No More Loose Braids at the In-Gate
The Dura-Tech® Full Zip Slicker Hood goes on in seconds and comes off just as fast, holding your horse's mane flat and braids intact — so your horse walks into the ring looking the way you left the barn, without the pre-class wrestling match.
Show Day Panic: Your Horse’s Mane Is a Mess and the Class Is Twenty Minutes Away
Your horse’s head comes up as soon as you gather the opening near the poll. You pause, try again, and feel the hood catch where the mane is banded. Nothing dramatic has happened, but the clock is moving: check-in is open, your class is approaching, and the warm-up ring is already busy. What should be a simple last step in grooming has turned into a careful negotiation with fabric, ears, forelock, and fresh braids.
That delay costs more than a few minutes. You may have to smooth the mane again, replace a loosened band, brush dust from the face and neck, or ask someone to hold your horse while you work. Your horse feels the repeated handling around the ears and face at the exact moment you want a calm, settled start. You lose the time you planned for walking, warming up, and letting your horse take in the grounds.
The real problem is not the care you put into show preparation. It is relying on a hood that must be worked over sensitive areas before it can come off, then hoping the same motion will leave the mane, bands, face, and your horse’s patience exactly as you found them.
Every Minute Re-Braiding Is a Minute You’re Not Warming Up
When the opening is tight, you naturally pull harder or gather more fabric into your hands. That can make the hood bunch at the cheeks, jaw, or poll while you're trying to clear the ears. If a band or braid catches, you stop, reposition, and begin again. If your horse raises their head, backs a step, or turns away, the job gets slower and more awkward. Stretch alone doesn't change where the garment has to travel.
Then the small problems stack up. A hood that shifts near the face needs another adjustment. An opening that drags across the forelock means checking the bands again. Fabric gathered around the ears keeps your hands close to an area many horses would rather have left alone. Meanwhile your helper is waiting, your grooming tote is open in the aisle, and the warm-up time you built into the morning is disappearing.
That's the trap: you use a hood to keep the mane and coat show-ready, and taking it off creates another round of handling and grooming. Without an opening that lets you separate the garment before removal, you're choosing between protecting the finished look overnight and disturbing it in the morning.
- ✗Braids and bands come loose when a pull-on hood is yanked over the ears.
- ✗A tight pull-on opening has to travel over your horse's ears, forelock, and poll before it clears
- ✗Center-seam face panels press into the nose bridge and rub sensitive skin.
- ✗Sizing that runs inconsistent across brands leaves you guessing every time you reorder.
The Dura-Tech® Full Zip Slicker Hood: On in Seconds, Off Without a Fight
The body is lightweight 6.5 oz four-way stretch spandex, made for warmer weather and pre-show prep. The stretch lets the hood follow your horse's head and neck while helping lay the mane flat, keep braids and bands neat, and protect the face and neck from dust and dirt. An elastic girth with a hook-and-loop closure adjusts to hold it in place.
Around your horse's face, the design uses large eye openings, a fleece-lined noseband, and no center seam across the face panel. The eye openings leave real space around the eyes, the fleece softens the one place the hood rests on the muzzle, and the seam-free front removes a line of stitching from the middle of the face.
For you, the payoff is a calmer transition from stall to warm-up ring: unzip, release the girth, check the mane, and move on. For your horse, it's less concentrated handling around the poll and forelock at exactly the moment you both want a quiet start. Made by horse lovers, for horse lovers.
Full-Length Zip Opening
The vinyl zipper splits the hood completely open — drape it over your horse’s poll, position it calmly, then zip up. No forcing a tight loop over reluctant ears.
4-Way Stretch 6.5 oz Spandex
Lightweight four-way stretch spandex follows your horse's head and neck without compressing braids.
No Center Seam Face Design
The face panel is cut without a center seam, so there's no line of stitching running down the front of your horse's face.
Fleece-Lined Noseband
Soft fleece at the noseband cushions the one contact point horses notice most, keeping your horse relaxed while the hood does its job.
Is the Full Zip Slicker Hood Right for Your Horse?
What Riders Are Saying
"This is a very nice sleazy but following the size chart I was mislead. It fits much bigger than other brands as well."
"I bought this slicker for my gigantic warmblood gelding. The full zipper opening makes it so much easier to get it on him vs trying to pull in on with his head going through an opening. This is my 2nd full zip slicker. The first on fit great, quality material, but the zipper failed. Fingers crossed it won't happen to this one!"
"We purchased the Dura-Tech full zip slicker hood for our daughter’s horse and it’s perfect! The zipper is SOLID and the sizing was spot on. It has been an integral part of our show preparation and we are grateful for the reasonable pricing. Would recommend highly!"
How the Full Zip Slicker Stacks Up
These three show-prep hoods use different materials, openings, face details, and securing systems. Here is a neutral comparison based only on specifications published in the supplied product record and cited product pages.
| Feature | Schneiders Dura-Tech® Full Zip Slicker Hood | StretchX® Full Zipper Slicker Hood | Showman Lycra Full Zipper Slicker Hood |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published zipper design | Standard full-zip vinyl zipper | Full-length, separating reinforced zipper | Zipper extends from under the cheek to the center of the chest |
| Published fabric | Four-way-stretch 6.5 oz Lycra | 8 oz four-way-stretch spandex | Breathable Lycra; fabric weight not listed |
| Center face seam | No center seam face design | No center seam face design | Not listed |
| Eye-area design | Large eye holes | Extra-large no-rub eye holes | Eye-hole size not listed; elastic bands are described as helping keep material away from the eyes and ears |
| Noseband lining | Fleece-lined inside noseband | Not listed | Noseband lined with fleece and elastic |
| Published securing system | Elastic girth with hook-and-loop closure | Girth or back securing system not listed | Elastic bands around the nose, jaw, and back with sure-grip hook-and-loop fastening |
| Published size options | Medium, Large, and X-Large in the supplied product record | Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large | Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large |
| Published color options | Black, Brown, Pink, and Turquoise in the supplied product record | Black, Burgundy, Hot Pink, Hunter, Lime Green, Navy, Purple, Red, Royal, Teal, and Turquoise | Red, Purple, Navy, Black, Royal Blue, Hot Pink, and Teal |
Specs Worth Knowing Before You Buy
- ✓4-way stretch 6.5 oz lycra — lightweight and breathable for summer show days
- ✓Full-length vinyl zipper — opens completely for calm, braid-safe application
- ✓No center seam face design — flat panel with no pressure ridges on sensitive faces
- ✓Fleece-lined noseband — soft cushioning at the primary contact point
- ✓Elastic girth strap with hook-and-loop closure — secure fit, one-motion release (replace with product photo)
What Comes Home With Your Hood
The fastest path from paddock to polished on show morning.
The Dura-Tech® Full Zip Slicker Hood solves the most frustrating part of show prep — keeping your horse’s braids intact and neck clean right up to the in-gate, without the fight. At $89.99 across 11 sizes, it earns its spot in your show trunk.
Reserve Your Dura-Tech® Full Zip Slicker Hood Today
At $89.99, the Dura-Tech® Full Zip Slicker Hood is priced to be a permanent fixture in your show trunk — not an occasional splurge. Orders over $99 ship free. Backed by our Perfect Fit Guarantee: if the fit isn't right, we'll make it right.