My old body brush is on its way out and I’m thinking of splurging on a nice brush or two, and have heard a lot of buzz about Haas brushes. I am not prepared, at this time, to lay out for one of the full five-brush sets, but might add as I go along. I’m just mystified at the different choices and why I might get one versus another. The horse is dark bay/brown/faded black (bit of a mystery color, really), with limited white. Out 24/7/365 on a dry lot. So, always very very dusty, and sometimes very, very muddy. I do not clip or blanket in winter. Not touchy, ticklish, or sensitive about brushes and suchlike in the slightest. I have small hands and not a ton of hand strength. The “black horse” pack apparently starts with the “Parcour”, but the description on the “Schimmel” sounds like it could be a better deep-seated dirt buster? What about the “Military”?
I bought the full line—not sure what they call it—because I had gray, chestnut, and bay horses. The Schimmel is a coarser brush and their take is that it’s good for gray horses, but it’s good for mud if the horse isnt’ sensitive to brushing. For my chestnut and bay guys, the Military is good for the first brush for both. Then they suggest the Parcours for the bay and the Cavalier for the chestnut. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference, but the Coat Gloss brush rocks! Both are NOTICEABLY shinier after that one. I love my brushes. They really do make a difference from what I used for 40+ years.
Love the Schimmel I bought, my TB does not like it in the summer though, I have to be really gentle with it.
The Diva we are agreed on, love that thing for final polish.
I LOVE Haas brushes! The Schimmel is great for heavy caked on dirt, but like KBC noted a thinner skinned horse might not appreciate it. I would consider the Amazone a step down from the Schimmel that would work on tough dirt but be more agreeable to a sensitive horse - it’s not as stiff but still dense enough to be effective. I love the Military too as a nice one and done when the horse isn’t super dirty.
If your horse isn’t sensitive, the Mustang one is fantastic! It has little brass wires mixed in the bristles and it really gets fine dust out of the coat. It’s quite stiff but both horses I’ve used it on really enjoyed it.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/haas-mustang-stiff-brush-13490
Just don’t use it if your horse is shedding. You’ll just have a brush full of hair.
Then you need to get the Haas brush for cleaning your Haas brushes, the Frank. :lol:
That looks an awful lot like a dog slicker brush…
I have the Brenig Madoc Medium Brush. It is just stiff enough to remove dirt, but soft enough that my horse is good with it anywhere on his body. I’m a fan.
Their soft curry comb is amazing. Add it to your order.
I have a roller. Every day he likes to just grind it in. I find that the curry comb with their long flick brush gets all the crud off. If he’s extra caked in mud, I follow up with the schimmel. If he is not too dusty from rolling, I the military is per
I’d agree that the Schimmel is a great brush for the less sensitive horse that enjoys looking like it spent the night in a pig-sty, a.k.a. my horse. You’d be amazed at the amount of dirt that this brush will sweep off a horse.
I’d also second the Amazone as a great body brush, less coarse and more “friendly.”
My all time favorite Haas brush, though, and the best (in my opinion) for a more sensitive horse is the Grundy’s Finest brush. My previous horse, a bay TB mare, was very sensitive and opinionated about what brushes she preferred and would allow to be used. The Grundy’s Finest was “it” as far as she was concerned. It’s a dense, somewhat (but not too) soft brush that really brought out the gloss in her bay coat.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/haas-grundys-finest-soft-brush-19741
I actually have the color packs for my two horses. The Schimmel is very course. My palomino likes it just fine but my thin skinned chestnut does not. The “coarse” brush for my chestnut is the Military brush and it is considerably softer than the Schimmel but still does a great job of getting out dirt.
I love this brush. It’s great for getting mud off. I use my double-bladed shedding blade to scrape the hair off as I go. My thinner skinnned Appendix mare likes it when she has a winter coat, and my thicker-skinned WB loves it year round.
Not a Haas, but the EasyClean is my other main brush. I use this and the Mustang almost exclusively.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/easyclean-brush-2474
I LOVE my Military body brush! Pony loves it too. The longer edge bristles let me get into nooks and crannies, and the bristles are so lovely and dense.
I like the curry comb a lot better than traditional plastic curries, and the one I have I’ve had since I lived in Holland in the late 90s. It is the best deshedding tool ever and is easy to knock the hair out of when it gets full. It may be a little rough for the most thin skinned of horses, but in 20 years I have only met 2 who didn’t like it.
I also have a Haas hoof pick that I have also had since the late 90s. I got it and the curry comb as a prize at a schooling show at my leason barn. I don’t love how sharp the super pointed plastic pick is for winter use, but I keep it in my saddle bags for trail riding because it can get rocks out of places that normal metal picks just can’t quite get into. I’m not sure I would actually go out of my way to buy one over a regular pick, though.
Aside from my Haas brushes, I do also have a couple other natural bristle brushes in my kit as well that I really like, and picked up because I couldn’t find a Haas brush that really fit specific ideas I had in mind.
My winter/wet season dandy brush is a Winners Circle stiff union fibre brush (palmyra/tampico with wood handle) https://www.bahrsaddlery.com/winner-s-circle-stiff-union-fiber-99201-on-rack.html
Dry season dandy brush is a Winners Circle union center/tampico border dandy with wood handle brush https://www.bahrsaddlery.com/winner-s-circle-medium-union-with-tampico-brush-703-99703.html
And then I also have a horsehair finishing brush with a wood handle that may or may not be a Haas, but it is older and the handle is worn a bit. It is more dandy shaped (no strap, long and narrow), with medium length, soft black bristles. But it is super soft and makes pony’s coat shine like crazy. I use it as a finishing brush and a face brush because it is a 1/2 size brush so smaller than most but bigger than those annoying face brushes that my shaky hands struggle to hold comfortably.
Thanks for all of your input! Comments with direct comparisons have been particularly helpful. I’m going to start off with the “Schimmel” and see how I (and Tobler) like it, and see if I want something coarser or finer from there.
This brush is amazing. It removes the dirt from the skin instead of from the hair down. All my horses like it and especially love their faces being cleaned with it.
