My Barn Must-Haves
Hi horse friends!
A little known secret about me is that if I could own my own tack & feed store, I would. When I was a kid I could spend hours just roaming the aisles, comparing products and checking out the tack. Truthfully, I still do this. But thanks to my years of horse shopping and becoming an actual horse owner, I’ve narrowed down my favorite horse products.
Here are my barn favorites, my all-stars, my ride-or-dies:
Shoofly Leggins
I’m not hating on summer, but with the glorious heat and the long days come every horse-person’s enemy: flies. The flies this year have been brutal. Seriously, what are these things? Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by these awful creatures.
In the years since I’ve become a horse owner I’ve tried just about every fly spray/preventative possible. After a few summers in a row of abscesses I attributed to excessive stomping, I decided it was finally time to break down get some leg action. Conveniently, my barn owner at the time had an unused pair that didn’t work out — her loss was my gain! After some initial getting used to, Jack loved them and I haven’t seen him stomp once!
Pro tip: Get the orange so when your horse rips them off in the pasture they’re easier to find. It happens. You’re welcome.
This photo was taken in Missouri back when his boots were fresh and clean. Geldings, ugh.
Wild Gold
I’m kind of like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to supplements. My horse’s health and happiness are my main priorities. When it comes to supplements, there are so many out there — some do this, some fix that. I was drawn to Wild Gold because it’s a completely natural oil, that provides the omegas and the fatty acids. Jack gets a pump of the Original 1x per day. Since he’s been on it, I’ve noticed a huge difference in his coat and hoof health. Since Jack is mildly arthritic, I love that it has anti-inflammatory properties!
Lucky for me I stocked up at the local tack store when we lived in Arizona. I haven’t checked if there’s a Colorado dealer yet, but you can order online.
Laser Sheen
Big thanks to Matt for showing me this. It was enlightening. I started using this on Jack’s mane and tail in ‘14, I haven’t gone back. I usually spray this every other day to keep his mane and tail shiny and tangle free. Jack is blessed with a thick mane and tail so we don’t worry about breakage as much as we should (honesty hour). You can buy this at just about any tack or feed store, but I would note the $2 coupon on the Farnam website. :)
SleekEZ
This is not quite seasonally appropriate yet, but when spring rolls around, you’ll be glad you have this! Nothing brings me quite as much satisfaction as brushing away the excessive winter coat my gelding grows. Now that we’re back into a part of the country where it actually gets cold, I know I’ll for sure need this come March.
URAD Leather Conditioner
Horse people, rejoice (or anyone with a lot of excessive leather like myself).
We stumbled upon this miracle-worker in Vegas during the NFR and haven’t looked back since. Your dried out, thirsty leather drinks this stuff in. Living in dry Arizona required this. What’s awesome is that you can use this on boots, bridles, saddles — anything leather.
What are your favorite products? Anything I’m missing?
Xx
Caroline
