Shopping List

Congratulations! So you just bought your first horse and you want to keep him smiling?!  Believe me when I tell you, your purchase of the horse itself was the cheapest part of your investment.  Horses take a great deal of time, care, equipment and energy, but the payoffs are huge.  There is nothing better than winning the love and respect from your horse.  We've all heard the expression "He's as healthy as a horse" as hardy as horses are, they don't come out of a cracker jack box that way, it takes careful planning, a great deal of education and  heart to want to nurture and maintain the delicate balance your horse needs to maintain good health.  Your horses health can be compromised accidentally by lack of knowledge.  But, you are in the right track.  This guideline is to designed to help get you on your way to obtaining the right equipment to help you keep your horse healthy. Everyone has opinions on what you immediately need, but I think these key things will help you figure out what some of your first purchases should be to help you keep your horse happy and safe. 

Bringing your horse home: There are a few key things to think about before bringing home your horse.  Ask your horse's previous owner for a copy of their worming schedule, purchase a bag of your horse's feed from the previous owner to bring home with you, and request all of their medical files.  If you decide to make changes to your horse's care, do so under the guidance of your vet.  If the owner didn't have much of a worming routine, be CAREFUL.  You could colic your horse by worming them with the wrong medicine. Some wormers paralyze worms, others kill them.  You could literally clog your horse's intestinal track, which is why it is so vitally important for you to seek professional advice before worming your horse or making nutritional changes. For more information on worming: De-Wormers de-mystified. For nutritional advice you may contact Buckeye Nutrition for a free consultation: www.buckeyenutrition.com

The reason why I suggest purchasing a bag of feed from the previous owner, is so that you know exactly what to buy for your horse or analyze any changes you might want to make.  It will make your life easier when you first bring home your horse. Along with feeding concerns you need to be conscious of your horse's health. When was your horse's teeth last floated?  The younger your horse, the more likely they will need to have their teeth floated (2 times per year).  If your horse is under weight, dropping their grain (called quitting), or their hay is being chewed into round balls, you need to call the dentist.  You may want to call the horse shoer right away  to have their feet "analyzed." 

Since this article is really designed to help you make your first initial equipment purchases, we'll change gears here.

Where you buy equipment:  Places to purchase equipment are called tack shows.  There are tack shops all over, Sunbridge Saddlery on Creek Rd., in Nunda offers a 10% discount to all Trinity riders and boarders.  You can also go to Stateline Tack/Petco/Lollypop (it's all the same business with 3 names) in Brockport and Country Max in Farmington.  Some item's you'll find at Agway in Dansville and Tractor Supply in Geneseo.  You can also purchase online from Dover Saddlery, Country Supply and Stateline Tack, to name just a few places. 

Immediate Equipment: Halter and a lead rope.  Your horse will probably come with a halter, but you may need to purchase a lead rope. They are generally 6 to 8 feet in length and cost about $8.00.  A nylon halter will run about $12.00.  Will your horse be turned out in the pasture wearing their halter?  If so, you may want to purchase a halter with a leather break away, they cost about $12.00. They are extremely safe for your horse, should they get hung up by their halter, they will have the ability to break the halter if they need to.  You really don't want to turn your horse out in a nylon halter unless it has a break away headband.  You may also turn your horse out in leather, but sometimes the leather is so thick, that they too can be dangerous.  You may even want a couple of halters in case one does break, you'll have a spare.

Grooming equipment:  In my opinion, one of the most important and cheapest pieces of equipment you will need is a hoof pick.  They come in all kinds of styles and colors, my personal favorite is the kind with the brush on one side and a pick on the other.  They normally cost about $2.00 or less. There is nothing more important than taking good care of your horses feet and your horse's hooves should be cleaned at least once a day.  I also pick out their feet before I ride, and more importantly after I finish riding.  This is a great way to see if your horse has picked up a stone or, God forbid, stepped on a nail while out trail riding. 

The next thing you will want is a curry comb and a dandy brush.  Curry combs come in rubber, plastic and metal. Plastic is generally the cheapest around $1.00 or so. The plastic style can be used to brush the horse's mane and tail thereby giving you double bang for your buck.  The rubber curry's cost about $2.50, and I particularly like the kind that fit in the palm of your hand as they are great for scrubbing mud off the horses lower legs.  By the way plastic and metal curry combs should never be used beyond the horse's knees and hocks!  It's up to you to decide what you want to use.  Personally, I like a small rubber curry and a plastic curry, I never use the metal currys as they are a bit harsher and are best used in the Spring when your horse is shedding, they cost around $3.00 or more.  Keep in mind, you can pay lots of money for brushes, or buy the cheapest ones you can find.  I don't see much of a difference in quality by paying more, but everyone has their own opinion about that.  I bought the cheapest plastic curry I could find and it has lasted me for 20 years! 

There are 2 types of dandy brushes, a soft bristle or finishing brush used for the horses face and lower legs and a stiffer bristle used over their entire body including their lower legs. These brushes typically cost a little more starting at about $5.00 and going upward in cost from there. You also may decide to purchase a comb to use on your horse's mane and tail, sometimes an old hairbrush you have kicking around your bathroom drawer works better than the combs you might buy at a tack shop.  I use a plastic curry instead of a comb but I have a comb for use before horse shows when I want to braid their mane I think I paid 99 cents for it. 

If it is summer time you will want to get a sweat scrape you can get them on sale for $1.00.  They come in 3 basic styles, metal, plastic and rubber squeegy.  The cheap plastic ones seem to work the best. 

In the summer you will also want to purchase a bottle of fly spray. When it comes to fly sprays, you get what you pay for, if you go cheap, you'll regret it, if you go really expensive, most of the time that kind works best.  No fly spray works 100% but believe me, you'll need it all the same.  I personally, try to aim for a middle of the road brand in terms of cost and spend about $10.00 a bottle. The difference between a cheap spray and a middle of the road spray is significant, but I see only a little difference between a middle of the road spray and an expensive one. Every horse's body chemistry is different so you'll have to experiment to see what works best for your horse. 

You will also want a fly mask in the summer time to keep flys out of your horse's eyes. You put the fly mask on your horse when you turn them out (picture at left). They come both with ear covers and without.  You may not want ear covers if you don't shave their ears for shows.  I like the ear covers anyway to keep the deer fly from chewing up the horse's ears, but if your horse is ear shy, they do make them without ear covers and that style is often cheaper.  Flys really annoy a horse not only does your horse get harassed by biting flys but other kinds drink from their eyes.   I don't have to tell you how dirty flys are and the kinds of bacteria they carry with them.  You can purchase fly masks that do double duty they have masks you can use for both turn out and when you go trailriding, like the one shown on the right. 

You may want a grooming box to put your stuff in, but an old bucket works well too.

Quick recap: you will need: a hoof pick, a rubber curry, a plastic curry or comb (optional), a stiff dandy brush and a soft dandy brush. Sweat scrapes, fly mask and fly spray for spring-fall.

Blanketing: This could be a hot topic! Some people think you should never blanket your horse in the winter as your horse will naturally develop the coat they need to keep them warm.  My friend never blankets her horses, but she also doesn't ride all winter long.  If you are a winter rider and plan on working your horse into a sweat in the coldest of temperatures, you will want to blanket your horse. This will prevent their hair from growing too long.  Longer hair takes longer to dry and wet horses in the winter are cold horses.  In addition, some horses don't do as well in colder climates, i.e. thoroughbreds, and up at Trinity, there can be some serious ocean breezes in the winter and the ocean is like 600 miles away!  You may want a winter weather/water proof blanket made out of canvas or some other water proof material for your horse.  By the way, there is a difference between a stable blanket and a turn out blanket.  A stable blanket is not weatherproof, a turn out blanket is.  A stable blanket is made out of material that sort of feels like a sleeping bag and works fine when the climate is dry or just snowy, but will do nothing to keep your horse warm in cold wet sleeting type of weather. In fact, a stable blanket may do more harm than good as once it is wet, it will provide no insulating value to your horse and may even zap some of your horse's body heat! You can use a turnout blanket for a stable blanket, so this is a wiser purchase in terms of only having to purchase one blanket for your horse.  Discuss this with your vet,  they will look at your set-up and your horse.  Asking the previous owner what they did is also a good idea. 

Stable sheets are a blanket type that are quite thin, they are meant only to keep your horse clean in the event you don't have as much time to groom or if you want to keep your horse clean before a show.  Coolers are a style of blanket made out of fleece or wool (best) and sometimes cotton (not as good).  They are used when your horse has had a heavy workout in colder weather (under 50 degrees).  When you pull your saddle of the horse and see steam rising, that is when you use a cooler.  They are meant to keep your horse from getting chilled while allowing air to circulate so they can dry safely, you don't want your horse to get sick.  Fly sheets are a style of blanket used in the summer.  They sort of look like a giant screen, they are used to help keep the flys from bothering your horse. They are great if you plan on going camping with your horse or if your horse happens to be more sensitive to flys.

Quick recap: winter blanket (talk to your vet), fleece or wool cooler, fly sheet (optional).

Riding Equipment: Your personal apparel can be whatever you want, breeches, jeans, chaps and the like, but a horse riding helmet is a must along with boots that have a 1/2 inch heel.  Safety should be your first and foremost thought, don't compromise by wearing sneakers that will slip through a stirrup or wearing a bike helmet instead of a horse helmet. 

Saddles: There are 4 basic types: English, Western, Australian and Treeless.  Within each type, there are countless styles designed for the type of riding you want to do.  English style saddles do not typically come with a girth, stirrups and stirrup leathers, you have to purchase those separately.  The single greatest piece of advice I can give you here is that if you purchase the wrong saddle in terms of fit, you can really harm your horse's back, for this reason, have a professional saddle fitter measure and fit your horse to the right saddle.  I want to add here that I spent more money on my saddle than I did on my horse. If you take good care of your saddle, it will last you a lifetime, can you say the same for your horse?  Spending more money on your saddle than your horse is not as uncommon as you might think.   The bottom line is, don't let anyone talk you out of having your saddle properly fit by a professional.  Millions of riders buy some cheap junky old saddle thinking it will get them through until they can purchase a good saddle, but then they end up using the junky saddle for years and never get around to buying a properly fitting saddle doing terrible harm and discomfort to their horse.  When I had my horse's saddle fit, he became more cooperative and moved better because the saddle didn't hurt him.  You'll find many horses will have improved ground manners as they don't mind getting saddled anymore because they are being fit with something that doesn't torture them.   I would steer clear of purchasing the saddle your horse was previously ridden in unless you know for certain that the saddle was fit to your horse by a pro. I know many riders will purchase a synthetic saddle as they are "adjustable," but I just want to point out that they do not fit every horse, more often than not, they give you a close fit, not an exact fit.  I ask you, is 1 size smaller or larger shoe comfortable enough for you to wear on a daily basis?  How different is that for your horse? If you purchase a synthetic saddle, they more often than not, cannot be flocked to fit your horse once you do have a saddle fitter out to examine saddle fit. (Flocking is where they stuff your saddle with wool or remove wool from your saddle to fit the contours of your horses's back.) You will also want to have your saddle flocked once a year to keep it in good repair (unless you ride western, than that is a different story, western saddles don't need flocking, but they do need to fit your horse).  Remember: you'll also want a blanket to go under your saddle. 

Bridles come in all different styles based on what type of riding you will do and you can buy them in nearly any color.  Your bridle purchase should be based on your type of riding and the type of bit you will use. The bit you will use is even more important than the type of bridle you end up purchasing.  Most Western bits come in a 5" size but that does not mean that is the best size for your horse!  English bits come in many more sizes.  Both style bits come in all different kinds of  types. Asking the previous owner what they used on your horse is helpful, but don't rely on their imput as the final word, get advice from a pro and ask your horse friends.  You can also contact the Myler Bit company, they will give you free information on how to fit your horse to the right bit.  Hackamores are a style of bitless bridle and work by putting pressure on your horses nose.  Again, ask a professional what would work best on your horse.  If you have a saddle fitter look at your horse, they can often give you some free advice about biting, but no one will give you better advice on a properly fitting bit than a bit company and your equine dentist.

Quick recap: boots, horse helmet, saddle fitter and saddle, saddle blanket, bridle and bit.

First Aid Equipment: Purchase a tube or container of Corona. If your horse gets scratched or cut Corona is the most all purpose salve you can own.  You can even use it as a hoof dressing!  It's always good to have a roll of vet wrap (bandage that sticks to itself shown at right) hanging around and if you have a friend with a small child, ask them for a couple of (infant size) disposable diapers, that or contact Huggies for a free sample.  This is where a thicker diaper is better.  They work great if your horse get's a hoof injury and you need to bandage their foot.  You just duct tape the diaper on depending on the injury.  Peroxide and betadine are also great to have around. 

Quick recap: Corona, vet wrap, peroxide, duct tape and a couple of diapers.

Who do you call (Trinity's directory):  Your current vet may not care for large animals so you might want to ask your horsy friends who they recommend for a vet and why.  Finding a horse shoer (also called blacksmiths and farriers) may be extremely difficult to find, especially the good ones.  Many don't take new customers so ask around and if you find a great farrier who isn't taking new customers, ask that farrier who they would recommend!  Once you locate your farrier, treat them like gold.  You also will want to consider finding an equine dentist.  The advantage to equine dentists to your vet (by the way, vets also take care of horses teeth) is often related to field expertise.  For example, your personal physician may know how to clean, extract and drill and fill teeth, but wouldn't you prefer to go to someone who does that kind of work day after day, all day long?  It's the same idea with equine dentists. They know how to file horse's teeth properly, measure for biting, take care of extractions and the like.  Personally, I prefer a dentist who hand files each tooth.  Also, in the event of an emergency, if you need to move your horse, who will you call to trailer  your animal?  Have a short list of at least 3 people that might be able to help you in a pinch (Trinity Stables offers trailering services).

Quick recap: find an equine vet, dentist and farrier and know 3 people who have horse trailers available in an emergency.

Just a final note, there are tons of things you can buy for your horse.  Polo wraps, trailering boots, sports boots, hoof dressings, ointments, lotions and potions, you name it, you can buy it.  The point to remember is that it's all about your horse and what you want to do with him/her.  You may know that your horse is a slow poke and you might want a riding crop. I purchased a lunge line right away because I knew I would be doing training.  I don't think any horse owner breaths a sigh of relief and says, "finally, I've got everything I need for my horse."  There is always the latest and greatest bells and whistles available for you to purchase for your horse.  This list is designed to give you the bare necessities of what we think you will need to help get you started.  You are a special individual as is  your horse and only you can know what your end all needs will be.  Nonetheless, we hope this helps you. Keep horsing around...  Gael J. B. Orr

Essentials Shopping List:

• Corona
• vet wrap
• peroxide
• duct tape
• couple of diapers
• Riding boots
• Riding horse helmet 
• Saddle
• saddle blanket
• bridle, reins and bit
• winter blanket (talk to your vet)
• fleece or wool cooler
• fly sheet (optional)
• hoof pick
• curry
• stiff dandy brush
• soft dandy brush.
• Sweat scrape
• fly mask 
• fly spray

Find an equine vet, dentist and farrier, saddle fitter and know 3 people who have horse trailers available in an emergency.