Miscellaneous
Granola bars/Granola for treats.
Horses love any kind of breakfast cereal.
A cheap poll guard for travelling can be made by cutting a slit at either end of a rectangular piece of foam rubber, and then slipping the headpiece of the head collar through them.
I also spray Pam on my boots if I need a quick show ring shine. Army trick.
To produce a good shine on rubber boots, use a little furniture polish from an aerosol.
When your velveteen-covered riding hat becomes faded and scruffy looking, smarten it up by using an appropriately coloured suede shoe spray.
Trimming off the corners of your number at shows, so that they are slightly rounded, will make the number look smaller and neater, and will also prevent it from curling up.
Spray lower legs with silicone spray on muddy show days to make clean up easier. Ditto for bellies.
For "fat" days to get your boots on - apply a pair of knee high hose over your socks and pull boots on. If they still stick - then apply a generous layer of talcum powder over the knee-highs and slide boots on. Also, your calves are smallest first thing in the morning; so put your boots on immediately after getting out of bed in the morning.... of course you might not get them off.... but who cares!!
If you are having a "fat day" or it is hot and humid and you can't pull your boots on, spray your legs with Show Sheen (a little IN the boot helps too on the REALLY fat day).
Rubber ridding boots which have split around the ankles can be cut down to make useful short waterproof boots for use around the stable yard.
Take pictures of all expensive tack, including serial numbers, just in case they get stolen...then you can maybe have a better luck of claiming them with insurance or filing a police report.
Fishing line for repairing ripped saddlebags, etc.
Also, never go trail riding without dog mace.
Blanket repairs- Dental floss. I kid you not. Sew up those rips with the floss and if you're concerned about waterproofing, stick duct tape on top. It holds the rips better than duct tape alone. And if the duct tape doesn't stick because the adhesive is cold- sew the duct tape on with the floss.
Dental floss also works great for tack repairs! You know those little places where a stitch or two comes loose? Dental floss! You can do it yourself - honestly.
Iron on waterproof patches for blanket rips. Found at fabric stores.
Hot glue gun for quick temporary blanket strap repairs.
Suspenders make great replacement leg straps.
I want someone to tell me what I can do with all the twine (not plastic or wire) hay strings I have! - - Go to the hardware store and buy a bunch of one-ended snaps, the ones that have a D-ring on the other end.
- Braid your hay strings together and
- Tie them to the D-ring on the snap.
Cover the knot with duct tape to keep it put. Voila! Instant inexpensive lead rope. To make them easier on your hands and more identifiable, cover them with coloured Vet wrap. They're guaranteed to break free when somebody gets stuck in them and they're cheaper than buying a bunch of soft white rope leads on clearance, so when one of them gets lost or broken, big deal!
The other thing that I do with ours is to use them, with old horseshoes, to make wreaths for our stall doors. (When the stalls are mucked, the horses are fed and groomed, the tack is cleaned, and the barn cat has been pampered, and trainer still isn't at the barn, I get bored.) I weave them through the nail holes in the horseshoes, and then braid the strings together. It's actually rather pretty.
Wooden handles from trashed garden tools cut to size for wall pegs, hangers.
Zip / Cable Ties for "mayday" equipment failures.
Attach a 2" ring to the front Dee of your saddle with a double ended snap, then when you trail ride and you wisely leave the halter and lead rope on your horse, you have a place to tie the end of your lead. Western riders can attach it to the front tie strings.
Attach a small dog tag engraved with your phone number in case you and your horse ever part company on a trail.
White vinegar is excellent for cleaning buckets and troughs. It rinses clean and inhibits the growth of algae.
The plastic bags that comforters/blankets come in. (Most have a zipper on them, and are heavy plastic), for storing leg wraps, polo's, sheets, and blankets. Another bag that is great is the GIANT Ziploc ones.
Instead of buying replacement headstall straps (at $8 each) for safety halter, I make them out of old stirrup leathers, or belts that I buy at the thrift store. Just cut them to length and punch holes, and there you are...
Who needs a tool kit? For most basic repairs at the barn, I use the nails the Ferrier accidentally spilled on the barn floor and a hoof pick to pound them in. Hoof picks are also excellent screwdrivers and are the best for installing screw eyes. I do appreciate a hammer, though.
This isn't anything new, but it still surprises me to see so many people using cotton. For earplugs, the next time you're at the craft store for braiding yarn, pick up big pom-poms. Unlike torn pieces of sheet cotton, they match the horse's ears.
Dental picks are great for prying gunk out of stitching while cleaning tack. In their absence, you can bend a hairpin so that it is mostly flat and scrape away with that.
A really stiff toothbrush is great for cleaning bits - gets into the cracks and the snaffle connections.
To clean the sweat and gummy dirt off tack--go over first with a sponge saturated with water only. Dirt dissolves much faster than with soap. Follow with an application of saddle soap.
Cheap dry swiffer pads for finishing cloth. Gets all the dust off.
Saddle fitting flexible ruler - 50 cents at dollar store in sewing section.
Spray bottles - old Windex bottles or even new ones from dollar store and throw out window fluid. A dollar for a good spray bottle that is thin and takes up less space on shelf. Good for lining up all the coat stuff - Listerine, Dr. Groom, Laser Sheen, water, etc.
Use a commercial Coffee Maker for instant hot water.
Brillo pads (with soap inside) are PERFECT for cleaning bits and stirrups. They are also handy for plugging up mouse/rat holes.
To get that gooey black combination dirt and sweat off your tack, use Armour All spray on leather cleaner. Spray it on, wait a few seconds and that grunge wipes right off, no scrubbing needed. Great stuff.
A small brass headed brush (get them at most hardware stores in the paint prep section) will do really nice things for that Velcro that's filled up with gunk.
Murphy's Oil Soap - the best thing since sliced bread - it's ALL I wash my pads in (absolutely no skin reaction), wash tack, wash woodwork.
Sheepskin (natural, not manmade) can be kept reasonably clean if you sprinkle them with a little talcum powder after use, and then gently brush it out. It will absorb some of the sweat and dirt.
Wrap the handles of your barn tools (pitchforks, brooms, rakes, etc.) with vet wrap for extra traction for gloved hands in the winter and to cut down on getting calluses in the summer.
Use a powdered cleanser like Comet to clean your troughs and scrub buckets--cleans well and rinses out almost instantly--no more rinsing/dumping for 10 minutes to get rid of the suds.
Vinegar in a spray bottle to use on wet spots in stalls. Wipes out ammonia smell.
Don't buy animal clippers; buy the cheap $15-$20 human ones from bargain stores (i.e. Giant Tiger). If they only last two or three years before tossing, you're still ahead!
When I travel, I always take the flannel or fleece shoe polish rags that are complimentary in hotels. They're perfect for the last minute spit polish before going into the show pen.
Instead of buying tail bags you can just use vet wrap. It's safe on the horse (unlike some tape) and it's cheap and disposable.
Old socks...use them to apply fly spray to faces... then you can either wash them or throw them out!
You can also make a tube sock into a tail bag... cut the top into strips and tie the strips through the braided tail... voila!
For Money Saving tips,
Buy a lot of stuff at the Dollar store, baby wipes, baby oil, towels, containers hooks, hum lots of stuff. I buy sponges, wash buckets, little storage containers, spray bottles, white boards for feed chart, erasable markers etc. there. For next show season I'll have to get a new tool kit and it'll come from Dollarama. They sell a reasonable amount of tools and I really don't want to take my good kit to the show, as I would hate to loose something out of it.
Don't want to buy one of those $30 3 piece tail bags? Here's a really cheap and colourful way to make one that's up high off the dirty ground and not easily eaten.
Step 1- you need tape, electrical tape or p.v.c tape is best. A roll of vet wrap, big roll works better in case you get carried away like me. Shampoo/dish soap etc, etc whatever you usually use for bathing and if you don't bath your horses just use your own shampoo and conditioner. If you want, an elastic, and if its summer time, balers twine (so they can swat off flies).
Step 2- wash the tail REALLY well and if you have conditioner use it. Let the tail dry off a bit, if you have leave-in conditioner or oil use it now.
Step 3- braid the tail below the tailbone. Not too close and tight so that you will cut off the circulation. Braid it right to the end and either use the elastic or tape it REALLY tightly.
Step 4- wrap it together some how.... this part is hard to explain! Take the end of the tail that you just tied off and put it threw the top of the tail where you started the braid, wrap it together so the tail is all coiled up but not in a knot. And now quickly before it falls, tape it like that.
Step 5- take the vet wrap and stick it through the top of the braid; wrap it around until the whole tail is covered. Again can't really explain this well but if you don't stick some of it through the top of the braid first it will all fall out and your hard work will have been for nothing.
Step 6- if it is summer cut up pieces of balers twine and tape them on (not so long that the horse will step on them). Cover the tape with vet wrap or it will all fall off. We don't want the poor horse to get eaten by flies so this part is important. And there you go! It will grow long and thick and stay safe.
We just switched from shavings to Woody Pet pellets for bedding. Yes, the pellets are more expensive initially. BUT, our manure pile is miniscule - which means I don't have to pay someone to get rid of it in the spring. AND, I'm removing virtually NO bedding on a daily basis - about 1/2 a fork full of wet stuff every 2 days or so. SO, I'm only putting back one bag of additional pellets about every two weeks.
I'm firmly convinced that my net savings will be about the same as using the shavings but without the major mess come spring. Beau's stall is 14' x 17' (he's a BIG horse) so I put 8 bags in to start with. He's got a nice, comfy bed and they're amazing in their ability to absorb urine.
We usually leave an outside light on at night in the barn... switched it to one of those low wattage fluorescent...
I buy what show clothes I can at second hand shops or at Sear Bargain Basement, etc. I buy men's dress shirts and neckties at these places.
Save old pieces of saddle soap with are too small to use and, when you have enough, heat them gently in an old saucepan until the melt. Pour the liquid into an empty tin or margarine container and leave it in the fridge until it sets.
An old sleeping bag can easily be converted into a warm quilted stable rug for the winter. Remove the zip and cut out a semi-circular section at one end for the neck and shoulders. Stitch around the edges, adding a coloured binding if you wish. Use strips of broad Velcro for breast straps.
Use ear tag cutters from the feed store to make a great tool for cutting bale strings. It has a very sharp blade that is protected in a "V" and nearly impossible for anything else to get cut with it.
Get those beach bags from the dollar store, made from colourful, heavy duty mesh. They work great for toting bath stuff, and let's it all dry too!
Use Rubber Maid totes for tack boxes at shows. Drill a couple of holes through the rim, use quick ties to secure the lid then they can go in the bed of a truck, waterproof and easy to transport.
Use Stable Boy under rubber stall mats to help prevent floor rot, and to control odour.
Moldy Leather cleaning care:
LEATHER--Take moldy leather out of the tack room and clean it outdoors. That way, you'll avoid filling the air in the tack room with mould spores that will simply "infect" other items in the confined space.
- Have a supply of old rags that you're willing to throw out. Start wiping away any surface mold with a wet rag.
- Wipe and capture as much of the mold as you can then throw the rag away. Don't rinse and reuse your rags. That only spreads the mold spores. Use an old toothbrush to clean stitching lines and crevices.
- You can find old cavalry manuals and books of Victorian household hints that recommend using vinegar, household bleach or alcohol to remove mold and mildew from leather. While these may have fungicidal properties, they can all damage the leather's fiber matrix, especially in concentrations strong enough to actually kill mold and mildew spores. Wiping with dilute solutions is a superficial effort no more effective than the plain water you've already used.
- Finish cleaning the leather using a water-based, pH neutral product to float away any remaining organic surface dirt that could support mold and mildew growth.
- Dry the tack in the sun to allow the water to evaporate and to take advantage of the disinfectant properties of the sun's ultraviolet light.
Some traditional leather cleaners, notably those translucent bars of saddle soap that smell so good, are not good choices for moldy leather.
- For starters, they contain glycerine. Glycerine acts as a "humectant" which means it tends to attract and hold atmospheric moisture. While that property may help the leather fibers remain flexible, it also sets your tack up for future mold and mildew growth.
- Second, because soap is alkaline, overuse can begin to reverse the tanning process (vegetable-tanned leathers have an acidic pH) and ultimately can weaken the leather.
Instead of using saddle soap, condition your leather with a penetrating, pH-neutral product that will lubricate the leather without introducing moisture and which will inhibit mold and mildew growth. Leather Therapy Restorer and Conditioner is the only product currently in the equine market whose claim to inhibit mold and mildew has been tested and accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA declares Leather Therapy Restorer and Conditioner a "stand alone product," meaning that there is no other product in its category. Products which contain a little vinegar or another surface wiping additive in order to support a claim of mold and mildew resistance are not much more useful than wiping with plain water.
Use Murphy's Oil soap for moldy saddles, instead of liquid saddle soap. It works much better to remove the heavy grime and will not mold.
TEXTILES & OTHER WASHABLES--If mold and mildew have invaded saddle pads, blankets or other washables, thoroughly clean these items in hot, soapy water.
- Add household bleach to the wash water if the items are colourfast.
- Adding 2 ounces of Leather Therapy Restorer and Conditioner to the wash water will remove moldy odours and inhibit future mold growth.
- Dry everything thoroughly before returning the items to storage.
- Non-washable fabrics may need to be dry cleaned, sponged with a disinfectant solution. Discard them if they are badly mildewed.
- Wipe down the insides of storage trunks or closets with a solution of water, detergent and 10 percent household bleach to disinfect them and allow them to dry completely before filling them back up again.
- A light bulb left on in a closet (making sure no item is close enough to heat up and burn) may provide just the right amount of drying heat.
- Place bags of desiccant materials inside large trunks and renew them periodically according to the manufacturer's directions.
OVERALL ENVIRONMENT--Mold and mildew typically thrive where it is dark, warm and damp (they flourish when the humidity ranges from 65 to 85 percent).
- If your tack room tends to be dark and damp, consider installing a window to provide sunlight and ventilation.
- Install a dehumidifier, leave a light bulb or two burning, or install low wattage heating bars like those used by boat owners to reduce dampness.
- Hang several large bags of desiccant and renew them periodically.
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE--Be proactive to keep mold and mildew at bay.
-After each use, clean dirt and sweat off of tack and allow the undersides of saddles and headstalls to dry thoroughly before they go back into the tack room.
- Dry saddle pads and blankets, preferably in the sun, before folding them and putting them away.
Make your own coolers! Go to Value Village (or whatever thrift store in your area) and buy wool blankets, then to the Dollar Store and get a metal clip. Works well and only costs about $10!