From the end of September, care in the stable changes fundamentally. Not because there is suddenly more to do – but because the order is reversed. In summer you brush dust away. In winter you work against moisture, and moisture forgives no shortcuts.

This guide goes through the four areas that make work between October and March: hooves, coat, mane and tail, and skin. With what helps – and what you can skip.

Hooves come first

Hoof horn absorbs water. A horse that stands on a muddy paddock for half the day has softer horn in the evening than in the morning – that is not an illness, it is physics. It only becomes a problem when the wet phases are never interrupted by a dry one.

This leads to the most important habit of the whole season: brush dry rather than hosing off. The hose puts exactly what you want to get rid of into the hoof. A brush with bronze bristles loosens dried-on mud and packed-in bedding without water – it takes ten seconds longer and saves the hoof hours.

The tools for this: the hoof brush for the surface, the narrower frog brush for the grooves, and the hoof pick for anything that has become lodged. Bronze bristles in the middle for the coarse dirt, fine horsehair bristles on the outside so that the coronet band gets none of it.

After that, not before, comes the care. A hoof serum with hyaluronic acid is absorbed into the cleaned horn, rather than sealing it under a layer of grease like a classic hoof balm – so exchange with the surroundings remains possible. To be honest about it: you do not see the result after the first application, only in the horn as it grows out. If you expect a difference after two weeks, you will be disappointed.

Frog grooves: the spot that makes work in winter

The deep grooves beside the frog are where bedding, manure and moisture collect and are hard to get out again. They should be cleared out daily – dry, with a brush narrow enough for the job.

Afterwards, a frog serum can be applied precisely with the dosing tip. It dries out damp areas of horn and lays a shellac film over them that keeps out moisture and bedding without hardening the soft horn. Two honest notes: the scent of lavender, thyme and propolis is intense and stays on your hands. And 100 ml is used up quickly with daily application on four hooves.

If the smell, colour or consistency of the frog changes noticeably, it is no longer a matter of care. The hoof then belongs in the hands of the farrier or the vet – no care product replaces that expert eye.

Coat: coarse first, then fine

In the winter coat, the dirt sits deeper. The order is therefore the same as for the hooves: first the coarse, then the fine.

The root brush with coconut-fibre bristles gets dried mud out and, on grey horses, also removes yellowing and stable stains. It is firm – on the belly, flank and inner thigh it is too strong for thin-skinned horses. There, and for the finishing touch, the finishing brush in horsehair and nylon takes over.

What you can skip: shampoo. A horse in its winter coat does not dry through for hours after being washed, and a damp coat chills faster than a dirty one. Two brushes and five minutes are the better solution at this time of year.

Mane and tail: less is more

Mane and tail tangle faster in winter because they are wetter and under more strain. Every hair pulled out takes months to grow back – so the temptation to drag a metal comb through is the most expensive shortcut in the whole grooming box.

A coat and mane spray lays a smoothing film around the hair so that the comb runs through without pulling. The double-sided mane brush has coconut bristles on one side and, on the other, a comb of wooden pins on an air cushion: if it meets a knot, the cushion gives way instead of pulling the hair out.

To be honest: the spray contains dimethicone, in other words silicone. For daily care that is exactly right – but leave it out before plaiting on competition day, otherwise the bands will slip out of the plaits.

Skin: the areas that are constantly wet

The back of the pastern, the crest and the dock are the areas that rarely dry properly in winter. Care here means above all: keep them clean and as dry as possible, and do not irritate the skin further.

When choosing a product, the consistency decides, not the contents. A watery spray gel such as the silver spray can be applied over a wide area without touching the spot – practical for sensitive horses, but it runs off vertical surfaces before it dries. The richer silver cream stays where a gel would run down. For the back of the pastern, the cream is therefore the right form; for larger areas, the spray.

And here too the limit applies: changes to the skin that persist for days or spread should be checked by a vet. Care is care – no more and no less.

The one habit that saves half the care

The most effective measure in the wet season is not a care product but a dry rug. A horse that dries off after the rain under a dense turnout rug makes noticeably less work in the coat, at the hoof and on the skin than one that goes into the night wet.

If you are upgrading here, you will find suitable models at Bucas – Irish rugs with a Stay-Dry lining that transports moisture outwards.

FRIDO LOVES IT: developed with a farrier and a vet

The care products mentioned in this article come from FRIDO LOVES IT, a German manufacturer from Greifenberg. The formulations were developed by a team around the veterinary surgeon Dr. med. vet. Stefanie Mallmann, together with the farrier Marcus Wagner. The brushes are made from walnut wood, with bronze, horsehair, coconut and goat hair bristles – Made in Germany.

That is the reason we took on the brand: with care products, the development story is usually the only reliable difference between two bottles.

The care products at Equinista

You will find the full range in the brand collection FRIDO LOVES IT. The Grooming & care category gives an overview of all the care products we stock for horse and leather.

Not sure what your horse actually needs at this time of year? Call us or visit our shop in Rostock – we would rather advise you properly once than sell you something three times.