Slick 'N Easy Review

• Review Of: Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming Block for the removal of bot eggs.

• The Short Version: We like it for scraping off bot eggs. It works and it's inexpensive.
• Disclosure: Here at CowboyWay.com we purchased the product reviewed on this page with our own money. The opinions expressed here are our own.

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Review

Here at CowboyWay.com we wanted to know if the Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming Block would work efficiently for removing bot eggs from horse hair.

We had used the Slick 'N Easy occasionally in the past, but really didn't remember too much about it, and for several years had just scraped bot eggs off with our pocket knife.

About Bot Eggs: If you're a horse owner you probably know that bot flies lay their eggs on a horse's hair (commonly on the legs but in other locations as well) in the late summer and fall.

When a horse rubs its nose on the eggs they are transferred to the mouth and ingested, which results in internal parasite infestation for the horse.

While a horse can be given a "boticide" to kill the parasites, it's a good idea to remove bot eggs from the horse's hair to minimize the amount of eggs they ingest in the first place.

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The Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming Block - General Info

The Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming Block is a gently abrasive, pumice-like black block.

 It's main purpose is for general grooming. The package doesn't mention anything about using it for removing bot eggs, but it's commonly used for that purpose.

Below: The Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming Block, front of the package.

 

The back of the package tells you how to use the Slick 'N Easy: Remove it from the package and scrape the edge of it along the horse's hair in short, vigorous strokes. When it gets dull, scrape it along a raspy surface, like concrete, to restore a sharp edge.

Below: The Slick 'N Easy, back of the package.

 

Below: The Slick 'N Easy, out of the package. There's not much to it; it's just a gritty, slightly abrasive block.

 

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Using The Slick 'N Easy

Like the information on the back of the package instructed, we used the edge of the Slick 'N Easy to scrape our horse's legs where we could see bot eggs. We didn't have to press hard and it removed a noticeable amount of eggs with each stroke.

The narrow edges of the block were easy to get into the grooves and contours of the horse's legs and the horse stood comfortably while we were removing the eggs.

While our pocket knife or the Horse Shave (Horse Shave review) would have worked faster, the Slick 'N Easy worked fast enough and didn't leave any shaved marks like we occasionally make with our knife or the Horse Shave.

We did notice that you had to have a fresh, sharp edge on the Slick 'N Easy to do a good job. When an edge gets smoothed and rounded you have to turn it and use a different, sharp edge to work efficiently.

When all the edges are smoothed and rounded you need to scrape the Slick 'N Easy along an abrasive surface, like concrete, to restore its sharp edges. It makes an odd smell when you scrape it, and using it in general leaves a bit of odor and a gritty residue on your hand when you're done.

Below: Bot eggs on our horse before using the Slick 'N Easy.

 

Below: Bot eggs - or, actually, no more bot eggs - after using the Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming Block.

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The Slick 'N Easy - Our Opinion

This is a nice product. Not a wowee, holy cow, life changing product, but it is handy for removing bot eggs.

In the past we had mostly used a pocket knife to shave bot eggs off the hair. While the knife works well we can sometimes leave nicks or shaved marks in the hair on our horse's legs.

The Slick 'N Easy was also a little easier to maneuver into some spots on our horse's legs than a pocket knife, and we didn't have to be as careful with it as we did a knife.

The Slick 'N Easy scraped off the bot eggs without leaving any shave marks, and it was fast and easy to use. It does wear down and need replaced every so often, but it's inexpensive and available at a lot of different horse supply stores.

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Summary

• We like the Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming Block for removing bot eggs. While it didn't remove as many bot eggs per stroke as a pocket knife or the Horse Shave (Horse Shave review) it still worked quickly.
• The Slick 'N Easy Horse Grooming block scraped bot eggs off of our horses' hair instead of shaving them off the hair. Scraping, instead of shaving, means we didn't leave any accidental shaved marks or grooves on our horses.
• The Slick 'N Easy Horse leaves a gritty residue in our hands after use. Not a huge deal, but we thought we'd mention it.

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