Horse Grooming Supplies

Not only does a good grooming keep your horse looking clean, but grooming is essential to the overall health and comfort of your horses. Using proper grooming tools like curry combs, dandy brushes, hoof picks and mane combs is important for the health of your horse. Spending quality time grooming your horse on a regular basis will allow you to notice small problems when they arise, for example: bug bites, rashes, thrush, minor swelling, or even a loosening horseshoe. It also provides time for you to bond with your horse, and for your horse to build trust with you.

Every rider needs a grooming box full of essential tools to prepare their horse for the day and ride ahead.

Having a grooming box or grooming tote is the best way to stay organized, and have all of your grooming supplies together and within easy reach. It is an efficient way to transport them from the tack room to the cross ties, or when transporting your grooming tools to shows.

Curry Combs are used to help remove mud and loosen matted dirt for quick grooming. Use circular motions to loosen the dirt and mud. The curry comb is to be used on the main part of the horse, not on bony areas like the legs or face.

Dandy Brush Take the dirt away by 'flicking' the brush up and away from the coat. You should see a little cloud of dust and dirt with each brushing action. If this flicking action is not done, you will just be brushing the dirt back into the the horse's coat, causing irritation.

Body Brush Once you have flicked away all of the dirt, use the body brush to smooth out the horses hair and get rid of any specs of dirt. Use smooth, flat strokes to flatten the hair, and bring out the natural oil in the coat resulting in a natural shiny coat.

Mane Comb is used to gently detangle and comb the horse's mane. Some people use the mane comb to brush out the tail, however this is likely to cause breakage in the tail, so using a Dandy brush instead will leave the tail long and flowing.

Hoof Pick is used to clean the horse's hooves by scraping away dirt and muck that is stuck in his hoof. Always scrape away from you, so as not to harm yourself or the horse. Be sure to thoroughly clean around both sides of the frog. A hoof pick often has a pick side for picking out the dirt, and a small brush side for sweeping out the last bits of sand or dirt.

Finishing Up - now you could take a towel and wipe down your horse or add some show sheen to bring out the final shine to the horse's coat. If needed, you can also use clippers to trim the whiskers around his mouth, or trim the hair over his hooves.