Grooming Tools and Products: Name Your Faves
I just love a well-groomed horse, and thus have shelves full of tools and products for that purpose. To illustrate the point, I grabbed just a few items from the grooming-pantry stash.What might I find in yours?
I seem to end up with horses that have a lot of white on them, so I'm never without some kind of whitening shampoo ("purple stuff," as some call it, thanks to the bluing added to the shampoo).
For shows and photo shoots, I always have a can of spray-on coat sheen. Can't live without a good detangling/conditioning product for manes and tails, and I'll sometimes reach for a little hoof polish, and some white or black grooming chalk as well.
Of course, as I suspect most folks do, I employ numerous items that aren't made specifically for horses. The stubby brush with handle is great for scrubbing hooves and stockings as well as floors. The fat sponge, snatched from the car-wash section, is for squeezing no-tears shampoo onto dirty faces and for rinsing (I'd rather not blast my horse in the face with a hose, thank you...)
The pumice stick? That's what good housekeepers use for cleaning mineral deposits from bathroom fixtures, but I find it also works splendidly for taking off bot eggs stuck to a horse's legs.
A few other faves, not shown:
* A soft rubber curry made of a gel-like substance.
* A rubber grooming mitt with nubs.
* Body and face brushes.
* Disposable razors.
* A fat-toothed tail comb.
* Baby wipes (wishing I held the patent for product wipes in general...)
* Fresh clipper blades!
posted by Juli Thorson @ 12:26 PM
16 comments
16 Comments:
Pepi coat conditioner, lots of shine, and Canter mane and tail, mane and tail is so much better than showsheen, and doesnt dry out the hair! boy does it get tangle out fast! oh and the rubber mit with the nubs, is one of my favorites.
I just did a post on those new-fangled shampoo dispensers that attach to the hose. I love, love, love that stuff!
http://www.the7msnranch.com/2009/07/hank-and-lyles-day-of-beauty.html
Ah yes, the foaming-tool revolution in horse cleaning!
Now I know how my grandmother must have felt when the vacuum cleaner replaced the broom.
:)
I love my mini shop van n blow. 35 bucks and wow does it get the hair and dirt off. !
Yo never realize how much your horse is carrying around until you suck it all into a vacuum cleaner!
One of my favorite grooming tools is a full wardrobe of blankets and sheets. Nylon linings really help distribute coat oils evenly, and fly sheets prevent fried hair ends from sunburn.
But, if we're sticking to what fits in a tote, MVP Daily Coat Regimen is still a favorite, even though it's getting harder to find. This product has completely replaced show sheens of any kind for my roan, who's coat is harder to make gleam than a bay or sorrel (he has more of a rich glow).
Oh, and I completely agree about those fresh clipper blades! In fact, I need to take a handful in for sharpening very soon... :-)
Yes I definitely second the Pepi Coat Spay - you can do many things with that stuff. Add shine to a coat, add emergency shine to hoofs, add shine black boots in a pinch - darken muzzles, eye areas and chestnuts I never leave home without it.
Rubber Gloves - if you want your hands to look presentable when you are done with pre-show grooming bring a box and use them.
Metal curry combs - nothing busts through caked on NW mud like those things - also great for use to aid in shedding.
Shedding Block - use for of course shedding, bot removal, mud removal and grooming tough thick hair.
Honestly with a little bit of elbow grease there is no horse that can't be cleaned to the point where he looks bathed with a curry comb and brush so those are on my list too.
Baby wipes - priceless - another must for my grooming box.
And last but not least - the brush / hoof pick combo.
Well, most of my faves have been mentioned already, except for the lowly flour-sack towel. Damp to gather dust, dry to bring up a shine.
Shapeley's Easy Off No Rinse Shampoo- I love that stuff. I have a leopard POA and a leopard mule, so there's a lot of white there, and of course they both love getting dirty. That stuff cuts through it and leaves a nice white coat behind. Especially handy when you are at the show grounds and notice a grass stain.
I can't do without my oval rubber curry with the strap
to hold your hand in ! Then a good semi stiff brush. I hardly ever wash my horses anymore, they seem to enjoy standing out in the rain so they stay pretty clean!!
Garnier Fructise Anti-Frizz Conditioner for Poco's wild mane. Micro-Tek shampoo and spray for Jaz's itchies.
Either Biogroom's White N Easy or Shapley's White spray, both in a can and both a MUST for those showing the loud colored critters!
I prefer Ultra Shining Spray over Pepi. Pepi is too greasy for me. Also Ultra Hoof Polish Enhancer.
Besides the usual i.e. brush, hoofpick, etc., I always have a sheepskin mitten (auto store)in the tackbox. It gets the dust off, great for applying sprays of any kind, multi-usable. Also, Mane & Tail products, they are great. A must are snaps and hooks of any kind and size.
Most of my favs have been mentioned but I'll add:
the Furminator. Best shedding tool ever. At least as long as you shell out the $$ for the original not a knock off.
Show Sheen: the moisturizing gel NOT the spray. Works great on manes and tails and smells nice too. Doesn't dry out the hair as much as the spray does.
Lets see, Tea tree oil shampoo, suave shampoo and conditioner, Listerine to prevent and treat thrush, and Desenex powder for my draft's feathers to prevent/treat scratches and rainrot.
Not showing right now, so don't need the 'pretty' stuff, LOL!
Have to add my 2cents to this. Among my favorite grooming tools are a pair of long handled bowl brushes-like you'd clean the john with. My horses love getting their tails done with both at once, and the grandkids like being able to reach up high without using a bucket to stand on. Plain old vaseline to get the crud from the udder area too-softens it up and makes it so easy to clean.
Well my favorite for years has been the Mane & Tail conditioner. I use it myself, the dogs and the horses. Love it. Then would be my horse vac. Amazing what that does, and works great for a husband with asthma.
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