Grooming kit: what the bodies publish, and what they do not.

Why there is no kit list here

We looked for a list of grooming equipment published by a governing body, a welfare charity or a veterinary body, and did not find one. The only lists we found were shops' product listings. This site does not use shops as a source of facts, so we do not reproduce those lists, and we do not say which brushes or tools a horse needs. Grooming, like every other part of handling a horse, is learned in person from a qualified coach or riding school, and this page does not describe how it is done.

Where horse care is taught

Several bodies teach horse care as part of their programmes, though the material we read does not list grooming tools item by item:

• The British Horse Society structures its qualifications in stages, starting with Stage 1 (basic horse care and riding, in Care and Ride modules), with a Care module at each stage up to Stage 4.
• Equestrian Canada launched its LearnTo framework on 20 July 2026, including a LearnToCare horse-care and welfare pathway.
• The USHJA runs education programmes that, according to search summaries we could not open, include stable management in its Emerging Athletes Program and a Horsemanship Quiz Challenge with written, identification and practical phases.

The how people learn to ride page describes these programmes. This site does not recommend any school, yard or coach.

What the FEI rules say about care kit

The FEI rulebooks mention some horse care equipment, mostly to say where it may be used. These rules are read as reproduced in Equestrian Australia's 2026 rulebooks, because the FEI's own site refused our requests.

• Fly shields, nose covers and saddle covers are permitted in eventing training areas (FEI Eventing Rules 2026).
• Fly masks covering the eyes are prohibited, with blinkers, in jumping competition (FEI Jumping Rules 2026, Annex VIII 2.1).
• Plastic eye shields, described as glasses or sunglasses for horses, are prohibited when mounted or exercising, including lunging, but allowed in stable and grazing areas (FEI Jumping and Eventing Rules 2026).

Rugs: World Horse Welfare's framework

World Horse Welfare names stable rugs, turnout rugs and fly rugs, and states that over-rugging can harm a horse's health and welfare. It says horses regulate their body temperature well between about 5 and 25 degrees C, and lists factors it says owners should weigh, including fat score, weather, shelter, health conditions such as poor teeth or laminitis, the coat, clipping and age. That is a framework, not a decision for any particular horse; a vet must be consulted on an individual horse's weight or health.

Shared kit and disease, as the authorities describe it

The Government of Ontario (page updated 20 February 2026) says strangles, a bacterial disease of horses, spreads by nose-to-nose contact or through contaminated objects, hands and clothing, and that moving horses, including to competitions, is a major factor in its spread. It advises contacting a veterinarian for signs such as fever, nasal discharge or swollen lymph nodes. Biosecurity also shapes competition rules: from 2026 the FEI limits access to its stable areas to equines, dogs and people, according to HQ Magazine, and after the 2021 EHV-1 outbreak at Valencia the FEI launched its HorseApp to trace horse arrivals and departures, the World Organisation for Animal Health records. Any sign of illness in a horse means a vet must be consulted. The horse health page names conditions as veterinary bodies describe them.

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