Nothing beats the good old fashioned metal curry comb when it comes to aiding the shedding process. A good second choice for a more sensitive horse is the SleekEZ grooming tool. Those are my all-time top picks.
During heavy shedding season, loose hair is everywhere.
Horse owners go half crazy trying to get their horse’s coat under control.
And then there’s the mud. Mud season usually coincides with shedding season and many horses come in from the paddock caked with it (cue groans).
You really don’t want to spend an hour just getting your horse halfway presentable for your ride or lesson, and it’s still too cold to bathe them.
If you’re looking for the best solution to this problem for yourself and your horse, you’re in the right place.
I’ve owned a horse with a very thick winter coat, and one with a thinner winter coat. I have an extensive grooming kit, and I’ve tried many different tools on many different horses.
But, I do know your choice of grooming tools is a very individual decision. The best tool for you really depends on what feels good in your hands, and what your horse likes.
So here’s the full rundown of the best horse brushes for removing excess hair, and my experience with each one.
Try some of them based on this guidance, and see which one works for YOU and YOUR horse!
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Best horse shedding tool:
Metal curry comb
The spring metal curry comb has been around for such a long time, and is still my pick as the best shedding tool. It’s the only tool I’ve ever used on a shedding horse that quickly and easily gets huge amounts of the horse’s hair out.
It is also able to scrape off caked mud at the same time.
If your horse is shedding their winter coat, it’s probably mud season and you have lots of caked mud to remove too. You need a tool that can do both.
This is honestly one of my favorite tools in my grooming kit.
A lot of people will say this tool is not for sensitive horses.
At first glance it seems like it would be a really harsh tool. I mean, it kind of looks like an instrument of torture. It has 2 or 3 metal blades in a circular arrangement with teeth on them.
But The Bay loves it, and she’s the poster child for a thin-skinned Thoroughbred.
She doesn’t get an overly heavy winter coat, and she has very sensitive skin.
On top of that, she has opinions about objects that touch her. Some she likes, some she doesn’t, and she lets me know.
She likes the metal curry comb. In fact, she prefers it to a lot of gentler rubber curry combs when she has mud on her.
All of that being said, definitely avoid using this metal tool on sensitive areas of your horse, like the head and legs.
Closely related shedding tool:
Shedding blade
The shedding blade has also been around forever. It is a metal loop that can expand to a straight blade. On one side there are teeth, like on the metal curry comb, and the other side is straight.
I like this tool for shedding, but in my opinion you might as well get the metal curry comb instead. I find it more efficient at removing hair from a horse’s body, and I find it easier to hold.
I would never actually expand the shedding blade to it’s straight configuration.
For me, it’s too awkward. I also think it’s a bit awkward to hold when it’s closed in a loop.
It’s too long to feel comfortable and ends up with my wrist being tired.
Just get the spring metal curry comb.
Other good horse shedding tools
Striphair Gentle Groomer
The Strip Hair Gentle Groomer gets a lot of hype as a fairly new shedding tool. Almost everything I’ve read or heard says it does a great job.
The great thing about it is you can use it on your entire horse, including sensitive areas like the legs and face.
But I’ll just say it, I don’t understand the Strip Hair.
I find it difficult to hold on to. And in my opinion, all of it’s functions are better served by a rubber curry comb and a sweat scraper. You can buy both for less than the price of the Strip Hair.
I certainly can’t get it to do a good job shedding a winter coat.
A horse’s individual preference may play a big role here, however. Especially on areas like the face and legs.
While you can use a rubber curry on those areas, your horse might not like it as much as a tool like Strip Hair.
You’d have to experiment to see what your horse prefers.
Handson Grooming Glove
This tool is nice because you wear it on your hand, and that makes it easy to use. Horses generally really like it.
I like it as a curry comb, to massage dirt and natural oils up from the horse’s skin to the surface of the hair.
But I do not think it’s the best choice for a shedding tool.
It will certainly remove some hair, so it’s not the worst choice.
It does a good job if you have a horse that aggressively sheds their summer coat in the fall. This shorter, lighter hair is easier to collect.
And a highlight of the glove is that it’s easy to remove the hair that collects between the nubs.
The grooming glove is also very handy (pun intended) for bathing, and really lathering in the shampoo. Since your hand is inside, you can scrub firmly without it slipping away from you.
Rubber curry comb
A rubber curry comb is a major staple of my grooming box. Use it in a circular motion all over the horse’s body to massage healthy skin oils to the surface and bring out deep dirt.
It is the first step of every summertime grooming session.
In the spring, during shedding season, I use it as the second step. After taking some hair off with my metal curry comb, I go over my horse with the rubber one.
The rubber curry also works to break up dried mud on the coat.
I strongly prefer one with nibs to one with the rows of teeth.
I think it does a better job, and it’s very easy (and satisfying) to remove the collected hair from the nibs by bending the brush and pulling the matted hair off.
SleekEZ Original deshedding grooming tool
The SleekEZ grooming tool is pretty good for removing hair. It has small metal teeth on one edge and an easy-to-hold wooden handle part. It’s really easy to use.
The wooden handle all across one side fits well in my hand. And it’s definitely more gentle for a horse that doesn’t like the tools with the bigger metal teeth.
The only drawback of the SleekEZ is the very attribute that makes it more gentle: the smaller teeth and more narrow blade.
It takes a lot more work to remove thick hair with this tool than it does with the metal curry or shedding blade.
But if you want a more gentle tool that still does a good job, this should be your choice.
It would also be good for more finishing work, removing small amounts of mud and getting a more sleek appearance, in one step.
Plastic curry comb
The plastic curry comb is a really good tool for removing both mud and hair. It has long plastic teeth that efficiently break up dried mud and collect hair.
The biggest drawback is that once you curry off a bunch of hair with the plastic brush, it is hard to remove it from the brush.
The long plastic teeth are really close together and hold on to everything. They don’t easily let go.
I often use a plastic curry to brush the mane and tail if there’s mud in there or I need to get through it fast.
I’m usually too impatient to use a mane and tail comb.
Farnam Slick N Easy horse grooming block
The grooming block is a little block of fiberglass which is really good at grabbing dust and small debris. In my opinion it’s not for removing a lot of hair at once.
It also will not do much for large amounts of dirt. It’s more for finish work.
I would use this block at a show to pick up any bits of dust and add extra shine to the coat.
Epona Shed Flower
I’ll mention the shed flower because I know it exists, but I have never used it.
It seems like it would be a pretty good shedding tool.
I think the flower shape would make it really easy to hold in your hand. That’s important for any grooming tool.
The shed flower has little teeth that are shaped similarly to the ones on the shedding blade, so it should be pretty efficient with hair and mud.
But it’s made of plastic, so it’s sure to be a bit more gentle than the metal tools.
I think it would probably be a great option for a horse that needs a real shedding tool but doesn’t like the metal curry or shedding blade.
Besides shedding tools, no grooming kit is complete without curry combs, dandy brushes, mane combs and so much more.
Go here to read the essential list for the best horse grooming kit.
Like this list of essential tools? Check these out too:
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