It’s Shedding Season!
I get so excited when my horses begin to shed out their winter coats. I noticed it about 2 weeks ago. And now, they are starting to turn into little shedding monsters! It’s so exciting! Do you know what this means? It means good weather is just around the corner!
And thanks to my monthly subscription box from Saddle Box, I have a few more tools to add to my grooming kit to get my horses shedded out even faster.
The annoying hair flying everywhere is so worth it, because I know my horses are replacing the long fur with a sleek summer coat that is fighting it’s way to come out. And I want to do everything I can to encourage it to come faster. Here are some tips to help you bust through that winter coat, and let the sleekness come out.
A Solid Feeding Plan
This is the most important thing you can do to help your horse stay healthy and get shiny fast. Be sure he is getting what he needs nutritionally. If he isn’t getting enough to eat, his coat will suffer. I also include Omega Fields Horse Shine as a supplement for my horses. It has a high percentage of ground flax, which is great for a deep shine and healthy coat. You don’t have to add supplements, but if you want to really get a good shine on your horse, and really see him bloom from the inside out you do need to make sure he gets the best feed possible.
Daily Grooming
To get that thick old hair out, it needs help. I try and groom my horses daily, especially when the begin to shed out. Horses will start to release the long winter hairs when the days get longer. So as each passing day gets a minute longer, they will release the thick long hairs which will be replaced with shorter ones for the summer. Did you know that your horse starts producing his summer coat in January in anticipation of summer? So by February, his summer coat is already beginning. And grooming him daily during the winter will help to get more hair out, especially if you groom daily.
These are the tools I like to use to help de-fur my horses.
Rubber Massage Curry
These big nubs give my horse a nice massage while getting a lot of loose hairs out in the process.
Hands On Grooming Gloves
These are so great. And the little projections from the fingers and palms really help to collect loose hair. The hair comes out easily too!
Epona Shedding Flower
I got this in a Saddle Box recently, and it works great to get the hair out. I love this little tool! It is so helpful to remove loose hair, and it works great. And the hair comes out of the curry easily too. I love this little shed flower!
Homemade Shedding Block
I made this last year using a piece of 2 x 2 wood, hacksaw blade and some paint and glue. There is just something so satisfying about seeing all the hair it takes out! It is very easy to make, and I got the idea after I saw the SleekEZ. I couldn’t really justify spending $20.00 on a shedding blade, so I made my own for about $2.00. I have never used the SleekEZ, so I can’t really compare how mine works, compared to the fancy one. But my results have been great, so I don’t need to buy the fancy one. I also like the way I can grip the block.
If you would like to see how I made it, I wrote a blog post about it here. And I even made a video showing my homemade little shedding tool in use. This way you can really see how it works!
I prefer a shedding block like this vs. a shedding blade. But everyone has their own preferences, and that’s ok. Do what is right for you and your horse.
Clipping The Long Hair
I will typically wait until late March to do this with my horses, because where I live we can still get heavy snow and cold temperatures well into April. But if you want to take your horse from hairy beast to looking almost show ring presentable quickly, grab your clippers! I like to clip their jowl line, feathers from their legs and trim their bridle paths. Just by doing this, my horses look much more polished, and presentable. But my vanity is not worth their suffering, so I only do this when the weather starts to get warmer. And I don’t clip their winter coats because I don’t want to take away what mother nature gives them to stay warm. Winter time is down time for my horses, so I let them get shaggy.
A Lot of Elbow Grease
Spending a couple of hours a week and vigorously brushing and grooming your horse will go far to make fast work of shedding out. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. And the more time you spend grooming, the faster your horse will be rid of that thick winter coat. This is why I really like to spend at least 10 to 15 minutes a day grooming my horses, even if I didn’t ride them.
It is definitely a process, but your hard work will be well rewarded with a beautiful and sleek horse, ready for whatever plan you have with him this summer.
Happy grooming, and shedding!