Monday, November 30, 2015

what's in my grooming tote?

A couple weeks ago I wrote about my top 5 horse show essentials, and hinted that there would be another blog hop post forthcoming shortly in a similar vein. Well. Here ya go!

See, a little while ago, I  saw a post on Breeches and Boat Shoes about "What's in my grooming bag?" and wanted to play along.

the kit in its entirety
So, without further ado - ladies and gentlemen, may I present the contents of my grooming tote:

grooming tools

  1. Liniment, detangler, and shine spray. I have a full-size shine spray too... tho that usually stays home. Also, depending on the season, add fly spray.
  2. Rubber and plastic curry combs. I also have a jelly version as well (thanks Erin!) but that hasn't yet made it to the barn. Isabel personally prefers the hard plastic, but sometimes I think the rubber and jelly varieties can speed along shedding a bit better.
  3. So many body brushes omg. They are sorted from stiffest to softest bristles, top to bottom. The top brush is exclusively for mane/tail, and the bottom red brush is for her face. The two in between are my general go-tos for the body, with the red/green (medium stiffness) getting the most use.
  4. Mane / tail brush (typically only used in conjunction with detangler or conditioner).
  5. Hoof picks. #canneverhavetoomany

odds and ends in constant rotation

  1. Vet wrap, small sponge, and triple antibiotic ointment. Not exactly a full first aid kit, but these things come in handy pretttttty often.
  2. Baby wipes. Never knew I needed them until I got them. Super convenient to have on hand!
  3. Hole punch. It's unlikely you'll ever find me with a grooming kit unequipped with one of these bad boys. 
  4. Random stuff - Herbal Horse Be Calm Lavender Balm, and a random velcro-on sheepskin cover that typically covers the curb chain on my mechanical hackamore. 
  5. More random stuff - rubber bands (needs no explanation) and hand sanitizer.
  6. Leather balm and a dedicated sponge. An embarrassing amount of my tack and gear gets it's last little face lift on the actual show grounds haha.

tools and gadgets etc

  1. Extra leadline and double-sided clip. Both are highly HIGHLY convenient. 
  2. Medical armband lives in my grooming kit and is therefore never forgotten. Plus a pen and a sharpie are nice to have on hand. 
  3. Scissors (tagged with my initials - and note in the very top pic there are velcro straps - snipped from an old saddle pad - connecting the scissors to my tote. I clearly have trust issues when it comes to scissors at a barn!) and a mutli tool - this one specifically for use with horses!
  4. Stock tie. Same idea as the armband - it'll never be forgotten if it lives here!
  5. Liniment concentrate to be mixed into water buckets for sponging off.
  6. Spurs, hair net, and nose shaver. These are very specifically useful on show days. 

outtake cattake
Obviously we also stay well stocked with cats.

tidily tucked away and covered up!
I found this heavy-duty tote and cover for sale at the consignment shop. Best $8 I've ever spent! Maryland Saddlery ftw!!

unwanted recent additions for the scratches... ugh....
These are not permanent residents of my grooming kit.... but given Isabel's ongoing scratches situation I'm stocked up. Ugh fml.

the ever-essential barn rats
And obviously no kit is fully complete without a couple young riders around to help out!!

So.... yea... that's my standard kit that goes most places with us. What's in your grooming tote?

34 comments:

  1. I love posts like this, I'll try and get pictures of mine today! Over the winter Sunny will be having some time off so I feel I will be filling my blog with more 'youtuby' style posts so it would be fun if you joined in too! :)

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  2. I was going to say "damn you have a lot of stuff in your grooming tote" but then I thought about it and realized I probably have a similar amount of crap. I need to do this one!

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    1. haha right? tho it may be hard to tell from the pics, but the brushes are all on the smaller side, and most of those other products are travel-sized. so that def helps fit it all in. but yes you should definitely play along too!!

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  3. I'm feeling the same as Amanda. Thought, wow you have so many things....ohhhh yeah I do too. Fun post, and considering my arena will most likely not thaw again today, I must join in.

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    1. oooh yes doo!!!! and sure, it's a lot of stuff, but do i dare admit that there's even MOAR in the various buckets and shelves around my horse's stall?? haha :)

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  4. I need to do this. And ditto what Amanda said. I thought you had a lot of stuff... Then I realized I have more haha.

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    1. haha yup there's always more, isn't there?

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  5. Does the cat fit in there too? Also, all those things are far too clean. I'd be embarrassed to post about the pile of random horsehair and dirt in mine!

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    1. hahaha idk about 'clean' - my camera doesn't really focus well enough to see the caked mud and grease.... and it may or may not have gotten a dust wipe down before i took pics...

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    2. I was thinking the same! I'm impressed that you can fit all of that in there! I have to take the minimalist approach or everything becomes a complete disaster because I suck at being organized.

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    3. ha i know that feeling. i tend to just use the same few tools over and over again so in a way it becomes de facto minimalism... but then again i also like to hoard everything else *just in case* lol

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  6. Ah, scissors at the barn...I just realized I'm missing 3 pairs, including super sharp mane scissors! Boo.

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    1. haha seriously - i swear those things grow legs and just walk away. i am borderline CRAZY about keeping track of mine lol

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  7. Fun! I'll play along. Must remember to take some pictures the next time I'm up at the barn.

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    1. ha that's the part that took forever in actually getting to do this hop....

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  8. Woah- how do you get it all to fit? So many clean things in 1 grooming box!

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    1. lolz none of it would bear very close inspection on the 'clean' part, but yea it's all fairly small in size, and the tote is heavy duty enough that i never worry about overloading it

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  9. I've been missing my sharpie for a little while and it has been sorely missed! Need to get a new one. I've somehow managed to hang on to my current pair of scissors for at least 6 months now though!

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    1. haha 6 months might be some kind of record. sharpies are another one of those items that mysteriously go 'missing' too... but are so useful!

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  10. My grooming tote is crammed full of many different kinds of brushes, combs, hoof picks, etc. Fly spray and hair products hang on a little rack within grabbing distance. I have multiple plastic bins with lids that hold bits and spurs, screws and other odd metal things, Rx first aid, bandages and rags, legs wraps and boots, and so on. There are at least 9 "bins" of some sort in my tack room! :0)

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    1. haha yep i'm queen of the many plastic bins on the stall too - tho i think i only have 3-4. this tote is designed to be travel friendly tho - whether it's traveling from the tack room to the grooming area, or to a lesson or show. otherwise the amount of stuff is endless!

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  11. Your grooming tote looks very orderly compared to mine.... #forshame

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    1. i try to keep it somewhat put together otherwise that cover risks getting ripped up or stretched out... but mostly it got organized for the pics haha

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  12. These are great! I feel like I need a few of these items - including that tote cover!!

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    1. they sell similar versions of that cover (which i LOVE btw) on amazon - this one looks promising: http://www.amazon.com/Intrepid-International-Tote-Tray-Cover/dp/B00DSIEADY

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  13. What a great idea, thought I don't have just a tote I pull out so a tour of my whole tack box is in order lol!

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  14. Baby Wipes FTW!! Never knew how valuable they were until a friend gave me a package when she was cleaning out her tack trunk.

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  15. Wow! You sure can pack a lot of stuff in there, haha. I have huge rubber-maid bins with tons of stuff in them. LOL

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    1. i love bins. LOVE. the sheer amount of space tho - they get so messy so fast!

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  16. you sure have a lot of stuff...! but i feel compelled to do this too but missed the timeline... perhaps another time i'll refer back to your post :D

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    1. there's no timeline, you can do this hop whenever! :)

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