How do you organise a grooming bag for the yard and for shows?
Keeping your brushes tidy saves valuable time at the stables. To store your kit, the Cloud Harcour grooming bag and the Lunara Harcour grooming bag have compartments that keep brushes and hoof picks separate. If you want to put together a complete Harry's Horse grooming kit, the Dots grooming bag by Harry's Horse or the Grooming Kit Backpack by Harry's Horse bring all your essentials together with ease.
For riders who prefer rigid storage or want to move their kit around easily:
- Hard trunks and cases: the Olivia Hippotonic grooming case and the Equithème Je t'aime wheeled grooming trunk keep your grooming kit protected. In a shared tack room, you can fit the Balle Hippotonic padlock to your grooming trunk.
- Yard transport: to move your kit without effort, the Hippotonic quad trolley is a handy partner to a saddle trolley, carrying your grooming boxes and trays.
- Soft extra storage: the QHP collapsible storage box and the Horsewipe collapsible basket keep your accessories clean and close to the stable.
Which brushes should you choose for a thorough groom?
A thorough groom clears dust from the skin and stimulates circulation before work. Each step calls for the right tool:
- Loosening mud: the Sparky curry comb by Harry's Horse loosens dried dirt on the fleshy areas. During the moulting season, riders who like the Hippotonic Finnish curry comb can use the Hippotonic moulting brush to remove dead hair effectively.
- Deep brushing: the Hippotonic Navette nylon dandy brush or the Hippotonic multicoloured dandy brush clears away dirt. If you know the Hippotonic Softfun dandy brush, these models feel just as comfortable in the hand.
- Removing dust and finishing: after a Hippotonic soft brush, the mane and coat regain their shine with the Lyvia mane and tail brush by QHP. If you like wooden brushes in the style of the Borstiq soft brush, alternate the Borstiq X-Long banana brush with the Equithème Je T'aime soft brush.
- Head and eyes: the Equithème Studies head brush gently cleans the face, while stable sponges such as the Hippotonic Extendable Sponge and the Horsewipe cleaning cloth roll clean the nostrils and eyes.
- Hoof care: the Sparky hoof pick with brush by Harry's Horse or the Hippotonic 3-in-1 hoof pick clear the sole and frog.
How do you look after your tack, shoeing kit and clippers?
Beyond grooming, leather care, farriery and clipping round out your stable equipment:
- Adjusting leathers: to punch a new hole in a stirrup leather, the Hippotonic hole punch or a Hippotonic punch pliers makes a clean hole. On the workbench, a Hippotonic bench-mounted punch gives a stable base for firm leather.
- Hoof checks and studs: for riding on grass, the Harry's Horse farriery kit and the Kerbl hoof testers complete your tack box, as do the Michel Vaillant MX 22 Tungsten studs and KR 13 studs.
- Clipping and combs: for winter clipping, the red Lister Fusion horse clipper gives a clean cut. If you use a Clipster clipper, looking after the blades remains essential, with Lister R15 clipper oil and Lister Legato replacement combs.