Product Review: The Pony Jet 2.0
Is the Pony Jet 2.0 worth all the hype? I bought one to try out on Violet before the temperatures drop for the winter.
In North Carolina, it's about that time when horse owners start saying, this is the last bath of the year! It's the first weekend of November, and temperatures are in the low 80s, so the ponies are roasting in their winter coats. I decided to clip Violet a couple of weeks ago; however, we're still dealing with a lot of sweat right now. During what seemed to be the last sweltering weekend of the year, I wanted to give Violet a thorough bath with my new Pony Jet 2.0.
What is the Pony Jet 2.0?
If you have TikTok or Instagram, you have likely seen the Pony Jet in action. The bathing videos that have gone viral usually feature a grass- or manure-stained grey horse getting a very satisfying bath.
If you're not familiar with the Pony Jet, it is a hose nozzle attachment that allows you to spray regular or soapy water onto your horse. You can fill the removable canister with your choice of soap to use soap mode. The company alleges that the Pony Jet:
Increases water pressure up to 2 times (300 psi)
Extends soap duration up to 20 minutes
Makes bathing faster and easier
The Pony Jet comes in four colors: green, blue, pink, and yellow. Unfortunately, they do not carry purple, and another boarder at my barn has a blue Pony Jet, so I opted for pink.
But why did I buy a Pony Jet? (Yes, I actually bought one!) First of all, I saw someone at my barn using it. While the Pony Jet looked amazing in social media posts, I wasn't sure if it was just a gimmick. It looks incredibly cool and easy to use in person, so I was eager to get my hands on one.
Additionally, my current barn has a very small indoor wash stall. Violet does not love enclosed wash stalls, and I can't really blame her. We have been working on hanging out in the wash stall, but we haven't tried to take a bath in there yet. So, we use a hose outside for now.
Finally, Violet hates water. She hates rain, she hates puddles, and she hates baths. Sometimes she even hates drinking water. So, if there is a tool to make bath time more efficient, I have to try it.
Using the Pony Jet
My first observations about the Pony Jet were that it's a sturdy hose nozzle with ten standard settings and a universal hose attachment. However, there are virtually no instructions included with the Pony Jet or on the website. The box is almost completely empty except for the Pony Jet itself.
I had to watch a few video reviews of the Pony Jet to get an idea of how to use it. This is obviously a consistent issue because most of those reviewers mention the lack of instructions available about how to properly use the Pony Jet. (I am not a huge TikTok user, so it's possible they have more guidance in videos on that platform.) Pro tip: The additional adapter included with the Pony Jet is not needed for US hoses.
Once I got to the barn, I prepped the Pony Jet. It was easy to remove the soap canister and fill it with three ounces of my Knotty Horse Apricot Oil Brightening & Conditioning Shampoo. The Pony Jet attached to my barn's existing hose, and we were ready to bathe!
I used the shower setting to rinse Violet off. The first thing I noticed was the locking trigger on the nozzle. Most nozzles require you to hold down the trigger the entire time, but the Pony Jet has a locking mechanism that allows you to lock the nozzle in the "on" position so that you don't have to hold it down the whole time. No more hand cramps!
It's hard for me to gauge the claim about increased water pressure because my barn has lower-than-average water pressure, and I had previously been bathing her with no nozzle on the hose at all. Overall, it seemed fine and was about what I would expect with any hose nozzle. I also didn't try any of the other settings to test how much pressure I could I get. Violet wasn't particularly muddy, and she can be sensitive with the more focused water settings like "jet."
Next up, the fun part. All of the reviews I watched warned that the Pony Jet uses A LOT of soap. It has three soap modes: low, medium, and high. Most people recommended using the medium mode, but I actually chose low. Soap mode is about as satisfying and fun to do as it is to watch. Usually, when I wash Violet with soap (which is not all that common), I get spots where there is a ton of soap and other spots where there is none. The Pony Jet made it easy to consistently apply soap all over her coat hands-free.
As I was soaping her other side, I ran out of soap just as I was finishing up. I was intentionally using the soap judiciously, and I still blew through three ounces in about three minutes. That is a lot more soap than I would normally use and definitely not even close to the 20 minutes of shampoo duration described! In the future, I would probably not use $30 shampoo in the Pony Jet unless it was for a special occasion.
You can also use conditioner in the Pony Jet. However, someone was reaching her patience threshold, so I did not test conditioning her coat or mane and tail. Next time!
During my final rinse, I noticed that I wasn't quite able to get all the soap out of her hair, and I had to do a few rounds of rinsing. This could have been due to her fuzzy winter coat, the water pressure of my hose, and/or the water setting I chose.
Here is a short video I took while using the Pony Jet on Violet. It was a windy day, I didn't actually have her tied, and I'm not very confident in my ability to use running water and not ruin my phone, so excuse the brevity and cinematography!
The Good
Sturdy hose nozzle attachment with standard modes
Convenient 2-in-1 functionality for rinsing and soaping
Locking nozzle trigger
Very satisfying to wash your horse like a car
Often on sale for less than retail price
The Not-So-Good
Very little documentation to get started
Pungent chemical smell in the soap dispenser when received
Extreme soap consumption even on the lowest level mode
Water pressure is negligible for a well-water barn
Retail price of $70 is expensive
Should I Buy the Pony Jet 2.0?
In short, yes. I really enjoyed using the Pony Jet on Violet. Overall, it was very easy to use and while it didn't live up to some of its marketing claims, the Pony Jet is time-saving and fun to use. I am willing to use the excess soap for the convenience of using the Pony Jet to evenly apply shampoo and not have to manually lather it in her coat. In the future, I will likely opt for a more affordable shampoo to use in the Pony Jet for regular bathing.
Violet is a brown (bay? black?) horse so it isn't that dramatic of a transformation pre- and post-bath for her, but look at that shine!
