How to groom like a pro with ShowSheen

2014 is the 40th Anniversary of Absorbine's most renowned product, ShowSheen. To help celebrate this milestone, Absorbine USA have come up with the following tips to maximise the impact of using ShowSheen on your horse. 

Detangling

Apply ShowSheen to manes and tails before detangling, making sure

to coat the ends. Tip; using your fingers to unravel knots will reduce breakage. 

Burrs 

Apply polish or ShowSheen Detangler Gel to the area and allow to 

soak in for 5 minutes, then burrs will slide right out. Tip; isolate 

clumps of burrs by pulling hairs away from them. Spray problem 

areas before turnout to reduce grooming time. 

Repel Dust

Apply our polish over the coat to keep the horse clean longer. 

Muddy Legs

Apply polish to legs to keep mud from sticking during turnout. 

Drying Out 

New pro-vitamins and silk proteins add moisture to hair shaft 

for deep conditioning. 

Enhanced Shine 

Apply polish directly or spray onto a rag or brush. Use 

ShowSheen Finishing Mist for a light, even distribution. 

Skip the saddle area if you are about to ride! 

Fly-Aways 

Smooth down unruly fly-aways with a spray of ShowSheen. 

Clipping

Apply polish liberally to areas to be clipped and let dry. 

This helps clippers glide through hair, reducing clipper 

marks, and clippers won't get as hot or as dull as quickly. 

Blanketing 

Apply polish before blanketing your horse to keep him more comfortable in winter. It reduces friction points, eliminates 

static electricity and keeps the coat smelling fresh. 

Absorbine Magic Cushion helps talented combination in qualifying for the British Dressage Winter Regional Finals

BHSAI and ESMT IAAMT trained Sports Massage Therapist Sarah Bray from Hampshire recently had a brilliant result at the British Dressage Regional Championships with her mare, Violetta. The pair took 8th place in the Elementary Music Freestyle and subsequently received a Wildcard qualification from British Dressage to the Winter National Championships at Hartpury College on the 11th April. Sarah believes that Absorbine Hooflex Magic Cushion was an integral part of the success.

Sarah said, “Violetta went slightly lame 4 weeks before the BD regional Champs and no-one was sure why. I got the farrier first as she felt "footy", he said her soles were soft due to the wet ground, but there was no bruise or abscess. She was assessed by my Vet and a physiotherapist, and neither of them found anything conclusive. Then I felt that she was actually lame 9 days before regionals.

I asked my farrier Nick Sturgess to come back urgently and he agreed she was lame. Nick put Absorbine Magic Cushion in Violetta’s feet with pads on top, then shoes. The next day she was sound. Nick said to leave her 48 hours to allow the Magic Cushion to work. I took her to see my trainer 2 days later and she was just amazing!

By now we only had a few days to prepare for regionals, but I felt very lucky to be going at all. 8th place in the Elementary Music Freestyle was just brilliant, on a horse who had no time to practice and would NOT have gone at all - without Magic Cushion and a fantastic farrier! It is a brilliant product!

I want to say a massive thank you to Absorbine UK for your Magic Cushion hoof packing”.

Absorbine Hooflex Magic Cushion hoof packing is an efficient way to cool and cushion bruised soles and sore feet.  Thermographic tests show that the all-natural formula starts working to reduce heat in hooves in just one hour and the cleaning and cushioning properties help to keep soles in good condition, even under pads.

Magic Cushion is available in two strengths, Magic Cushion original for regular use, and Magic Cushion Xtreme, formulated for performance horse use with a higher concentration of ingredients.  Both are available in 1.8kg and 4kg sizes.

Hooflex Magic Cushion can be used on shod and barefoot horses.  It's sticky, spongy texture enables it to mould perfectly to the horse's sole and one application lasts up to 48 hours.

Sarah trained for her BHSAI under Robert Pickles, at Wellington and spent several years running her own livery yard alongside teaching and competing.

Sarah became very interested in horse physiotherapy, chiropractic treatments and everything to do with the muscular/skeletal system and its effect on the individual horse. She found her own competition horses and also her children’s ponies could give outstanding performances when they were relaxed and comfortable muscularly. If they had muscular discomfort of any sort, their attitude became tense, nervy and difficult to ride.

For this reason, around 10 years ago Sarah began to study how the professionals were treating her horses and ponies and what advice they could give. Sarah is now fully trained as an ESMT IAAMT Sports Massage Therapist and runs The Velvet Touch, Equine Sports Massage Therapy in Bishops Waltham in Hampshire. Please visit www.thevelvet-touch.co.uk.

To find out more about the full range of Absorbine grooming and horse care products visit www.absorbine.co.uk or find us on facebook www.facebook.com/AbsorbineUK.