Carl Callahan ,the barn manager at Oakcrest Farm, has a grey horse. A Dapple grey. If you have ever had a grey horse you will know that grooming is a major occupation with greys. I kept hearing Carl singing the praises of a set of brushes he had bought for his horse. I went over to where he was brushing the horse and saw that there was a group of brushes. Carl told me he had ordered these brushes from England. England? Yes and Carl said they were specifically for grey horses. Now this got my attention!
To make a long story short Carl gave me the name of the company that made these brushes; Eqclusive. I went online and found they make a set of brushes for sensitive skinned chestnut horses. That is what I have. My horse Biasini does not much like to be groomed or brushed . The Eqclusive website had a questionnaire that I filled out and it told me that I needed the Chestnut Horse brush set. Done! The set arrived in about 10 days and there was no extra duty or brokerage fees to be paid. Bonus!
The Chestnut Brush set has four brushes and comes with instructions on the order that is best to use them .
- 1. The Military: a dense brush that cleans underneath the coat and removes dust
- 2. Cavaliere : cleans the top coat and starts to create shine
- 3. Coat gloss: for finishing and also good for the horse’s head.
- 4 . Diva : Brush with lambs wool and a border of soft horsehair for a glossy finish.
All the brushes are made of horsehair. And yes, it takes time to brush with all four brushes. Is it worth it? Absolutely YES! This past week we had rain one morning and due to the warm weather my horse was turned out in a fly sheet. Of course he rolled in the wet dirt in his paddock and came in with his sheet and his coat covered in wet sandy mud. I put the brushes to work. Here are some BEFORE and AFTER photos.
All of these photos were taken with just the natural light coming in through the window in his stall. I have to say it was impressive how these brushes had cleaned him up. And two further tests.
- I had to give him an injection and I asked barn manager Carl to hold his head while I did this. I swabbed the injection site on his neck. I rubbed the white alcohol soaked cotton and it came away pristine white! I commented on the lack of dirt on his neck and Carl said: “That’s because you are using those brushes now.”
- You know how in the dust season you can clean your reins and within seconds of riding and having them against the horse’s neck they look like you have not cleaned those reins in weeks. They are all grey and grubby looking. Well not anymore. My reins are pretty clean looking now.
Finally I have all four brushes fitting neatly, in order, in my grooming kit .
I love these brushes and I think they are very good value for the money. The set for grey horses has two different brushes so if you go to the Exclusive website and take the questionnaire about your horse they will recommend the brush set best suited to your horse. I think these brushes are 5*.
*I was not paid or compensated for this review; it is my own valid and honest opinion, with information of my own.*
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