The Updated Ultimate Grooming Tool Resource - The Best Tools For Grooming Your Horse In 2021

Ultimate Grooming Tool Resource – Version 2021

I have tried so many different grooming items over the years and my favorites keep evolving as the years go by. And I thought it was time to update my ultimate grooming too resource, since the last time I did this was in 2018. I wanted to share with you my absolute favorites. These are the ultimate grooming tools I go to first when grooming my horses. And honestly I spend a lot of time grooming my horses!

Some of these items are not the cheapest but they are the best, in my opinion. I have gathered all of my favorites together, in one spot for you, a long with some of my favorite places to buy these awesome tools. And just in case you want to buy some of this stuff, I have provided the links to where you can find them. And just to let you know, these links are affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase from the place I am recommending, I do receive a small commission from your purchase. It doesn’t add any cost to your order, it just gives me a tiny bit of money back from your purchase.

So how about we get to the cool tools?

Noble Outfitters Equinessential Grooming Tote

Out of any grooming tote I have ever purchased, this is by far the absolute best! And when I first bought it, it seemed a little expensive. However, after I got it, and really used it, well it is well worth the investment!

This thing is awesome. The grooming tote is big. And it has 3 separate compartments to hold everything you could think of in the bag. But then on the outside, there are 9 separate pockets, 2 with Velcro closures around the outside of the bag itself.

The Ultimate Grooming Tote For Equestrians

And the bottom of the bag is mesh. So no more dirt, mud and horse hair filling the bottom of my grooming tote. This is one of the best features of this tote.

Now while I do like the separator that comes with the tote, I find I like it better without it. I can keep a lot of different brushes in the center. It also has room for rub rags, and basically anything else I need in order to groom my horses.

Stackable Grooming Tool Box

This is one of my favorite grooming totes to carry all of my grooming items. And the reason I love it so much is that it holds all of my grooming equipment and makes it easy for me to take with me, from barn to hitching rack, to a horse show, if I ever get to one.

Talk about a time saver! And it helps me to keep everything organized, and easy to find. And it isn’t really ‘toted’ as being a grooming tote. Nope, it’s actually a tool box on wheels!

This is a Husky rolling tool box with separate compartments. You can add extra compartments too if you need too.

It comes with 3 separate compartments.

The top one is small, and I use this to hold my gloves, hoof picks, rub rags, etc. There is plenty of room in here to hold all of your little extras.

The second compartment is larger, and this is where I keep my brushes. I like to store my brushes with their bristles facing up, so they don’t get crimped or bent. The bottom compartment is the biggest, and this is where I like to store my sprays.

And the best part of this tote is that it’s on wheels, and it has a telescoping handle so you can easily move your tote. This is what I am planning on taking to horse shows next year. And it will be easy to transport, because of the handles and wheels. It also makes it easy to move. Every winter I bring all my equipment into my garage. Since my tack room isn’t heated (or cooled) I don’t want my liquids to freeze, so I bring everything in, and then I have to take it back out to the barn when I want to ride, and this tote makes that easier.

I found mine at Home Depot on sale for around $85.00. But if you don’t want to leave your home, you can buy it on Amazon for around $95.00 with free shipping, if you have a Prime account.

Large Tack Trunk

I am sure you have seen these around. This is not sold as a tack trunk, but it sure works great for storing your tack! This is a large Husky tool box and I found it at Home Depot for around $79.00. A lot more affordable than a ‘real’ tack trunk!

I could not find the same one on Amazon, but I did find one that is very similar, and it’s made by Stanley. It holds 50 gallons of stuff! On Amazon it costs around $85.00 and has free shipping. That’s just a little bit more expensive than what I spent on the first giant rolling tool box.

And then I was able to get a second one for FREE from my dad. And with this tool box, I wanted to customize it. It was free, so I didn’t care if the paint job worked, but I had to try it.

If you want to see how I did the painting, you can read about it here.

The reason I love this type of tool box is that they are large enough to hold my saddle, bridles, saddle pads, first aid kit, a grooming tote, boots, helmet, and well, pretty much everything else.

And if you don’t want it to look like a tool box, you can add a seat to the top, like I did. It’s pretty comfy to sit on too!

And an update to having a giant rolling tote, how about making your own tack trunk? A few days ago, Ms. Jones, a teacher reached out to me and shared that one of her students, Regina (thanks for finding me Regina!) found something pretty awesome, a DIY tutorial of making your own pine tack trunk! How great is this??!?!?

The Grooming Tools

All right, now that we have several places to store all of the grooming stuff, lets talk about the actual grooming tools.

Curry Comb

A curry comb is a must have for me. And I will typically wear them out. This is the only ‘brush’ I usually end up replacing because it gets so much use. And my favorite curry comb is made from rubber. And for me, the best part of the curry comb I have is that it has a web strap.

Because honestly, I don’t like shoving my hand into the brush when it has a rubber strap, if it could even be called a strap. I prefer the webbing because it conforms to my hand.

And like most of my brushes, my curry comb is made by Haas. You can find it at Riding Warehouse, and it is not the cheapest curry comb at $7.95, but I do really like it.

Rubber Massage Curry Comb

This time of year, I use my rubber massage curry a lot. It really helps to release the loose hairs that my horses are shedding out.

The round shape of the curry makes it easy to hold and move in a circular manner over the body.

And once the curry fills up with hair you can tap it out pretty easily.

I also love that it’s rubber. The rubber makes it easy to wash and keep clean.

This is a wonderful heavy duty curry for my horse. The spikes do wear down to rounded nubs over time, but my new horse who is tender-skinned LOVES being curried with this thing.

And like I said, during shedding season, the loose hairs accumulate in the teeth and form a little pancake of hair. All I have to do is aim it toward the floor, give it a good shake, and the pancake of collected hair falls right out of the curry, leaving it ready to start scrubbing again.

They can be challenging to find, but I did find the ‘original’ Grooma curry on Amazon for $10.49. The investment is well worth it, I promise!

Hands On Grooming Gloves

The Hands On Grooming Gloves are one of my favorite tools to use when my horse’s hair is longer, like during the winter time. Now they come in colors too! I have the original black ones, and I love them. You can use them wet or dry.

It’s like a massage for your horse. And you can use both hands at the same time, I love that. And what I love even more is that it is a real glove that you can wear. This way your hand doesn’t slide through, like it does on a grooming mitt.

StripHair Gentle Groomer

Ok, this is not cheap, but this is by far the most money I have ever spent on a grooming tool for my horses. If you are cringing at the cost, I can understand. But if you are thinking about buying it, just do it. It is worth it!

The StripHair Gentle Groomer is incredible. It is gentle, and it takes out a ton of hair. And it is gentle enough you can use it on your horses face, legs, and well anywhere else you want too! I am in love with the StripHair groomer. My horses really like it too.

It makes fast work of winter fur. And it’s fun to use. Seeing is believing. And when you use this tool, and see how much hair it gets out, you will be glad you bought it. The built up hair comes out easily too.

And this isn’t just for shedding season. It works as a massager, and also can be used as a sweat scraper too. You can also use it for bathing your horse, and it gives a great shine by really bringing the deeper oils to the surface. I cannot say enough good things about the grooming tool. I am so glad that I finally decided to try it out.

Horse Brushes

There are sooooo many different types of brushes. You could spend a lot of money trying to find the perfect brush for your horse. And I know this because I have done it. But there are a few brushes that are my absolute must have’s and that is what I want to share with you here.

Stiff Brush

My favorite stiff brush is, you guessed it, made by Haas. It’s full name is the Haas Damen Wurzelkardatsche Rice Root Stiff Brush, yeah, that’s a mouthful! So I just call it a stiff brush.

And the reason I love it is because of the stiffness. Rice root brushes last forever. They are sturdy and can withstand a lot of abuse. They also make fast work of stains and work hard to reach the deep dirt which I then get rid of with my next favorite brush.

Long Bristle Flick Brush

After I use the stiff brush, I use a flick brush to get rid of the excess dirt I have worked up. And my favorite brush for this is the Haas Mahnenburste Grab Synthetic Bristle Mane Brush. I don’t know why it’s called a mane brush honestly. But it works fantastic to get that loose dirt and hair flicked off of my horses.

Finishing Brushes

For my finishing brushes, I have several. They each have their purpose, but they all have one thing in common, a web strap for your hand. I really like the strap because it allows me to hold the brush well, and really get a deep shine on my horses.

The Haas Fellglanzburste Grooming Body Brush is what I use to finish up my grooming. The strap is leather, and while I prefer the webbing strap, this one works well too. The leather is soft, and I can get my hand in there comfortably. But I love this brush because it gets the fine dust and dander out, and then with a few more strokes, it can be brushed away.

And the shine it leaves behind is incredible, seriously. This is a fantastic brush.

Extra Special Finishing Brush

I save this brush for special occasions, and I use it when my horses are relatively clean. This is the Haas Diva Brush. And the full name of the brush is the Diva Horsehair & Lambswool Center Brush w/Handle.

What makes this a special brush is the center. You see the outer rim of the brush has the traditional bristles, but the entire center of the brush is lambswool!

Talk about creating a shine, this brush is fantastic for the final strokes. I love this brush. When I see how great my horses look after I use this brush, it is well worth the $29.95. And it’s washable too. So you can wash it, carefully.

This was my first Haas brush I bought, and this is the brush that made me decide to replace all my brushed with Haas brushes. I have been so impressed with the quality and longevity of each brush. Which is why I always look to see if they have new brushes.

Face Brush

I was introduced to the softest bristle brush for my horse’s faces from Tail Tamer, with a face brush. This brush is very affordable at $3.95 and so so so soft! My horses loved it. But I found it too small, so I started searching for a larger soft brush to use on my horses faces, and around their ears, and on Plezant’s very sensitive areas. He has a lot of them I am finding.

SP Rhodes Finishing Brushes

And be sheer accident I cam across SP Rhodes. Now this place has some fancy brushes. What really enticed me to make my purchase was the personalization.

In the past, I have personalized my horse’s brushes. I even made some videos showing how I did it.

I have painted them, added their names with stickers, and well, I have done a lot of brush customization. But when I saw these brushes, I was like “Oh yes, they will be mine.”

And because I was looking for a larger face brush, I was drawn to their finishing brush set. I wrote a complete post about SP Rhodes, which you can read if you like. But let’s go over these brushes briefly.

Once you get over how awesome the personalization is, then you can get to work using the brushes. And they are everything they promise to be. This is a set of 3 brushes and includes:

Ringside Shine Polishing Brush – Taupe/Brown Bristle Mix
Ringside Shine Polishing Brush – Black Bristles
Extra -Soft Face Brush

Beautiful brushes with luxurious bristles. The bristles in these brushes are intended to distribute oils through the coat for that perfect ringside shine. And they do deliver!

They are a little spendy. However, this set of brushes would make a fantastic gift idea to ask for, if you are having trouble justifying spending $70.00 for a set of 3 brushes. But I promise, once you try them out, you will be very happy with your decision to buy them.

Non Horse Brush Tools

While the brushes are the major component to your grooming kit, there are some other tools you will need, and here are a few of my favorites.

Hoof Pick

We all need hoof picks. And in my case, I need multiples because I tend to misplace them. Fortunately for me, they are cheap. I prefer the hoof picks that have a brush on the end. I can use the brush to wipe away mud, or snow on the outside of the hoof as well as wiping away debris after I have picked out their hooves.

The ultimate resource of the best grooming tools

If you are like me, and tend to misplace the hoof pick, some of them even have a hole so you can attach a string (or twine) making it easy to hang up the hoof pick so you won’t lose it. Or you can do what I do, and just buy 3 or 4 of them. At $1.50 when you buy 2 or more, it’s worth it.

Mane and Tail Brush

Now while I am torn about using a brush on my horses tails, there is one brush that I like the best of any brushes I have used. And Riding Warehouse has it at the best price. The Tail Tamer Rainbow Curved Mane & Tail Paddle Brush is by far the best brush I have ever used on my horses tails. They have the least amount of tail hair loss when I use this brush and it glides easily through that special long hair.

And I know that I shouldn’t do it a lot, but I love to brush my horses tails. I mean, they just look so incredible when they are all full, and long. I just love it! But I also know that routine brushing of their tails really makes them thinner, and shorter. So typically, I try to just run one of my body brushes over them and save the real brushing for only once in a while.

But with this tail brush I don’t feel quite as guilty when it runs through their tails and leaves most of the hairs in place. Yes, I will lose a few hairs, but in general this brush has been the absolute best I have used.

Tail Brush Alternative

Lately, I have been using this LOVE curry brush by Epona as an alternative to a hairbrush for my horses manes and tails. It does work well as a massager for not so sensitive areas (just use lightly). And one day I was looking at the brush and thinking, I wonder how this would work on a tail? And you know what? It worked great!

The LOVE curry brush is a fantastic alternative to a hair brush for manes and tails. And the bristles never break, like what can happen with a hair brush. This is definitely a multi-purpose grooming tool. And it’s affordable at around $11.00.

Rechargeable Clippers

Yes, I have a pair of rechargeable clippers in my grooming kit as well. While some may not feel this is a necessity, I do. I love having my clippers. Not only for keeping my horses bridle paths trimmed, but also for lots of other trimming as well.

And while I wouldn’t body clip my horses with these, but I don’t clip my horses over the winter anyways. They are perfect for routine clipping and trimming. And this kit includes both a large rechargeable clipper, and also a smaller trimmer, which is battery powered.

Although this clipper is not geared toward being a horse clipper, I find it works better than any ‘horse’ clipper I have purchased.

It has a lithium fast charge battery, and it holds a charge for a very long time. I like that it is cordless, and it is very quiet.

It also comes with a carry case, and a bunch of extras like clipper guards, which you won’t need for your horse, but again, this is meant for people, not horses. It also included a scissors, which is nice to have for mane trimming and thinning.

But the best part is the price. Right now you can buy this clipper for $55.00 on Amazon.

Shed Flower

Yes, I know it has a strange name. And the first time I saw it I wasn’t really sure of how it would work. But let me tell you, this is the best tool for getting rid of winter coats. The flower pattern makes it easy to fit into your hand and you can make fast work of that thick winter fur!

I got mine as a fluke, it came in a Saddle Box subscription. But I am so glad I got a Shed Flower! But you don’t have to wait to get one in a subscription box, you can buy them on Amazon for about $8.00.

Microfiber Rub Rag

If you have horses, and a grooming tote, you probably have a plethora of towels and rub rags. And the best ones I have found are also the cheapest.

I found these microfiber towels at the dollar store. You can find then in the automotive section at Dollar Tree.

The Updated Ultimate Grooming Tool Resource – The Best Tools For Grooming Your Horse

Alright! I know that is a lot of information, but like I said, it is the ultimate grooming tool resource, right? And I have mentioned throughout this post that most of these items can be found on Amazon. But there are a few other places too, which I wanted to highlight for you here.

Matchy Horsey

This is a UK based company, but they have sooooo many cool grooming kits! They have ones geared toward younger riders as well as larger, more adult friendly kits.

But, even more exciting, they have matchy-matchy sets!

They have sets of saddle pads that they sell with matching ear bonnets! I am a sucker for matchy-matchy. And this company has the most matchy- matchy sets I have even seen. They do the hard work for you and match the pieces!

If you want to see a LOT of Matchy-Matchy, you should really check out Matchy Horsey. It is so cool!

Riding Warehouse

Riding warehouse is one of the online retailers I go to first when searching for anything horse related. They always have competitive prices, and they ship really fast. I also find that they sell items that I can’t find locally.

Jeffers Equine

Although online their website is Jeffers Pet, they have easy ways to find their equine section of their site.

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I think they have the best prices, and they ship fast too. And they still have catalogs that they send out. I don’t know about you, but I love thumbing through catalogs.

Like Riding Warehouse, I can find things on Jeffers that I can’t find in other stores.

SP Rhodes

If you want the best of the best, this is where you need to go. They are not cheap, but the quality is incredible. They also ship really fast to the US, even though they are located in Canada.

State Line Tack

I shop with State Line Tack a lot. They are my go to source for buying cheap jump cups. But, you have to be careful if you are buying heavyweight items, because what you save on the front end, they really get you with the shipping charges.

So if you are careful, and take advantage of their sales, and watch your shipping charges you can find some good deals on a lot of the items I mentioned in this post at State Line Tack.

Dover Saddlery

I am fortunate enough to have a Dover’s store locally. But even online, they have some incredible sales. I have gotten some really great deals from Dover’s. Typically, twice a year they have tent sales, both online and in their retail stores which you can save a ton of money on their clearance items.

And they have lots of deal sales throughout the year as well. For example, last spring they had Noble Outfitters (now equestrian) show shirts on sale for $12.49 each! These shirts are usually over $100.00! So of course, I bought some. And my Noble Outfitters grooming tote, well I got that during a sale and it came loaded with extras.

So if I am looking for deals, I go to Dover’s. This has been the most affordable way for me to get some nice horse things.