I have always been a notorious goo collector when it comes to my own hair and makeup products. Dozens of half used bottles and hardly touched palettes cover my desk, and don’t even get me started of the forgotten shampoos than have been sitting in the shower for months. So it was no shock when I finally came to the realization that I’m an even worse hoarder of horsey beauty products! My grooming box is filled to the brim with impulse buys, both good and bad. I tend to go through fads of what products I’m currently using. I really like to mix it up and try new things! While I do love having plenty of options to choose from, I recently had to throw together a super quick groom tote I could easily carry down the barn to the boys stall (because my groom box seriously is too heavy to transport anywhere) so I thought I would share with you guys my go to products I never thought twice about when putting together my super quick groom tote.

Brushes

There are no strangers to the classic set of brushes – the soft & hard brush, curry comb, hair comb, and hoof pick. A few of my brushes I’ve packed in here are from my Horseware grooming kit I bought a couple of years ago. I love how well they’ve managed to stay in excellent condition without the bristles becoming misshapen. In here I’ve grabbed the Horseware curry, hard brush, hair brush, and hoof pick. My soft brush (among the many I have) is the softest thing ever! I do not recall the name of it, but I purchased it from Dover Saddlery. The bristles do easily get bent (because its that soft) so I’m very careful to make sure it doesn’t get squished under the heaping piles of grooming tools when put away. I also have a regular plastic curry comb because I just like to have options. I’m pretty neat with my brushes, I clean as much hair out of them after each use and try to always put them away orderly. This really helps keep the dirt out, because who wants to groom with dirty tools, and help with the life span so I’m not buying new brushes all of the time.

Even though I’m a sucker for the time tested classics, one of my absolute favorite products in my big box of wonder, is the Hands-on Grooming Glove. I don’t know how I’ve been grooming for so long without them. These gloves are super easy to use, just slip them on and start brushing your horse with your own hand! They work really well on caked in mud, and pull up so much of that shedding hair! I love that I can even use both hands at one, and my horses get a much loved deep scratch in all of their itchy spots. They really cut down on the amount of time it takes me to get all of that mud off which has been a life saver this time of season.

Beauty Products

There was really no question when grabbing the one must need product to toss in my little tote. Absorbine’s Santa Fe Coat Conditioner and Sunscreen. I originally purchased this for the sunscreen benefits, but have fallen for how well it really conditions and detangles. It’s great for keeping a long and dense winter coat silky, and dirt free! I can feel a huge difference in their coat if I don’t use the Santa Fe for a week, so it’s really become a regular part of my grooming routine. Usually I will curry or use my Hands-on Grooming Gloves first, hard brush, spray the Santa Fe all over and give it a few minutes to sit before using a soft brush and I can see all of the dirt flying right off! It’s also the first thing I grab when brushing their mane and tail, especially if I’m brushing out a tail that was in a bag.

If there was one other thing I would add to this tote, it would be Farnam’s Rainmaker. I use this hoof conditioner every couple days when needed. It’s not something that I need to apply all of the time which is the only reason I didn’t add it in, but its important enough to mention because if I was preparing the horsey “over night” bag it would certainly be included.

The Tote

This adorable small grooming tote is by Kensington Products. I purchased it a few years ago from Dover Saddlery to match the Kensington luggage bag I have. Honestly it sat in my box for a while, just holding extra brushes, until the other day when I was tired of unsuccessfully trying to carry things back and forth from the grooming stall to Jasper and Wallace’s stall. A light bulb went off when I remembered I had this perfect sized travel tote to throw my stuff into! Its small enough to store just about anywhere, but big enough to hold my quick go-to products! Now I use it almost every day, and it will definitely be coming with me to future shows!