Metal curry combs

I am also surprised by the amount of young people who do not know how to use one. I am only 22 and was taught as a child as to how to use one when grooming including tapping it on the door to make a pile to see how much grease you managed to remove from the coat. I think its quite theraputic personally. Also I do not know of many people who strap their horses. I find myself thinking ' so how do you groom'
 
A horse physio told me once that she would be out of work if people groomed their horse properly. Using a body brush for around 45mi s everyday helps to ease sore muscles.

Maybe thats why we had few horses with back problems.
 
One body brush stroke followed by brush raked through metal curry comb and repeat. Metal curry comb rapped clean after every 3rd of each side and each leg. Then horse strapped. Then wet and dry with linen cloths.

Canter coat shine makes me sad, it is not a replacement for proper grooming.
 
Pinkvboots said:
I do have a metal one but have scars on my wrists and fingers from it so I use a rubber curry comb to clean the body brush now it does a good enough job.
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You are using it wrong then!

Hold the curry comb flat on the palm of your hand or if it has a long handle against your wrist and draw the body brush over it in a stroke. If you are skinning your wrists you must be drawing the curry comb over the bodybrush instead of the other way round.
 
I must be in the dinasor club too as I use a metal curry comb and body brush, stapping when needed, Still have and use stable rubber, cactus cloth wonderful on the stable stains on the grey. Some others on the yard look at me as though I am mad. But I don't have to bath my horses every day and they have lovely coats and I have a good work out.
 
Yep, I'm in the dinosaur club too - but don't use a body brush very often when he is not rugged so it has become a winter tool in my hands. I love the pile of grease you get if you tap out in the same place every time. Sad, but true...
 
Dinosaurs rool ok! I always used one (there was no alternative when was a kid) and grooming meant a full work out for me and a top to toe clean horse. These days people seem to prefer to apply something out of a bottle and spend the spare time chatting and drinking coke. There was a thread here recently about have standards slipped, and I think this answers it!
 
I do have one but dont use it. I was taught to use it and did but time got in the way as i got older.
In all honesty i dont have time to do a proper groom everyday, even when he wasnt being ridden i didnt as i didnt want to take the oils out of his coat, now i can ride i want to do that instead of wasting daylight to groom for ages. I dont think that means my standards are any less or that im some sort of heathen for it.

That said he gets a go over with a rubber curry everyday before riding, then any lifted hair and grease brushed off. He is always sponged off after riding and given another go with the curry when dry. I never use sprays (except for his tail as i like it thick but i only brush it occasionally) and he always has a healthy shine and doesnt feel greasy.
It might not be 'properly' or be old school correct but it works for me and him.
 
I am 29 and also always use a metal curry comb to remove old sweat/grease. How else are you supposed to get it out?!
It make me sad when you pat a horses bum and loads of grease scuff comes out. Must be so itchy and horrible for the horse.

I do 3 body brush strokes then brush the body brush over the curry comb. Then when its looking full I tap it out on to the floor (I remember being told not to do it in the stable incase it gets back into the coat!) I used to hot cloth every now and then- if it was very cold and horse had worked hard but I didn't want to do a full bath.

Im actually quite surprised to hear that people aren't using them!!!
 
I always use one, am I a relic already at 25 ;)
Also love a hot cloth, with a capful of Dettol really does the trick!
They take the mick out of me at the yard because I give him a full groom before he goes out in field...he is normally covered in poo stains, so I don't like him going out like that! :)
 
I don't use one, I have one but wouldn't know where it is. I hot cloth a lot and my horses shine. Always get comments about their coats but half of that is the linseed in their diet I think
 
I'd love to have clean shiny horses. Alas, it's never going to happen.

My ponies are all out 24/7 so I'd be doing them no service by grooming all the grease out, but there's nothing like the round metal curry combs for getting the mud off in winter.
 
He is naturally shiney and lives out in the summer and a few hours a day in the winter so I very rarely use a body brush at all! I would use one if I was doing a full groom with a body brush but that's less than anually! I also think cheap plastic/nylon body brushes don't trap dust like the older ones did.
 
rara007 said:
I also think cheap plastic/nylon body brushes don't trap dust like the older ones did.
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Absolutely definitely not! I hate plastic bristles on body brushes, they are useless for anything more than getting all the hair lying in the same direction, lol. Can't beat natural bristle body brushes for shifting grease and giving a shine.

Also, those plastic body brushes that just have the webbing strap passing through slits and its not properly held on to the brush, they are crap! I've broken so many of them when the strap pops off when I'm giving a proper full on grooming with a bit of welly and elbow grease behind it.
 
Capriole said:
Absolutely definitely not! I hate plastic bristles on body brushes, they are useless for anything more than getting all the hair lying in the same direction, lol. Can't beat natural bristle body brushes for shifting grease and giving a shine.

Also, those plastic body brushes that just have the webbing strap passing through slits and its not properly held on to the brush, they are crap! I've broken so many of them when the strap pops off when I'm giving a proper full on grooming with a bit of welly and elbow grease behind it.
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Rivets ... That's what you need rivets ...
 
blitznbobs said:
Rivets ... That's what you need rivets ...
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I don't, not for the plastic ones, I need decent brushes :p All of my brushes are decent, but I've had various of those bentley ones bought for me, and hated them. They seem to be really popular with people I've worked for though.
 
I use old bath towels they do us first then the dog and when they have out lived the dog towel cut them into manageable size for hot to cloth.
 
I'm not a fossil and I use one religiously.

When I am being a lazy toad I find that the walls of the wash box are a good alternative to clean body brushes.
 
Various reasons why the child didn't recognise it:

- perhaps they use a different type of metal curry comb (some are round, some are square)
- perhaps they use a rubber curry comb
- perhaps pony is grass kept so they only use a dandy brush to avoid removing too much grease from the coat
- perhaps they do as RTE says and scrape the body brush on stable ledges (have done so myself when curry combs have gone missing)
- perhaps mum does all the grooming!

And yes, we still use curry combs in our yard, and daughter is only 18 so definitely not a fossil even if I am!
 
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I still have the one I took to pony club camp...back in 82, 83 and 84. It has my name written on the back in black marker pen. Still got the mane comb too.
 
I'm only 25 & know how to use it! Not that I use it very often as horse is out 24/7 unrugged so don't want to remove to much grease & tend to be lazy and use the fence to "clean" the body brush.

I did however used to use it to get the coat off a couple of old ponies that were truly woolly natives and they used to love it.
 
DW Team said:
I use old bath towels they do us first then the dog and when they have out lived the dog towel cut them into manageable size for hot to cloth.
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I use one of those microfibre cloths, seems to work better than a normal towel as it is easier to wring out...got a pack of 5 for about a £1!

ETA..quoted wrong person, that was in reply to;
"Slightly off topic, but do you use any particular type of cloth for hot clothing? I'd like to give it a go with Jazz"
 
I'm all for innovation ;) I use a "magic brush" which lifts the scurf out of the coat very nicely.

Of course I very, very rarely see a traditional "English" curry comb over here, so I have to use one of those mudbuster/lollypop currys to clean my brush(es)
 
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