I've told you all what an awesome team of equine professionals I have looking after my horses.  From Brody, my barn owner, who treats them with the same dedication and care he treats his own horses, to great vets who keep my two senior horses in great shape, to my farrier who comes out when he says he will, and will even come out for emergency care if necessary.  They're all great and I don't know where I'd be without them.

 Which leads me to the point of my post.  I had mentioned back when my horses had to be evacuated because of wild fires that I'd probably be asking for suggestions for a suitable Christmas gift for him.  Thinking about it, I decided it would make a good holiday themed article too, since many people, like me, need suggestions on these things!

So - what are your suggestions for Christmas or holiday gifts for the equine professionals in your life?  By "equine professionals" I refer to barn owners, barn managers, trainers, vets, farriers.

Do you stick to gift certificates, something traditionally "horsey" or do you get more creative?

I'm thinking that the gift I'm going to make for my neighbor who's shared her horse, her home and many other things besides that will be a drawing of her horse. (I find a lot of people really enjoy it when you do a portrait of the things that mean something to them in their life) For my other neighbor, an older cowboy, I'm making him a CD with all of the traditional cowboy songs from the thirties and fourties. And for another horse friend I'm making her a CD with all the classic fiddle music (whether it's Irish or Country) that I've got. You can also buy soundtracks from different horse movies (example, Hidalgo, Dreamer) on Itunes. I find that a lot of my friends who love horses really enjoy having soundtrack from their favorite horse movies. Creativity is one of the best gifts you can give, that's what my mother always says! :)

 Great suggestions, GC.  In fact one of my own favorite gifts is a beautiful painting of Annapolis that a my neighbor painted in acryllics for me a couple of years ago.

 I also remember my previous barn owner and friend, Dee, loved the framed picture I gave her of her home in all its Christmas finery, with the horses in the front pasture.

The thought just popped into my head, I think I will get the BO I work for a boot scraper for in the barn. One with a brush. He's always using the horse brushes to clean his boots off. Or maybe just a plain scrapper to put out by the door. He's been is horses his whole life so he pretty much has everything he needs.

i'm thinking of not really doing gifts this year.  instead something like buying goats or cows or chickens or fruit trees for a 3rd world family.  i'm sure you've seen that kind of thing.

you can even buy a farm package (if you have the money) that will consist of a couple goats, a flock of hens, a pig......i don't really know what they have yet.  i remember getting the catalogue last year, but, i don't remember the details.

so, i'm doing this for my family (won't they be thrilled), because we all have absolutely everything we need, we have no kids anymore and when you add the cost of shipping gifts, it's turned into a ridiculous waste of money to me.

but, i thought i'd pass it along as maybe a good idea for someone like this.  wouldn't an animal lover enjoy knowing they got a family the animals they need to thrive and create a farm?

i could see creating a gift basket with eggs (or eggnog), goat cheese, some veggies and fruit.  pick things that show what can be created from the farm animals and/or seeds you choose and then attach the gift card saying that you donated these animals in their name to a 3rd world family.

i'm hoping my family will appreciate it and the addition of the gift basket just came to me as i was writing this........

another idea, the dvd "buck" has just been released.  it's supposed to be good.  we are planning a movie party as soon as it arrives in a week or so.

maybe hand done gift certificates offering them a day off from chores (you'll do them), or animal sitting so they can go away for a weekend.

that's what i've got so far.

 Heifer International is a great organization for charity gifts, I've gone that way several times before!

For horse professionals I know, I go with stuff they can use (as a horse person, I figure that's what I want!).  For my BO, this means things like jump cups, jump poles, feeding buckets, pitchforks when hers are broken, and my time for painting when jumps gets faded.  I'm there all the time and do a lot of work around the farm, so I know what she uses and needs.  For my farrier, it's gift cards to Southern States or Tractor Supply so he can feed and care for his own horses.

 Some great suggestions here.   Anyone have anything to add before I wrap up the article?