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Brushes & Combs
Horse brushes, combs, and grooming equipment from quality brands including Borstiq and HAAS. Everything you need for top turnout and horse care.
What are Horse Brushes?
Horse brushes are handheld wooden or plastic backed brushes that remove dust, mud, and dried sweat from horse’s coats. The materials that make up a horse brush vary hugely. The brushes can have wooden or plastic grips, and bristles can be natural or synthetic fibres. The shape and size of the brush, and the length and type of bristle, allows each horse brush to perform well at specific jobs. For example, a brush with medium length course bristles is excellent at removing mud from the long hair of cobs, where as a brush with bristles made of short, soft goat hair will bring out the shine from the short summer coat of a thoroughbred.
What Are The Different Types Of Horse Brush?
Body Brush
Body brushes have short, closely packed bristles. They typically have soft or medium bristles. Body brushes are perfect for removing dust and dried sweat from fine coats, and being used after the stiffer bristled brushes on coarse coats. They are fantastic for improving circulation, and evenly distributing the natural oils within the coat, enhancing shine.
Dandy Brush
Dandy brushes are made with longer bristles than body brushes. The natural bristled horse brushes are made with plant fibres such as Bassine or Arenga. The man-made horse grooming brushes are made with a stiffer, robust polypropylene. They are designed to be used for brushing off mud, dander and grease. They are ideal for heavy or coarse coats, and will work deep into the coat to remove any dirt or debris from the base of the coat. They may be too harsh for fine coated horses such as thoroughbreds, and are more often used during the winter months, when coats are thicker.
Flick Brush
This type of brush has longer finer bristles than a body brush and most other horse grooming brushes. It is designed to flex when brushed and to flick away the debris. These are either very soft bristled for horses with fine coats or medium bristled for horses with coarser coats. Flick brushes are well named - they flick away debris brought to the surface. They’re best used after an initial groom with a dandy or body brush.
Water Brush
Typically similar in look to a body brush, the water brush is used to apply water to the horse. This may be to damp down a tail prior to bandaging, or it may be used when washing the horse. The water brush is generally made from a natural mex fibre bristle or polypropylene.
Finishing Brush
A finishing brush is very specialist type of body brush. The bristles are very soft and usually made from natural fibre such as goat hair. They are the final step in the grooming process and used to polish and create ultra shine.
Grooming Mitt
A grooming mitt can have a variety of purposes, depending on what material it is made of. A soft fluffy mitt can be used in place of a finishing brush, or hard spiky plastic mitt can be great for removing thick mud. Not technically a brush, but seen in many grooming kits!
Curry Comb
The curry comb is a very important tool, typically made of metal, rubber, or plastic. Running it through the bristles of your brushes removes hair and scurf, enabling you to keep your brushes clean. The cleaner the brush, the better it will perform. The curry comb is traditionally used in conjunction with a body brush, using after every brush stroke to clean the bristles before brushing through the coat.
What is The Best Horse Brush?
The best horse brush depends on your horse, the time of year, and the activities that your horse undertakes. Some horse brushes will give a better finish to certain colours of horse’s coats, so it is a question that is dependent on your own needs and that of your horse. Typically one single brush is not enough to keep your horse clean - most people need a variety of brushes, combs, and tools so they can groom their horse all year round, whatever the conditions.
Which Is The Best Horse Brush For Me?
When selecting horse brushes we recommend thinking about the following:
- Your horse: the best brush for your horse depends on the type of coat they have! As a general rule, thicker coats need coarser brushes with stiffer bristles. If your horse is clipped they’ll need shorter, softer brushes to remove dust and scurf.
- The time of year: body brushes in the summer are great for fine summer coats, and dandy brushes are useful for removing mud in the winter from longer hair.
- Budget: Top of the range horse brushes tend to be made from natural materials, whereas cheaper brushes are often synthetic.
- Materials: Synthetic brushes need less care and you don’t have to worry if they’re left outside. Brushes with natural bristles can offer better results – cleaner coats and higher shine.
Haas Horse Brushes
Here at Clippersharp we recommend HAAS Brushes for grooming certain colours of horses as well as giving a selection of grooming kits for individual preference. HAAS have been making horse brushes since 1919. They specialise in synthetic brushes, and huge amounts of care goes into the process of choosing the materials, as well as the process of making the brushes. Haas brushes are renowned for high quality brushes that do not lose their bristles.
There are many advantages to synthetic bristled brushes, and brushes with hard backed tops. Grooming brushes need to be kept clean, and with synthetic fibres and hard plastic backing, it makes them hard wearing, and allows them to be washed more regularly. HAAS have also brought out a series of grooming brushes with natural fibre bristles. These have become very popular as not only are they derived from natural fibres, but they tend to perform better and produce a greater shine. Natural fibre bristles do not create static in the same way that synthetic fibres do, meaning dust is more effectively removed.
There are many different Haas brushes, each with a specialisation. The Haas Schimmel is fantastic for grass stains, for example, whereas the Haas Diva Exclusiv is the ultimate finishing brush, made with soft lambswool. Haas brushes are unique in that some of the HAAS range as been designed for specific coat colours. This enables the horse owner to choose a range of brushes to suit the colour of the horse for the most effective grooming experience.
At Clippersharp, we have curated a range of brushes to accommodate each colour of horse to give the ultimate grooming programme, as well as offering a selection of other HAAS brushes to fulfil every equestrian’s need. We recommend browsing the entire range, or choosing a Haas Set that is tailored for your horses’ specific coat colour. We are always on hand if you have any questions!