Anyone got any good horsey trade secrets?

Originally posted by cvb
Galadriel - what do your learner drivers do ? Just drive ?

Ours have to display an "L" plate until they pass their test....

There was a move to have "P" plates for the first year, but there was all sorts of fuss about whether it might make people the target of other drivers, or more likely to be blamed in an accident etc etc
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we have P plats in Aus. which I think is a very good idea, from what I have seen they are treated in much the same way as other motorists:) must admit I was a bit confused when I first moved to Aus though:)
 
use furniture polish on your horses mane and tail instead of mane and tail conditioner, it works a treat and is alot cheaper. Alot of the ingredients in furniture polish is the same as many horse products.
 
use furniture polish on your horses mane and tail instead of mane and tail conditioner, it works a treat and is alot cheaper. Alot of the ingredients in furniture polish is the same as many horse products.
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Furniture polish also contains Silicone and other chemicals which are absorbed by the skin, you wouldnt spray it into your own hair! Again as a trained/qualified veterinary nurse i advise you not to put anything that is chemical based onto horses skin/coats, manes or tails all sorts of skin problems can occur, hair products for animals and humans are especially formulated for this use.
 
Originally posted by pengapenga
we have P plats in Aus.
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We have yellow L's first, though. You have them for 6months to a year (usually, sometimes longer), before moving onto Ps. In sydney, they have two types of P-plates, depending on how long you've had them for. I'm 24 & still on my L's!!

I saw a couple of police horses out one day in the city centre, and one of the riders was wearing a vest that said, "Horse in Training". I don't think it comforted the cyclist the horse spooked into when approching some horse-eating traffic cones!!
 
Originally posted by entreat
We have yellow L's first, though. You have them for 6months to a year (usually, sometimes longer), before moving onto Ps. In sydney, they have two types of P-plates, depending on how long you've had them for. I'm 24 & still on my L's!!

I saw a couple of police horses out one day in the city centre, and one of the riders was wearing a vest that said, "Horse in Training". I don't think it comforted the cyclist the horse spooked into when approching some horse-eating traffic cones!!
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oops forgot to add the L plate bit first:eek: :)

I like the "Horse in Training vest", i can imagine the cyclists face:D
 
Originally posted by cvb
Galadriel - what do your learner drivers do ? Just drive ?
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Actually...yes...

Learner drivers have to pass a written test then must be in a car with a licensed driver over 18. That's it.

Some new drivers take lessons with driving agencies, who have their info all over the car (warning student driver, [X] driving agency, etc etc etc). But only some, and obviously not all of the time; only when they're actually in lessons.
 
while we are on the subject of driving....shouldnt something be added on the driving test about how to approach and over take horses safely???? living in the country and being in a very popular area for holidays ive now decided its far safer to ride my horse in the winter months as opposed the summer when there is more traffic from out of county on the roads. There is a marked increase in horse related accidents involving cars attepting to over take!
Also is it just here (Dorset) or other places car drivers INSIST on pulling right up your horses bottom while waiting at traffic lights or leaving no room for us?
Then you get the obnoxious driver shouting, you shouldnt be on the road, to which i reply, "listen bud do you honestly think i enjoy being on a road? i would much rather be going up a bridle path, but due to the lack of them your stuck with us being on YOUR ROAD so to speak"
 
Also....i personally feel cyclists AND horse riders should be made to wear floresent/illuminus wear by law, the amount of people i have seen out at dusk on dark horses wearing dark coloured clothing with no reflective wear astounds me.
 
I agree about the reflective wear for night time driving as it can be difficult to see a dark horse on dark roads:)

some drivers are just intolerant of other road users whether you are on horseback, bike or car! I myself when I meet a horse on a country lane, let the horse dictate what I am going to do, if it is tooo narrow to overtake I will wait until the rider has found a suitable spot to get off the road safely I might add to the annoyance of vehciles behind me;) :) I notice my non horsey hubby does the same as I do when meeting a horse on the road and it is not something I have encouraged:D

(don`t see a lot of horses on the roads in Aus, and I live in a horsey area. )
 
thankyou so much for being considerate, i wish there were more drivers like you out there!
currently in talks with BHS about making reflective wear Law while on a bike and horse, will keep you updated on what they have said!
 
According to the safety officer at the BHS, the Government do not View the afore mentioned as a high priority (the enforcement of wearing hi-viz clothing) if anyone else feels as strongly as i do about this subject please post here and try and get some sort of petition going
Thanks
 
Originally posted by anneindor
Furniture polish also contains Silicone and other chemicals which are absorbed by the skin, you wouldnt spray it into your own hair! Again as a trained/qualified veterinary nurse i advise you not to put anything that is chemical based onto horses skin/coats, manes or tails all sorts of skin problems can occur, hair products for animals and humans are especially formulated for this use.
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I can see where you are coming from, but my mare is almost 19, I have had her for 14 years now and I have always used polish on her mane and tail and it has never harmed her and she is and always has been a healthy horse.
 
just an idea for fellow grey horse owners out there:
anything with lemon traces in it like lemon fairy liquis in it is great for manes and tails(brings them up almos white)
 
Add a small amount of washing powder (Daz etc) to shampoo on white parts - it brings them up a treat. Also, make your own poll guards by getting a rectangle of foam rubber and cutting 2 slits in it for the headcollar.
 
L Plates

When riding out I always use the 'Please pass wide and Slow' hi viz tabard. I think it helps to remind drivers about the highway code and may put the idea into the drivers head that the horse is potentially liable to kick their car or freak out in some way (even if they're good as gold).

When I was younger I used to wear L Plates and people used to ask me whether it was me or the horse that was the learner! I used to reply 'both'!
Drivers understand the L plate and are more likely (IMHO) to give way a bit. It also brings some humour to the situation and stops drivers thinking that all horsey people are stuck up snobs :D
 
cvb said:
Anyone tried the Avon Spray Oil as fly repellent ? Got some this year but not convinced either way. :D But it works a treat.
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i have a friend who swears by Avon Skin So Soft bath oil (they actually use in the military) however i use Bronco fly spray with citronella in it and all the flies that are repelled from my horse go to hers :D

also some one mentions adding shredded newspaper to bedding. BIG NO NO! lots and lots of thrush from the chemicals in the ink.

if you want cheap bedding try to find a mass production furninture store or lumber yard that doesnt use cherry or walnut. they;ll usually jsut give you all the sawdust you want. sadly, my placed closed and now im forced to buy bedding.

disposable diapers are fantastic for cleaning tack.

someone else mentioned not buying non brand tack. i have a nonbrand bridle i bought at an auction 10 years ago and only recently had to replace to reins b/c well i was stupid and the horse stepped on them and the broke (thankfully)

someone else cited a book that said not to clean muddy pastured horses because the mud acts as insulation. i was always told (instructors, pony club, physics teachers, horse mags) that if you leave a horse muddy in cold weather it only stays cold. when the hair is clean and dry, the fluffiness traps air and holds it agianst the body thus insulating. otherwise whats the point of growing the winter coat. i do however belive in leaving horses muddy in summer because the mud helps protect against sun and bugs.
 
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horsefeather said:
also some one mentions adding shredded newspaper to bedding. BIG NO NO! lots and lots of thrush from the chemicals in the ink.
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Actually, the chemicals don't cause the thrush, its people not cleaning out the bedding. Newspaper has to be changed WAY more often... if your horse is gettign reoccuring thrush, you need to change it more often. But the chemicals aren't nice anyway!
 
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