Deals of the Week

The Riders Rasp Trail £10 off! Was - £34.99 Now - £24.99

The innovative original Riders Rasp launched in 2009 took the hoof care market by storm in America and shortly afterwards the UK too! The Riders Rasp trail is similar to the original riders rasp, but has permanent, medium coarse blades attached. It allows the horse owner to improve the quality and care of their horses feet and save money- not something you would expect to hear in the same sentence! The Riders Rasp has been designed for barefoot or unshod horses, or horses that have lost a shoe. It can be safely used by horse owners to control flare, round or roll the edge of the hoof wall (mustang roll), and maintain a quick break over in between professional trims. Every barefoot horse owner knows the importance of keeping the hoof in balance and maintaining the rolled edge, and the Riders Rasp trail will allow the horse owner to maintain the hoof in the correct shape, thus allowing longer periods between professional trims. By correctly maintaining the hoof (ideally as discussed with their hoof care professional), the hoof is able to grow and strengthen far more consistently which can dramatically decrease the time it takes to rectify hoof abnormalities such as flare. A good rolled edge is essential to help prevent chips and splits in the hoof wall, which makes the Riders Rasp invaluable for horse owners who want to ensure their horses feet stay in perfect condition all year round.

If a shod horse looses a shoe, the most common problem is the loss of hoof due to chipping and splitting before the farrier can come to replace the lost shoe, easily prevented with the quick use of the Riders Rasp trail. This tool is also a very safe and easy way to introduce a young horse to the idea of having his feet trimmed. The Riders Rasp trail is ergonomically designed, and can be used with either the larger or smaller end in the palm of the horse owners hand (the blades are quickly and easily reversed) depending on hand size and preference. The way this tool has been designed allows the horses hoof to be held to the side and in one hand, the same as if you were picking the feet out which is far safer and more user friendly than a conventional rasp. Get yours while stocks last – click here www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk

Latest Products

How much do you love your horse?

Show them with The Heavenly Horse Luxury Selection Box

The Heavenly Horse Luxury Selection Box Horse and Pony Treats are 19 heart shaped treats in a gold chocolate box tied with a rich red taffeta ribbon. Five treats are topped with pink sweetheart icing and five with red sweetheart icing. Five are topped with an I Love You Treat and four with a Pink Princess Treat - a pink yummy gummy heart!

Heavenly horse treats are made from the finest oats, rolled barley, cracked corn, wheat bran, apples and molasses, all topped with a candy treat.

Spoil your equine friend!

Order yours today – click here

www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk

Featured Products

Men’s Auckland Breeches 

Was – £72.00

Now - £62.80

The Auckland men's breeches offer a traditional style that is durable, comfortable and breathable. The Auckland breeches are constructed from a four way stretch fabric made consisting of Cotton, Micro-Fibre and Spandex.

These Mark Todd men’s breeches offer convenience with a zip and front fastener with Mark Todd button, pleated front, side pockets with stud popper closure and single back zip pocket.

Features

• Traditionally styled men’s breech that is durable, comfortable and breathable
• Made from a four way stretch fabric made consisting of Cotton, Micro-Fibre and Spandex
• Zip and hook fastener for convenience
• Side pockets with popper, and single back pocket
• Pleated front for a more flattering fit
• Embroidered Mark Todd logo
• Self fabric euro seat with no inner seam to prevent rubbing
• Ultra grip knee patch with an embossed Mark Todd logo
• 4cm wide waistband with belt loops
• Machine washable

To order yours click here

www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk

Keeping your Horse Entertained with Stable Toys

There are a number of stable toys for horses on the market, but as well as being fun for your horse to play with, they also provide some important enrichment to your horses environment. It is often unavoidable to have to confine our horses for a number of reasons such as stabling at night during the winter, but this is essentially a very unnatural and sometimes unnerving position for a prey animal such as a horse to be in, so it often helps to provide some form of entertainment for them to distract them and make them feel at ease.

The most popular stable toy is probably the Boredom Breaker, a simple but effective toy consisting of a smooth plastic ball suspended from a rope with a pair of plastic plates designed to take a "Likit", a hard, sweet tasting horse treat available in a number of flavours.

Little likits can be inserted either side of the ball itself which provides further amusement, as the horse wants to bite the treats but has to work hard to get even a few licks. This helps to pass the time, and most horses enjoy the challenge of trying to seize the tasty reward, but make sure you place the toy away from a wall or most horses are clever enough to quickly learn they can trap the toy against the wall and get a good bite of the treat!

These stable toys can also be useful for horses that weave or kick the door. In this case it is usually ideal to place the toy in the doorway so that the horse encounters it when he looks out of the door which will often then distract him from the intention to perform a vice.

Types of Metal Used in Horse Bits

Many hundreds of years ago, horse bits were made from metal alloys which often included nickel or copper. Over the years, stainless steel was discovered and bit production was moved over to this much cheaper and stronger material which seemed to offer the ideal solution.

Nickel is know not to be the ideal material to have in bits as it can be prone to snapping without warning, and causes allergies in some horses in the form of small pimples around the lips and mouth.

Copper however, although soft can be very useful when mixed with other metals to give a much more palatable taste.

Stainless steel is very strong and can be formed into almost any conceivable shape, but to a horse is essentially a very ‘dead’ metal. There is no taste to it and is very difficult to mark which indicates its hardness. This tends to have the effect of drying the horse’s mouth and often causes a tense or rigid jaw in response to the very inert metal in their mouths. If you were to put a stainless steel fork in your own mouth and suck on it for a few minutes, you will see how it is very difficult to keep the saliva flowing when there is no taste stimulus.

Copper and sweet iron are commonly seen in horse bit production today, and with the modern thinking, there is good reason to think that almost every horse would prefer to be bitted in a bit made from one of these metals that is able to oxidise and has a ‘taste’. It is also said that these metals when used in conjunction with each other produce a minute (and harmless!) electrical charge that also helps to stimulate saliva production in the horse mouth, which helps to prevent cracked or split lips and a sore or hard mouth.

Modern bits such as Sprenger and Myler utilise these metals in their bit designs, and with the anatomical design of the mouthpieces tend to offer the horse the most pleasant bitting experience possible.