Equestrian life hacks for any horse, rider or beginner!
It seems like there are never. enough hours in the day when you work with horses. When you are trying to keep up with the care of your horse and the duties that need to be done in the barn, it may not be easy to manage to ride and spend quality time with your equine companion.
The good news is that with a little planning, ingenuity, and some unusual horse hacks, you can reduce the time you devote to chores, save yourself quite a bit of money and improve your efficiency.
Horse hacks listed here, are the discoveries of real equestrians.
1. Attach tennis balls to cross ties
You’ll need two tennis balls, one for each side. Start by cutting a hole/slit in the tennis ball and opposite ends, enough to allow the tether to fit in one side and outside the other. Repeat the same on the other side. Position the balls over the quick-release clips that attach to either side of the headcollar. This will not only reduce the awful clanging sound when not in use, but it will also prevent your horse from chewing on the cross ties as you groom.
2. When cleaning out the stalls, use a grate
First, position a wire grate (an old rack from a large barbecue grill works well for this) at a 45-degree angle against the wall. Then, pick up the bedding using a fork and fling it against the grate. The droppings will collect in a tidy mound, while the bedding will fall through the grate’s openings and onto the floor below.
3. Browse online for tips on horse riding and owning skills
How can I improve my horse riding skills? The best answer is to browse content online using videos and articles. Websites like this one and YouTube is a great place to start, use the search to input a few keywords to help start you off. But be aware of the hackers and cyberattacks on your personal and private information.
To avoid security breaches, a great hack is to have a chrome extension, as many of us use Google Chrome to browse. But which extension? A VPN extension is ideal in this scenario. A VPN will change your IP address, tricking the hackers and making them unable to access your data.
Try the VeePN for Chrome for a great experience. Start with the free trial, and then carry on the use of VeePN through its amazing packages. This is an online VPN no download, meaning it has no limits in selecting the regions and is free to download.
4. Attach brushes for scrubbing to the fence next to the tap
Everyone has been there at some point or another: you need to clean the buckets, but you can’t locate the brush anywhere. And as simple as it may sound, there’s a really easy tip to help with this one. Tie a piece of baling twine to the handle of a small scrubbing brush, and then tie it to the fencing next to the tap; this will ensure that it is close at hand whenever required (and helps prevent it from going missing). Just make sure the brush is kept in good working order and doesn’t become full of bacteria.
5. Use the baling twine to scrape sweat from the horse
You need to quickly get rid of all the extra sweat your horse has produced after a ride, particularly around the hips and shoulders. You can’t find the scraper you thought was in the grooming kit, or even worse it got broken and you forgot to replace it. Then don’t sweat! Take a piece of baling rope and pull it tight, then drag it around your horse’s body, it should remove a good deal of the sweat he has accumulated with ease. Also works well after bathing (just make sure it’s a clean piece not highly pigmented).
6. Use a trailer tie instead of a lead rope
Fed up of your horse snapping bailing twine, lead rope buckles and even worse hurting himself by pulling back when grooming? Then a trailer tie with a quick release not only helps you save money on replacing lead ropes, but it is also a quick and simple way to tie up. Leave it in situ and the next time you bring in, clip your horse on and remove the lead rope used to lead. This is also great for a shorter-length tie for fidgety horses and for having to undo quickly.
7. Stop cribbing with a bar of soap
No one loves the taste of soap, and horses are no exception, so putting soap over any parts where your horse bites or chews will assist in preventing him from engaging in such behaviours. Use sparingly!
8. Use diapers for injuries
If you want to save yourself some money, here’s a great hack for keeping injuries clean; consider including a few diapers in your collection of first aid items. They are fantastic for covering a hoof after or during an abscess or for covering open wounds, not least because they can prevent moisture from entering the wound. If you get them wet, you may use them as ice packs after you’ve frozen them too.
9. Use a piece of tarpaulin
If the horse racing yards do it, then why can’t we?! Buy a large piece of tarpaulin (much cheaper than a barrow) and lay it outside the stable. Dispose of dirty bedding onto the tarpaulin and drag it to the muckheap. Quick and easy and you can get more on. Some use a sheet big enough to go from stable to stable – just make sure there are no spooky horses tied up who may become upset.
10. Medication
Horses are notorious for not wanting to eat feed with medication hidden in (some more than others). One of the horse hacks can save time here without crushing the tablets or pouring the powder directly into the feed and stand waiting until your horse decides to eat the feeed, simply dissolve in some water first and then add to the feed, with a splash of molasses for flavouring. Disolved medication can become less noticeable than a powder not watered down sufficiently enough to make the taste go away.
A common question of every horse lover is, “What skills do equestrians need?” Skills aren’t as important in this scenario. Having useful life hacks can help to do the job just fine. If you have any of your preferred hacks, let us know in the comments.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.