charlie's grooming essentials

I cleared my stuff off of Charlie's stall wall and from the tack room pretty quickly, since it was almost the end of the month and I know his barn has a wait list. 

They haven't actually filled his stall yet (<3) but obviously it's a business and boarding margins are tough. And I sure as hell wasn't going to put my barn manager in a position where she felt like she had to urge me along in what might be a delicate sad task, ya know? 

sweet beautiful charles <3

It took a little longer to gather up his grooming supplies tho... Mostly bc it was in more 'shared space' and therefore not likely to be in anybody's way. Plus. Ya know. Stuff like this tends to get a little bit "mousier" if ya know what I mean, and I didn't want to put it into my car until I could go directly to Doozy's barn to store it. 

'twas a LOT of real estate for a horse who knew how to get down 'n dirty!

Finally, tho, I picked it all up last weekend, and the last of Charlie's balancer -- which Doozy will polish off for him. (He bequeathed his equioxx to a barn buddy <3).

my shelf-o-supplies

A lot of you shared advice last summer about how to go about splitting supplies between two barns -- especially as it relates to items that should be duplicated, vs what should just stay in one place to be gathered as needed. 

the basket is nice for keeping everything together, but the zipper bag is essential for pest control

So. Eh. Let's go through my supplies and see where things landed, yes? I'll say right off the bat -- it takes me a LONG TIME to move into a space, and I still didn't really feel fully unpacked at Charlie's barn. Some of these items are mostly a reflection of our most immediate needs, vs what you'd expect after years in one place. 

the ickiest stuff stayed outside the bag

Case in point: Charlie had a few different hoof complaints in recent months. One very large abscess in a hind foot, and a smaller (but extremely dramatic one) up front. We ended up treating the hind toe with the iodine spray for quite a while after since the defect was huge and icky -- this spray helped to keep it clean and eventually harden up. 

The Kopertox was what eventually finished off Charlie's thrush from when he first moved. It's strong stuff tho -- toxic smell, I only handled with gloves and applied with the brush you see above. We used Tomorrow paste (which you'll see in later pictures) to get down into the deep sulcrus -- and that took care of the most acute stage of the thrush infection. 

pictured: our daily essentials

For day to day grooming, tho, my practice really hasn't changed in years. I like the cheapie old school curry combs to do all the big work, and then a natural fiber body brush (medium stiffness) to finish the job -- with some spritzes of a nice grooming spray for some shine. Tail Tamers paddle brushes worked best on Charlie's thick hair, and imho any old hoofpick will do.

smells sweet, keeps the dust down, and prevents accidental static zaps on that giant smooshy schnoz <3

The spray is maybe a newer addition to the toolkit, and was among the recommendations from y'all when I shared Charlie's extreme sadness whenever he got zapped with static. I liked this particular brand bc it smelled nice, had safe kid-friendly ingredients, and was inexpensive. Who doesn't love that? 

what you don't see: hours and hours of playful interactivity while grooming

Naturally, all of Charlie's brushes bear the telltale marks of what it was like to groom an interactive and mouthy horse haha. I know there are a lot of different opinions (and for a lot of very GOOD reasons) on these types of behaviors.... But let's be real. Charlie was my pet and I enabled the shit out of him lol.

looked a bit like this <3

Plus he was just fun to play with LOL -- can't you totally see how something like this could have evolved into painting pictures with the right training?? 

stuff that gets used often enough to be worth duplicating at each farm

I digress. Back to the supplies. Starting left to right: 

I finally brought dedicated saddle soap and a rag to the barn since Charlie was getting ridden more frequently and his tack had been neglected. I love this Belvoir stuff! Zip ties are always nice to have on hand. Alushield and Swat are sufficient for most minor wounds and abrasions imo. MTG is my favorite for skin funk, esp down the legs. 

I like the Cowboy Magic detangler for those long slow dedicated tail brushing sessions. HoofMaker Hand & Nail lotion is also necessary for reducing static zappage in the dry months. Gauze pads just have to get stored somewhere the mice can't get to. These curved tip flushing syringes are my favorite too. Hydrocortisone cream for those nasty bug bites that take forever to heal. And scissors, obvi. 

fun (in a loving sad sorta way) side story: the woman who handled removing charlie was literally the nicest person in the world. my barn manager coordinated everything (for which i'm eternally grateful), but i called her up after it was done to pay the bill etc and we ended up chatting for like 15min. we talked about charlie and his life and all the lovely things, and she mentioned that she saw i'd gotten his tail, and "some of his mane too." guys. no... i didn't take any of his mane, i'd just, ya know, done what i do to it a few days prior. omg. we had a nice little laugh about that too tho <3 <3

And we alllll know what I like to do with those scissors LOL....

again, not a complete medical cabinet, but stuff that's good to just have on hand

Anyway. With all the abscess shenanigans, I'd had to bring a fair amount of wrapping supplies to Charlie's barn. Duct tape, vet wrap, Elastikon (get the brand name stuff guys, just take my word for it). Plus Animalintex poultice pads and sponge gauze (for heel bulb pillows to prevent chafing).

Other odds and sods in the box include the aforementioned Tomorrow paste (it's technically mastitis treatment for cows, but is great for thrush and the long slender applicator tip gets it exactly where it needs to go), brown cling gauze, gloves, a pill crusher, and some other stuff that just lived in that box. Wooden sticks for mixing meds etc. 

last little bits of supplies

Rounding out the collection -- a giant fresh tub of Epsom salts**, more iodine scrub, and a bottle of shampoo. Plus Charlie's fly boots, bell boots, and the size 4 cloud boot that got him comfortable and back into a normal routine after the latest abscess. 

(**Pro Tip: don't buy horse-branded tubs like this, just get a bag from your local CVS or similar pharmacy, it's wayyyyy less expensive and exactly the same stuff!)

the wildest wallower <3

Not included in the above is my more 'complete' medical cabinet, which still lives inside my trailer, more or less. Obvi the barn had drugs available in case of urgent need, but for the most part if I needed bute or something I'd just bring it over in baggies. 

he loved to get dirty + he loved to be groomed, a perfect combination <3

Even so, it still feels pretty utilitarian. Especially considering just how much horse stuff I actually have, it's wild to me that we got by day to day with so few essentials. 

Presumably the collection would have continued to grow, tho --- like stable bandages / standing wraps are an item I would expect to eventually see wherever Charlie lived. And SMZs LOL.... Somehow homeboy spent his entire tenure at #ClubMed without a single stint on antibiotics, can you believe it?? 

I dunno tho. Anything missing from the above that you couldn't imagine going without in your day to day horsing?