Be One With Your Horse

I love to ride.

The moment that I sit on my horse, I can feel a kinship like no other. I know that I’m about to leave the cares of my life behind and share in a ride that brings me closer to nature, freedom and who I am.

But, as much as I love to ride, I struggle with the cold.

No, that’s not exactly it. I can’t stand the cold!

And it has been FRIGID here over the past couple of weeks. Every time I come home and drive by my horse, I feel a longing to ride, but I know that it will be part misery because my feet will freeze, if I ride.

So, yesterday, I did something that I haven’t done in a while. In fact, I would have to say (sadly), it’s something I haven’t done in years. I went down to the stable and hung out with my horse as if she were my best friend.

Now, it’s not that I haven’t thought about it before, but life gets so hectic! I mean, between working and family and working and family and eating and sleeping and working and family…how in the world do I have time to “hang out” with my horse?

But I did.

We hugged, we talked. At one point, I actually sang to her. Though admittedly, I’ve never actually sung for any of my girlfriends, it felt like the right thing to do! In the midst of it all, even though we didn’t go anywhere, I felt the same kinship that I feel when I ride.

It made me smile. It made me feel warm and whole.

When I got back to my house, I felt a peace that I thought I could only get from riding. I was wrong.

I wanted to share this with you because when I got back to my home, I had two thoughts in my mind:

1. Have any of you had a similar experience?
2. Is it time for you to find a reason to spend time with your horse?

At Action Rider Tack, our mantra is Be One With Your Horse™. Today, I feel like I am…are you?

10 Lords are Leaping…at Action Rider Tack

For various reasons, a higher percentage of Action Rider Tack customers are women for most of the year.

However, right around the first part of every December, the percentage of male shoppers begins to rise. We’ve decided that this swell must be caused by the husbands, fiancés, boyfriends, partners, fathers, and the brothers of all of us horse passionate women and girls.

(Side Note: Our December male customers are so cute! Honestly, some of them don’t have a clue what they are ordering or what it is used for, but I just love how they love their women and the trouble these men go through to find the perfect horse related gift.)

Every time I take or process one of these gift orders, it makes me feel so happy for the lucky woman who has this man in her life!

If this sounds like you…give your guy a huge hug for knowing just how important having horses and riding is to you!

More Feeder Options – The Porta Grazer

A couple of days ago I was interested to read on the EasyCare blog about feeders designed to slow down the feeding of horses.

This is so important because the latest research shows that horses with empty stomachs are more prone to ulcers. At Action Rider Tack, we found and carry the Porta-Grazer.

I like this product for many reasons…

• It is portable as the name suggests so a person can carry it around from stall to stall or take it while traveling.
• It also has a drain plug. I soak a lot of hay to remove the excess sugar. The drain plug makes this so easy and less messy than any other method.
• The tubs seem indestructible. I have two and have used them everyday since summer. They are dirty but not worn at all.

BTW – One of my mares likes to tip things over. The Porta-Grazer will tip over, and most horses do try this, but they also learn to tip them back upright and keep right on eating.

When the Porta-Grazer is first introduced, it is best to put some hay in the bottom and some hay on top of the restrictor pan. I found my smarter horse figured out how to eat from it in about 24 hours. It took my sweet but less than clever horse a couple of days.

The Porta-Grazer is also available with a lid which can be used as a water bucket.

This thing works so well at an endurance ride, where my horse would usually have her precious water bucket tipped over during the night. I started using the Porta Grazer for her water, not only has she not tipped over the water at a ride, but it holds plenty of water for her!

Peanuts in Shipping…a Breezy Problem!

Out in the shipping department at Action Rider Tack, we were thinking over the fun times we have had with shipping peanuts. Back in the early days we shipped from, shall we say, a breezy area. Peanut use was strictly forbidden.

But sometimes returns or products were shipped to us packed with the peanuts. It is amazing how fast those little buggers can float and scatter. They all had to be rounded up and sealed in a bag with knots and tape.

To be fair, some of the more modern peanuts are eco-friendly and made of compostable materials. But how to tell? We did find a temporary solution, but Stephanie hopes she doesn’t develop a disorder from biting peanuts to tell if they are biodegradable or not.

Sometimes we wonder if an exchange that comes to us packed in peanuts was just so that person could rid herself of them.

Thanks for sharing!