horsesforlife

Howdy, Horses for Lifers,

            Thanksgiving and the subsequent shopping weekend are at a close.   Life is windwhirl and staying true to yourself remains a difficult task.  An ill family member made this Thanksgiving harder then usual.  I was unable to go shopping to take advantage of the savings.  I’m sure many of you did.  What was the biggest discount you received this weekend?

     On a side note, the 31 days of Gift Ideas for Horse Lovers returns to finish its run to inspire many gift ideas for this Christmas, for a birthday, or  ‘just because you can’ gifts.  Until then,  Season’s Greetings from my barn to yours.

   Every year, I put up a stocking for each of my horses.  They get candy canes and other same edible items.  Depending on the horse, they may get toys. My cats and dogs get a stocking too.  They’ll get treats, bowls, and toys.  Do my animals realize its Christmas?  Most likely not.   

    Horses for Lifers, what do you do?  Do you decorate the barn with Christmas lights?  Go all out and make sure every inch reminds people that Christmas is around the corner. How about stockings?  What do you put in your animals stockings?   Tell me about your horses-related Christmas traditions.

     I’m a freelance writer.  I love reading magazines for ideas on what to write about.  I also love the training tips.  Magazines subscription to Horse Illustrated, Horse & Rider, or Equus may just what the trainer ordered.  There are various magazines for young riders, too.  They should easily come up in a Google search.  I’ll list them in a later post at some point.

      First, let’s bring to your attention why a magazine subscription would or should be on your horse lover’s list.

          a) As I mentioned earlier, the magazines feature articles with training tips often from well-known trainers.

          b)   They highlight interesting events like historical trail rides.

          c)    Magazines often cover items like “10 ways to make showing your horse affordable”

       I apologize for the brief intermission in posting this week.  I sustained a serious back injury on Sunday.  I spent most of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday with watching TV and eyeing my computer.  I’ll start back up with the gift ideas starting tomorrow. 

            For today, let’s consider the cliché question:  What people, places, or things could you never live without?  If the item is an inanimate object, would another item doing the same thing do?  In my case, it is my computer.  Could I live without it?  Sure.  I’d just need to stock up on paper, pencils, and pens.  I’d write letters instead of emails.  I’d miss the instant communication, but I’d function.  What about you?

Hey Horses for Lifers, it’s yet another day of Gift Ideas for Horse Lovers.  I’m hitting the younger crowd without horses with this idea.  I suggest giving your young horse lover books in classic series like The Saddle Club, Thoroughbred, and Black Stallion. Some new ones—I least since I was a kid—like Phantom Stallion are great reads, too.  They’ll devour these adventures.   Young adults also love non-fiction books on about the different breeds, veterinary care, and just anything they can get their hands on.  Books educate, inform, and inspire.  Young adult horse themed books top the list for all young horse lovers.

            For western riders, chaps are part and parcel of the whole show thing.  Besides decoration, the also keep thighs from chapping.  English riders wear nearly knee high boots, a formal jacket, and somber colors contrasting with the silver, bright hues, and jeans of western pleasure riders.  Find your rider’s special colors and buy a piece of show clothes.  The variety of choice for you allows for any kind of budget.  Ask your horse lover what he or she need.  She must need a sky blue vest.  He might want a new pair of breeches in neutral tone of beige.  Horses are an expensive hobby.  Give your rider a step up in the show ring this Christmas.

One of the coolest things about purchasing tack for horses is the variety of it.  Do I want a bright yellow blanket for my size 80 mare with weatherproofing?  Chances are if I look long enough I’ll find it. The variety of tack powers through to be seen in halters.  You can choose a halter in nearly any color of the rainbow including my coveted yellow in cowboy halter type or a more traditional halter with a throat snap or chin adjustment capabilities in cob, horse or draft and a few other sizes.   Finding the right halter for a horse can be difficult, but if you find that horse sized rainbow halter with throat snap and chin adjustment, buy it.  Your horse lover will be ecstatic at the gift.

Are you handy?   Know how to hammer a nail, cut wood, stain and/or paint?  Create a tack trunk for the horse lover on your list.  It consists of six pieces of wood at determined size, nails/screws, hinges, and a handle.  Simple.  If got more talent or the interest add a level inside the trunk that your horse lover can lift out for multilevel, organized storage of her horse related items.  Paint or stain.  Decorate with stenciling or engraving.  Its something made just for him or her and a memory that will last a very long time.  I still have the one my grandfather made for me.

A great gift varying in cost depending on how much you want to spend, how much you do yourself, and how creative you get is a framed picture.  The picture itself could be an existing picture you blow up to a larger size, one you take, or one you get a professional to take.  Highlight the picture with either a store bought frame or one you create and stain.  Add creative touches like sand for texture (on the frame) or make the frame out of thin, halved, pvc pipe and paint stripes for a traditional jump look.    You know the horse lover on your list best.  Get creative!

If the horse lover on your list is anything like me, he or she has lost numerous hoof picks, brushes, and sponges.  There are many ways you can go about choosing and buying brushes.  Grooming kits are sold with many of the necessary supplies lumped together often sporting one color such as yellow, red, or blue.  If your horse lover is partial to a specific color, this may be the only way to find brushes in the same color particularly hard to find colors such as yellow (my personal favorite).  Naturally, either in a tack shop or in a catalog, purchasing items separately takes little effort and will please any horse lover on your list.  After all, we can never have too many brushes.