Without any surprise, horse brushes get dirty quickly. When you don’t clean them regularly they can accumulate a lot of dirt and other nasty particles. Purchasing a set of brushes for your pet is a good investment, but if you don’t clean them, they won’t last long. Many horse owners want to know how to clean horse brushes. In today’s article we’ll answer this question by sharing some valuable tips.
How Often Should You Clean Your Horse Brushes?
Well, the answer to this question depends on how often you groom your horse. Moreover, it also depends on how dirty your horse gets between grooming. However, you should brush your horse at least 3 to 4 times per week.
How to Clean Horse Brushes – Step By Step Guide
The below-given steps can help you clean your horse brushes without creating a mess.
- Gather Supplies
Before starting the cleaning process, ensure that you have everything in hand. It will ensure that you don’t have to run to look for grooming supplies. You don’t need any special tools to clean synthetic and natural horse brushes. However, you need warm water, a towel, a large bucket, and dish soap or horse shampoo.
If you have multiple pairs of horse brushes, ensure that you collect them all so that you can clean them at the same time to save time and resources.
- Get Rid of Excess Hair and Debris
The cleaning process will start with removing as much debris and hairs as possible. You can do it by brushing them against a hard surface. Moreover, you can also rub the brushes together.
- Prepare a Brush Bath
Some horse owners soak brushes in the sink, but I personally don’t recommend this. Debris and excess hair can clog the drain to the sink. Additionally, the brush might have some parasites in it, which you probably don’t want washed into your sink.
Instead of using a sink, a suggest using a plastic bucket that you can set outside. You should put warm water into the bucket, as this can help remove dissolved grease and oil from brushes.
If you have plenty of horse brushes and want to clean them, you can use a horse waterer. After filling the bucket with warm water, add a cleaning agent to make the water soapy. As mentioned earlier, you can use a mild horse shampoo or antibacterial dish soap for cleaning.
- Soak Brushes in the Bucket
Keep horse brushes in the bucket for at least two hours. Be careful about soaking natural brushes in water for too long because they’re delicate. If you are worried about the wood handle, you can wrap it in plastic beforehand, or you can balance it so the handle isn’t in the water.
- Rinse and Repeat the Process
After removing debris and excess hair from bristles:
- Rinse the brushes in water to remove the soap residue.
- Keep repeating the process until you feel that brushes are clean.
Move to the next step, which is also crucial.
- Dry the Brushes
If you don’t dry grooming tools properly, it may cause the brushes to wear down quicker. When moisture accumulates in bristles, it can damage them.
During sunny days you can keep brushes outside to dry them. You can also use a towel to dry brushes.
After cleaning horse brushes, ensure that you care for your grooming equipment. Don’t put your cleaning tools in a dirty area.
If you need help grooming your horse, check out my article on how to groom a horse.
Do you want to know how to clean horse grooming and hairbrushes? If yes, then keep reading.
How to Clean Horse Grooming Brushes?
If you’re looking for horse grooming brushes, try natural fiber brushes. They’re made of boar or horsehair, and they’re good at removing dust from the horse’s coat. Moreover, they can also help create a sheen that glows in the show ring by bringing natural oils to the coat’s surface.
Goat hair, boar hair, and horsehair brushes are more delicate than synthetic brushes. Therefore, they should be cleaned with more care. For cleaning this type of brush, skip the soaking process and ensure that you use a little water. For cleaning the natural fiber horse brushes, follow the below-given method:
- Spend more time knocking out dust and debris
- Add vinegar into a shallow pan of warm water
- Dip bristle tips in the water
- Rub the damp bristles on an old towel to ensure that dirt is transferred from brush to towel
- Repeat the steps mentioned above until the bristle stop transferring dirt to the towel
- Use a paper sheet or newsprint to dry the handle side of the brush
- For more dirty brushes, dump and refill the rinse water one or more time
Don’t forget to dry them thoroughly to prevent damage.
Is It a Good Practice to Use Used Grooming Supplies?
When we talk about good horse brushes, they’re expensive. Therefore, many horse owners prefer used horse brushes. They can help you save a significant amount of money, but meanwhile, they can expose your pet to bacteria, skin fungus, and parasites.
The best practice is to deep clean your horse brushes to avoid these issues. If you do buy a used brush, you should add it to a bleach and water solution before you use it on your horse. If you do this, there will be less risk of fungus, bacteria, and parasites. Make sure you thoroughly wash the brush in warm water after you soak it in the bleach solution.
Can You Wash Horse Brushes in a Washing Machine?
No, you should not put a horse brush in a washing machine. Putting horse brushes in a washing machine can cause damage to your machine and horse brush. Moreover, they can clog the washing machine.
