Horses and wet/dry shop vac

[Shortpig]

I have vacuumed my horses alot in the past to clean them. My question is has anyone used the wet/dry shop vac following bathing to help dry their horses? If you have did you find it really helped? I'm considering buying the wall hanging shop vac w/18ft hose because it will be easy to move around plug in and vacuum the lil beggers.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I use my Double K blower to dry Kody when he's wet from the rain and to get the last of the persistent bath water off his underline when I'm doing his first spring clip. It works pretty well most of the time, especially once the horse is only damp instead of soaking.

Leia

 

[muffntuf]

I have just wondered in general if anyone uses a wet vac to vaccum their horses for grooming?

 

[Marty]

Haven't yet but I'm anxious to hear more about it. Right now I keep stealing my hus' shop vac from the garage and its really loud, loud, loud and very annoying.

Any vacs out there that are more quiet?

 

[jleonard]

I have not done it personally, but I do know someone who used a hair dryer to dry their horse at a show. It would probably take a lot longer than if the shop vacs work.

 

[eagles ring farm]

We have used a shop vac just to dry vac our gelding in the past

he is fine with it, but for wet have never used one

 

[MinisOutWest]

the best investment ever was a Double K vac/blower. I honestly use it everyday to blow my boys off, it helps get the dirt/ dust off them and fluff up their hair in the winter.. I never leave home without it either, I use it at every show. I love mine and it gets used and abused and keeps on working.

 

[Shortpig]

Guess I will be the test dummy for the wet/dry usage of the shop vac. I figure I can clean them in the winter without water like I used to and then if I give them a bath I can suck alot of the water out of their coat so they will dry faster in the spring when it is still a little cooler. I think it is going to work really well. Certainly worth a try.

 

[muffntuf]

let us know what you think. I would, but mine is buried right now and I am more worried about snow removal.

 

[EAD Minis]

I do ALL the time and I must say with the white horses it is a blessing.

No puffs of dust when some one pats there bum (a pet peeve of mine

), no grubby finger tips after a scratch. I do it once a week with my guys and they actualy enjoy there vacum time.

Never tried it for drying though...thats a good idea I will have to try it come spring.

 

[muffntuf]

Which shop vac do you use One Ritz-c-Kid?

 

[TomEHawk]

We have used a wet/dry shop vac for a couple of years now to clean up horses and dry off horses by doing both sucking up as much water as I can then blowing off the rest. It helps the horses dry off a bit quicker. We use one of the smaller Craftsman shop vacs.

 

[EAD Minis]

Which shop vac do you use One Ritz-c-Kid?

I use a smaller type, I beleive it is a craftsmen as well. An older model as it was in dads garage forever until I dug it out. Its very loud, I expected them to go through the roof when i turned it on but they didnt seem to mind it.

 

[Joanne]

We used a wet/dry for many years.

I now own a Double K though and love the portability, and use it to blow more than vacuum. Quite helpful to get horses dry or to get the dirt off.

 

[candycar]

I use one of the very small shop-vacs for my girls, just added some extra hose from an old one. It doesn't have the blow feature tho

For those who have a problem with static, use Static Guard and spray the horse lightly and also around the attachment. It keeps the static way down and keeps them from hating the shocking when you vac them.

 

[Shortpig]

I'm looking at two different ones Fred Meyer here has one that hangs on wall, 18ft hose and is 3.5hp with all attachments. Ace Hardware has one that is 4.5hp 18ft hose with all attachments. Will probably buy the one from Ace as even 1hp more could end up being a blessing. It is supposed to be very quiet to operate and with an 18ft hose I can have the option of shop vac in one room with hose coming thru to the horses to help with the noise. I really like the option of wet/dry think that is a huge plus if it really works. Lifted it last night and not too heavy to pack around from place to place. Of course that would increase with water

They always feel so good after a good vacuuming in the winter. They get so clean and their coats are extremely fluffy and soft.

 

[maestoso]

After having one, I wouldn't go with out a shop/vac. I don't use mine for vacuuming much, except for sucking up spider webs and dust. I use the blower function more often. In the Spring, for the first clip, I blow the horses off, rather than bathing, because the hair is so long and takes so long to dry. I have a very high powered one that would probably blow a small dog away, but the horses, after the first startle, seem to like it very much. I use it all winter to blow dirt out of heavy coats. Sometimes I will use it before baths to get them somewhat clean so that I am not scrubbing away mud. And sometimes I use it for drying. It was a large industrial $100 one and worth every penny!

 

[Diana]

Haven't used any of the vacs but I'm going to start. We have 2 Double K demo models that I'm going to try this winter. We ordered them to sell to cow people as they use blowers on the show cows.