What is hot clothing and why is this such a good grooming technique?
Hot clothing provides a soothing and refreshing means of grooming as well as applying extra shine. Hot clothing accentuates the natural shine of a horse i good condition as well as moisturising and conditioning the skin. Using this method both before and after clipping will re-generate the natural oils within the coat by massaging and applying heat directly to the skin.
Hot clothing can be done in two ways. To remove excess grease by using Lavender Splosh Wash which will remove excess grease prior to clipping or applying the hot cloth shine method using Super Shine Lotion directly onto a clean, grease free coat. This will give you the edge and can also be used for show preparation or as a weekly enhancement to ensure the skin is kept moisturised and the coat shiny and sleek.
What you need for Hot Clothing:
· 1 or 2 x Small buckets, or just your usual stable bucket. (Old additive/supplement containers are great to re-use for this as they have lids on)
· 1 x flannel or very small towel, micro fibre cloth or sponge for each bucket.
· 1 x Super Shine lotion (2 good squirts)
Optional-
· 1 x Splosh Wash (2 x capfuls)
· 1 x larger towel for drying off if needed
How to apply:
Splosh Wash Hot Clothing: If the horse or pony has a very greasy coat before hot clothing with Super Shine, apply 2 x capfuls of Splosh Wash (the lid on the 500ml bottle of Splosh wash is the one we refer to) in bottom of bucket with an additional 2-3"" of as ""hot as your hands can bear"" water in bottom of bucket. Take flannel or sponge and dunk in solution, squeeze out thoroughly and wipe the horse all over, after each wipe or two, dunk back in bucket, squeeze out and re-apply. Towel dry. Once the grease has been removed then hot clothing with Super Shine can commence.
Super Shine Hot Clothing: 2 x squirts of Super Shine into the bottom of a bucket with as ""hot as your hands can bear water"". Allow 2-3"" depth in the bottom of the bucket which is plenty for going over one horse. Apply as above by dunking flannel into the hot water, squeeze out and wiping over. Allow to dry naturally. Before going into the ring, allow time for the coat to fully dry to get the maximum shine.
An absolute must before and after clipping or prior to going into the show ring for an absolutely dry shiny finish. Super Shine is a non-oil based lotion giving outstanding shine and leaving no residue for dust to adhere to. Lavender Splosh is a soothing wash off solution which removes grease effectively as well as being kind to the skin.
Both products contain oils of lavender and are FEI and SSADL compliant.