When you think of what it means to groom your horse, you probably picture a hoof pick, some brushes and maybe a coat conditioner. When it comes to “grooming” in the horse industry, the job is so much bigger.
Emma Ford is the groom for eventing superstar Phillip Dutton, where her job has her managing the whole barn—as many as 45 horses—and all of the working students, too. She keeps up with the horses’ health care needs, farrier scheduling, tacking up, grooming, clipping, mucking stalls, exercise schedules and more. Plus, Emma has worked at competitions around the world, including three- and four-star events in England and Germany.
Emma and her friend and fellow groom Cat Hill even got to write a book, World Class Grooming, published recently. Emma and Cat…
