse's front or back legs, rinse it off before you remove the tack.
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3
Give your horse water. Fill a bucket with lukewarm or cold water and offer it to him. If he drinks a whole bucket of water, give him another. It is a myth that “hot” horses, or horses who have just worked, cannot drink water after a ride.^{[3]
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- A horse can lose between two and four gallons of sweat per hour if it’s hot and he is working hard, so he will need to drink to prevent dehydration.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Untacking Your Horse

1
Unbridle your horse. Put your halter in your left hand. Put the reins over your horse's head, as though you are going to ride again. Undo the nose band and the throat latch. Slip your horse's bridle over his head, putting it in your right hand. Put on his halter, which should still be in your left hand. Put the bridle aside so that you can clean it later.^{[4]
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2
Put your horse on the cross-ties or secure him at the hitching post. Attach the horse to cross-ties if you’re in a barn or a hitching post if you’re outside. If you’re using cross-ties, attach the small metal buckles of the cross-ties to either side of the horse’s halter, through the metal loops closest to his mouth.
- If you’re attaching him to a hitching post, attach the buckle on the lead rope to the loop on the halter that is underneath the horse’s cheeks. Attach the lead rope securely to the hitching post.
- Make sure one end of the cross-ties has a quick-release to help keep your horse safe.
3
Untack your horse. Take off the horse’s saddle, girth, and saddle pad. If there is no saddle rack in the barn, you can put the pommel (or front) of the saddle on the ground, leaning it against a wall. You can also leave it upside down. Flip the saddle pad upside down so that the sweat can begin to dry.
- Make sure that you can access your lead rope easily. Keep your grooming area clean and organized.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Grooming Your Horse

1
Locate your horse’s grooming supplies. Your horse should have his own set of brushes, which should include a curry comb, stiff brush, soft brush, hoof pick, towel, and sweat scraper.
2
Clean off any water and salt on your horse's body with a sweat scraper. Applying moderate pressure, move the scraper in a quick downward motion over your horse's body to clean it. Don't press too hard with the scraper or you could hurt your horse.
3
Use a curry comb in a circular motion on your horse’s body, except for his face and below his knees. Curry comb your horse for, ideally, ten or fifteen minutes. The curry comb brings up dust, dirt, and sweat that is matted inside the horse’s hair.^{[5]
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4
Use a stiff brush (also called a hard brush) on the same area; use short strokes to flick the dirt off of his body. Brush from nose to tail, or with the direction of the hair. Don’t be afraid to be vigorous. Focus especially on areas that are sweaty or have touched the tack. If your horse doesn’t mind, use the stiff brush on his face, especially around his ears, which will be sweaty from the bridle.^{[6]
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5
Use a soft brush on his entire body, including around his feet and face. Use a damp towel on his face if it is sweaty.
6
Pick his hooves: first the horse’s front left hoof, then his back left hoof, then his back right hoof, then his front right hoof. Make sure that there are no rocks in his feet and that you do not scrape the frog of the horse’s foot, which is the softer triangle in the middle of his foot. This area is sensitive.^{[7]
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7
Hose the horse down, if necessary. If your horse is hot, sweaty, or still has sweat marks on his body, you can hose off the areas of his body that are still sweaty. It is important to get all the sweat off of his body before he goes back in his stall; imagine sleeping in your own bed after you’ve run four miles and haven’t showered!^{[8]
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- After you hose down the sweaty areas of your horse, use the sweat scraper on those areas to rid your horse of excess water so that will dry faster. Instead of sweat scraping his legs, dry them off with a towel.
- If your horse is only mildly sweaty in a couple of places, dip a stiff brush in a bucket of water to “wet brush” him. With the wet brush, brush the sweaty parts of the horse. This is like a miniature bath. When you’re done grooming your horse, there should be no sweat marks on his body. He should look either well-brushed or well-bathed!
- You can also apply a horse-safe shampoo to help moisturize your horse's skin and clean off any sweat and dirt.
8
Get your horse ready to go home. Put on anything that he needs to wear in his stall, such as bell boots, a fly sheet, a blanket, or a cribbing collar. Apply any medications, like thrush medication for your horse's hooves, if it is necessary.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Putting Your Horse Away

1
Bring the horse back to his stall or paddock. Attach the lead rope to his halter and lead him into his stall or paddock. When you lead a horse, you should put your right hand near the end of the lead rope, near the horse's chin, and have your left hand holding the excess lead rope. Do not wrap the lead rope around your hands, though. The horse should walk to your right.^{[9]
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2
Put your horse into his stall. When you enter the stall, turn around so that you are both facing the stall door. Remove his halter, exit the stall, and close it behind you. Put the halter away; there is usually a hook right next to the stall door. Give him a peppermint or a slice of apple to reward him!
3
Clean your grooming area. Pull excess hair away from your brushes and throw it away. Place all of your brushes back in your grooming box, and put your grooming box back in the tack room. If your horse pooped in the barn, scoop up the poop and put it in the poop bucket.
- Double check that the drain is clean and the hose is put away neatly. You want the grooming area to be nice and clean for the next person who uses it.
4
Clean your horse’s tack. Wipe down your saddle, girth, and bridle with saddle soap, removing any sweat or dirt. To do this, take a sponge, dip it in a little bit of water, and then apply soap to the sponge. Sponge all parts of the saddle, bridle, and girth thoroughly. Work the soap into the leather so that there are no suds on the saddle.^{[10]
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Research source} The leather should look clean and feel soft. Rinse and clean your horse’s bit with water. Put the tack back where it belongs in the tack room.

Warnings

Do not hose off your horse if it’s cold or if he’s going to wear a blanket in the near future.

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Some horses have sensitive skin and do not like being groomed. Be gentle but thorough.

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Be careful when picking your horse’s hooves. They can kick!

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