# shop vac grooming



## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I have no experience with one except to suck out what's left in the bottom of our hot tub when I drain it and clean every three months. 

I have had a cat in the past though that liked to lay in front of it and get his fur vacuumed. Weirdo.

I'm just commenting to sub, because I think cleaning a horse with a shop vac is an awesome idea... if they can get used to it. LOL


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## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

I am also interested, so I'm subbing. 

I have blown dirt out of my mini's coat with an old barrel looking shop vac (it no longer inhales, only exhales haha) and I kind of liked that. She had absolutely no issues with it. I would love a little one to keep at the barn, as she is dang near impossible to keep even reasonably clean. Her hair just sucks up dust and I think a vac would do the trick.

I also use a small handheld buffer to massage her hips (has had SI issues) and boy does that bounce a bunch of gunk hiding in her hair haha It's funny to watch all the dirt bounce around. The buffer and a shop vac sounds like the perfect combo!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

:bowwdown::bowwdown: What a time-saving idea!

So, sounds more like you need to adjust the suction level a bit then try that again.
Is the wand end have a plastic sleeve that twists?.....

Years ago my boss had a horse vac, the real thing...
The horses loved it anytime of the year.
The brush used most often would of been equivalent to a small upholstery size brush for their body. 4" - 5" wide...long passes that were comfortable reach, almost like a body clipping motion.
On legs, face and around the ears we used a round soft bristles brush...kind of what I use in my home to "dust" lamp shades.
It was wonderful in winter to "bathe" and wring the water out of their coats and if not bathed, deep clean them for show prep.

:idea: ... I hadn't thought about "vacuuming" my horses of their filth but may just see how tolerant mine are to the noise...
Man would it make short work of ridding the filthy dirt off my paints butt let alone my grey...:wink:
:loveshower:...now to see if I can succeed in this endeavor. 
_Or lose my skull trying... _

:runninghorse2:....


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I've used one on my horses and I also have a small hand held car vac that runs off rechargeable battery which is actually better because its easier to get around the horse with
They don't seem to mind the noise as they're used to clippers and me using a leaf blower to 'sweep' the barn


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

I have no experience with shop vacs either Atoka, no hot tub either haha.

I moved to a tiny barn a couple of months ago that was thick with cobwebs, I hate, hate, hate cobwebbing for fear some will fall on me. And there were loose strands hanging and moving all the time. Also have heard they are toxic to horses so to take care not to let any get in their water. I carried that further thinking not in the bedding either where he searches for last bits of hay in the dark.

Never having my own barn, I have done a lot of working off board and have done my share of keeping stall fronts free of them with a broom but not had to tackle rafters .....

I wasn't easy to get high places as I am short and had to stand right under them. I should have posted it on the What are Your Fears thread. 

I plan to keep up on the cobwebs now that the shop vac will be right there handy for use on Chief and Annie. How that for optimism?

Really am hoping for some good tips on types of nozzles, or how to adapt smaller size nozzles for dogs. I have heard that quite a few Show barns use shop vacs. 

A while back it was mentioned here on HF, I searched' today for 'shop vac' but got a million returns because the search returned every thing with either word and couldn't go through them all trying to find a match to both words.

KLJ, that is funny about the buffer, and funny about the exhaust only shop vac. Sort of like a stationery leaf blower. LOL

Is your mini old? I haven't had Annie long, my first mini experience.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

horselovinguy said:


> ... need to adjust the suction level a bit
> ... Is the wand end have a plastic sleeve that twists?.....
> ... equivalent to a small upholstery size brush for their body. 4" - 5" wide...long passes that were comfortable reach, almost like a body clipping motion.
> On legs, face and around the ears we used a round soft bristles brush...kind of what I use in my home to "dust" lamp shades.
> ...


Thanks HLG, just what I was looking for.

So the suction can be adjusted somehow? 
Wonderful, that instant before the nozzle came off the skin on his neck must have 'lifted' 2 inches. LOL It sprang right back thought, so he must be well hydrated.

I know the hook up end twists but don't recall about the wand end. There are NO threads though, its smooth.

The nozzle was a hard plastic, about 5 inches wide, no brush or bristles, and I was kind of concerned before trying it because of the hard edges, wished for something more rubber-y. Also I knew from cobwebbing that unless the whole nozzle was flush with the surface it had little to no suction. I ended up cobwebbing with the plain round end.

I will be searching ebay tonight for a round and 5 inch nozzles with brushes.

I may loose my skull, too, but no matter, already seem to have lost what was inside of it. LOL


Jaydee - somewhere in my storage unit is a small stair step vacuum that sounds a bit like your battery operated one. I decided against looking it up as it is heavy, loud, corded, and has the spinning bristle head (like a mini Kirby). I thought surely I would end up getting hurt, and not make it past the approach and retreat moments with Chief. 

I do recall the trainer saying every horse there got used to it quickly, and some obviously enjoyed it immensely.




Oh, and body clipping - like I've ever done that before. LOL 
They get to keep all their hair when they are with me. 

Once when my late-husband threatened to shave his beard, I told him that if he did I would shave stripes in my legs.


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## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

anndankev said:


> I have no experience with shop vacs either Atoka, no hot tub either haha.
> 
> I moved to a tiny barn a couple of months ago that was thick with cobwebs, I hate, hate, hate cobwebbing for fear some will fall on me. And there were loose strands hanging and moving all the time. *Also have heard they are toxic to horses* so to take care not to let any get in their water. I carried that further thinking not in the bedding either where he searches for last bits of hay in the dark.


WHAT? And Miss May outright ate a large one the other day like it was cotton candy when I moved a water tub in her pen... :neutral: :eek_color: She must be part shop vac haha

She's my first experience with minis as well. And no, she's not old, she's 4... Which makes me worry about already having hip issues. But I had a body worker out (he works on people, but does animals on the side) who came out and worked on her and I haven't had issues since this spring. I have to keep her massaged to keep muscles tight, and that buffer is an awesome masseuse! 

How old is your mini?


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

There are brush attachments for shop vacs; would just use one of those. They used to make a curry comb type attachment for horses, but don't know if anyone still sells them. 

I have used the smaller shop vacs on horses, but not a full size one. Much easier to tote around.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

"Once upon a time many years ago", I borrowed the Shop vac from DH's workshop to vacuum my horse for the Christmas parade. It did a stellar job of pulling up the dirt and dander from when my beloved horse rolled in a big mud puddle that morning 

I still have that shop vac in the barn ---- it has vacuumed four horses frequently during winters and shedding seasons ---- especially now that I are old and just about every moving part on me aches, lol

As far as brushes ------ I use the small round brush that came with shop vac. Take it with you to Lowes or Home Depot so you get the right diameter to fit the hose on the vac. They are cheap so buy up a bunch and keep them in a bag or container in the barn. When I had four horses, I went thru quite a few. 

Some horses loved their faces vacuumed, others do not. If the horse doesn't like that sensation on his face, I do not force the issue. I never vacuum the family jewels or the nether area ---- that is just too much to expect the horse to keep quiet about


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## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

Gah! Sorry just saw you already said how old your mini is haha oops! 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

The end that the brushes would go on should have a sleeve, small plastic piece that can rotate. Opening that a little or a lot will adjust the suction power of the vac.

Clicking on each of the products offered from Dover opens a drop down menu of brushes and assorted tools._
Vacuums for Horse Grooming | Dover Saddlery

_Depending upon what brand vac you purchased will depend upon what attachments you can use as they must be compatible. 
Do a search of horse vacuums {this is "real" dedicated horse machines}
_Rapid Groom / Electro Groom Line | Electric Cleaner_
There are specific attachments for horse versus dog or other animals I saw...

If a particular brand of shop vac you now have you can use some of those brushes and such. 
They are not much different than what you would spend $$$$ for because it was "horse" related.
Choose carefully and when looking to buy I always used my leg or arm to see how "fit" range 
seemed.
Biggest thing to me is make sure diameter of pipe/tube is equal to for proper fit of attachment so it not fall off or twist making the job more difficult.

Enjoy the search...
:runninghorse2:....


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

What HLG said is why I suggested taking the existing brush from your shop vac to Lowes or Home Depot so you can match up the diameter of the neck of the brush

A lot simpler than ordering the wrong thing from a tack catalogue and likely a lot cheaper because the word "horse" is not attached to it


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

AnitaAnne said:


> There are brush attachments for shop vacs; ...
> 
> I have used the smaller shop vacs on horses, but not a full size one. Much easier to tote around.


Thanks, seems to be the consensus to use the brush type shop vac attachments. So I will get some with brushes, I bought a Stanley brand shop vac, not the more popular Rigid or Shop-Vac. Seemed like a good value, but not so much if it is not the right size for readily available brushes...

So, you used a small one, and Jaydee uses a battery powered car vacuum. I wonder if a Dust Buster would work? Or are those outdated?




walkinthewalk said:


> "Once upon a time many years ago"...
> I still have that shop vac in the barn ---- ...
> As far as brushes ------ I use the small round brush ...
> Take it with you to Lowes or Home Depot so you get the right diameter ...
> ...


OK, I will go to Home Deot as I have about $20 left on a gift card. But have to admit I already ordered from ebay a 20' hose (aftermarket). Hope it fits, as the one on it is only 6', I expected to need to buy a long hose whichever wet/dry vac I ended up with. So I will wait til arrives before buying any nozzles.

And, Chief is a rather private kind of guy. I will respect that. LOL



horselovinguy said:


> The end that the brushes would go on should have a sleeve, small plastic piece that can rotate. Opening that a little or a lot will adjust the suction power of the vac.
> 
> Clicking on each of the products offered from Dover ...
> 
> ...


No, the end of the short hose I have now does not swivel or have an adjustment. 

However I did find a cap on a hole near the bottom on the front of the unit. Held my hand over hose end while unscrewing said cap. Pressure seemed to be the same until the cap came completely off, then sudden drop in pressure. So it's not a hi-med-low type gauge, but with cap off Chief stood pretty well tonight. Thanks I'll do that again while waiting for the new 20' long hose to arrive.

Then go to Home Depot to check fit in person rather than online.



walkinthewalk said:


> What HLG said is why I suggested taking the existing brush from your shop vac to Lowes or Home Depot so you can match up the diameter of the neck of the brush
> 
> A lot simpler than ordering the wrong thing from a tack catalogue and likely a lot cheaper because the word "horse" is not attached to it


OK OK OK, LOL...
but I did see on ebay adapters. Reduces from one diameter to another. :hide:

Crossing fingers that the $58 shop vac I got will work out without sinking too much in attachments. 

Hopefully I will not have to resort to a $60 brush that came with an $800 horse vac.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

How long of a hose do you use on the shop vac? 

We have 2 shop vacs- small and large. They are very noisy. Usually I wear ear muffs. Of course they are rather old... I never considered trying them on the horse.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

I have 3 shop vacs of various sizes and have often considered trying to groom my horses with them, but just haven't gotten brave enough to try, yet. And since I tend to keep every attachment for the house vacs that I kill, I have plenty of 'spare' brushes that don't seem to fit any other vacuum. LOL. I also have spare extension hoses/hoses from long dead old shop vacs, so who knows? Gorilla tape should hold the joins. 

I wonder how an upholstery/stair attachment would work - neat little spinning brushes to dig up all that hidden dust?


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

4horses said:


> How long of a hose do you use on the shop vac?
> 
> We have 2 shop vacs- small and large. They are very noisy. Usually I wear ear muffs. Of course they are rather old... I never considered trying them on the horse.


LOL, I read this as trying the ear muffs on the horse.

I've ordered a 20 ft long hose, thinking that way the shop vac could stay in one place, near the electric outlet. The one I saw in daily use was tied securely to a post with a very l-o-o-ong hose.



Change said:


> I have 3 shop vacs of various sizes and have often considered trying to groom my horses with them, but just haven't gotten brave enough to try, yet. And since I tend to keep every attachment for the house vacs that I kill, I have plenty of 'spare' brushes that don't seem to fit any other vacuum. LOL. I also have spare extension hoses/hoses from long dead old shop vacs, so who knows? Gorilla tape should hold the joins.
> 
> I wonder how an upholstery/stair attachment would work - neat little spinning brushes to dig up all that hidden dust?


Geez Change, at first I thought you were going to offer to send me some spare attachments. LOL Just let me know if taping them on works, that will be enough as I have a couple of small diameter attachments, too.

You try the spinning brush attachment first, let me know how it goes. Take video. Haha




KLJcowgirl said:


> Gah! Sorry just saw you already said how old your mini is haha oops!


She is 23. Discovered I don't have any pics of Annie (the mini, she came with my name!). She was in very thin, poor shape when my daughter got her last spring. Said to be a hard keeper !! Also her mane and tail were cut as short as possible, imagine it was easier to cut them back than to clean and brush out the burs and tangles.

Then I took her with me when I moved barns this January. Then again for another move in July. Chief never really liked her much before this last move, but now she is his only companion and he likes her a lot more. I just took some pics the other day so I could post them here.


















Here she is waiting outside Chief's stall to lick the bottom of his feed pan.









Here she is impatiently waiting for me to fix her supper (soaked senior, followed by soaked pellets). She has no upper molars in the back.









Here is her stall, note the 'creep' board so Chief can't get in and eat her food.









Here she is behind her baby gate. Put that up so she could see, Also see the Shop Vac is in the pic.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

I've got the shop vac all set up now. Long hose and round brush (from Home Depot). September was a dry month though consequently they did not get caked with dried mud. I found that I do enjoy hand grooming and so does Chief. I did shop vac enough to acclimate him him to it to the point where he is well accustomed to it.

Yesterday it rained all day stopping in the early evening. Both Chief and Annie rolled and were a dried muddy mess. So out came the shop vac and I proclaim it a big success. 

Quick - no going over them 3 times: curry, hard brush, soft brush.

Chief actually cocked a leg, rested and obviously enjoyed it. I didn't get any before pictures of him, should have.

Then the pony (mini) a darker color and already getting pretty shaggy coated for winter. Got the camera:

The shop vac in its permanent place near the outlet










Dirty pony










Neck and shoulder done, then one pass down her back. Sorry it is fuzzy *the pic I mean). This is what first reminded me of a commercial for bathroom tile cleaner.










Pony done (except for head)















Long hose worked a lot easier than moving the shop vac around.










Chief watching us, see the shine, did a great job. Wish I had taken a warm wet washrag to his face though.










Took about 10 minutes per horse, no dusty mess in the air, in the nose, or on the floor. And can cobweb with it, too.


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## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

Yay! So glad it worked out. I might have to invest in one now!


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## Getting Rich in Vegas (Jun 17, 2016)

I have to ask.....what exactly did you do to get them used to it? I can vac the barn but get near anybody...no way no how, LOL!


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