The BEST horse hair care product. (& the pros/cons of all the others)

Styles' extremely long, extremely soft tail

I've owned horses for 15+ years now and yet all those years I was always searching for a mane & tail product I liked. From Cowboy Magic to Espana Silk, I had tried them all. Some I liked more than others, but I still felt like I wasn't IN LOVE. Until I brushed a friend's horse and nearly cried while jumping up and down and squealing "He's so fluffy, I'm gonna DIE!" (A little movie reference for my movie buffs) When she told me what she uses, I was shocked. It was one of those products that had always been around, but I just never bothered to try b/c no one else had ever recommended it. All the other blogs I scoured had never mentioned it, so I figured it probably wasn't worth trying... Man was I wrong! It's the most underrated, should be a cult-classic product I've ever used. And it's CHEAP! For those of you who don't want to read all the pros & cons of all the other products I've tried down below, here's the secret to incredibly soft hair.... Santa Fe Conditioning Spray by Absorbine!

It is not greasy like other detanglers or leave a build-up of residue like Health Hair (not my fave product). But yet the hair is soft, easy to brush through and moisturized! So many other products had one or two aspects I was looking for, but Santa Fe checks every box. It's the perfect everyday product, but even if you spray it in the mane or tail and then don't touch it for a week (or two) the hair is still soft and healthy. And it makes the body hair coat so soft and easy to groom as well!

Pros

• No residue or build-up

• Doesn't dry out the hair

• Moisturizes

• Makes the hair so SOFT

• Detangles well

• Non-slip

• Has sunscreen

• Affordable ($10-16 for 32oz) *The cheapest I've found it is at valleyvet.com or bigdweb.com

• Works great on humans and dogs too!

Cons

• Not really a con, but it doesn't make the hair as shiny as other products. Just healthy and soft. I simply use a different product when prepping for shows to get shine, then go back to Santa Fe for everyday grooming.

My friend who rides with me everyday has horse with a very thick, curly tail and everyday I was watching her struggle to brush through this tail. She'd be adding different products and then next day it would be a fight to get the brush through his tail again. I don't like to step on people's toes as I know we each have a way we like to do things and have the products we like. But one day I couldn't stand it anymore, so I walked over and said "Just try this, if you don't like it, you can go back to using what you have been using." She bought a bottle of Santa Fe the next day. 🤣

Side Note: I use this on my own hair now and give the dogs a spritz so they are soft too! We have a german shepherd, a yellow lab, and a morkie and all of them are so soft and cuddly thanks to Santa Fe.

Sante Fe Conditioner - Best horse hair care product ever

To learn how to keep your horse's locks looking amazing and to grow the hair to it's maximum potential, check out my Rapunzel Hair Care Routine for Horses blog.

Show Sheen

I love this product for what it is designed to do. Create show worthy shine. But it can dry out the hair, so I only use this product to prep for shows. It's not great to use every day like I would Santa Fe, but these 2 products together create the perfect hair care routine. Santa Fe will create soft, healthy, long hair and Show Sheen will make it shine on show day.

Pros

• Beautiful shine on manes, tails, and hair coat

• Detangles well

Cons

• Dries out the hair if used often

• Can be pricey depending on where it's purchased

Cowboy Magic Detangler

I LOVE(d) this stuff! I've used it for years. My husband always knew it was a great gift idea because I went through so much of it. However, it can be a bit greasy/slimy feeling and over time I feel like it may dry the hair out. I still have a lot of it to use, so I plan to use it for any deep detangling needs... Although those have been non-existent since I've been using Santa Fe... 🤷‍♀️

*If you do use this product, I've found the secret sauce to using it is to put a small dollop in the palm of your hand (about a dime size amount). Then rub your hands together to warm the product up and gently comb or rub onto the hair.

Pros

• Detangles WELL

• Leaves hair shiny

• Not too expensive

• You don't need to use a lot of product

Cons

• The bottle gets slippery!

• Makes your hands cold in the winter 🧊

• Can be a bit drying over time

Espana Silk Protein Detangler & Sunscreen

I like this product. It works well and has a nice scent. However, it's expensive and just doesn't make the hair quite as soft as Santa Fe. This would probably be one of my first choices if I hadn't found Santa Fe.

Pros

• Detangles well

• Natural, healthy ingredients

• Smells nice, soft fragance

Cons

• A bit expensive, but not bad if you buy direct from Espana Silk's website.

*I have not tried their shampoo and conditioner yet, so I am excited to try those and pair them with my Santa Fe routine. I will update this blog or perhaps write a new one on favorites shampoos/conditioners... ;)

Manely Long Detangler

This product is very similar to Cowboy Magic Polish/Detangler. I like it for what it's designed for, however I don't find much need for deep detangling now that I use Santa Fe. ;) They say it's a non-oily product, but it does have that slippery feel like Cowboy Magic's polisher.

Pros

• Detangles Well

• No need to wash out

Cons

• Slippery/greasy

*I also have not tried their shampoo/conditioner, so again I'm excited to try them. Although, it's tough for me to justify spending $13 / bottle when I go through so much product and Suave has honestly worked just as good or better than the horse specific products I've used in the past. But I'll give it a try this summer.

Stubben Care

One of my favorite sprays besides Santa Fe, but is very expensive and hard to come by. It's twice the price for half the amount of product compared to Santa Fe! About $1.17/oz vs $0.34/oz... And I personally like the results of Santa Fe a bit more anyway.

Pros

• Smelled good

• Worked decently well

Cons

• Hard to get

• Expensive (About $20-27 for 500mL or 16.9oz)

• Bottle doesn't last long

MTG

I liked this product for awhile, but like most people just couldn't get over the smell. I had to wear gloves or my hands would smell like sulfur all day. It leaves the hair feeling greasy, but if left in for a few days would also keep the hair shiny and soft. However, the greasy nature would attract dirt, so I felt like the hair got dried out after a time. I didn't notice much hair growth with it either.

Pros

• Does seem to add shine

• Detangles

Cons

• Smells terrible

• Greasy

• Seems drying over time

• Can irritate some horses

Healthy Hair Care Concentrate

Worst product ever. It leaves the hair feeling stretchy and dry. Is supposedly supposed to be healthy for the hair, but it did not do anything to help the hair. Waste of money in my opinion. The hair tangled so much when I was using this product.

Pros

• None - at least I don't remember any.... other than it's "healthy" 🙄

Cons

• Hair is left brittle, stretchy, and tangled

• Leaves a ton of build-up/residue

• Hair feels like it needs to be washed often, which is tough in the winter when I use hair products the most to keep the hair clean, protected, and moisturized when I cannot bathe my horses as often, if at all.

*I know a lot of people like this product, but when I ask them why, their response is always "It's healthy for the hair"... but never it works well or makes their hair soft and healthy... 🤷‍♀️ If you've had better luck than me, let me know in the comments below.

Eqyss MegaTek Equine Rebuilder

I didn't have luck with this product. I used it twice and couldn't get over the texture of the hair after using it and the build-up it left behind immediately... Maybe it would be a good shock treatment, but I don't see it... And now I have a nearly $30 full bottle of product I will probably never use.

Pros

• Smells nice

Cons

• Just doesn't work

• The hair felt brittle and gunky

• Pricey ($28.99 on Amazon)

Products I have not tried yet:

Canter Mane & Tail Conditioner

• I've smelled this one and it smells AMAZING! I've heard really great things about it, but just can't bring myself to spend $20-30 a bottle.

Knotty Horse

• Again, this one smells awesome. But just haven't had a chance to try it yet. If you have, let me know your thoughts. Even better if you've tried Santa Fe too. ;)

I know I sound like I'm trying to push the Santa Fe kool-aid, but I honestly just have not tried any products that have had

the same results. And I'm obsessed with how my horses' hair looks and feels.

💇‍♀️ To learn how to keep your horse's locks looking amazing and to grow the hair to it's maximum potential, check out my Rapunzel Hair Care Routine for Horses blog.

If you have any hair care products that you LOVE and are not on this list, comment below! I'd also love to hear if you agree or disagree with any of the listed reviews.

*I am not sponsored, endorsed, or given free products by any of the mentioned brands.

**Prices are subject to change and are only accurate for the time of publication.