Your favorite barn and horse tips..

[Crystal]

I'm putting together a little book for my barn girl.. who maybe getting a pony for christmas!

It's all about little things you can use in the barn, ie. making your own flyspray, keeping your tack clean, keeping your pony clean, little horse tips..

would you guys like to contribute?? Open to recipes, ideas. etc

[chiggins6]

I'll have to think about i9t, but I know I have some stuff to contribute. This is a seet idea. How old is the girl.

[louis finochio]

When winter comes take the water bucket out of the stall at nightfall. Then replace the water bucket early the next morning, this will prevent the freezing of the water. In the summer when the flies are abundant use 1 oz. of pennyroyal oil in the bath water. The aroma of pennyroyal oil will act like a fly spray and the flies will take a hike. Use raw garlic every month in your feed tub and mix it in your feed, this will kill the worms in your horse. If the mites are around your stall, use a blow torch to make them extinct, you have to remove your horse and bedding before you kill the mites. Hang branches of anise in your stall as flies dont like the aroma of anise.

[Karie]

I would NEVER remove a water bucket just so it doesn't freeze... My horses have water at all times. They have the chance to drink it until it freezes (if that happens) and then its replaced in the morning...

Not keeping waters in the stall at all times is a bad thing to do with Broodmares, and all other horses.

And I cant EVER see myself using a BLOW TORCH in my barn...

[louis finochio]

To keep your hands and feet warm in the winter sprinkle som cayenne pepper in your socks and into your gloves. Your hands and feet will thank you, they will be warm as toast. This is a old indian remedy as the navajo's used this because they had no electricity to heat their electric blanket.

[Alibhai's Alibar]

an (safe, auto-shut off) electric tea kettle is a great thing to have in a barn. you can get a small amount of boiling water very quickly. in the winter, horses seem to prefer to drink slightly warmed water. you can add a bit of the water from the kettle to the water buckets to take the edge off the cold water. it's also good for warm mashes and warming your bit (not too hot, though!).

Listerine is a good thrush preventative if you don't have any store-bought remedy available. i've also heard of people using Listerine as a liniment and watered down to cure an itchy tail. i think that it's a little harsh, but many swear by it.

dryer sheets are great for getting rid of static. i keep a few in my tack box. the spray-on conditioner (Eqyss, Vetrolin, etc) works well to get rid of static as well.

Bag Balm is great for any dry spots or cracks that horses might get from lying down in their stalls (smells funny, but it's pretty good on chapped people hands, too).

i'll keep thinking....

[BJ]

Louis says: >>> If the mites are around your stall, use a blow torch to make them extinct, you have to remove your horse and bedding before you kill the mites. <<<

Oh Louis! LOL How many barns have you burned down with that one I'll try that one outside my partner's office. He's been behaving badly lately

[Crystal]

thanks guys, keep the ideas coming.

She just turned 13 years old. She has been working in my barn for a couple years and really prooven to her parents she can handle responsibility. She comes over right after school, and after her riding lessons.

She did pony camp for 2 weeks before she was made leader of her age group because she knew so much. I taught her all bandages, feeding, barn safety. She even handwalked a collicy horse with me until 6am. She was also at most of my foalings too.

She is so talented, she will ride anything.. Remember that age? No fear whatsoever. I trust her 150%, she could run my barn if anything ever happen to me.

[madelyn]

ah yes, back then I, too, had more courage than wisdom and would get on anything with fur and hooves...

I use dollar store mouthwash in my washdown water (after exercise) in the summer, just like at the racetrack. The alcohol (very diluted) braces skin and legs, the horse dries off pretty fast, and the spearmint/peppermint helps keep the flies off.

Old mattress pads make awesome cut-to-shape leg quilts for wrapping just about anything. Keep some in the tack room with a pair of scissors and hack away at them. If they get "nasty" just throw them away.

[Vindicated]

As for frozen buckets- 1/4 cup vodka per 5 gallon bucket works quite well-use the cheap stuff, most horses cannot tell the difference.

[Alibhai's Alibar]

13 might be a little young, but learning about braiding might eventually be a lucrative thing for her! if she's willing to practice and wake up early, she can make really good money and good connections by braiding horses before a show. there are some good books and videos about braiding.

as far as grooming, a rub rag is indispensable. it brings out a shine that no amount of brushing can get. it takes a little elbow grease, but my 25-year old horse is one of the shiniest horses in the barn. and he only gets about 3 baths per year.

you might want to add safety tips in a little section:

when you put on a horse's blanket, always buckle the chest first- if you buckle the belly first, it's like a bucking strap if the horse gets loose (i've seen it, lol).

NEVER kneel on your knees by a horse's feet, even if you are applying hoof dressing. even a quiet horse shifts his weight and stomps at flies. if you are kneeling, you have less of a chance of getting out of the way. crouching on your feet is much safer.

[BJ]

...
you might want to add safety tips in a little section:

when you put on a horse's blanket, always buckle the chest first- if you buckle the belly first, it's like a bucking strap if the horse gets loose (i've seen it, lol).

NEVER kneel on your knees by a horse's feet, even if you are applying hoof dressing. even a quiet horse shifts his weight and stomps at flies. if you are kneeling, you have less of a chance of getting out of the way. crouching on your feet is much safer.

Actually, SAFETY TIPS should be the first chapter! Excellent points!

[louis finochio]

To BJ: You must get a fire permit from the Fire Dept, before you use the blow torch on the mites. LOL

[Lei Owen]

Good Grief, Louis, a blow torch in the barn?!! You'll give every horse owner with a barn a heart attack!

Crystal, to keep our "stuff" organized, we use a lot of those Wal-Mart/K-Mart/Target plastic storage boxes. In fact, I think we're probably the capital of plastic storage boxes! They're easy to lable and the clear one's let you see what's in them. Brush's, Making Pretty (Show Sheen etc), you get the idea. We also use the large plastic garbage can's (with wheels's) for feed. The large storage boxes for blanket's.

We keep an old shop vacuum in the tack/feed room to vacuum up any feed spill's and water. A mop, broom and dust pan would work as well. Old worn out bath towels and t-shirt's are really good to dry and shine your horse and tack.

Does she have a saddle rack? They don't need to be expensive. I think we paid about $20-25 for some of our's. How about a hanger for bridles? We made one. Went to Home Depot, bought a 2 x 8 12' long, and the largest wooden drapery rod they had.. Cut the rod into 8" length's and screwed them to the 2 x 8. Painted it a pretty barn red and hung in the tack room. Work's like a charm and didn't cost $80 like the metal ones do and hold's twice as much.

Something else we keep in the barn. Fire extinguisher. We don't let anyone smoke or even carry match's in the barn. But, there IS electricity. It was wired by a licensed electrictian, but s**t happen's. The fire extinguisher's are the big industrial kind that you have to have checked every so often to make sure they're still charged. We picked them up at a building supply auction for $10 each.

OK, I'm done, I can't think of any more.

[Joe]

The fire extinguisher (sic) is a great thing. I can also offer a recommendation, I work with our local fire chief and he is willing to train anybody to properly put out a fire. Believe me, he would rather you put out a small fire than if he fought a large fire. He goes around, free of charge, when asked, to demonstrate good fire supression techniques and will also review any hazards in your place. It's a great resource and I'm sure most FD's will do the same thing. Often, these guys can spot a nasty fire hazard you don't even realize you have. They are a great resource to take advantage of and are most usually available at the asking.

I don't think the Horse Industry and the FD work together enough. I think some of it is because the horse industry people feels they will get busted for violations. If you invite a Fireman into your place and ask him to help, it helps the horses.