As horse owners, we can easily spend all our money on products for our horses and the stable, but sometimes things can be done a little more simply. We have found some of the best life hacks that can make your everyday life in the stable a little bit easier - and maybe even a little bit more fun.
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To save money, water, and time on completely refilling the water trough, a simple spider strainer or sieve can be perfect to have close by. They can be used to remove ice, fallen leaves, insects, and dirt from the water. In this way, you can remove the worst of the dirt without necessarily having to empty the entire trough.
Do you know those big bags that you can buy when leaving IKEA? If you do bring some of those home, you can definitely bring them along to the stable. They are great for carrying things back and forth, like for instance your hay. They also make it super easy to weigh the hay or straw, as you can hang them on a feed scale.
While you may be tempted to buy the finest (and some of the most expensive) horse grooming brushes, sometimes you can settle for the slightly less fancy options. For example, a normal dishwashing brush can be handy for removing mud from your horse's hooves. You can also use a normal toothbrush to clean your equipment, as they are easy to use even on small surfaces.
Many horse owners already reuse their hay twine for various things, but here we will mention a few of the many possibilities. Of course, you can use the string to hang just about anything. Everything from wet saddle pads to rugs, to water buckets and so on. You can also hang a piece of hay twine across the stall door (of course, so the horse can't reach it), where you can hang some of your stuff. But did you know that you can actually use the hay twine to remove some of the dirt from your riding boots? If you take two long pieces of hay twine and hold them a bit like you would hold a skipping rope, and then take the strings under your boot and alternately pull on the strings so they jerk from side to side, you can scrape the worst of the mud away from under the boot.
If you can get hold of a hanger that has clamps to hold your clothes up, you can certainly take it with you to the stables. You can attach it partly to the water trough and partly to the water hose when watering. This prevents the water hose from popping out of the water trough and spilling water all over the place while you are away from the water getting hay.
This idea is based on a picture that went viral on Facebook, where a horse owner attached two bell boots to the top of her own riding boots. This closes the opening down to the foot. Doing this, can therefore prevent you from getting all the bedding or hay into your boots and accidentally bringing it home.
It may sound a little strange, but a small diaper can be quite useful in the stable sometimes. You can, for instance, use the diaper as it is, where it works perfectly as bandages for smaller wounds. Or you can soak them for a while and then put them in the freezer. This way, you get a well-functioning cold wrap that can be used for swelling or joint sprains.
Neither your horse nor the wall behind your chains may be too thrilled when you snap them off the horse's bridle and let them fall back into place. On the one hand, this makes a loud noise that can startle your horse, and on the other, it can make marks on your wall. A simple and creative solution is to cut a slit in a pair of tennis balls and wedge them around the chain right under the carabiners. When you unclip the chains and release them, the tennis ball will soften the landing on the wall, thus sparing both the wall and the horse's nerves.
For some reason, hoof picks tend to disappear. So, why not use some of the hay twine to tie them to certain places in the stable? For instance, by the grooming area or the riding arena. Then you can at least be certain that you can find a hoof pick there.
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