Quick Question About Horse Brushes...

[auburnmare5]

I have a whole lot of dirty, horse brushes that I want to clean.
Other than those tablet things that you put in water with your brushes, are there any other ways to get brushes squeaky clean?
**Also, does anyone have any ideas as to how to clean horse, goat hair burshes, etc...?**
Thanks in advance.

[guineapigluver1]

I have never cleaned horse brushes (let alone use one), but one way to clean them is to run a hose on it on full blast (well maybe not quite full blast) and use your hands and run them over the bristles pushing them one way and then the other. I have done this on dog brushes and cat brushes and it works well.

[auburnmare5]

Thanks, but I have tried that. They get clean, but then when they dry, they still look dirty. I clean them again and again, and it is almost like they don't want to be clean!

I have had the brushes about 6 months. They have been used a bit, but I don' want to buy new ones.

[guineapigluver1]

Well, keep in mind that they won't ever look like they did when you first got them. And even if they are clean they may still look dirty.
We used to have a bristle brush when we had our dog and it looked pretty dirty after a while even with being washed, but yet it was clean.

[auburnmare5]

Yeah I know. But hosing them off only gets the top stuff off. Even if I move the bristles and get the hose almost on top of the dirt, only about 1/4 of it comes off. The rest I have to scrape off.

[Tserisa]

I usually just dump them in a bucket of hot soapy water for a while and let them soak.

[auburnmare5]

That sounds like a good idea, but what about the horse hair, goat hair, and non-synthetic ones I have?
Can I put those in soapy water as well?

[auburnmare5]

Does anyone else have any answers?
Any help woudl be appreciated.

[PixieStix]

What type of brushes are you talking about? Bristled ones like body brushes, face brushes, dandy brushes, etc or curries and plastic/rubber brushes?

[auburnmare5]

I am talking about non synthetic ones. Brushes like goat hair, horse hair, etc... I don't think those types of brushes can get too excessively wet.
I use my hands and go up and down to get the dirt off, but it only gets the dust off.

[auburnmare5]

Anyone have any answers?
Help would be appreciated.

[Tserisa]

I just soak them in soapy water, as I mentioned. I don't buy animal hair brushes (not veg) but I've cleaned ones that belong to others, and yeah, just a soak in soapy water.

[auburnmare5]

But it would not damage them at all? I had two brushes at one point (one goat, and one horse hair) and I cleaned them with a hose, and they were ruined. They were a fairly good brand too in my opinion. They are made by Tail Tamer.

Thanks for your replies.

[Angelgal]

Wow I feel bad ... had my brushes for my big boy for 2 years now and they've seen a hose only once! All I can say is no matter how much you clean them, they will never look new.

Um... yeah I would take the hose to it or soak them in soapy water. I use a mane/tail comb to get any loose horse hair out of my dandy brushes as well. Everytime I groom I scrape my curry comb against my dandy brushes to help get rid of dirt as well. Then again I also don't have the goat hair/horse hair types. Well actually since my grooming kit was a gift I'm not 100% sure !