Happy November! The holidays are just around the corner and I am loving these super cute, a bit kitschy holiday themed halters from www.redhautehorse.com. I know it is a little early to start outfitting your horse in red and green but most of these halters have a lead time of 7-14 days for shipping so now is the time to order yours. Having horses is about having fun and so allow your horse to share in your holiday spirit. Available at www.redhautehorse.com.
I saw this video on Equine Ink’s blog and it was too crazy not to share. I feel so sorry for the horse for putting up with this rider and still doing his job of jumping the fences. I am not sure I have ever seen so bad of a rider take on jumping a full course like this. It is very sad yet quite funny to watch. Enjoy!
If you show Quarter Horses, Paints or Appaloosas it is essential you make daily or at least weekly visits to www.gohorseshow.com. It is an amazing website that brings the entire horse show community together in one great forum. Look for great articles on various horse show related topics, interviews with influential trainers and judges, horse show updates, results and pictures as well as news and information from AQHA, APHA, ApHC and NSBA. There are also free classifieds, directories and ads from your favorite horse trainers, breeders and products. The monthly online magazine GoMag is definitely worth looking out, it is full of gorgeous ads from the whose who of the horse show world. If you are actively showing or used to show you will want to bookmark www.gohorseshow.com.
As I was flipping through SmartPak’s newest catalog I was intrigued by EquiFit’s AgSilver Clean Bucket. The AgSilver Clean Bucket is infused with ionic silver that helps control bacterial growth and bucket slime. According to EquiFit’s testing, one to two months time can lapse between bucket scrubbings and that during side to side tests horses preferred drinking out of the AgSilver Clean Bucket.
I was a tad skeptical but as I mentioned above I was also very intrigued, so I added one to my order of horse supplements and as soon as it arrived began testing it to see if their claims were accurate. I decided to try it in Awesome’s stall (IB Awesome, one of my dad’s cutting horses) because she is a hay dunker. She takes a bite of hay from her feeder and then walks over to her water bucket and dunks it in the water. As you can imagine her bucket is usually super gross and slimy and has to be dumped and scrubbed every day.
After five days her bucket remained clean and slime free once the hay filled water was dumped as opposed to her next door neighbor’s bucket (who is also a hay dunker), that has to be dumped and scrubbed everyday to remove the slime. After ten days the AgSilver Clean Bucket has remained slime free. It truly does live up to it’s claims.
However, the cost of the AgSilver Clean Bucket ($29.95) is pretty high compared to a normal horse bucket ($8.95). If you only have one or two horses that you board or are in training and you want to insure their water buckets stay clean then I would recommend buying the AgSilver Clean Bucket but to fill a whole barn with them may be a bit to expensive when you can just invest in a scrub brush. AgSilver Clean Bucket available at www.equifit.net and www.smartpakequine.com.
From The Saddle Ranking: 3 out of 3 Horseshoes
Has your horse ever had crusty, scabby, little bumps on their back legs that just won’t seem to go away? This condition is called scratches, a form of dermatitis, which can be caused by a fungus and is hard to get rid. But my mom discovered a “miracle cream” of sorts that amazingly and quickly clears it up as well as working on a wide range of horse dermatitis and fungus problems. Seashore Acres Scratches medication contains anti fungal and antibacterial medicines as well as cortisone cream to help reduce inflammation. It protects the skin from further infection by replacing the skin’s defense system. This little tub full of magic is worth adding to your grooming gear. Available at www.seashoreacres.com.
From The Saddle Ranking: 4 out of 4 Horseshoes
As I mentioned in my last post, To Bag or Not To Bag, I was going to try a tie-in tail bag made from thick, stretchy, swimsuit-like fabric. Well, as you can see from the picture it did not fair any better than the Healthy HairCare nylon tail bag. So maybe it is my horse that is exceptionally rough on tail bags and not actually the tail bag itself.
To use a tail bag or not, is always a tough question. Years ago when I was showing like crazy my horses always wore one and I washed, re-braided and put on a clean tail bag at least once a week. But as time went on and I was too busy to be in the barn much, my mom started letting down all the tails and they still stayed long and thick.
So, when I started back in the barn with a new horse I left her tail down and kept it washed, conditioned and tangle free and did not have any problems leaving it out of a tail bag. But, I just sent my horse to a trainer and thought I better put her tail up in a bag to better protect it since I wasn’t going to be with her every day to keep it washed and conditioned.
Needless to say, the tail bag lasted about two days, it was torn and covered in dirt and shavings laying on the floor of her stall in no time. I have never had a tail bag fair so badly but I must say this one by Healthy HairCare was poorly made and not worth spending your money on. I thought the thick nylon was going to be durable but it received a small tear and continued to rip out the whole side of the bag and the velcro did not stick very well which is essential to keeping the bag on a swishing tail. I am now trying a slinky, stretchy tail bag made out of thick swimsuit-like fabric that ties onto the tail and will let you know if it fairs any better.
Pictures of my horse’s tail bag after being worn for two days:
What the tail bag looked like when I bought it:
From The Saddle Ranking: 1 out of 4 Horseshoes:
I have discovered an amazing product that is primarily for people but it works wonders on horses too. Moroccan Oil has become my secret weapon for making my horses tails super soft and shiny. I first stumbled on this product when my hairdresser kept using it on me every time she cut and colored my hair. It smelled amazing and made my hair soft and shiny without being greasy or heavy. Naturally, my first thought was this stuff would do amazing things to a thick, coarse horse tail.
I bought my first bottle a few months ago and now I won’t wash a tail, mane or even a forelock without using it. Moroccan Oil contains anti-oxidant and vitamin rich Argan Oil (from a tree found in Morocco) that instantly absorbs into the hair and creates softness and shine without leaving a greasy residue. Its strengthens brittle and damaged hair while also increasing elasticity which keeps the hair from breaking when trying to comb out a tangle. You can apply a dime size amount to a wet tail after washing or just apply it dry with your daily grooming. Your horse’s tail will look amazing and since it is non-greasy and absorbs into the hair the dirt does not stick to it. Moroccan Oil is available online at www.drugstore.com, www.amazon.com and at many local salons, click here to find a salon near you.
From The Saddle Ranking: 4 out of 4 Horseshoes
I have been lucky that all my horses have long, thick gorgeous tails. However, keeping them tangle free when they are so long and thick can be a bit of work and if it wasn’t for the Beautiful Tails Comb and Brush Set I would still be in the barn working!
The wide tooth comb works wonders for combing through knots and tangles without pulling the hair out. It works especially well when the tail is wet and full of conditioner, it helps distribute the conditioner throughout the whole tail. The brush is very durable with prongs flexible enough not to break the tail hair and when used on a dry tail it adds tremendous volume before showing. This set is well worth adding to your grooming cart. Available at www.kvvet.com.
From The Saddle Ranking: 4 out of 4 Horsshoes
My 7 year old mare can be a bit of a “witch” especially when she is in heat. She acts crabby and irritated and pins her ears at everything so I got online and did some research on a product called Mare Magic. Mare Magic is an all natural herbal supplement made from raspberry leaves that is supposed to make mares calmer and less irritated. Other horses owners had reviewed it on various websites and said it works on their mares. I figured it was worth a try since it was easier to administer (one scoop a day on her feed) and less costly then Regu-Mate.
So I ordered it online and tried it for 60 days. It consisted of finely chopped green leaves that smelled a bit like alfalfa and raspberries. First of all it was easy to administer and my mare had no problem eating it when mixed with her grain but as time went on I did not really notice any change in her at all. She still pinned her ears and acted crabby. So I can honestly say the product did not work for me and my mare. I guess I will have to put her on Regu-Mate, which I know from past experiences with 4 other mares, works wonders.
If you have a mare and are curious to give it a try you can purchase it online from www.smartpakequine.com ($16.95 for an 8 oz bag), www.kvvet.com ($14.95 for an 8 oz bag) and www.valleyvet.com ($15.95 for an 8 oz bag). Let me know how it works for you.
My mare J-Lo (Slightly Thrilled) in our indoor arena, that tried Mare Magic, sorry it is not a great pic I am not a horse photographer.
From The Saddle Ranking: 1 out of 4 Horseshoes
