Have you ever seen a horse at the roping or even just standing there tied that you couldn’t take your eyes off of? What was it about them that caught your eye? Was it their confirmation? Or was it their slicked off look? Or even how they were brushed out that morning. The point is that it was likely all of them. Had just one of these factors been in place you likely wouldn’t have given them a second look. But with all of them, they simply look awesome. If same horse really works their butt off in the roping it is even more attractive. Moral of the story, if you want to present high value horses they need to look the part.
Starts With The Diet
We are what we eat and that holds very true for our horses too. If they are getting a low protein round bale, don’t be surprised when they have a gut and low muscle tone. Just like a professional athlete, they need a high quality good protein diet in order to perform at a high level. Think of your horse as a professional football player and feed them accordingly and you will see great results.
I also recommend feeding a feed high in omega 3 fatty acids. Some type of oil and shine product will pay dividends when you have a shiny horse that looks very valuable. I feed Omega Fields Horse Shine its cost effective and goes down easy and really helps those horses to look the part. Ultimately it comes down to, if you want a horse to be a high dollar horse, they have to look the part.
Workout Regime
Just like a professional athlete, the second part is a workout regime. I see it all the time, horses that get ridden 2 days per week and owners wonder why they don’t look muscled up and fit. I personally have 18 horses to ride everyday so I bit the bullet and bought a priefert horse walker. They come very highly recommended and have helped my horses to be in incredible shape, especially the good ones who don’t need to head steers 5 days per week. Whether you go with a walker or not, remember that these guys are our own professional athletes and you are their personal athletic trainer. If you can help them to be fit and strong, believe me they will not only feel good, they will truly look the part.
Care and Grooming
The final piece of the puzzle is to make sure a horse looks their best on game day. If it is during the summertime, maybe a good bath the day before is in order. If it is winter there is only so much you can do but you can still help them to look good. Brush them out good and comb up their mane and tail. It takes 5 minutes and really helps your horse to shine.
Wrapping Up
Ultimately we all know these things to be true. Look at almost every horse in the Open. They are all shined to a T and look the part. At anytime if a Pro told you this horse is worth 50k, you would believe then and that all comes down to presentation. If you want people to take you seriously or you ever plan on selling that horse for big money, help them look the part. Make your horse irresistible to the public and it will pay dividends. As the ZZ top song goes, every girl crazy about a shape dressed man.
