Horsey Hacks

I have been using tons of hacks throughout show season and have created a list of ways to save money, save time, and look better.

- Clean the hair from your saddle pad with the carwash vacuums

- Use baby powder on your horses white spots and green stains to make it look brighter.

- To clean a toothbrush to clean the creases in your tack.

- To keep dirt from sticking to the top and the inside of hoofs, spray WD-40 on them. The dirt just slides right off.

- After you shampoo your fake tail, use fabric softener on it for a leave in conditioner. Makes the tail soft, easy to brush and static free.

-Do your boots not stand up on their own? An inexpensive solution is to cut down Styrofoam pool noodles and stick them inside your boots to create a boot tree that will help your boots keep their shape and not fall.

-If you are breaking in a new pair of riding or paddock boots, wear slightly wet socks to soften the leather and mold it to your leg and foot and wrap a hot towel around to help as well.

- When you need to crush pills and make a paste for you horse, try this instead of mixing a paste in a cup and then trying to spoon it into a syringe. Put all of the pills into your dosing syringe, then suction some water into the syringe. Shake and wait for your pills to dissolve in the syringe. No mess to clean, and all of the medication is ready to go!

- Use a pair of scissors to cut a design into the ends of matching polo wraps. You will always be able to match up the correct pairs, even after they are rolled. You can cut a notch out, clip off one of the corners, create a zig zag, etc.

- During bath time, use your sweat scraper to remove excess suds and shampoo before you rinse. You will save water and time!

-Use your favorite hoof dressing on the sole of your horse’s hooves to help dirt, mud, poop, snow, you name it, have a harder time sticking. It also makes cleaning your horse’s hooves easier!

- If you horse loves to drag his bedding down the barn aisle, time to install some broom bristles into the door. You will probably need two, with one cut down a bit. But, a little labor to install makes up for infinite hours of sweeping saved. The brooms are better than a board if your horse likes to whack his hooves around.

- Use bailing twine as a sweat scraper. It’s nice because it can go over lumpy, bumpy, bony areas. And it’s everywhere.

- Keep a tennis ball on the end of the cross ties to avoid the super annoying CLANG.

- Using a dish brush with soap in the handle is a great way to scrub buckets or horse legs.

-Use a dog hair slicker brush to fluff up sheepskin and fleece.

-Use bailing twine as a saw to cut through other bailing twine if you don’t have a knife handy. Hang onto each end of the V shaped piece and quickly saw back and forth. Tah-Dah!

-Use a pair of socks with the toes cut open as lower leg protection for your horse. This can help keep bandages in place, keep the bugs away, or keep legs white before a show.

-These microfiber car cleaning gloves will remove the last bit of dust from your horse, your tack, the top of your tack trunk, you name it.

- Fake flowers! Great for jumps, dressage letter boxes, tack room prettiness, covering up the real plants that are no longer surviving.

-Use a crock pot to keep water hot for grooming, wiping stains, hot toweling, bit warming, and hand cleaning. Wash cloths are the perfect size for all of these chores.

#horse