new products - winter edition

Lately I've been feeling a bit like a fall-frenzied squirrel, trying to pack away all my acorns before winter sets in. 

handsome pony, just pretend he's clean lol

Making sure I've got everything we need at the barn for optimal comfort and convenience --- including a couple new items in our tack locker. 

L to R: Fair Tales Tangle Tamer Static Free Detangling Spray for Kids
Mane 'n Tail Hoofmaker Hand & Nail Therapy
Coat Defense Daily Preventative Powder

Let's start with the Static Situation. Last month, I told y'all about Charlie's extreme suffering from being constantly zapped with static. And, thanks to you all, I've got a couple new ideas and approaches, and am happy to announce that Charlie has not been zapped once* since then!!!

(*Tho it helps that weather has been mostly mild.... We'll see when it gets really cold again!) 

safety pins in sleeves to reduce static?

One suggestion from Anna was to attach safety pins to my shirt sleeves, as a way to help reduce the accumulation of static charge. This was also a common 'life hack' per the google, which would never ever lie to me. 

Honestly I'm not sure it made a huge difference, and that same shirt was still static-y when I pulled it out of the dryer later (with safety pins still attached). But I also didn't zap the horse so.... Jury's out I guess haha!

can use Coat Defense as a dry shampoo, or alternatively can wet it to make a paste

Honestly, the biggest difference maker I think is the hand lotion situation, and I upgraded my game in that department by ordering the Mane 'n Tail Hoofmaker lotion, at Sarah's suggestion. A little bit goes a long way, but it absorbs quickly and keeps my hands feeling soft and static-free. 

see the bumpiness? looks like an uneven clip but is actually skin funk errywhere

Additionally, a number of you, including Kristen, Stacie and Mandy, suggested various coat spray products to help keep down the static. After a little bit of browsing around, I actually settled on a detangling product designed for kids. It's a pretty clean product (no parabens, sulfates, or even gluten or nuts LOL), plus presumably fairly gentle and nontoxic. 

It smells nice and was wayyyyyyy more cost effective than some similar products designed for horses haha. I add a few spritzes after currying for a nice shiny static-free finish.

kinda just guessing at how to work in the powder

The last recent addition to our grooming kit is the Coat Defense powder. I don't know a ton of people who use this, but the ones who do seem to SWEAR by it. So.... after some suggestions awhile back (maybe when Charlie was dealing with that disgusting leg fungus situation?) I picked up some powder. 

scrub-a-dub-dub!

It apparently comes in both a powder and paste formula, but it was suggested to me that I get the powder since you could just as easily make a paste out of it by adding water. Apparently the paste is good for making a pack or poultice? 

charlie certainly seemed to enjoy the session haha

Anyway, after clipping Charlie, it became apparent that his entire body was absolutely COVERED in those tiny little scurffy skin funk bumps. Like, seriously covered -- but almost imperceptible under all that hair.

relaxed pony off in la la land

Normally I like using MTG on skin funk but.... Eh, I didn't really want to totally soak Charlie in it, esp when he'd need to wear his blanket on top. So I figured I'd give the Coat Defense a chance. I'd previously only really used it for itchy tails and the like, and it seemed to work reasonably well.

aaaaaand he's awake again haha (sporting his snuggy hood shoulder guard)

So Charlie basically got a full body massage with the stuff, haha. It's kinda awkward to apply since... ya know.... it's powder, but I just used my hands and curry comb and applied it fairly generously to make sure it got everywhere. 

snug as a bug in a rug! in Duke's hand-me-downs <3

Notably, even tho it was kinda a cold dry night out when we did that, there was zero static discharges using this stuff too. So... That's useful haha. 

And now, a week or two later, the funk seems mostly cleared up except for some small patches. Whether it cleared up on its own, or the Coat Defense helped, seems kinda moot -- as I'd use it again in a similar situation. I also like the idea of using this powder to help dry any sweaty patches after a ride when Charlie has to get blanketed again. 

very sad that the snuggy hood shoulder guard purchased in the 2017-18 winter has finally reached end of life...

And speaking of blankets.... It's definitely that time of year again. Tho I keep feeling like I haven't quite figured out our best system. A couple days I've felt like Charlie was way over blanketed, and other days I've felt the opposite. Plus he seems to be growing out his clip pretty quickly so... Yea, probably have left him a bit cold at times. 

replacement is a Harrison Howard Anti-Rub Vest Horse Shoulder Guard

One thing that has worked for us, tho, is this bib style of shoulder guard to prevent rubs. For the last three winters I've used a Snuggy Hood bib that I sorta stumbled on by accident for like $15, but that's been unavailable in the US ever since. And damn but I LOVE that guard -- the material, the cut, the tab for keeping it attached to the blanket....

loop to connect to blanket straps seems short

I bought a back-up Weatherbeeta version a few years ago and just.... Idk, it didn't even compare. The cut was all wrong, and the seams started coming apart immediately. Plus the material wasn't as nice. So I've clung to the Snuggy Hood ever since. Except.... Well, it's finally died. And while I *could* order it from the UK, the shipping costs as much as the shoulder guard itself. 

polar fleece at the wither and chest. overall fits higher up the neck than the snuggy hood

So I'm trying out this new Harrison Howard instead. First impressions are ok. It has some nice features -- like the fleecy points of contact. And some not great features -- like the giant seams and a tab that's too short to attach nicely to blankets. 

The material seems ok, tho, and frankly we were way overdue for replacing the Snuggy Hood anyway. So hopefully this one will turn out to work just as well, and won't fall apart. 

now we just wait for winter, i guess?

Blanketing is always kinda a tricky situation for us anyway, since it's not a service offered by my barn, and I live ~45min away. At best, Charlie gets one blanket change per day. Sometimes, tho, he'll go a couple days without a change if I can't get out there. Not really ideal, but we make do, ya know? 

So that's the new winter stuff for now. Anybody else discovered any new products lately that makes winter horse keeping a little more bearable?