Shedding Season 2020 - Grooming Product Review
Check out the video of me trying four of the tools listed below! https://youtu.be/MMmR_CbBd1U
Happy April everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the spring shedding season and are not to disappointed the 2020 spring (and likely summer) show seasons have been canceled. I know for those trail blazers out there, depending on where you live, you might have a few more options to get out and enjoy the spring riding season. If you are safely able to ride out on trail, swing by and share some pictures on the Nahahum Canyon Sport Horse Facebook page.
Even though COVID-19 has put a damper on almost all my spring horse plans, it cannot ruin the pleasure of spring shedding. Personally, and I don’t think I am alone in this, I find very few things more satisfying then grooming my shedding horses. Right now, I have two heavy shedders that are holding onto their coats, while my OTTB mare Rah, has almost shed out completely. Between horses in for training and my personal horses, I have a lot of grooming to do this spring. Therefore, I decided to branch out and try some of the newer products out there.
After years of grooming for “A” show barns, horses at home coming in from muddy turnout, and trying to help neighbors with horses in their back yards get rid of things like rain rot, I have accumulated quite a bag of tricks. I also reached out to my other equine professional friends and other horse enthusiasts to see what they recommend. I made a list of the most popular products and tried most of them.
Summarized below are my favorite tools, products, and processes for keeping my horses, even the ones that live in a field, looking show ready! You will also find at the end of this blog the list of other recommended tools and products and what I thought of them.
I would love to hear about anything that is or isn’t listed here, so please feel free to share in the comments.
MY GROOMING GO-TO’S
For Shedding
The Sleek Ez! The SleekEz gets the most hair, for the least effort, and the horses with thin and sensitive skin don’t seem to mind it. It is nice to hold in your hand, and unlike some of the scrubbing tools, and requires less elbow grease. Using this tool, you really get that “pimple popping feeling” because all the hair starts to collect behind the brush and comes off in these huge clumps. So satisfying, yay! On a side note, I also have two harry dogs, a Great Pyrenes/Collie mix, and a Belgian Sheppard/Aussie mix, it worked ok on both but, it works less well with long hair dogs. The only down side to this is that it is $20, and when you can buy a grill cleaning brick for $2 that comes close to doing the same job.
Daily Grooming
For regular grooming with a summer coat, I like the oval shaped, soft curries with a lot of fingers. Its easy on the horse’s skin, and with having more little fingers it seems to be more efficient then a more traditional hard rubber curry. You can also use these on the horse’s heads because they are softer. After I use the curry, I follow it up with a medium-hard bristle brush on their bodies, and a stiff brush on their legs. If I am showing or giving them a good grooming, I will use just a plain towel to finish them off with. A good hard rubbing with a rough hand towel will smooth them out and make them shiny. I know a lot of people use a soft finishing brush but, I find the towels more effective. If you do use a soft brush, get a shorter bristle one where you can get some pressure without the bristles breaking over.
When grooming a winter coat, I do the same thing as I would with a summer coat but, I will use a miracle brush instead of a curry. I will use it in the same curry motion but, will “brush” with it after. The teeth seem to penetrate and get the grime out well better.
Grooming at a Show
Grooming and making your horse look show ready starts at home with daily currying and good nutrition. Most people who even infrequently show, seem to have their horses on a good diet with high quality hay and some type of complete feed. Most complete feeds have minerals and fats that will help give a good shine to your horse’s coat even in the absence of good grooming. But any professional groom will tell you, to have a shiny healthy coat, you need to curry, curry, curry.
At shows my grooming prep starts with a good bubble bath if weather permits or, if it is too cold I love Espana Silk all Natural Protein Waterless Shampoo. I also really like the waterless shampoo at home because I live in a dry canyon, and water is a resource we cannot afford to waste. At shows when I can bathe my horses, my favorite soap for bathing is Orvis. You can buy a 7.5lb tub for $25.00 on Ebay, it smells amazing, and makes the horses super soft. I also use it on my curly frizzy hair. For those of you lucky enough to have white horses, I find that good ole Quick Silver works great. But, if you are in a pinch, you can put some rubbing alcohol on a towel and rub out manure stains.
After bathing I will keep a scrim sheet/fly sheet/cooler on them to keep them clean and comfortable. Tails I wash out with whatever soap I am using on their body, I do not worry too much about mains and tails. When you are grooming in preparation to head to the ring, use a quarter sized dollop of Cowboy Magic Detangler and Shine , it will make their main and tails shiny, and get all the tangles out. I will admit, the smell of the Cowboy Magic is not my favorite but, I seem to be alone in that feeling. Also, if you are braiding your horses main/tail/forelock, ask your braider if they want you to use product or not, they might even have a favorite to recommend. I know a few braiders who say that it is easier to braid when their mains are not so slick. You should also be careful not to get any grooming products with silicon or other “slicking agents” in them on the saddle and girth area. Spraying Show Sheen or other products used for detangling on the body will make your saddle slip
Right before I head to the show ring, my grooming routine is the same as it would be at home. Curry, brush, pick feet, towel for shine, and then one last brush through the main and tail. By this point, your horses coat should already be in good shape from good grooming practices at home, and the effort to groom and get them shiny shouldn’t take long (except if you have a white horse).
Most people also like to put hoof polish on their horses’ hoofs before heading to the ring. I am careful about which products I use on my horses’ feet. Some of the traditional products such as Absorbine Hoof Polish have ingredients such as resin, which has tar, and acetone which is a solvent. Both have negative effects on hoofs, and can cause drying and cracking. These chemicals are highly flammable, not that that matters as I am not a trick rider jumping through flaming hoops but, there are days I do ride a fire breathing dragon so…. Do not worry though, there are other high-quality products that have things like essential oils that will NOT have adverse effects on the hoof wall. Try Absorbines other product, Hooflex All Natural Dressing.
Here is a great article from Kentucky Equine Research (KER) that talks about how hoof dressings.
× Hoof Dressings: Helpful, harmful or Humbug.
PRODUCT REVIEW
Below is the list of grooming tools and a short evaluation for each. For the most part, all tools can be categorized into four groups: Fiberglass blocks, rubber scrubber types, metal blades and motorized re-purposed equipment.
Fiberglass Blocks
There is no question that a fiberglass block is a great shedding tool and bot egg remover. They are inexpensive, easy to find, and for the effort expended, they remove a lot of hair and grime. What I do not like about these, is that they; break easy, you do not get many groomings out of them, the pours clog with dirt and they lose friction, and there is a lot of waste because it is almost impossible to use the “last bit” because it gets so small. There are a few companies selling this type of product as a grooming tool but, just go buy a grill cleaning brick for $2.00. You get way more surface area and bang for your buck then buying something that is labeled as a grooming tool.
× Sick ‘N Easy – Ironically sold at Ace Hardware (or any feed and tack shop), where you also could purchase a grill cleaning brick.
× Grill Cleaning Brick – If you buy one of these, just slice parts of it off with a hack saw and use the same as you would the Slick ‘N Easy, save yourself a few bucks.
Rubber Scrubber Types
× Grooming Gloves – A lot of people LOVE these, and I would have to agree, they are awesome. You have full use of both hands at one time making them the most efficient product. With the gloves you do not have to grip/hold onto a small object tightly, which means your arm and hand won’t get tired, and no awkward attempt at trying to use your non-dominant hand. These are great for shedding time but, I think the little fingers might be to hard for a thin-skinned horse for normal grooming. The only downside to these is a good quality pair is on average $26.
× Epona Shedding Flower – It is a harder curry type with teeth, kind of like a metal shedding blade. I used it as if it were a curry comb, it was more effective that way. It also has an open center which helps eliminate the need to clean the hair out of the comb. These are cost effective at about $4.00.
× Betty’s Best Strip Hair Gentle Groomer – I did not try this but I had a few people recommend it. The reason I did not try the Gentle Groomer is because it was almost $40. With everything else out there, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy one. It looks a lot like a rectangle curry comb. But if anyone out there has one and wants to post a video or write a review, let me know and I will add it to my blog.
× Jelly Scrubber – There are a handful of companies that make these, and you can always find them in local tack and feed shops. They have softer, finer teeth on one side, and harder teeth on the other. Its almost a combination of the miracle brush and the grooming gloves but, I find these are clumsy to use, and hard to hold. Most people use these for bathing, but with soap and water, it makes it virtually impossible to hold onto. I usually end up dropping it multiple times a bath and get peeved. The hard-plastic on these also tend to crack and falls apart faster than other products. But, for $6, it might be worth a try. I personally prefer a curry-mitt or comb over this. I don’t like these but, they have been around forever, and people seem to like them.
× Rubber Grooming Mitts – I love these, they are not great for shedding or long coats but, the horses love their heads being groomed with these and they are great for body clipped horses and summer coats. They stay on your hand well, have a left-hand and right-hand side (flip mitt over), and there is a lot of surface area to help maximize your currying. I give these two thumbs up and my horses give these two ears up!
× Miracle Brush – This is my go-to tool year-round for quick easy grooming when I am rushing to ride a bunch of horses. The little plastic bristles are gentle enough for thin skinned horses, yet hard enough to remove dirt and caked on mud. I usually use it like I would a curry comb in a circular motion, loosen everything up, then go back over the same spot in a stroking/brushing motion, it almost eliminates the need for a brush. If I am in a hurry, the one item does the trick. But, for shedding, I find that it fills up with hair quick and takes a good bit of effort to clean. In summary, it is not great for shedding but is great for everything else, and at about $4 a brush, its affordable.
× Epona Tiger Tongue – This product can best be described as a rough dish sponge but, holds up a lot better. It’s durable, and you get more uses out of it then you would another sponge like product. The rough texture is great for dirt removal. I used it like you would a typical curry and it was ok, I will stick to using it for the sole purpose of getting mud off legs. I had a lot of people recommend it, it is a unique product, and affordable at $6 so, worth a try.
METAL BLADES
There is no doubt these work great for shedding; my favorite shedding. Metal blade products typically only come out in the spring and summer shedding seasons but, are a total necessity. If you have one of the more traditional shedding blades, you can use the flat side as a sweat scraper making it a more versatile tool. There are also a lot of home-made versions of this such as using an old farriers rasp or taking an old, very fine and rusty hacksaw blade.
× SleekEz – The wooden handle is nice to grip, it gets ALL the loose dead hair out, dose not clog-up and need to be cleaned and takes a bit less elbow grease then some of the other metal devices. It is my hands down favorite.
× Traditional Shedding Blade – There are a few versions of this but in general, you have a one-inch wide metal blade with teeth on one or both sides. The metal grabs the hair and gets the job done. I’ve seen versions with multiple rings, one ring, or a “u” shape that you can slide one of the handles out and make it one straight piece. These work well, but not as good as the SleekEz.
× Furminator – I have one of these for my dogs, I wouldn’t buy one for horses. Even the big ones are small compared to the surface area you have to groom, and they are expensive. I tried it, I wouldn’t do it again.
Mechanical Gadgets
× Horse Vacuumed – I have not used one of these in 30 years. Assuming your horse is ok with their skin being sucked off by a loud machine, they are fun to use. There are some horses that really like them but, for the cost I just couldn’t recommend it. A lot of people use shop-vacs and said they work well. I tried my Dyson stick because I do not have a shop-vac. I won’t do that again either. The other issue with a vacuum is that you lose the benefit of the actual rubbing when brushing.
× Toilet Brush on Drill – This was super clever, well done to whom ever thought this up. I tried it with my 18V drill that was fully charged. I think for one charge I could maybe groom one horse. It was neat but, I can’t remember my names some days, forget about remembering to plug in my grooming tools. This is handy though and I bet some people would enjoy the novelty of it.
Well, that’s all I have up my sleeve. A lot of what I do is functional, affordable and effective. I have also been told that I am a bit old school.
Hope this helped, and happy shedding!