The Horze Natural Hair Body Brush. Photo by Sally Spickard.
With shedding season gone, it’s that time of year to really focus on polishing our horses’ coats to a show-ring worthy shine. After picking up a copy of World Class Grooming last month, I’ve been slowly improving my grooming routine — which has been made difficult by the fact that my horse lives outside in the mud thanks to a monsoon-like spring.
One thing I decided to try out were horse hair brushes, which I can honestly say I’ve never used before. I was interested to see if I could tell a difference in my horse’s coat (once it’s clean), so I decided to try out Horze’s line of horsehair brushes.
I selected three brushes to take for a test drive: the Natural Hair Large Body Brush, the Horse Hair Dandy Brush and the Soft Horsehair Finishing Brush. I also picked up the Horze Grooming Block to test out its usefulness for removing stubborn mud and other unmentionables.
I’ve always used synthetic brushes on my horses, so it’s safe to say I haven’t branched out a ton. I do still use a brush with synthetic bristles as my hard brush to get that initial layer of crud off, but I’ve had a really nice experience with the Horze Natural Hair brushes.
Now that my horse has finally (more or less) finished shedding for the summer, I’m enjoying the glossy look that comes with good nutrition and a good grooming regimen. Although he lives outside 24/7, I’m still able to achieve that “summer glow” with a little extra elbow grease — especially on the muddy days, which have been frequent this year.
The Natural Hair Large Body Brush is what I have used after a good curry and hard brush session. The Body Brush really does a nice job of getting down to the skin and really bringing out anything that may have been missed by the curry and hard brush.
I notice a definite difference between a body brush with synthetic hairs and one with natural hair — it seems that this brush leaves behind the most “gloss”, which I attribute to the more gentle nature of the horse hairs.
The Horze Natural Hair Dandy Brush. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The Dandy Brush comes next to whisk away any dislodged dirt and hair from the legs and any other more sensitive areas — once again, I’ve been really pleased with this brush in its ability to pick up dirt and leave behind a clean, shiny coat in its wake.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that the bristles on these brushes tend to stay put pretty easily without much breakage or “shedding” from daily use. I’ve also found that keeping them clean is easy, and they don’t seem to deteriorate with cleanings.
Finish off the dirt with this snazzy Finishing Brush. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The Finishing Brush is my favorite for a last minute once over before I head in for my lesson. I prefer to look as polished as possible, even in my every day rides, so at least starting off with out any dirt or dust is important to me.
The Finishing Brush ensures that for me, without needing any coat conditioner or shine serum to make everything look put together.
The nifty Grooming Block. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The Horze Grooming Block is something else different for me. I was pleasantly surprised with this, which I found to be highly useful for removing stubborn mud from around my horse’s fetlocks.
The Grooming Block does break down with use, and it’s advertised to last for about 10-12 groomings, which I would say is about right. I think it’s safe to say I will be replacing mine as soon as it’s time!
Since I’ve started using the Horze Natural Hair brushes, I’ve noticed an improvement in my horse’s coat condition. Naturally, good health has a lot to do with this, but I’ve really tried to be conscious of my grooming regimen, and I think it’s really paying off.
After all, it’s important that our horses feel and look their best, right? I can’t help but imagine that he knows he looks good — and that extra layer of polish gives his rider that much more confidence, too.
You can shop Horze’s line of brushes and other grooming supplies here. The great thing is that they offer great quality at an even better price. You can’t go wrong there!
