Is there such a thing as sustainable brushes?

[jkitten]

I assumed there would be, but the two companies I turned up on Google who claimed to have 'sustainable grooming equipment' seem to have dispensed with brushes altogether, so maybe not? I don't want anything fancy, just a hoofpick (ideally with brush attached), curry comb, body brush and soft brush. I've seen a bunch of wooden ones so if I can't find anything that claims to be sustainable I'll just get some of those, but I thought I'd ask on here for recommendations first!

 

[Mule]

What are sustainable brushes? Do you mean ones that aren't made of plastic?

 

[jkitten]

Yes, or else out of recycled plastic.

 

[Red-1]

Yes, I have some wooden handles, pure bristle or goat hair brushes. The bristle are more like a dandy brush.

Not sure where mine were from, but there are some on the HorseHealth site...

Heritage Soft Finishing Brush : Horse Health, The finest Equestrian products in the UK.

Heritage Lambswool Body Brush : Horse Health, The finest Equestrian products in the UK.

Heritage Deep Clean Dandy Brush : Horse Health, The finest Equestrian products in the UK.

Heritage Gleam Goats Hair Brush : Horse Health, The finest Equestrian products in the UK.

Looks like even the handles are leather.

 

[Rowreach]

You could buy ones made out of natural materials although I'm guessing they'd be expensive, but they last longer and perform better and will ultimately decompose apart from any metal bits.

My old farrier used to make fantastic hoof picks out of old bucket handles which he heated in his forge and bent into shape. I got a load off him for children's one year and I've still got several that are 20+ years old.

 

[Arzada]

I have sustained mine for 30+ years including 5 years working with horses. Buy good brushes and look after them.

 

[jkitten]

Thanks, honestly after looking around that sounds like the best plan to me. I don't have an equine shop in range unfortunately, so ordering online. What do people think of Le Mieux?

 

[milliepops]

I have sustained mine for 30+ years including 5 years working with horses. Buy good brushes and look after them.

this
My favourite brushes are getting on in years, good quality lasts well. For a thorough groom i like horsehair brushes. I have a really old HAAS plastic curry that is great for knocking mud off and cleaning the other brushes. Tie a hoofpick to a bucket for the mud to collect in and you'll never lose it.

 

[milliepops]

the horse world, like most other aspects of life is subject to a lot of novelty and fashion but i think buying stuff you really rate and that is well made is the way to sidestep temptation

looking for natural materials I used some Borstiq brushes once, but found them too big and heavy to be comfortable. Some of mine have wood backs but they are less cumbersome than those, I'm not sure what make my favourite one is but it's similar to HAAS.

 

[jkitten]

Thanks Millie, I completely agree, I'm a big fan of buying quality and then looking after it for as long as I can. Also you bring up a good point re weight of wooden backing. I like the look of the Le Mieux Flexi range, am going to start a separate thread asking for opinions on those if nobody minds.

 

[gryff]

Have you looked at the Borstiq brushes. I have a set in the banana shape and find them really easy to hold. The bristles are all natural fibre and the handles are wooden, so I assume they'd be as sustainable as possible. I've had mine 10+ years and pop them in the dishwasher once every now and then.
The Lemieux heritage range are nice, too. But I find those more bulky to hold.

 

[jkitten]

Oh I like the look of those, thanks Gryff!

 

[Miss_Millie]

'Sustainable' is sort of an over used green-washing term - very few products are truly sustainable because to make anything requires the extraction of raw materials, burning fossil fuels for the production process in factories (which are almost always overseas in the Far East), often under-paid, over worked labourers etc.

E.g. those LeMieux brushes may be made of wood, but that does not necessarily make them more eco friendly than plastic if the wood is sourced from rainforest which is not re-grown. It makes it difficult for us as consumers to buy anything in good faith, without asking 100 questions, and even then many companies will be vague with their answers.

The most sustainable thing you can ever do is buy 2nd hand, however if you do need to buy new, try to buy the highest quality you can so they will last for many years

 

[jkitten]

That is an excellent point re buying second hand! Shame there's no Buying and Selling subforum on here. Anyone have some brushes they'd like to offload?

 

[stangs]

I’ve got some brushes that will probably never get the chanced to be used unless I get rid of them - I’ll have a look to see if I can find them for you. Last time I looked, I found the empty grooming kit bag and nothing else!

 

[tda]

Yes, buy a decent set, look after them and you will most likely still have them 20 years later

 

[honetpot]

I have a leather backed brush which I bought with my first job 45yrs ago. Most of my grooming kit is over thirty years old, even the plastic curry comb, with worn teeth. Sustainable is buying good quality and not replacing it, I have some of my original electric fence posts bought in 1988, they must be better quality plastic, after about 1995 the new ones started breaking more often.

 

[jkitten]

I’ve got some brushes that will probably never get the chanced to be used unless I get rid of them - I’ll have a look to see if I can find them for you. Last time I looked, I found the empty grooming kit bag and nothing else!

Thank you Stangs!