Sunday, March 8, 2015

Doing some horsey reading

Since the weather has been very uncooperative lately, I've been spending some time reading about various horse topics and products. Not only am I finally catching up on reading other blogs, but I've been reading some of the online horse forums. Both are really good sources of information from real owners and real horses.

Blankets

I think that P may need a new blanket next year, so as this year's winter comes to an end, I've been reading about people's experiences with different blankets. There are so many brands and styles of blankets now - it's overwhelming! And they all seem to fit a little differently depending on your horse's size and shape. I don't even know what to try first! I may borrow an older Weatherbeeta just to see how that fits P. Luckily she is fairly easy on her blankets, but I do want to purchase one that will last for a while.

Allergies

With winter ending and spring on the horizon, that means it's almost allergy season. I have trouble with allergies myself and I've been reading about different supplements that are supposed to help horses with allergies without resorting to steroids or other prescription medicines. There's quite a range of supplements out there - from spirulina to MSM to various herbs. I just read recently that antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E also help. Again, it's hard to know what to try first!

I guess the end result from all my reading is that the old saying is true - ask two horse people their opinions, and you will get three different answers!