What is the best way of grooming a horse during the shedding season?

Grooming can be quite challenging during the horse shedding season.  With a lot more mobile hair to deal with, daily grooming can take longer.  However, there are specific grooming tools and brushes that will make the shedding process quicker and easier. 

We suggest continuing with a daily grooming programme but introducing a shedding tool to the routine after removing the worst of the mud, dirt or dander.  This will then give maximum effect.  At the beginning of the shedding period, there will be copious amounts of hair coming out.  During early season shedding we suggest the Smart Coats Thinner, or the Ezee Groom.  The Smart Coats shedding tool is more effective on longer hair and grips more easily into dense coats.

The Ezee Groom is more efficient on the shorter coated horses and is tolerated by even the most sensitive, despite having a metal serrated edge. It is also helps to alleviate the itchiness that is inevitable when the coat is on the change.

Why should I use a shedding tool for my horse?

Using a shedding tool will really help to remove the excess hair quickly and efficiently.  It is also a relaxing and enjoyable sensation for the horse as all the old, loose hair, grease and dander is brushed away.

What types of Shedding tools are available?

There are a number of shedding tools that are great to use and will help with the moulting process.

• Rubber and massage mitts for massaging and helping to get the hair moving
• Carbon grooming blocks, that have a rough surface to encourage hair removal
• Rubber grooming gloves with rubber nodules to massage and release accumulations of hair
• A metal shedding blade which has metal serrations along the blade
• Wooden shedding tool with metal serrations, for grooming and de-shedding

Shedding is a natural process that occurs mainly in the spring time, but follows up with a coat change again going from the summer into Autumn.  At this time of year the shedding is less intense and usually only involves a smaller amount of hair loss as the dead hair from the summer coat is lost to make way for the new, thicker winter coat to come through.

This is also the time of year when consideration is given to clip the coat if a finer coat is required during the winter months. If this is the case, good rugging and shelter will be required to protect the horse from inclement weather.