Grooming kit

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Rulla

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Hi all, I’m taking a horse on loan and need to rig myself out with a grooming kit. I se people have recommended Haas brushes.
Can anyone tell me what the difference between these and less expensive brands are. Not being tight just do y wanna get ripped off x
 
Bit of a tricky one as grooming kits are very personal - both what brushes you find comfortable to handle and what the horse likes to be groomed with - and, of course, what grooming is appropriate for how the horse is kept!

Is the horse going to live out? is he/she fine coated? clipped?
Start from there.

I personally like natural-bristled brushes as I think their longevity and effectiveness is worth the money - but I've also got a favourite pony body-brush that was a real 'cheapy'. Keeping them clean and in a box/bag when not in use helps too

If you are starting from scratch I'd start with the basics and start playing from there. You may have to try a few different ones until you find The Ones.

For info:
For 2 ponies I have one tack tray with
2 hoofpicks(one with a brush on the back)
2 dandy brushes - an oldstyle one for the fluffy pony and a Haas schimmel for the ridden one who has a dense coat,
2 body brushes - one with close-spaced bristles and one with wider-spaced bristles,
a rubber curry-comb that doubles up as brush-cleaner,
a plastic curry, shedding comb and a 'stable rubber' which is actually an old linen tea towel.
That does for just about everything except hot-clothing and baths!
 
If you have a grey or a horse with white bits and you don't want to be bathing it regularly, then yeah, might be worth it. I've got friends with a traditional cob who loves colouring himself in with anything he can roll or sleep in. They thank the gods for the Haas brushes.

I have a chesnut. I just use a magic brush to get the obvious dirt off and no one noticed the rest. I borrowed some Haas brushes last year for a polish before a photo shoot. He did look very shiny but not enough for me to spend that much on brushes.
 
I’ve already purchased a magic brush as they seem to be the thing everyone is raving about at the moment. She’s a grey, 16.2, Irish draught x thoroughbred. Quite wooly and muddy at the mo as she’s been living out but she’ll be stabled at night and out during the day from March.
 
I've got a box full of stuff but the things I use are:

hoofpick,
comb for feathers and tails
a Schimmel Haas brush
A goat hair I think, body brush
A Diva Haas brush
Metal curry comb
and sometimes a magic brush

the rest languishes unused. I do use coat shine quite a lot, but on tails and feathers rather than coats. It stops mud sticking! And I have a pot of silver based hoof stuff which I use occasionally if any thrush is brewing
 
I think I am old.
My grooming kit includes

Body brush
Dandy brush
Metal curry comb
Rubber curry comb
Platic curry comb
Water brush
Long flick brush
Metal mane pulling comb
Hair brush
Soft body brush for face
Hoofpick
Scissors
Plaiting bands
Hoof grease
Sponges
Stable rubber
Tail bandage

ETA: My grooming kit also includes at least one half a pot of sudo cream, with bits of straw in it, cotton wool balls, hair gel and at least one odd glove!

Buy cheap/ mid range things to start with and add to or replace as and when.
 
The things i actually use are, in winter...
Mane and tail brush with a bottle of Carr and day Mane and Tail conditioner is essential. I only need to use the conditioner weekly and the brush is great for reaching itchy spots.
Dandy brush
Metal curry comb
Rubber massage thingy (I only use this in summer, magic brush in winter)
Two hoofpicks and a spare in the car because they have a habit of hiding when you need them. I like the ones with the brush.
Towel in case of wet legs

In summer you can add...
Body brush
Water brush with a sponge in the middle
Sweat scraper
Endless fly spray gels, sprays etc

I have also collected...
Sudocrem
E45 cream
Barrier gel stuff for scrapes
Purple spray for cuts
Bit butter
Muddy buddy wash and powder
Pig oil with sulphur

And I have a full first aid kit I won in a raffle but so grateful for it.

As others have said, buy what you need until you figure out what you like.
 
All I really use are a rubber curry comb, a plastic curry comb, more or less interchangeably... depends what kind of mud layer there is... an occasional dandy brush and a hoof pick. Tail brush less often (She's hogged and just leave tail most of the time). And magic brush on face and legs. Sponge and bucket and various sprays and shampoos are occasionally deployed. I sometimes even do a full pony club style body brushing (three strokes, swipe body brush on curry comb etc etc) if I'm feeling energetic... in summer usually as there seems little point on the winter coat.
 
I started out with cheap brushes with synthetic bristles and at the time thought they were great. Then I tried Haas, and now really don’t like the old brushes. They just don’t clean as well, but then I’m a muppet and bought a horse with lots of (allegedly) white bits. They really do help shift the mud.
To be fair, any brush works from the purpose of getting horse clean enough to ride...
 
I put Haas brushes on my Xmas list, I would never spend that amount on brushes myself but if others are willing to, then, well why not? I love mine, especially the one that polishes but I have a nearly black mare and a small amount of effort in grooming her and she looks amazing. I still use an old cheap dandy brush on her hocks when she comes in covered in dried mud and I would never be without a plastic curry comb!
 
I have loads of brushes, but TBH really only use one most of the time. It is a natural bristle flick brush. Flicks off hair and grease.

I did buy the Haas brush for greys, but it does not really shift stable stains so I still have to wash her.
 
My favourite thing is the metal sweatscraper/shedding blade. I use it to get mud off, loose hair and as a sweatscraper/after baths. A have a load of brushes intended for removing caked on mud and that is the go to thing that works best for me. The main essentials for me are hoof pick, goat hair body brush, metal curry comb, cheapy harder body brush, human paddle brush for mane/tail. Trimming and thinning Scissors. Hoof oil, baby wipes (for eyes etc) and a big bottle of coat shine!
Wash sponge and some microfibre cloths for hot clothing. I don't have any haas brushes but I'm quite anal with my polishing and oiling like my horses v shiney ☺️. I don't get what haas does that a cheaper natural hair brush with elbow grease can't do for the price
 
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I forgot the most important one! Its a rubber curry comb type thing but one side has metal balls that rotate round so its like a massage brush. A friend told me about them a few years ago and every single horse I've used it on gets the wobbly lip, blissed out face thing going on!
 
Leo Walker said:
I forgot the most important one! Its a rubber curry comb type thing but one side has metal balls that rotate round so its like a massage brush. A friend told me about them a few years ago and every single horse I've used it on gets the wobbly lip, blissed out face thing going on!
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Link please
 
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