The Best Horse Shedding Tools

What Triggers Shedding Season in Horses?

• The deshedding season comes in earnest twice a year. Obviously, the woolly winter coat shedding cycle is much more dramatic and leaves lots of loose hair for spring birds to use for nest building. Your horse’s summer coat will also shed in the fall; it’s just not as noticeable.

• There’s a popular myth that equines grow and shed a coat because of temperatures or how hairy horses get over the winter. The shedding process is triggered as daylight hours increase. Decreasing daylight tells your horse’s brain to shed the summer coat and grow a winter coat in the fall. In the late winter and spring, your horse’s winter coat sheds as the day length increases. And this has nothing to do with the time change – horses only tell time when the feed wagon is overdue.

• The density and length of a horse’s coat are genetically determined and have little to do with colder temperatures. Long hair and overall hair growth cycles vary from horse to horse.

Horse Shedding Tools Options

• The best tools to help your horse shed are definitely worth their weight in gold, as long as the elbow they are attached to is ready to work. Call it the “deshedding horse workout.”

• The bonus for all of these brushes and gadgets is that the skin massage will help add a nice shine as you smear the sebum over your horse. Excess dirt has fewer hiding spots, and your horse’s body will love the attention.

• For horses with sensitive skin, or when using a particular tool for the first time, avoid ticklish areas and be aware of how much pressure you apply. Sensitive areas like bellies may need more or less pressure, and a horse’s legs may need a different tool altogether to work around the bones and tendons.

The rubber curry comb for deshedding and massage

• This essential grooming tool works well for most grooming, but can quickly become overwhelmed during the shedding season. A curry comb that is deeper than the usual one is often better.

• Curry combs also come in varying degrees of stiffness. A squishy and soft curry comb won’t be as effective as a hard curry horse shedding tool. Consider finding a curry comb with longer teeth, too, if there’s a dense undercoat.

• Little shed flowers are smaller, curry accessories in flower shapes that are typically inflexible. Many horses adore this feeling, while others don’t like it at all. Luckily, curry comb options come in different sizes and styles to find the perfect match for your horse.

The metal curry comb

• These come in two basic sizes: the circle and the loop. Both are good for grabbing hair, but are they also damaging the sleek summer coat coming in? I’m not sure.

• The circular metal curry can also double as a sweat scraper after a shower. I’m not a fan of using metal tools on bony parts like shoulders, hips, legs, and faces. It’s not comfortable for many equines, and many other horse-shedding tools are more forgiving.

• While not ideal for a thin-skinned, quite sensitive horse, the metal combs can benefit some.

Equigroomers, furminators, and other scrapers

• I feel the same way about shedding blades and furminators as I do about metal curry combs. A shedding blade is a long, straight blade that you can use to rake your horse. Many are like hacksaw blades squished in between wooden blocks. Do they work? Sure! But they are not the best idea for all horses or all parts of horses.

• Be careful when using these blades near manes, as you may accidentally dig into the hair.

Grooming oils

• Using Shapley’s No. 1 Light Oil (or No. 2 Heavy Oil, your pick) can pull out the hairs that you can’t grab after a thorough grooming session. Spritz a washcloth with your grooming oil and wipe the hair.

• The oil will pick up any remaining hair, lay down some conditioner, and add some shine. Grooming oils are especially helpful in promoting coat health with their conditioning properties.

The horse vacuum

• These lovely machines save you from flicking all of the loose hair into the air. Let the vacuum help you while giving you less hair to sweep. And don’t forget to change the vacuum bag.

• The vacuum is a great tool to use if your horse needs a bath, but it’s too cold. You can get that deep clean.

Clippers are great for dense undercoats and woolly beasts

• It’s totally legit to clip the shedding horse! Of course, there will still be shedding, but at least they will be more comfortable, and the hair they do shed will be much shorter.

• When considering clipping, account for the weather and your horse’s coat. If hair and temps don’t match, clipping can provide comfort and promote skin health.

More on clipping a horse in the spring here.

The grooming block

• These guys work similarly to the metal curry combs and blades. The blocks wear down over time and are reasonably good at getting into smaller areas.

• An easy grooming block will also remove bot fly eggs from legs and necks.

Tiger tongue

• This handy shedding tool is part sponge, part grooming block, and part flexible curry comb. The block’s texture is great for use as a curry comb on all areas of your horse, including sensitive spots. Many folks with sensitive horses use these gentle groomers to help their horses shed more easily. 

• You can swirl these around on your horse like a curry, use them in the wash rack as a sponge, or wipe your horse after currying to sweep away the dust. Many horses prefer this instead of a stiff body brush.

The Striphair groomer

• This flexible device, for lack of a better term, is a bit like a softer metal shedding blade. You wipe it on your horse’s coat to help your horse shed, and it’s great for legs and faces.

• I also love horse shedding tools that are easy to clean!

Grooming gloves to use for shedding and as a scrubber

• These are wonderful tools for working around all parts of your horse, including bony bits, legs, and faces. And when it’s time for bathing? YES, please! Gloves make bath time go fast.

• In terms of efficiency, grooming gloves are the best tool for creating a deep shine on your horse.

How often should you use shedding tools on a horse?

• Regular grooming with shedding tools for horses should be done daily, or more often, during shedding season to help remove loose hair and promote a healthy coat. Adjust the frequency based on the shedding pattern and individual needs.

• The different types of brushes will also work differently depending on hair length and where it is. Consider wildly furry legs vs. a clipped rump. Gloves are great for legs (and rumps), but a blade like the Sleek EZ would be for rumps only.

Tips for Deshedding Horses

Keep your horse’s skin and coat as the top priority

• Many factors influence skin health, including diet, weather, grooming habits and routine, genetics, and even how much your horse sweats.

• Your horse’s coat grows from the skin. Prioritizing skin health will also promote a healthy coat during shedding season!

• Nutrition is a long-term horse shedding tool that won’t kick in right away. But the sooner you start with balanced nutrition, the sooner you’ll see amazing shine.

Don’t skip on elbow grease and vigorous grooming

• There are no shortcuts to good grooming habits. Proper currying helps distribute sebum, aka smearing around those natural oils, and it also acts like a nice massage.

• When the hair is long, the traditional circular motion of currying may not be best. Raking the hair in one direction may be more efficient and tidier.

• Use clean tools! Your horse’s coat will stay cleaner and shinier if your grooming brushes and curry combs are clean. For metal shedding tools and blades, keep them oiled to prevent rust.

Stabilized flax and fish oil make great sources of Omega-3 fatty acids. Corn oil is too high in Omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega 3 fattys acids as shedding tools for horses

• While there’s no magic supplement or feed ingredient to promote quick shedding, balanced equine nutrition is critical to your horse’s healthy skin.

• Many supplements for hoof quality contain biotin, a crucial nutrient for your horse’s skin. Supplements with Omega-3 fatty acids and essential amino acids will help create a nice coat and promote your horse’s natural oils.

• One of the easiest ways to deliver these nutrients is with a stabilized or cold-pressed flaxseed supplement. They are economical, nutritious, and delicious.

• An equine nutritionist or your veterinarian can help you find the best supplements to add to your horse’s diet. This is a complicated task because many products share ingredients.

Clipping

• It does not matter what time of year you clip. Or how many times you clip. If your horse would benefit from clipping, go for it. Clipping a shedding horse will not stop the shedding process. Your horse will release smaller bits of hair!

• A full body clip keeps your horse comfortable as the weather warms up. Use your horse’s sweating patterns and mud as a guide. Clip the areas where mud and sweat influence the skin’s health.

• Anytime a horse is clipped, be prepared to supplement with blankets as needed.

Choosing the best clippers and blades matters

• Shears work wonders on late-shedding and thick-coated yaks. Body trimmers are best for general trimming, trace clipping, and full body-clipping. Trimmers are for wispy touch-ups, bridle paths, and rump designs.

• The blade you choose matters, too. The #10 blade is the standard for body clipping, but you can opt for a #7F or #9 if you want more hair remaining.

Read the complete guide to clipping here.

Talk to your vet if your horse’s shedding cycle is askew.

• Many horses with Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), also known as Cushing’s, do not shed completely and have longer and thicker summer coats. A few blood tests can confirm this metabolic disorder.

• But PPID isn’t the only reason horses are slow to shed. Visually impaired horses don’t register the increasing amounts of daylight as other horses do. Dark stalls with little natural light may also interfere with the signals that trigger shedding.

The best horse shedding tools are those that your horse enjoys. There’s no use in spending big bucks on the “Best Brush” if your horse doesn’t tolerate it. I’ll bet your favorite tools are the ones that work perfectly on all coats, no matter the time of year. Happy spring!