I Bought a SleekEZ

I am part of the Gypsy horse/vanner community, even if I don't have one yet myself. That's mostly because I was more interested in the Gypsy at first than I was the Shire. That was until I realized I could get a Shire for much cheaper than a Gypsy. If there is one thing the Gypsy community knows how to handle, it's hair. And how could they not? It's one of the most important aspects of the breed, if not at least the most notable aspect. Whenever I have any questions pertaining to hair or feathering, I go to the Gypsy community. (And let me say this, if you're talking to Gypsy horse people NEVER call it feathers (with an s) as they will tell you: "Birds have feathers, horses have feather or feathering." (This only seems to be a rule with Gypsy horse people though as I have seen feathers used regularly in the other feathered breeds)). Back on topic. I have seen for the past year or two several people with Gypsies just swooning over this thing. It's supposed to be really great with shedding and getting out deep set in dirt. That is not to say it gets out stains, but helps lift that dirt and dander that sets in and is darn near impossible to get out. They absolutely love this thing and swear by it, and with shedding season coming up, I decided to give it a try. So why did I decide to try it out? Two reasons: 1) I can already tell that Elsa (and even the new filly who I think we're going to name Eclipse) are going to shed a lot of hair when they blow their winter coat. My current brushes get clogged with the hair and can be a down right pain to get it out of. This is supposed to be easier to get the hair out of. 2) The last time I groomed Elsa, I spent nearly 3 hours on her and was completely unsuccessful at getting the deep set in dust off her topline. I was certain that I'd just have to settle on giving her a bath once things warmed up again. I want to see if this will get it out though as it claims to be able to do.

My Review This Far

So my first thoughts on this product before I ever bought it, was that it was going to be a glorified bot comb. If you don't know what that is, it's pretty much a hooked blade you use to scrape bot fly eggs off your horse, which are these little yellow specks stuck on their fur. What the blade does is actually shave off the ends of the hair follicle that the eggs are stuck on to. I thought for sure that's pretty much what this was going to be, but it's not. Technically the blade on the SleekEZ is Patent Pending, which means it's claiming to have a unique and are asking the patent office to grant them a patent, but until it is accepted or declined, its design is protected. They are however right now taking the Grooming Ninja to court claiming that it is infringing on this patent. Point is, this blade is different from a bot blade by definition.

So when I got this in this in the mail today, it wasn't packed in any special way. It came in a white padded envelope, with the comb itself simple saran wrapped and this piece of pink paper folded up and placed inside the envelope with it. For $20, I think they could have afforded some better packaging. It is what it is though.

The first thing I did was take the saran wrap off the blade and read the paper as I ran my finger along the blade absentmindedly. It was pretty basic, just talking about how to care for the blade. From it I gather that the blade isn't stainless steel or even tempered and needs extra protection from moisture as it even suggests oiling it if you live in a humid area (and I do). I would have liked it if the blade were stainless steel and the wood treated so I wouldn't need to baby it so much. I hate babying things like this. I'm more the type to groom whenever I feel the want or need, throw the brush in the box, and go.

I am however very happy to see that it's all 100% made in the USA. Way to go on deciding not to cut costs and keep even just a couple more jobs here in the US SleekEZ.

One thing that does seem to be coming across more as I sit here and look at the paper though, is that this seems to be mostly done by an amateur. I mean, I have no specialty training in design, just a bit of a touch for it, and I could have done a bit better than this. For one, the font is basic word fonts and it seems like something I would have done in middle school. Like when we had PowerPoints due and we put in all these pictures and special effects it really didn't need. But I digress.

One other thing I noticed was a grammar error, which let's face it, is always unprofessional. You never want to see that on any product you buy. The error is simple, and I have to assume that it was the mind playing a trick it regularly likes to play on writers. It's one where it reads what it wants to instead of what's actually on the paper. Either way, I'm surprised the SleekEZ has been out this long and this hasn't been fixed. Truthfully though, it could have been avoided had the person who wrote it had someone else proof read it. (Yes, I did message SleekEZ about it.) The error is small, they simply used "It" instead of "If".

*Update* SleekEZ responded and will be correcting the grammar error. As I stated before, it is a minor one anyways.

Moving on.

The next thing I looked at was the blade itself. I have not come across anyone else who has taken a photo or close of video of the blade that is clear. So I took one myself. As you can see, the blade is just full of tiny serrated teeth. Honestly, it's practically a tiny little saw (although it explicitly tells the user not to use it in such a way). This does sort of make me wonder if it will actually aquire a patent. Maybe because it's meant as a grooming tool it might. (It also makes me wonder if the Ninja just put its blade on the other way and will get away with it lol. Would be a tad funny to me)

If I used it as a saw and pressed really hard, I might be able to cut myself with it, but generally it's not sharp enough to be any type of safety hazard. As long as you're not a complete moron with it, it should be perfectly safe to use on your pets (as they also have this in two smaller sizes for dogs and cats). The discoloring you see on this highly zoomed in picture I assume is actually just the glue that holds the blade in place (which I have heard once that someone's blade fell out and they had to reglue it, but only once so far).

I have yet to have the chance to test this out on either of the horses as this came in the mail while we were out, and again, I do not live on site with them. I did however use it on my Alaskan Malamute; Ember. She seemed a bit weary of it at first, and I don't think she particularly cared for it or disliked it. What I will say is that it got some hair off of her, but not her undercoat. Ember did already blow her coat a couple months ago and won't again until it really heats up, so that may be why. It does have me wondering if they were dead hairs as the SleekEZ would claim, or if it just shaved off a few hairs. We usually use a typical wire dog brush on Ember when she's blowing a coat. She has never really given me the impression that she enjoys the brushing in the past, and I think it actually irritates the skin on her hips (where the bulk of her shedding hair tends to come from). In this area though, the SleekEZ didn't appear to give her any discomfort. Nor did it appear to bother her tail at all. So I suppose as far as a dog goes, this is easier on Ember than a wire brush. I may try it on her again when she blows her winter coat for her summer one to see how it handles, but for now it passes on the dog front. I can't wait to test this on the horses and come back here for an update. Closing Notes

-I am happy to see the SleekEZ is Made in the USA

-It appears comfortable for the dog

-It seems to just be a tiny saw design

-It could really use a more professional touch as far as packaging and on the paper design.

-Wish it was more hardy

-Will update after I visit the horses.

Until Next Time Everyone

#HorseGrooming #Bighorse #horse #Grooming #SleekEz #Shirehorse #Shire