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Barn ~ Show ~ Horse Tips

 
tip from Donna Canada - After girthing up, go to front legs of your horse & stretch straight out to keep from having girth rubs or sores on elbows especially if horse is on the heavy side.
tip from Kathryn: To make a homemade hoof polish that really conditions your horses hooves ~ Put olive oil, garlic cloves, and Cheyenne pepper in a blender and mix. More Olive oil than the others, but enough garlic to smell it. It should smell like Italian dressing when you are finished. This really helps cracked, dry hooves if applied everyday. This is an old secret from my great aunt. 
Zip lock sandwich baggies make good storage bags for treats or supplements when you go on a trip or trail ride. Measure out the supplement portions or treats and carry them in your trailer or saddle bags for easy addition to the feed when you are on the road.
Tongue depressors make excellent applicators for salves in difficult to reach places (like under the belly). They are also good for mixing liquids or helping a powder dissolve in a liquid.
Purchase a small plastic tackle box to use as your barn or horse trailer first aid kit. Make sure that you rotate items like prepackaged alcohol swabs. Even items that are foil wrapped tend to dry out after a period of time,
Use a seam ripper to remove the bands from your horse's mane after a show
You can use disposable diapers to hold a poultice in place on your horse's leg.

HOMEMADE FLY PAPER
2 C. milk 
2 T. black pepper 
2 T. white sugar 
2 T. brown sugar 

Brown paper bags, cut into strips. Boil milk, pepper, and sugar together for 5 minutes. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes longer, until thickened, and then let cool. 

Wind the brown paper strips into a tight roll and drop them into the milk mixture. Let them become completely saturated. Rewind the strips gently and let them air dry on a cookie sheet. They are ready to hang when they are sticky to the touch. 
To use, suspend the strips up and out of the way wherever flies are a problem. 

CAUTION: Keep the strips away from young children, especially after they are covered with flies.

Tired of getting your expensive or even not so expensive saddle pads full of wet matted horse hair that dries and begins to be abrasive against your horse's back? Buy a thin (1/4" thick) felt pad to go under your show or work pads.  These pads are easier to clean or inexpensive enough to trash when they get yucky
For those horsemen (and others) that allow their dogs in their house and on the furniture - I've found that a King size fitted bottom sheet fits my sofas perfectly and stays in position on the sofa so that I can keep the sofa clean and allow the dog a comfortable place to sleep at night - this is easily removed for cleaning and human company
As soon as an injury gets over the infection stage, start using pure Aloe Vera gel  (make sure that the gel is 100% alcohol free) on the area to help promote hair growth and reduce scarring
To help combat odors in a horse's stall, use a box of baking soda on the wet spots when you take down a stall
Use Kiwi shoe polish, the type with the foam tip, as hoof polish for your horse. 
Use Baby Oil as highlighter, its cheap and works better for not collecting dust, as well as makes your horses skin soft and smelling fresh and clean. Remember to wipe off all oils from your horse after the show, if not, horses can be prone to sunburns from the oil, it enhances the UV rays on your horse, just like people.
To give a horse a pill form of medication ~ take a coffee grinder and drop medicine in and grind. If the horse does not like taste add a couple of peppermints in the grinder. Then clean the grinder w/white rice and throw the rice out.
Getting ready to sell a horse? Trimming and bathing the horses that you plan on selling really help present the horse to the buyer. Which would you rather buy? A horse that just came up out of the pasture for the winter or one that looks like it is ready to go into the show pen?
Do you show a horse with white legs? After shaving the white, liberally sprinkle corn starch on the white and brush in.  This will enhance the white and is cheaper than French White
Use a disposable shaving razor on your horse's nose to get rid of the whisker growth
Use shaving cream on your horse's nose when you use a shaving razor.  Most horses seem to like the smell and taste and it really cleans & softens the nose area
Does your tail extension get caught between your horse's rear legs?  Spray Show Sheen on your horse's rear legs to help keep this from happening
Keep a gallon of liquid Clorox at your barn for cleaning things like water buckets, dog water bowls and girths.  The Clorox will  help keep fungus from growing on your girths and easily remove algae from water buckets as well as harmful bacteria
A 10% spray of Clorox can be made to wash down the walls of your stalls to help kill harmful bacteria
For a homemade fly spray, use 1 cup white distilled vinegar, 1 cup water, 1/3 cup Dawn dishwashing liquid
Put feeder goldfish in pasture water tanks - they will feed off the mosquito larvae that mosquitoes deposit in the water
Flies feed 1-4 feet off the ground so when setting out bait or traps make sure that you set them no higher than 4 feet
Green plastic pot scrubber pads from the supermarket are great for removing dried mud from your horse.  Their flexibility and size make them easier to use on the horse's legs than a curry comb
To help reduce boredom, place some rocks in an empty gallon milk jug and suspend from the ceiling of your horse's stall
If your saddle is squeaking, try sprinkling baby powder between all the flaps
For poison oak/ivy/sumac - mix equal parts of buttermilk, salt, and vinegar into a paste, then liberally coat on the affected skin.  The salt actually provides a delightful abrasive that scratches the itch while the buttermilk seems to neutralize the poison oils that cause the itch
If you are a member of the AQHA, you are entitled to $10 worth of FREE Internet records every month. Sign up for your password and visit the membership section
To reduce breakage of your horse's braided tail, start braiding it at the top, using a French braid; this helps prevent breakage at the tail bone and helps promote growth of the shorter hairs at the top
During the week keep a hair conditioner on your horse's tail to keep it from becoming dry and brittle
Support hose (old) make a good tail bag and can be used to cover more of the tail without folding the tail over

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