As an equestrian, having a well-equipped grooming kit is a necessity for every horse owner. The proper tools are essential to ensure the correct care of your horse. The importance of grooming is to assist with their well-being and prepare them for riding sessions. Familiarising yourself with each tool and its specific purpose is crucial for using them effectively. This will ensure you have a correct grooming routine. Resulting in a horse that is not only well-groomed but also healthy and relaxed. In this blog, we have categorized the every equestrians must-have grooming tools into essential items which you will use on a regular basis and what you will need to purchase first. Followed by the occasional items, which are used less frequently or on a seasonal basis.

If you have more than one horse for hygiene reasons and to prevent the spread of skin conditions between horses, it is recommended to have a dedicated grooming kit for each horse.

Essential Grooming Equipment

Grooming Box or Bag

This is one of the most important items as it will hold all the equipment you need. Storing your kit in one place makes it easily accessible and enables you to move it around. This ensured convenience when tending to your horse at home or whilst travelling.  There are many options on the market, and what you choose will be down to personal preference. You can choose your favourite colour or match to the colour of your brushes for the ultimate matchy look.

Hoof Pick

Used for picking out feet by effectively removing excess dirt and debris from your horse’s hooves. It is a hooked tool with a handle, usually made from metal and plastic. Some come with a handy brush to aid further cleaning. Choosing a hoof pick with a brush is a good idea to help further cleaning. This will likely get extremely muddy and dirty therefore, you may not wish to use the brushes which you use on your horse’s body. A handy tip is to attach a piece of baling twine to the hoof pick and tie it to a Red Gorilla tub. This allows you to catch the dirt from your horse’s hoof and stops you from losing the hoof pick amongst bedding.

Curry Comb

The word curry means “to rub down or groom a horse.” It comes from the French word correier, which means to put order to, prepare or arrange. It makes sense to why it is called a curry comb because it rearranges the horse’s hair into a more ideal direction. A curry comb is a short-toothed horse grooming tool, there are three varieties.

Rubber Curry Comb

A rubber curry comb is generally an oval shape with teeth. It is used in a circular motion to loosen hair, dirt, and other particles. This helps to stimulate the skin for healthy blood flow and the production of natural oils. A perfect way to start your grooming session and an essential piece of equipment when horses are in moulting season.

Metal Curry Comb

The metal curry comb has rows of sharp serrated teeth and a handle. This is used to clean other grooming brushes due to the effectiveness of their blades at removing debris from fibres.

Plastic Curry Comb

The plastic curry comb is the same style of brush with teeth and is used for tougher tasks and can also be used for brush cleaning purposes. Due to its toughness ideally, this should only be used to groom  horses with a long thick coat. You can now get a more modern version of this which has softer teeth that are more flexible.

Dandy Brush

This is a stiff long bristled brush. The dandy brush is good for removing mud, stains, hair, and other debris. It should be used after the rubber curry comb and on horses who live out 24/7 as this will not strip natural oils from the horses’ coat. The dandy brush is ideal for unclipped or coarse coated horses and should not be used on sensitive areas. It can be used on thin coated horses if used gently. It can also double up as a water brush if needed.

Body Brush

The body brush is the final brush to use in your grooming routine. This gentle, soft bristled brush is used to remove further particles and grease from the coat. Try to avoid using on horses that live out on grass as it removes natural grease from coats which is essential for warmth and waterproofing. Used all over the horse’s body, though you may wish to use a smaller brush to tend to the face, known as a face brush. A metal curry comb should be used to clean the body brush. This helps avoid the dust and dirt getting back on to your horse.

Main and Tail Brush or Comb

A brush and comb are two horse grooming tools used to groom a horse’s mane and tail so that it does not get tangled or matted. Depending on your horse’s type of hair will depend on what is required. If your horse has a thick, long mane and tail, a brush would be more suitable, it is quite like a human hairbrush in its design. For fine types, a comb that is wide toothed and made from metal or plastic should be adequate. Much like your own hair the best process is to start at the ends and work your way up to the roots. A comb is also a handy tool for styling and plaiting your horse’s mane and tail.

Sponges

You will require at least two sponges. One for cleaning eyes, nose and mouth and the other for the dock area. You may wish for a larger sponge to use on the body and legs. These should be regularly cleaned and not mixed up – try to have different colours for each area and replaced every so often.

Hoof Oil Brush

Used to apply hoof oil to the hooves. Some hoof oil products come already with brushes so depending on what you choose will depend on if you require one of these. A top tip is to get a brush that has a cap this stops all your other grooming tools getting covered in oil!

Occasional Grooming Equipment

Water Brush

Much like a dandy brush but with shorter bristles. This is used to assist with washing/ bathing your horse or help with finishing techniques such as quarter marks and laying the mane and tail. It can be used to dampen any part of the horse’s body, though a sponge should be used for the face and other sensitive areas. It is also good for removing mud and sweat from thin-skinned horses as a bit softer than dandy brush.

Face Brush

A smaller version of a body brush, this small soft brush is an ideal size for delicate areas around the face.

Sweat Scraper

A sweat scraper removes excess moisture from a horse’s coat. They are an arc shape with a rubber blade with handle. Used in a scraping motion across the horse’s coat, to squeegee out the water. It can be used across the horse’s body, but not the legs or head.

Shedding Blade

Much like a sweat scraper this is passed over the horse’s body and removes loose hair from the horse’s coat during shedding season. The teeth will pull out the loose hair and leave the new coat. It can be used all year to remove encrusted mud. A traditional shedding blade is a long, flexible metal blade with short, dull teeth. There are handles at either end which can be joined so the blade is looped for storage. Due to the nature of the metal blade, extra care should be taken to not injury the horse and this should not be used on any bony areas.

Bot Knife

A thin curved serrated blade with a plastic handle. A bot knife is an efficient and effective way of removing bot eggs from horses’ legs. Mainly needed in the summer months where it is important to remove these parasites. The knife is passed down the legs with care to scrape of the sticky bot eggs.

Understanding the specific purpose of each tool is vital for effective use and incorporating them into a regular grooming routine is key. Remember, grooming is not just about aesthetics; it's a welfare approach to caring for your horse. Regular grooming means you can injury check your horse, stimulate healthy blood flow, promote the production of natural oils, and ensure your horse is ready for riding. Whether you're tackling mud, removing loose hair, or enhancing the shine of the coat, the right tools make all the difference.

If you are needing to purchase a new grooming item for your horse, check out our vast range of grooming products.