Grooming can be a beautiful thing for a horse. It's a wonderful way to bond with your horse as well as keep him looking good. Additionally, many health problems can be caught early through regular grooming.

Every horse is different and some horses love to have their manes brushed, while others just flat out hate it. You'll have to gauge the reaction of your horse to having his mane and tail groomed. Use a spray detangler if he has a lot of snarls or he hasn't been groomed much before. If you hurt him when he is being brushed out, he will be wary of you anytime you hold a hairbrush as he will associate that with pain.

Make it as pleasant of an experience as you can. Talk to him while you groom him. Tell him how great he looks or just talk about your day. Horses are incredibly good listeners. Then as your getting his mane done, see if he will allow you to brush out his tail. Again be gentle, most tails are very sensitive and if you see his rear tensing up, get ready to move as he may be about to kick.

Use a slicker brush on his body. Most horses love the way it feels and it gets rid of short dead hairs and general itchiness the horse may be feeling. Do his back, his sides and his legs if he'll allow it. Look at his coat and his skin while you do it, if you notice anything amiss health-wise, bumps, lumps under the skin or other condition that normally isn't there; see a vet to get your horse looked out. Most health problems can be kept minor and even easily cured in many cases if caught early on.

If you want your horse to love being groomed, groom him in a loving way and do it often and you'll find he'll begin to look so forward to grooming time that he will bring you the brush and drop it in your lap because he's ready to be groomed!