Taking the threadjack where it belongs - Haas brush thread

[Jackie_Cochran]

Did all of you know that Haas also makes a boar bristle grooming brush?

It is called the Haas Country. It is more like an older type brush with a wooden back. It has a leather strap and is 7.9" x 3.35" in size. I got mine at HorseHaus.

Haas also has another wooden backed boar bristle brush, called the Haas Western. The leather strap may have a design on it (can’t really tell) and I could not find out its dimensions. This brush seems to be a few dollars more expensive than the Country, and a few saddleries carry it (google Haas Western brush.)

I have not seen this brush in real life, or used it. The little blurb said “a stronger bristle for thicker coats.” I probably don’t need it right at the moment, but I saw that statement about thicker coats and I immediately thought of a Chincotegue pony my riding teacher has. This brush might be suitable for helping get Thewell ponies’ coats clean. Somewhere else I also saw a statement not to wash this particular brush because the boar bristles still have some pig skin oil on them, which might help the brush get through the thicker coats.

I have run into some other Haas brushes than those sold by the big on-line saddleries, one, the Turnier, is a man sized Amazone brush, and the Lady Bug one for kids. I have looked at A LOT of Haas brushes and read their descriptions lately.

Now, only if Haas produced a goat hair brush I would be happy, then I would have the gamut of domestic herbevore haired brushes that brush makers think are suitable for horse grooming.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got my first box of Haas brushes yesterday from SmartPak.

They were the Grundy’s Finest, the Lippizaner (sp?), the Schimmel, and the Haas Pastern stiff brush. I felt the Schimmel and knew immediately it would feel too harsh for MJ, my lesson horse, but the others felt OK. I took them all to the stable so they could see and feel them.

I have been working on getting MJ’s lower leg cleaner since we put the BOT exercise boots on him. Amazingly MJ had no objections to me using the Haas Pastern brush on his lower front legs, then Debbie, my teacher came, looked at the brush, grabbed it, cleaned all four lower legs with it, exclaiming about how wonderful that brush is, how it is not too big to do a GOOD job cleaning the pastern, and how it looked promising to help prevent scratches.

Then after currying with the Retriever dog washing glove Debbie used the Lippizaner on him. He reacted OK to it, and his coat started to get shinier. Then she used the Grundy’s Finest on him, and he got even shinier. MJ did not get restive at all when Debbie used these Haas brushes, he is not bad normally but we can tell that he usually has objections to the regular brushes. Not today, no restiveness, he stood there peacefully, nice and calm, looking out at the world as if everything was fine and wonderful with relaxed eyes, no shifting around in the wash stall and no grimaces.

I asked Debbie if she wanted to borrow the three brushes that MJ accepted so well to try out on her super sensitive skinned black (dark brown, really) Arab gelding. She has been talking about me taking lessons again on this horse and I want him to go into a ride from an enjoyable grooming rather than his normal “you better watch it lady” groomings (he is good, he just does not “trust” the brushes used on him and hates the HandsOn grooming gloves as too harsh just like MJ.)

So I put my name on the Pastern brush, the Grundy and the Lippizaner and lent them to her. I use one set of brushes at my lesson stable, and another set of brushes at the other barn I ride at so I do not bring skin diseases to either barn. I just want them available when I need them, and she put them on her special shelf in her tack cupboard, along with his BOT boots and his SmartPak ceramic exercise sheet. I am sure during next year I will end up giving her these specific brushes, and I think she is really going to end up liking them because the horses seem to like them better than the other types of brushes.

[IPEsq]

Don’t write off the Schimmel just yet. It is a very stiff brush but my last horse was an absolute princess and current horse is a redhead, and it’s my favorite stiff brush of all time. They prefer it to the Diamond gloss or the Thoroughbred soft brushes.

[Renn_aissance]

You are the one who took me down this whole brush rabbit hole in the first place when you recommended the Schimmel. It didn’t end up being the best fit for the job I needed it to do, but I agree, it is the best true stiff brush of all time.

And my horse really likes it on his face! Particularly under his chin.

[Jackie_Cochran]

With MJ, he really seems to appreciate a somewhat slow introduction to something so different.

The poor boy, who my riding teacher just reminded me is 28 years old, has had to get used to LOTS of different tack, riding expectations (only at the walk and trot), and my seat in the saddle over the past year and a half or so. I think it is reasonable to introduce new stuff to an ancient horse gradually, sometimes they take just a little bit longer to adjust to something new.

When Debbie gets comfortable with all these new Haas brushes I’ve started using (4 more came yesterday!), I will cautiously introduce MJ to the Schimmel. By then he will have learned to appreciate the closer set bristles and maybe, just maybe, decide that the Schimmel is one of God’s many gifts to lesson horses.

The brushes I got yesterday are 2 Micro Diva’s, an Amazone horsehair brush, a Kopfburste small grooming brush with white moderately stiff horse hair bristles, and 2 Wurzelkardatsche Damen coconut fiber brush with white bristles. The top of the Wurzelkardatsche brush brush is a little bit narrower than the Schimmel, the bristles “give” a tiny bit more when I press down on them, and is just as long. This later brush might well be a decent substitute for the Schimmel.

You know a lot of you on this forum are simply wonderful in pointing out new things that I can use to make the horses more comfortable, happier, and make it safer for me to ride the horses. Thank You!!!

ETA–My apologies, the Damen Wurzelkerdatsche brush is made of RICE ROOT bristles, not coconut fiber, which might be why the bristles “give” to pressure a little bit better than the Schimmel which is made of coconut fiber bristles.

After getting deep into translation it seems that the Haas Amazone brush has a mix of horsehair AND boar bristles (borstenfeld strands.)

[IPEsq]

Perhaps here in the dry climate the Schimmel has less of a static factor, and that makes a difference for my horses. But they liked it with their thin summer coats too. The redhead loves face brushing so much he will go for any brush on his face. He does like the Schimmel on the ear sweat parts best, though. And when I bought him, I couldn’t touch his ears with anything.

[erinmeri]

After recommendations upthread, I went with:

• Schimmel
• Amazone
• Grundy’s Finest
• Diva

Sensitive mare doesn’t appreciate the Schimmel, so I only use when necessary. I must admit I find (I think) Amazone and Grundy’s very similar. But I do love them all.

Have gotten compliments on how much nicer she is looking these days… though I must admit that before my Haas purchases I had gotten lazy with settling on a Tigers Tongue most days.

I also got an Epona curry that she seems to like better than any I have tried in the past (and I have tried a lot of them!) so thank you all for the recommendations!

[ChestnutArabianMare]

I am fascinated by this thread! I honestly had no idea there were so many different brush options.

I have a thin-skinned, fine-coated sensitive chestnut Arabian mare who you would think would hate to be groomed… but it’s her favorite thing in the world, along with being muddy/sandy. Her favorite part is to rub the insides of her ears on the metal shedding blade… along with her head!

I also have a soft round rubber curry with little nubs on it that she adores—you can curry her head to toe with it and put all your strength into it, and she’s in heaven. She cranes her neck and wiggles her top lip like a horse is grooming her. She will also groom you back (lips only) if you’re in range. She even loves to have her udder cleaned.

It’s very interesting to see how different they all are!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got a progress report from my riding teacher about how her “problem child” super sensitive skinned black Arabian gelding liked the Haas brushes I lent her. These are the
Fesselburste pastern brush, the Lipizzaner and the Grundy’s Finest.

This horse NEVER liked being groomed. He behaved himself but at time he would get fretful and antsy, shifting around, giving dirty looks, etc., etc., etc… We have tried many curry combs and many brushes on this horse, and he just did not like them at all or he could stand the brush but made it obvious that he really was not into being groomed.

With the Haas brushes? He stood still, he did not fret, he stayed nice and calm, and now both my riding teacher and her personal horse love the Haas brushes.

My riding teacher also told me that she thinks she could cut out giving the horses baths before the shows because the brushes got her horse SO CLEAN! This makes me happy since I think that horses get way too many baths anyway. I told her it would be easy, bring a horse in the ring whose coat glistens in the sunlight versus the markedly inferior (IMHO) results of a bath and a spray on conditioner, the horse groomed with the Haas brushes will have a much better coat.

I think this was the first time in his life that her gelding actually enjoyed being groomed. When I asked her if she wanted to borrow the brushes again she said yes in a very definite voice. Now, finally, both of them can enjoy the grooming sessions and he won’t get pissed off about getting cleaner.

[Jackie_Cochran]

My Haas Country boar bristle brush came today!

The bristles are around 3/4" long, and the wood back is approximately 8" by 3.25".

I have not had a chance to try it on a horse yet, but “brushing” the palm of my hand it does not feel as stiff as the Amazone or the Cavaliere. If I get a riding lesson this week I will compare it to the Lipizzaner brush.

[AllTheCarrots]

I’ve been lurking on this thread and am now the delighted owner of a Haas Schimmel, which does an amazing job chipping the caked mud off my dedicated roller and all-around enthusiastic mudpie maker. (Did I mention that he’s supposed to be grey? Maybe by April he will be again.)

So now that I’m hooked on the gateway drug, what should my next purchase(s) be? I’m more than good on curry-type implements, but maybe a dandy/hard flick brush? Or just go straight for the Diva?

[SadieRidingHorses]

@AllTheCarrots the diva is very lovely, particularly for faces. I’m attaching a photo from what I call our “sleepy time grooming sessions” to demonstrate.

If you really want to splurge (or put something on your Christmas list), Eqclusive has a curated brush kit for greys. Their brush kits are pricey but amazing, and they come in a lovely box.

[SadieRidingHorses]

Actually, that’s “coat gloss” in the photo.

[Posting_Trot]

With my gray mare, I follow the Schimmel with the Amazone. Then, if I’m feeling the need to do more, I go over her with the Grundy’s Finest.

Enjoy your addiction!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I went on-line and read every blurb about the Haas Country brush and the Haas Western brush, their other pig bristle brush. Most of the blurbs said exactly the same thing but other blurbs had little extra comments like:

“A stronger bristle for thicker coats, or for the colder time of year.”
“Does not scratch the horse’s skin.”
“Effective against caked on mud and shedding coats.”
“No static.”

[AllTheCarrots]

Thank you for enabling me!

[Jackie_Cochran]

When I got to the stable today I gave my riding teacher’s horse, Tercel, the Haas Country boar bristle brush. Debbie liked how it felt to her hand and my lesson horse, MJ, seemed to like being groomed with it.

I asked Debbie how Tercel was acting now about grooming. The Haas brushes have totally transformed this horse as far as grooming goes. He stays still, his eyes stay happy, there is no prancing in place, no shifting around away from the brushes, no more dirty looks, no more warnings about possible mayhem, and he now acts like a civilized horse. Debbie is very happy, she has had struggles (none major) grooming this horse for many years and she had given up on him ever acting like he enjoyed being groomed. This was with the Lipizzaner and Grundy’s Finest brushes, and she said he also accepted the much stiffer Fesselburste Pastern brush too.

MJ also acts like he likes the Haas brushes over anything of the regular brushes we tried on him. I went over him some after Debbie used the Haas Country brush on him and parts of his coat were already shinier.

Haas brushes for the win!

[Clover5]

Does anyone know what specific brushes come in the eqclusive universal shining pack? I’d love to get a set but would rather shop at a local store…

[StB.YM]

I went ahead and bought a couple Haas brushes - Schimmel, Grundy’s, and Diva - as well as the Tiger Tongue sponge. The horse I ride likes the Tiger Tongue the best, doesn’t particularly care for the Diva (neither hates nor loves), and tolerates the other two. I find myself using the schimmel the most out of the three Haas brushes, but its probably the one he likes the least. So, I’m thinking of getting at least one more brush that falls in-between in stiffness between the schimmel and the grundy’s. I’m guessing my choices fall between the amazone, parcour,and lipizzaner and am wondering if anyone here has a recommendation for which of the three to go with.

[Bristol_Bay]

My head is spinning from all the choices!

My horse is a thin skinned grumpy pants dark bay warmblood who bites and threatens to kick (but doesn’t.). He’s clipped and gets blanketed every night, but also gets daily turn out in a sand paddock so that’s what gets him dirty.

I have a Tigers Tongue and a super soft horse hair face brush. He has a Busy Buddy horse pacifier to stop the biting in the crossties.

What two or three brushes should I buy?