I know what you may be thinking. Hacks? Really? What is this 2019? But hear me out! I wanted to share with you all my equestrian life hacks/tips/tricks (whatever you want to call them) that I have gathered or learned over nearly 15 years of being around horses.
For this list, I accumulated all the hacks that I use regularly (maybe not every day, but often enough). Without further delay, let’s get into it!
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1. Use Farnam’s SWAT Fly Repellent.
That’s it. That’s the hack 🙂 But in all seriousness, this repellent has worked wonders on my most fly sensitive horses. I use it on Monarch’s face and in between her back legs/near her udder. It actually keeps the flies off!
You can purchase this fantastic repellent (not sponsored) on Amazon, Fleet Farm, or Tractor Supply.
2. Turn any nylon halter into a breakaway halter.
This one is seriously a gamechanger. Say you need to turn out your horse with a halter. Your barn may require it or maybe the farrier is coming in an hour and a halter will make your horse easier to catch.
Whatever the reason, we all know (or should know) that turning a horse out in a fully nylon halter is extremely unsafe. But purchasing new leather or breakaway halters can be pricey.
Luckily, Weaver has breakaway tabs that you can use to convert any halter into a breakaway. You will have to do a little surgery to your nylon halters but I promise it is super easy!
You can purchase these tabs on Amazon.
Here’s the tabs in action on Monarch! I will do a future video on exactly how to put these tabs on!
3. Use empty feed bags as garbage or recycling bags.
Don’t just throw away those empty feed bags! Fill them up with barn trash, pop cans, whatever you want! Using the bags again gives them another life before being thrown away and can save you some money on buying extra trash bags.
4. Use feed bags to fill hay nets.
This one is probably one of my favorite equestrian life hacks of all time. Along with using bags for trash, you can use them for an easy hay net filler. Simply fill the empty bag with hay, pull the net over the bag, flip the whole thing upside down, and pull the bag out. I promise this is one of the fastest and cleanest ways to fill hay nets.
5. Twine makes the perfect sweat scraper.
You may have heard of this one before, but I believe it is worth mentioning. We all know that every barn will have twine. Twine’s flexible nature works great at scraping water/sweat off your horse’s contours. No need for a plastic sweat scraper!
6. Dissolve pills in large syringes to make administration easier.
Instead of trying to smash your horse’s medications to mix into their feed that you know they won’t eat, try this! Add whatever medication to the opening of a large plastic syringe and put the plunger back in. Suck up some water into the syringe and allow the pills to dissolve.
This will make giving your horse their medication that much easier since you can administer it directly to their mouth. If you like, you can mix some applesauce with the water to make the mixture more palatable for your horse.
You can purchase 150 ml syringes on Amazon.
7. Use an ice pack to cool down hot clipper blades quickly.
When body clipping in the summer, your blades can get hot fast. If you only have a few blades, you may end up having to wait for your blades to cool. You can easily speed up this cool down time with an ice pack.
When switching blades, just place the hot blade on a hard ice pack to help cool them down quickly. Easy as that!
8. Use rubber mitt/scalp massager to bathe legs.
These will save your nails (or if you’re like me, give you some) and make leg cleaning a breeze. They both have soft nibs and are gentle but powerful. The results you can get are spectacular.
You can purchase a rubber grooming mitt or scalp massager scrubber on Amazon.
9. Vaseline helps loosen up overgrown chestnuts.
While you can certainly ask your farrier to cut them off for you, this hack can be very useful. I hope I’m not the only person who has been cut by a dry, crusty chestnut. Putting Vaseline on your horse’s chestnuts can help soften them up and makes them easier for you to remove yourself. No more waiting for the farrier!
You can purchase some Vaseline on Amazon.
10. Store iodine/Betadine in bottles with applicators.
Instead of trying to handle that giant bottle of Betadine/iodine that always squirts in the wrong direction, try this! Simply decant your solution into an applicator bottle to make application so much easier. The smaller bottle is easier to manage and the applicator tip adds to your accuracy!
You can purchase bottles like these on Amazon.
11. Invest in a good sun hat.
Maybe not much of a hack but sun hats are life savers on hot days! They keep the sun off your head and neck and keep you looking stylish as well! I recommend investing in a stiff brimmed hat that has a chin string.
You can purchase my favorite sun hat on Amazon.
12. Kill static while grooming with a spray bottle and water.
When grooming in the winter, do you ever find yourself shocking your horse from all the static created by blankets and dry air? Simply spray your horse or brush with water to kill the static! Your horse will appreciate it!
13. Thrift towels for the barn.
Not only does this save you money, but it’s good for the environment. Think about it. Barn towels have to do jobs that no store bath towel wants to do. 😉 Give thrift store towels a new life in your barn.
14. Keep an electric kettle handy in the barn.
For barns that don’t have easy access to hot water, this is a life saver! These kettles heat water up rapidly and are perfect for everything from mashes to hot toweling!
Of course, always exercise caution when using any electric device in your barn. Supervise running kettles and always unplug after use!
You can purchase an electric kettle on Amazon.
15. Have an arsenal of small rags/towels.
Small rags and towels are great for wiping noses/eyes, holding muddy feet to keep your hands clean, wiping ointments off your hands, and more. The list goes on and on. These rags could be as simple as cut up old T-Shirts. The only kicker is remembering to wash them. 😉
Thank you so much for reading about our equestrian life hacks. Let me know if any of the information in this post surprised you! I’d love to hear from you.
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