Barn Hacks - Part 12 - Pro Equine Grooms

Barn Hacks Part 12

More barn hacks!

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If you are looking for a handy way to remove horse hair from saddle pads, your clothing, wool coolers, horse blankets, your hair, and generally the universe, reach for a piece of shelf liner. The type that is a bit squishy and sticky. Cut into a little square about 8” x 8” or so and use this to remove all sorts of horsehair from all sorts of places.

Those handy wine bags at the store that conveniently hold a six-pack of adult grape juice also hold a six-pack of horse grooming stuff. Super for shows, and you can hang it, freeing up shelf space.

When you are making repairs to your horse stuff, grab a handy repair kit that has all sorts of huge needles. The larger needles are easier to thread, and strong enough to go through tough barn things. Use dental floss as thread for extra holding power.

Keep a hoof pick on a carabiner. Handily hooks to your belt loop, a hook outside your horse’s stall, the paddock gate so you can pick before and after a turnout.

Need a way to become even more organized at the barn? Closet organizers, like shoe bags, hang from anywhere and make things easier to find.

If you are in need of help with zippers, this tip is for you. And while it seems that needing zipper help seems lame, try it with arthritis, in the winter with super cold temps and thick gloves, or if you have superhuman strength and you have broken the zipper pull. Use what remains of your zipper pull to attach a small zip tie, keep the loop large enough for you to grab.

I can’t say enough good stuff about Tack Wrap, that self-clinging and easily tearing bandage. Sure, I keep oodles of it on hand in the Vet Kit, but it’s also handy to wrap on handles for grip. Prevent blisters from your brooms and manure rakes, easily ID your tack trunk with the wrap on the handles, and even on bucket handles. You can never take color coordination too far.

For fans of the layered look at the barn, a hook on a post near the arena gives your clothes a chance to not blow off the fence and/or scare your horse to death. Because really, horses.

It’s a well-known fact that for most of us, coffee makes the world go ‘round. Sacrifice just a few of your gourmet drinks for some old-fashioned supermarket brand (OMG GASP WHAT) and you have a super container to store pre-measured feed. Great to take on the road, great for use at home.

You may, or may not, yet understand the true beauty of aging. And that is feeling weird and crunchy and stiff in your body for no reason. Grab a tennis ball to give yourself a massage or rub into any muscle knots you may have. Maybe even try your horse, too!

If there’s anything you can do to annoy your friends at a show, it’s to string some cross ties together. This acts as a place for them to clothesline themselves and also you can hang things from it.

Use a sweat scraper as a stirring spoon. Why the heck not? They are more affordable and easier to clean than a wooden spoon. I’ve also never seen a wooden spoon be used as a sweat scraper, so it’s really a twofer.

If there’s one thing I learned from hiking, it’s that body glide will spare your feet from blisters. Any runner will also tell you that it’s worth its weight in gold. You can find it as friction block, body glide, blister be gone stuff, most are in a deodorant looking container and you just wipe it on. Oh – my point…. use it for bald spots on your horse that are in danger of rubbing open. Or under blanket rubbing area. Under girths. Lots of options!

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Gold Bond Friction Defense Stick, Unscented 1.75 oz Pack of 2

~~$19.78~~ $17.17

I can't stress this enough - this magic stick has prevented so many rubs from worsening, and is great for breaking in a new pair of riding boots or shoes.