Inside my groom box!

Are you wondering what a groom box is? Most of you know, but there are many people that follow my blog that know NOTHING about horses! So I am going to tell you what is in mine and what I use it for! 

Basically, this is every horse person's best friend, well one of them. It carries everything I need for when I am about to go ride or just playing around with my horses. There are many more things that I need that I keep in a different box that I will cover another day- That includes salves, bandages, cleansing agents... This groom box is just the basics of horse care! 

Groom boxes are equivalent to a tool belt for construction people and police.

It's like a hairdresser having scissors, hair dryers, straighteners, curling irons, shampoo and conditioner.

It's like my other purse!

 

This is my groom box! I love it. 

 So, you can see a few things at first glance. Brushes and spray stuff- but which is which and what is what!?

What's the pink bottle? Whats all those handles?! 

I'm about to answer all your questions. I hope. 

This is a curry comb. I love a curry comb, but I hate a curry comb. Sometimes it does such a good job brushing the horse that you can't get all the dirt off of their coat. This brush is used in a circular motion all over the horses body. It brings the dirt to the surface so you can brush the dirt off with another type of brush. I mostly use this brush when they are shedding their winter coats. It's so easy and all the dirt gathers in the grooves... then you just knock it on the bottom of your boot and it all falls off!

These are dandy brushes, or 'stiff' brushes. These brushes can be used on their coats and on their manes and tails. After currying a horse, the dandy can be used to remove most of the dirt. I also use the stiff brushes when I trim their hooves to get all the dirt off of their hooves. This keeps my tools from becoming dull.

 I have actually had the purple brush (and the teal brush below) since I was at least 12! My Uncle Vaughn's old girlfriend, Tiffany, gave Linsey and me some groom box sets when we were younger for Christmas one year! I love those two brushes!

  These are soft brushes. The one on the top left is my absolute favorite brush. It is made of horse hair so it just works good! These brushes are the 'finishing' brush and make the coat real shiny! Most of the time this is the only brush I will use. I probably should start currying more because that does help the skin to produce their natural oils. I just like my horse to look clean and not have a static-y coat with lots of dirt showing!

This little dude is a face brush. It's small and soft, also made of horse hair, used to brush their face and around their eyes. Horses have sensitive skin, especially on their face, so gentle is the way to go! 

I included this photo to show you how small the face brush is compared to a normal brush. My two favorite brushes. Also, these two brushes were two of my first brushes I bought from Horsetown in Locust Grove more than 10 years ago. I specifically remember my daddy saying after I bought them "you won't ever be able to keep up with those! They're going to get lost in the yard somewhere and you won't ever see them again!" Ah hem! ;)

 

This spray bottle contains showsheen. This is the best stuff known to man. It is a detangler and leave in conditioner for their manes and tails. I always end up using this right before I ride and then I can't hold onto the reins! Slippery stuff!

And then when you have a groom box, all your labels look like this! I should just rip it off...

Horses have hair just like people, so my horses have a brush that looks just like mine! I use this to brush out their mane

Another one of those original brushes that I bought up at Horsetown! I just keep this mane and tail brush around because it is different and old!

This was a recent edition to my groom box. I love braiding my horses manes and tails. It reminds me of the days that I use to show and it also helps the horses mane to grow longer! Good addition.

 

This guy has been around quite awhile! I don't use it as often as I should, but maybe I will start. It is a conditioner for their hooves. You can use the brush to paint it on the outside wall and on the sole of the hoof. It helps prevent cracks by moisturizing, but also prevents fungus and keeps other yucky stuff out! 

This is a hoof pick. It is pretty self explanatory I think, but it is used to get the dirt out of their hooves! 

These are my knives for trimming. I use these to take sole off and to trim their frogs. Horses have frogs?! Yes! It's part of their hoof. It's the V that you see when you pick up a horses hoof. 

I love how it says 'The Knife' like it is is sacred or something! This knife came in a pack with my nippers and file that my dad used when we had Classic, SoBe and Sassy's mom. It's part of my original tool set and I will always hold them dear to me! Is that weird? I don't really care either way!

My nippers!! I love these nippers. They are wonderful and we get along so well. Trimming toes and heels during the hoof trimming process is what we do! Most people don't do their own farrier work. I am fortunate enough to be educated on it, so I can do a decent job! Believe it or not... farrier work is expensive. I save exactly $150 every 6 weeks by doing my own horses hooves. 52 weeks in a year, so horses get their hooves done 8-9 times a year... I save about $1200! WOW! I even just realized how much that is... and that doesn't include my donkey. I love being a skilled horse owner!

Along with nippers, you need a rasp! I love my rasp. It could be sharper, but it gets the job done for me and my 5 horses and donkey! This is used to file down the hoof like a fingernail file. You also use this to level the foot up and make sure their hoof is flat and not slanted. Horses don't like wearing high heels!

 

A rasp has a rough side and a smooth side. The rough side takes off more hoof and the smooth side finishes off the job and rounds things off. 

 

Up next. Sunscreen! All those white noses need protection. I don't think this SPF is high enough, but this was something I grabbed during this summer for a quick fix. I also use this for me! I don't want to get burnt shoulders when I ride in a tank. 

SWAT is amazing. It is a fly repellent salve that can be used anywhere! I put it around their eyes, on their ears and in their wounds. I love it! I always have to make sure I buy the clear formula as shown.... otherwise I may accidentally pick up the original formula and it is BRIGHT pink. It's so cute having a pink horse, but it is helpful to know if it has washed off or is still on their body.

This was my most recent addition. Thrush Buster and cotton balls.  Thrush is a bacterial infection that can occur in horses frogs. It is very smelly and puts off a black discharge. A few of my horses have thrush so we have been bustin' it up with this stuff! The cotton balls can be used to stuff into the sulcus to hold the medicine in a little longer! The sulcus is the groove in the hooves that make up the outside of the V!

There are some things that I don't currently have in my groom box that I wish I did, but for now I have everything I need! I am missing a grooming stone and bot brush. I have a bot brush (worm eggs that flies lay on their leg hairs in which they get in their mouth when they scratch their legs with their teeth- the eggs travel through the horse and make worms.) but I want a grooming block. I plan on ordering one the next time I order something! 

That is my groom box!! Next we will do the tack room or my medicine cabinet!

Any questions are welcomed! 

PS. did anyone wonder if I swept the floor when I was done taking all these pictures?!? I did! :)