I have never had a sweat scraper of my own that I know of. Seems ridiculous, doesn't it? At shows I borrowed a teammates, and at home, there's always one hanging in the wash rack. But I knew I should have one of my own, so I finally went shopping.
Meet the Effol Orca Sweat Scraper:
It's designed to be shaped like a whale's tail because...nature...or something. I have never seen a whale scrape sweat off a horse with its tail, so that and the $19 price tag made me skeptical, but the reviews were universally awesome and I figured it'd make a good product review for the blog (FOR SCIENCE!) (also who buys an $19 sweat scraper when the $3 one does just fine? Not you smart people.), so into the cart it went.
Pros:
- It really does remove more water than a standard sweat scraper (either the rubber-edged one or the straight style ones)
- It takes less force to remove more water that a standard sweat scraper.
- It's ergonomic, and I didn't think this was a big deal before I used it, but I do now. It's easier to use by virtue of the fact that you don't have to cock your wrist to use it, and you can use less force because of the way the handle is set onto the thing.
- Well-constructed, and seems like it will last. There's no screws to rust or rubber edge to come off like with the $3 ones.
- It gets a larger surface area at one time than either of the other two popular designs of sweat scrapers, because of the contour. so it takes less time to get more water off of the horse than normal.
Cons:
- I feel ridiculous having spent $19 on a sweat scraper.
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| Normally I use it with my right hand, hand on top of the handle, but taking the photo messed with my normal routine. |
Conclusion: Worth it.
If you've got a perfectly serviceable sweat scraper, don't rush out to replace it - they both remove water. But if you're in the market for a new one, I wouldn't hesitate to buy this one, because it has enough benefits over normal sweat scrapers to make it worth the $19 price tag. Plus, I have a feeling one of these is going to last a very long time, compared to the other sweat scrapers.
As my horse is a sensitive skinned butterfly, $19 sounds cheap to chase his wet ass around 15% less. Hmmmm
ReplyDeleteYes, this!
DeleteI almost bought one of these when I was replacing some of my stuff but I was like gah $19... I'll have to consider it though.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth the consideration.
DeleteI was going to get one of these but after visiting three tack stores, we were going on a tack shopping trip, and all of them being out I decided the universe didn't think it was the right time and bought one of the regular ones.
ReplyDeleteNext time Effol Orca Sweat Scraper, next time...
I make do with the back of my mane comb as some racetrack habits die hard, but perhaps one day I'll grown up and get a real sweat scraper. They should make these in different colors though because I don't really love the green.
ReplyDeleteI know, me too. Oh well.
DeleteMy husband is the KING of misplacing stuff (seriously, dressage whips and sunglasses are not safe in his hands, and he's even lost a bridle) so there's no way I'd spend $19 on a soon-to-be-lost sweat scraper. Even if it IS that awesome... sigh.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I've been TRYING to lose my crappy sweat scraper. Can I borrow him?
DeleteThe funny thing is, your husbands have the exact same voice and mannerisms. To the extent that it really weirded me out when I met Sean!
DeleteThat is seriously adorable, but I have two waiting in the wings already. I'll file it away in the "prolly need this later" mental stack.
ReplyDeleteI like this mostly because of the mental image of a whale scraping a horse and how petrified I think any of my horses would be if I tried to get it close enough to actually scrape the horse with its blundering tail... In fact the more I visualise a dripping horse dancing around and the whale moaning in whale song the more delighted and tickled I am
ReplyDeleteHaha!
DeleteEffol makes great products!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first one of theirs, but they've clearly put an above-average amount of thought into it.
DeleteInneresting!!
ReplyDelete