Top 5 shedding tools
Top five tools I’ve used when dealing with a shedding horse.
My son is not a horse person. I think, as a young kid, he wanted to be. Spring would come and he would be game for riding. Then he would get to brushing and within minutes he would be leaving for the house to take a shower. Allergies to horsehair would always get the better of him.
Most of us don’t have this extreme of an issue with horsehair. We just get tired of it on EVERYTHING! It seems you can brush for hours and hair will still be flying through the air. Saddle pads are covered, breeches and jeans are covered. You are covered!
Just clip it all off: Probably the easiest way to tackle this problem is to just give your horse a full body clip. There, problem solved! But now for the next several months, you will be back and forth changing blanket configurations for those chilly nights and warmer days. Clipping can end up just trading one annoying issue for another. On the other hand, no annoying horsehair.
If body clipping is your method of choice, then you will need the proper tools. I have the super heavy industrial Oster Body clippers. I guarantee that if you have good blades on these clippers the hair will come off like butter. They are heavy though and not as easy to maneuver around the harder to clip areas. If you chose to use smaller clippers, I do recommend the T-84 blade.
Vacuum: Since I can remember I’ve wanted one of those horse vacuums and the Hubby just got me the Vac N’ Blow for Christmas! Of course, it’s my daughter that has actually used it. But you don’t need a fancy vacuum to vacuum your horse. I’ve used small shop vacuums in the past and they work well. I find that some horses just love to be vacuumed. Same with some dogs and cats. It can cut down on shedding at the barn and also in the home. Plus it gets the dander and dirt out of the coat as well.
Curry Brush: There are a lot of curry brush choices. The option you choose will really depend on your horse and what they will tolerate. For my tough-skinned, thick-haired horses I’ve always liked those metal spring curry brushes. They bust up dried on mud and are quick to shed out the coat. I learned in my daughter’s short-lived pony club days that those curry brushes are only to be used to clean other brushes. Who knew?!
Grooming Glove: Grooming gloves work great for shedding. A quick shake of the hand and the hair comes right off these. They work great all over the horse including the legs. They have a double benefit of also working well when bathing your horse. I love using them to get the soap down to skin level and lifting out the dirt on the lower legs.
EquiGroomer Deshedding Tool: I bought this last year and it really will shed out the hair fast. It works best when it’s clean. Dirt and oils seem to make it not grab the hair as well. I will say I have used the EquiGroomer after using other shedding tools and it’s grabbed loose hair I didn’t even realize was still stuck in the coat.
