On this page of my website, I will be taking products recommend to try by others or products that I love myself and reviewing them!! Any products that you would like me to review please get in touch via the Contact page!
Studs So, as the eventing season has recently just started, and the weather has turned, once again, for the worse, in my opinion studs are one of my essentials. Studs can come in an all matter of different shapes and sizes, all having their own job, purpose and ideal ground condition. The thinner pointier studs are for harder ground and the fatter, thicker studs are for soft ground, you can get many different types of stud but these are the generic ones. When starting to compete at higher levels I think every eventer/horse rider should consolidate with a farrier to see if they think it is a good idea for you. On the other hand some horses or pony's cannot compete without studs, such as my 14.2hh pony Woody. It is important that we use studs for him as other wise he loses a lot of confidence when jumping and is not so sure about his footing. A good place to start with studs is to by a kit like pictured above, which supplies you with all the necessary tools and extras you need for studs, other than a stud hole in your horses shoe which should be done by your farrier. This kit is nearly exactly the same as the one we bought when we started eventing. Since then we have bought other studs to build up a little collection! This Shires Kit includes:
8x Small Studs ideal for harder surfaces
8x Large studs ideal for soft/deep ground
8x Screw in Stud hole keeper plugs -be extremely careful with these as they have been known to get stuck, meaning the whole shoe needs to be taken off-
1x Allen Key for screws
10x Rubber Stoppers
1x Spanner T-Tap 3/8"
1x Wire brush and pick
Price- £20.00 Found- Online Rating-5/5 *you may be able to find one cheaper at your local equestrian store
Lemieux Saddle Pads The cold, wet weather has really been a bit boring so, recently in my schooling sessions and lessons I have been putting my Lemieux saddle pads on, which have really brightened up the whole picture! I absolutely adore these saddle pads! Not only do I love the colours, but the quality is exceptional! I own 4 dressage pads in the colour pictured, plum and 2 white, I also have the GP saddle pad in the colour pictured and about 3/4 white. The shape really elongates the leg in dressage and really fits my saddle for cross country. Lemieux have also included a D-ring strap to prevent the pad from slipping backwards, which is really handy.
I also thought that I would include the matching polo wraps you can buy. I have 2 sets of 4 of these in Teal and Plum. The colours are exceptionally bright and are really handy, in case of injury or just for exercising.
Price- Saddle Pad £39.95 Found- Lemieux Website Rating-4.5/5 Polo Wraps £24.50 Horse Health (these are quite expensive, but great quality and you know what your going to get)
Mobile Pressure Washer Recently we haven't had anywhere to stable our horses as we moved house early last year making it difficult to then build the stables as well. Over the summer we found it easy to groom and look after the horses as it was warm and dry making it all right to leave them in the paddock with a shelter. As Summer quickly turned into Winter, keeping them clean to go to training and competitions proved extremely hard, so we bought a Mobi v-17 Portable Pressure Washer. This product is actually designed to wash down mountain bikes after use, but is safe and definitely useful for horses. The Mobi Pressure Washer is rechargeable and holds up to 17 litres of water, of which we fill half with hot and half with cold making the perfect water to wash the horses with. It comes with wheels and a handle/strap for easy manoeuvrability, it also includes a hose and gun attachment. Once the product is charged you can use it anywhere you like, making it handy for eventing, hunting and everyday use! Personally I love this product, it has made washing the horses extremely easy! Price- £100 Found- Chain Reaction Cycles or Ebay Rating- 5/5
Plastic Massage Brush This is one of my favourite brushes to use nearly all year round! The brush is designed to be worn like a mitten for easy use, however personally I find that my hand sometimes slips out so generally I hold it like a normal brush. It has two sides, one with fine bristles and one with more rounded bobbles. I mostly use the fine bristle side to remove any dry mud from my horses, however like in the name I do use the more rounded bobbled side to give my ponies a massage after a hard schooling session. Even though it is made from plastic, the brush isn't that hard even on a horses summer coat, so this is why I use it all year round. If you have a pony, like mine, that can mud everywhere this is the brush I go to first, is possibly one of the best 'extra', meaning not one of your traditional grooming kit brushes, brushes I have ever bought! I actually have 2 of these, 1 blue (like the picture) and 1 red for each pony! I would definitely recommend this brush! Price - £3-5 Found - I found mine at a local saddlery shop, but they also can be found online. Rating- 4/5