Everything You Need in Your Horse Grooming Kit

Necessities for Your Grooming Box

• Grooming is health care, so you’ll need a few tools to monitor your horse’s vital signs as part of your routine. Taking your horse’s vital signs takes a few minutes and is a great way to check in with your horse’s health. Your horse may have a fever long before they “tell” you. You’ll need:

• A thermometer is key for checking your horse’s vital signs, a key indicator of their health. Digital horse thermometers are fast, safe, and easy. Have a non-mercury shake-down thermometer as a backup if the battery starts to fade.

• You may also want to have a stethoscope for heart rate. Both items are handy for the first aid kit and your grooming kit.

• Keep some nitrile gloves in your grooming box. They are handy for dabbing on topical medications or picking off a tick. Or, you could get a handy twisty tick-picking tool that pops them right off.

• Scissors. Because you always need a pair when you don’t have one.

• Use a vitamin A & D ointment for the corners of your horse’s mouth before the bit goes in. This ointment is also suitable for minor scrapes and wounds.

• Ideally, you have a separate first aid kit at the barn, one for you and one for your horse. This helps keep medications and bandaging clean and separate.

Read more about putting a first aid kit together here.

One way to store stuff.

Must-Have Curry Combs and Brushes

• Start putting your grooming kit together with brushes. Getting one of everything is tempting, but start with the basics until you know what your horse likes. Or have many different styles for different parts. If you don’t clip your horse, having curry combs for summer and winter is also a good thing to accommodate varying hair lengths.

Curry comb options

• Grooming gloves or a curry comb. Curry combs come in all different sizes and densities. It’s a matter of what works for you and your horse. You may want to get softer, squishier curry combs for the face and a stiffer curry comb for the body. Grooming gloves do double duty in the wash rack and are excellent at helping your horse shed.

• You can also find metal curry combs, but use caution if using them on your horse, especially over bony areas. They may help in shedding season, and you can use them to clean your dandy brushes or remove extra hair from saddle pads.

Other types of brushes and combs for horses

• Dandy brushes are essential for tackling the more stubborn dirt and debris your horse accumulates after a day out. A Goldilocks dandy brush won’t be hard or soft for your horse. They are strong enough to help knock some of the big chunks of dirt off but soft enough for faces, legs, and other sensitive areas. Find a multi-purpose brush that your horse enjoys and use that most of the time.

• A stiff brush, also called a hard brush, has medium-length bristles that are often synthetic and not too densely packed. Hard brushes are best for boots, dried mud, and thicker coats. The stiffness gives more structure and grip when working through thicker hair or especially dirty conditions.

• Use a flicker brush to remove the loosened dirt and hair that the curry brings to the surface. These have much longer bristles and are quite flexible to send the loosened dander and dirt flying.

• Soft brushes are usually a natural material, like goat hair, in medium length. They are ideal for faces, bellies, and other sensitive areas to lift the final remains of dust and surface dander.

• A finishing brush has super short bristles that are also very dense. These finishing brushes add mega shine and are great for creating quarter marks. Quarter marks are just fun ways to add a design to your horse. All you need is a finishing brush and some water or grooming spray.

• Cactus cloths are great grooming tools, and you can use them wet or dry. Most horses appreciate the “buffing” that a cactus cloth can do. Sweat marks are gone with these cloths, which are handy to use as a final brush to add some sheen.

My stiff brush, cactus cloth, and medium density, natural bristle brush.

Hoof Picks and Hoof Care

• You can never have too many hoof picks for your horse grooming kit! It’s a great idea to hang them everywhere. Stall doors, grooming areas, paddock gates, and near the arena all need a hoof pick hanging around.

• Use a hoof pick with a brush to help sweep away the last bits of dirt. Longer, thinner picks are best for getting deep into the grooves and help with scraping mud from the hoof wall.

Hoof dressings

• There are lots of hoof “goops” that can add hardness or shine. It boils down to personal preference. Some call them hoof oils, conditioners, or dressings, and each has a specific function, and most add shine.

• For general hoof shine, go for an oil or polish. These can be sticky and attract dirt, but by the end of your ride, it’s no big deal. Hoof oils are also ideal for use before a bath to keep water out of horseshoe nail holes.

• Conditioners usually have some ingredients to help the sole or hoof wall.

• Hardeners are ideal for soles to help them tolerate uneven or rocky footing, but they can’t be the only protection for hard or rocky ground.

Hoof goop cautions

• The hoof wall is, by design, a barrier. Many ingredients can help a horse’s hooves when used appropriately. Others can cause more harm than good. It’s also understood that damaged hooves are more likely to be damaged from hoof goops and topicals than a healthy hoof.  

Read more about hoof dressing ingredients here.

Mane and Tail Care

• Horse hair grows for a distinct window of time before falling out. When you prioritize mane and tail health with diet and grooming, the mane and tail hair will be healthier, allowing it to grow longer because it’s not brittle and breaking.

• Use wide-tooth combs and brushes for manes and tails before you switch to denser bristles.

• Use grooming oils as a conditioner and detangler as needed. Soft and conditioned hair is less likely to tangle and break.

• An old clipper blade makes for an easy way to shorten the mane without pulling from the root.

Your items can be well-worn, and are perfect if they are clean.

Miscellaneous accessories – scrapers, meds, and more

You’ll also need to collect a variety of miscellaneous things for your grooming kit, like:

• Rags
• Elastic bands (easier to use than rubber bands)
• Polo wraps or your boot of choice
• Sweat scraper, although this could go in a bathing bucket
• Tick picking tool
• Sponges
• Sunscreen
• Friction defense stick
• Toothbrush for tack cleaning
• Clippers or trimmers for tidy-ups

Types of Horse Grooming Kits

• But what, exactly, do you stash all of your horse grooming supplies IN? You have lots of options. Some are soft-sided, others are hard-sided. And you could even use a bucket!

Grooming bags

• These bags are soft-sided and often have handles for easy carrying. Sometimes, many items get lost in the larger compartments.

Boxes

• Hard-sided grooming kit boxes let you see most of your stuff easily, especially if there are compartments. Plastic is easier to clean than wood, especially if your sprays and hoof polishes like to spill.

Grooming tote bags

• These are larger grooming bags, which store more than the average but hide many more things at the bottom.

Step stools

• Special step stools with storage are ideal for barn use and save so much space while being handy.

Wood grooming totes

• These show-stoppers are frequently seen at horse shows, especially by the warm-up ring. They hold just enough to tidy up a horse before they head into the show ring. You often see them with a brass plate for some extra bling.

Bags for riding boots and helmets may have a little extra space

• Giant backpacks and boot bags often have room for brushes and horse care supplies. This makes traveling and showing easier as you combine your horse grooming kit with riding gear.

How do you clean your horse grooming kit?

The easiest way to clean your box or tote is to empty it, shake it out, and vacuum any leftover dirt and hair. Rinse it in the wash rack before letting it dry in the shade.

How often should you clean your horse’s grooming supplies?

Clean your horse’s brushes and tools weekly to start. Muddier seasons require more frequent cleaning. Use an antibacterial soap or chlorhexidine solution to disinfect as you clean. Dirty brushes will never make for a clean horse.

Video

A video tour of my basics