Do any of you have a brand of equine vacuums you recommend? My horses are 24/7 turnout and I’d like to have a way to better lift off the dirt in the cold months.
we have a Electro-Groom Vacuum, honestly it is a very good unit that has been made the same way for many ages, I think ours is at least forty years old but the same as current production.
Our horses like it, so I guess that makes to worthwhile.
New currently these things are about $1,100. We got it from a horse rescue program where it was donated, they really had no need for the unit as it needed a new hose ($75.00 I believe is what the replacement hose was?) They sold this older used unit to my daughter for $10.00.
It works perfectly, both speeds are prefect, cleaned up nicely so for less than a hundred dollars we got a $1,100 vacuum
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I use a Dewalt 9 gallon shop vac. I added a 50 foot hose with 1-1/4 inch diameter to match the horse grooming attachments The vacuum is parked out of sight and way away from the grooming area so there is minimal noise. Effective and way less expensive than the name brand dedicated horse vacuums.
The whole setup was about $200 total - vacuum, hose, and brushes. And I use the vacuum by itself for a lot of other jobs too.
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When I showed halter, I used a powerful ShopVac. The horse got used to the noise and it worked very well.
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Our shop vacs have always been very loud, so I’ve never liked using them. I boarded at a place with an Electro Groom, and didn’t find it so great that buying one (unless for the $10 clanter’s daughter paid) would’ve ever been worth it to me.
I bought a Metro Vac N Blo – an American made vacuum – and saved a lot of money by not purchasing the one with all the horse-specific tools. I’ve tried a couple of the aftermarket tools available, but have found that blowing the dirt off (sans tool) works great. This technique is something I learned here on CoTH, and it’s one of the best tips I’ve ever received.
It’s held up for many years; at one time, I did replace the hose (purchased as many feet hose as I needed at my local family-owned vacuum shop very inexpensively – went for a very long hose), and it requires bag replacement once in a while (if used as a vacuum, not for blowing). No repairs ever needed on this vacuum.
I mainly use it when blowing out the coats before bathing, which makes bathing so much easier and really cuts way, way down on currying, too.
Since my hose is so long, I never bother to use the shoulder strap, because I can leave the vacuum near where it’s plugged in and still easily reach the horse (the vac does come with plenty of cord).
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We use a Home Depot shop vac at our barn. It’s kinda loud, but not louder than the mower or leaf blower that gets used around the horses. I’ll turn it on in the aisle and hand walk a horse towards it, then turn back before I get to it. If I get no reaction after 1 or 2 tries, I’ll walk past it looking straight ahead, back and forth. Then I’ll put them in the cross ties and curry them a sec, then use the vacuum hose and start on the horse. I’ve never had a horse react when I’ve run through this routine. These are youngsters who’ve never been vacuumed. If your horses aren’t already exposed to leaf blowers, mowers, string trimmers, tractors working around them, you may have to spend more time or let them walk past the vacuum outside vs the aisle where it’s more claustrophobic.
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This is all wonderful insight and information, thank you so much!!
We have the electro-grooms at the barn, which have to be emptied regularly or they really don’t work well.
One place I used to board at had a house central vac mounted on one of the grooming stall walls with a long hose and a grooming head on it. It worked really well, and you can pick those things up cheap used, if you’ve got somewhere to mount it. It wasn’t obnoxiously noisy.
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I got the Rapid Groom for Christmas and love it. I find it works better if I curry my horse first, but then it gets all the loose dirt/dust out of her coat and leaves her very shiny.
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I love my Electro Groom. I found it on craigslist for $350 and it wasn’t in perfect shape (some exterior rust) but worked great and was well worth the price. I’ve had it 12 years, and it was not “young” when I got it, but that thing is a work horse and will probably outlive me.
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Such a great idea. How do you run your hose to the grooming area? Do you have it fixed to something or do you just roll it out when in use?
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I’ve had rapid groom (baby blue) for about 20 years and I love it, although at the time I bought it I was so close to getting big blue (electro groom) and cheaped out at the last minute and got baby blue because big blue was $600. Sigh… That’s a decision I’ve lived to regret!
I also curry the crusty spots first
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I had a Vac N’Blo (still have) for 20 years. Works great and was perfect for a boarding situation because it is compact and I could keep it and all of its hoses and parts in a duffle bag, and I kept it cleaned out and maintained. Some of the horses did not like the canister rolling around though and I keep my horses at home now. Last fall, I lucked into a barely used Electro-Groom for $350 (check your local Facebook horse forums). Not sure why they sold it, except that the end needed to be tightened up. I use it constantly and all the horses accept it. I have 3 horses and empty it about once every six months. I still have the Vac N’Blo but use it to clean out my truck and cars.
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I had a back pack shop vac, with groom tools, that I got when my ottb was >20 and he got over it pretty quickly.
Love it for winter and spring/mud season and around the barn cleaning too.
I used to take my own wheeled shop vac to my old job for cleaning jobs, it’s really so much better and efficient than slogging away at cobwebs with a broom for example.
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