Totally Smart EquiGroomer: review

Our reviewer found this bit of grooming kit to be a useful tool for removing dead hair

The EquiGroomer is relatively new to the market and has been described as “probably the best shedding tool in the grooming market”, so as you can imagine I was excited to put it to the test. I tested a large (12cm) EquiGroomer in green.

Described simply, the EquiGroomer is a hardened steel blade set in a solid wooden handle. I was initially a bit wary when I first received the product, as the blade appeared to be very sharp. For this reason I would want to supervise children using the product. I am also not too keen on wooden handles, as I find that they are at risk of chipping when they are inevitably dropped on the yard. However, I loved its fun, bright green colour – a welcome addition to my grooming kit.

The product is designed to easily comb through thick, dense hair, without being uncomfortable for the horse. The tool removes dead, loose hair and dirt, leaving the coat smooth and shiny. As I received the product in December my horse was fully clipped, and although the product description claims that the tool is good for sensitive horses, I decided to wait until shedding season to test it on him. This is predominantly due to the fact that he can be a bit tickly and as he was fully rugged there wasn’t a lot of mud on him.

In comparison, we have a small Dartmoor pony at the yard who is not clipped and very much enjoys rolling in the mud. I found that the EquiGroomer performed similarly to a metal curry comb and was effective at removing dried mud from his long coat. The blade is not too sharp to use on the horses, so do not be put off by its initial appearance.

Now that we are coming into summer I am using the EquiGroomer on all of the horses at the yard and have had no problems with it. Even our most sensitive horses enjoy being groomed with it. It is a good length so you can groom a good patch at any given time — it has proved brilliant at removing any remaining winter coat, especially on our Shetland and Dartmoor ponies. It is also especially effective at lifting grease and wax from the horse’s coat (see image below), leaving them nice and shiny, however this is slightly tricky to clean off the blade. You will notice in the video how much dead hair the tool removes, even from a horse with a short coat.

In addition to the horses we have also used this tool on the dogs. It works just as well on them and they thoroughly enjoy the experience. I find that the large EquiGroomer is fine for bigger dogs, however you may want to consider buying the smaller size (6.5cm) if you have a small dog.

Due to the nature of the product it has rusted slightly where it has got wet, however this can be expected of a steel product but still performs well. Although it is made from hardened steel I do wonder if the blade will wear down in time, becoming less effective and will therefore have to be replaced. Saying this we have tested this product for a good six months and it performs as well as it did on the first day.

Overall I would recommend this tool to anyone who wants a quick and effective way of removing dead hair during shedding season. I personally would not use it on clipped horses, and I prefer using it for shedding rather than removing mud, however I appreciate that it is an innovative and versatile tool that I feel would be a welcome addition to any grooming kit.