Winter Footwear at Bargain Prices!

It has been a very wet and cold start to the winter here in Devon, and we have all been very glad of some good warm boots! The Saddlery Shop stocks a wide range of footwear for riding and yard work, and some that don't look out of place on the high street too! The Dublin River boots are a very popular style of boot, that have a waterproof membrane to keep you dry and warm whatever the weather throws at you! For even colder times, the Harry Hall Snow boot is perfect for snuggling you feet into, again it has a waterproof liner. When only wellingtons with dom the Sherwood Forest neoprene lined wellies are a must if you are standing around for a long time on a cold yard.

Christmas cards and Equestrian Christmas gifts

As much as we all hate to think about it, it is fast approaching that time of year again, and here at The Saddlery Shop we have stocked up with all manor of horsey gifts, Christmas cards with horses on and even equine gift wrap! There are all sorts of horsey gifts ideal as stocking fillers, from horse playing cards and keyrings to horsey hot water bottles and mousemats. We also have a great range of pink horse and pony gifts for pony mad girls, as well as more crafty items such as paint your own money boxes and horse mosaic art sets.

Less Than 1/2 Price Jodhpur Boots at The Saddlery Shop!

Grab a pair of these Harry Hall Oak jodhpurs boots, they won;t be around for long! These Harry Hall riding boots are a bargain, top quality Harry Hall ladies jodhpur boots discounted to less than half RRP. The Harry Hall Oak riding boot is a waxy grain leather jodhpur boot with integral heel support. These Harry Hall ladies riding boots also feature a stirrup rest, elasticated side and Goodyear welted sole.

Zedonk Born at Wildlife Preserve!

A zedonk, an unusual cross between a donkey and a zebra, is attracting attention at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in Dahlonega after being born there about a week ago. The animal, which has a zebra father and donkey mother, has black stripes prominently displayed on her legs and face.C.W. Wathen, the preserve's founder and general manager, said the foal has a zebra's instincts. Wathen said she sits up instead of lying on her side, as if she's staying alert for predators. Donkeys and zebras don't usually mate, but zedonks turn up occasionally. Wathen said that in about two weeks, the zedonk will begin roaming the property with the rest of the animals. What a cute little girl she is!

HUGE Riding Clothing SALE Now On!

The Saddlery Shop has just started their massive summer riding clothing sale! Sale jodhpurs, discounted Tottie clothing and cheap Harry Hall are just some of the bargains to be had! Check out our Ladies clearance clothing and Childrens clearance riding clothing sections for some brilliant deals on horsey gear today before the bargains are all snapped up!

WIN a pair of Easyboot Glove Hoof Boots!

The UK supplier of the Easycare range of hoof boots, Trelawne Equine Ltd are holding a competition to give away a pair of Easyboot Glove hoof boots complete with a pair of 6mm comfort pads. To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is become a fan of Trelawne Equine's Facebook page and 'like' the special competition entry statuses that will appear between now and the end of August. The winner will be draw on 27th August, good luck! For full terms and conditions, click here

Horse and Pony Games and Gifts

Here at The Saddlery Shop, we have just taken delivery of some fantastic gifts and games for horse loving men, women and children! We have miniature horse racing games, soft and cuddly horse toys and a great new board game for horse or pony mad children called ponyopoly. Pony-opoly is a very simple version of the Christmas 2009 hit Horse-opoly, suitable for approximate ages 5-8. This simple but very addictive game is great for parents and grandparents to play with their children and features lots of familiar breeds and the currency used is treats! Also for children, we have a fantastic horse shaped bag and light up horse pens for all ages.

Katie Price at The Saddlery Shop!

We have just taken our first delivery of some of the Katie Price equestrian range. We are excited to be able to offer this range, as it really is something different from other equestrian clothing. If you have a horse mad child, you need to see the 'I love horses' T shirt, they also make them for women and all her range is highly fashionable as well as being extremely good quality! The KP equestrian clothing is very good value for money, as you can use it at the yard or high street and it will look equally top notch. If you like pink and maybe a little horsey bling the Katie Price Equestrian range is for you!

You Can Now use PayPal at The Saddlery Shop!

The Saddlery Shop is pleased to announce that customers are now able to pay for their orders at our online tack shop by PayPal. This now gives the flexibilty to use mastercard, visa, solo, electron, maestro, as well as Pay Pal. We take security very seriously, and are also subscribed to the Internet Shopping is Safe and Internet Delivery is Safe Groups as well as being part of the Security Metrics Indentity Theft protection scheme. We use sagepay as our payment gateway which is the UK's largest provider.

Dry, Cracked Hooves? You Need an Easysoaker!

This is a good post taken from Trelawne Equines blog today, if your horse suffers from cracked hooves, especially around nail holes this is for you!
It has been a few years since I have been able to write about potential problems with dry hooves in the UK, but we are last seemingly going to have a summer which although long overdue presents new challenges for horse owners! One such problem is dry hooves. Hooves need a certain amount of moisture to retain their elasticity, and it can be even more of a problem with a shod hoof that will begin to split and crack if allowed to dry out. An ideal solution is to have an area around the water container (to simulate drinking from a river in the wild) large and wet enough to soak the horses feet when they drink. In practice, this is not always possible or convenient, and water will bring with it the inevitable mud (unless you are lucky enough to have a custom built watering area with a waterproof base) which we would all prefer to avoid whenever possible!
The EasySoaker is the ideal solution to soak and medicate if necessary the horses hooves, and is a very versatile boot that can be used for a number of applications as well as soaking. Soaking your horses hooves in an Easysoaker can help with sand cracks, seedy toe, white line disease, thrush, contracted heels and abscesses as well as helping to alleviate the symptoms associated with navicular, contracted heels, corns and founder.

Vettec Products for Easyboot Glue On Hoof Boots

The Saddlery Shop has added the vettec products recommended for use with the Easyboot Glue On to our range! We will be stocking the Vettec adhere, which is the adhesive compound use to secure the boots to the hoof wall, the Equi-pak CS and the tools needed to use the products. We chose to stock only the Equi-Pak CS as our UK climate is so very wet (apart from as I write this post!) and thrush of some sort is almost inevitable. Equi-pak CS is also a fantastic tool for shod horses with bad thrush, or those prone to thrush. We felt it was best practice to always use a product that will inhibit (and even help to address the problem of) thrush so that when the boots were removed after the recommended 5 - 10 days there would always be a nice healthy looking frog to reveal! We are also offering a complete Vettec starter kit with everything you need to apply the Glue-on hoof boots including a handbook and instructional DVD.

An inspirational woman and a very worthy cause!

Susi Sadler is an amazingly strong woman, and her story is truly inspirational! Susi is going to take part in the Mongol Derby, a butt-searing 620 mile ride across the steppe on semi-wild Mongolian ponies! She will have just 5kg of kit, no back up crew and will be miles from civilisation, and is doing it in order to help a very worthy organisation, operation smile . By completing this ride along with only 34 other riders, Susi is hoping to raise enough money to give 33 children back their smile.
The drive behind this ride, is due to Susi herself suffering a horrific facial injury. Trelawne Equine (the UK distributer of the Easycare range of hoofboots who The Saddlery Shop work closely with) are donating a set of gloves for Susi's barefoot horse, Rudi to enable her to be able to put the miles and miles of training in she needs to prepare for this week long marathon.
Susi writes about her horrific accident on her website dedicated to this challenge and her cause www.600miles.org (you can also sponsor her directly via her site if you wish to).

H2go Bag - The Wheelbarrow Water Carrier!

The H2go bag is one of those products that you look at and think 'why didn't I think of that?'. Such a simple but effective way of transporting water where you want it, no more buckets slopping water everywhere in wheelbarrows, or stretched arms and damp legs! The H2go bag has won numerous awards including:
Winner of Innovation of the Year at BETA International 2010
Gold Winner for Industry Awards Gardening Equipment Product 2009
Winner of Garden Answers Magazine Best Innovation Award 2008
The H2go bag is a bag made to fit neatly inside your wheel barrow to make transportation of up to 80l of water quick and easy. The H2go bag has been designed with a fitted spout making it easy to pour, and a cap which is permanently attached. The H2go bag comes complete with a non slip mat to place in the wheel barrow.

New Breed of Fly Mask- Updated!

The About tack fly visor was introduced to our range just a couple of weeks ago, and has lept to being one of the most popular fly products we sell in such a short time! The About Tack Fly Visor is a product we discovered by accident, and just had to stock! It is a revolutionary fly mask for horses and ponies, that ensures the horse keeps cool and comfortable with no danger of the mask interfering with the horses eyes. Every detail has been carefully thought through, the colour has been chosen to ensure the horses head stays cool, but the black mesh allows maximum vision. The Fly Visor was designed in the US by a qualified engineer (who also happens to be an avid horse lover), and has been tested and refined over several years to get to where it is today. The fly visors innovative design ensures that even hard-to-fit horses get plenty of eye clearance. Soft stretch mesh encompasses the nose and underside of the jaw, ensuring a snug fit, whilst providing a little extra protection against biting insects. The medium will fit most horses from 14.2hh through 16.2hh, if your horse takes a cob or full size bridle medium is the size for him. They may look a little different, but this is the secret of their success as they will not touch the horses eyes or eyelashes, even if the horse has an unusual shaped head. This is an email we received today from a satisfied customer in Rutland:

"Just thought I would write a bit about the About Fly Tack Visor. I put it on my horse and thought it was brilliant - it didn't touch his eyes or his eye lashes and he didn't mind the 'contraption' at all. We all thought he looked like a bee keeper in it! When I turned him out in his field (he lives with 1 mare and 1 gelding) the gelding took to his hooves and wouldn't go near my horse. I haven't laughed so much for a long time. The mare didn't react at all, but the other gelding stayed a very save distance away from this being from Mars, who had just entered the field. So far the Fly Visor is ok (he has only had it on for 1/2 day so far) and I always take them off at night, so that they can see better. I bought a medium size and my horse nearly always take large and it fits just fine. It took my a while to work out how to put it together, but then I am blonde!"

Torn Gaiters on Easyboots

When using any kind of hoof boots, the most common thing The Saddlery Shop tell customers is that fit is paramount to the success of the boot. If the customer finds the gaiter on their Easyboot Epic, Bare, Grip, Edge or Easyboot Glove Hoof Boot rips or comes apart after use in the first month, this is almost certainly due to the boot not fitting the hoof correctly. If the boot is too long or wide, the hoof will move up and down in the boot which puts pressure on the gaiter causing it to fail. A hoof boot that is too long for the hoof will also slow the horses natural breakover which can lead to overreaching and damaging the boot with a hind foot. The boot below was not a snug fit, which caused the hoof to move up and down in the boot putting pressure on the gaiter which caused it to tear.

Easy ways to achieve a better fit with your Easyboots
If your Epic, Bare or Edge is a little too big in either the width or length a quick solution is to put a pair of of 12mm comfort pads in the bottom of the boots to help size it up. Another easy fix if your boot is a little too big in the length if it is a Bare or Epic is to change out the backstrap to a size smaller. With the Easyboot gloves, the addition of a power strap will often help keep a boot firm that is a fraction loose.

Laminitic Ponies and Grazing Muzzles

When you have a horse or pony diagnosed or predisposed with Laminitis, one of the first things the vet will tell you to do is restrict the intake of grass. Most grazing muzzles will allow your horse to drink but not graze at all. One of the best designed muzzles, that will allow your horse or pony to have some grass, is the Greenguard grazing muzzle . Unlike other grass muzzles, the green guard grazing muzzle will still allow small pieces of grass through its slotted base thus allowing you to keep the horse or pony in a large field or with companions. Exercise is paramount to laminitis too, so being able to keep the laminitic pony in a large field still is extremely beneficial both physically and mentally. A matching greenguard headcollar is also available to keep the grazing muzzle in the optimum position. The greenguard grass muzzle is made in two sizes, pony to fit most horses upto 13.2hh and cob/full for ponies and horses over 13.2hh.

Wintec Saddles from only £189!

The new style Wintec 250 is on a limited special offer of only £189.99! The NEW Wintec 250 all purpose saddle is an ideal GP saddle for those wanting Wintec quality and performance, at a lower price. The Wintec 250 combines the look of a traditional leather saddle with the durability of a synthetic saddle by using the latest synthetic leather look materials and synthetic equisuedes. Wintec 250 general purpose saddles are hard wearing, lightweight and easy to keep clean, the ideal saddle for everyday use in all weathers as they don't require the cleaning involved in a traditional leather saddle.

New range, unbeatable prices!

We have just taken delivery of a fantastic new range of jods and accessories by Sherwood Forest. This range is such amazingly good quality but at a really brilliant price! They are a little different from the usual black beige and navy's, giving a very practical and comfortable ladies jodhpur that not only look good but won't break the bank! Ladies jodhpurs start at just £17.99, these fun polka dot jods are only £28.99!

All the jodhpurs in the range are soft, strechy and comfortable to wear, but also very durable making them outstanding value for money. There are some fabulous childrens jodhpurs too, some with embroidery and others with fun printed seats.

Comfort pads a must in Hoof Boots?

The following a very interesting post from Trelawne Equine's blog (Trelawne Equine are the UK distributor of the Easycare range of hoof boots)

A barefoot horses hoof differs in many ways from a shod horses foot, but one noticeable and very important feature is the way the hoof loads when it hits the ground. A naturally bare hoof will support the weight and shock accross the whole foot, unlike a shod horse that loads peripherally (on the wall of the hoof alone). The hoof wall was never designed to take the whole load, and unless the shod horse is working in a fairly deep surface it will miss out on this important additional support. Other than on a totally flat surface such as a road (which it is advisable to only walk or gentle trotting uphill due to the shock involved, although this is obviously substantially less bare hooved than shod!).

When using a hoof boot, you are creating a flat surface for the hoof to walk on, no matter what the terrain. In order to counteract the potential for peripheral loading, it is advisable to always use a pad, and replace them when they become too flat to support the sole. A 6mm medium or soft comfort pad is ideal for horses that have no preexisting problems, and can be used in any of the boots including the Easyboot Glove.

If the horse is sore or has limb problems including minor things such as windgalls or sore shins as 12mm pad would be beneficial. All riding hoof boots other than the glove will take a 12mm pad without the need to alter the sizing.

Taka Rugs only £99, hurry!

A quick 'heads up' that we are selling off our Weatherbeeta Taka rugs complete with a FREE fleece at over 45% off, only £99.99! We are anticipating our stock will only last this week, so don't miss out, grab a top end rug for an unbeatable price before we sell out- once they are gone they are gone! The Weatherbeeta Taka freestyle detach a neck combo combines the successful contour design with the exclusive Freestyle System. The Weatherbeeta Taka provides unparalleled fit, protection and freedom of movement. The outer of the Taka turnout is extra heavy duty and breathable premium strength 1260 Denier material, and delivers fully waterproof and breathable comfort for your horse. The detach-a-neck feature of the Taka offers greater versatility, allowing your horse to be with or without a neck cover as required.

Peewee Bit £15 Off - 1 week only!

For one week only, The Saddlery Shop are offering the Peewee bit cheaper than ever before, just £29.99! You will probably never see this again, so hurry and buy one before the price goes back up on the 23rd February. The Peewee bit is a revolutionary new bit imported exclusively by The Saddlery Shop for sale in the UK. The Pee Wee bit is constructed with stainless steel bit rings and side bars, but the mouthpiece is made from "sweet iron" which oxidises to produce a sweet taste that horses enjoy. The Peewee bit is very unobtrusive, and most horse prefer the feel and action of the bit to an ordinary thick snaffle. The mullen mouth prevents the palate from being jabbed, and there is no nutcracker action. The sweet iron mouthpiece tastes sweet and keeps the mouth soft. This is a one of kind bit, every good horseman should have one in their collection, and now is certainly the time to buy one!

Gatehouse HS1 Riding Hats on SALE!

Start your riding in 2010 in the safest possible hat! The Gatehouse HS1 is one of the safest riding hats on the market, being the only riding helmet in the UK to pass all of the following safety standards : Snell E2001, PAS015, BSEN1384. This Gatehouse riding hat has also has passed a unique test which simulates a rider falling into a fence rail, or having a secondary hit by a horse's hoof unlike any other riding helmet. The Gatehouse HS1, also known as the High Spec 1 is probably the safest riding hat available on the market today. For just 1 week (until 9th February) you can buy this superb riding hat exclusively from The Saddlery Shop at a 20% discount! This jockey skull cap uses the latest materials making it also incredibly light and comfortable to wear. The carbon fibre reinforced shell of the HS1 hat has unbelievable strength and lightness. Riders that have had serious falls in this hat have been told by doctors that they can't believe they didn't sustain far greater injury. If you are a rider that wants serious protection, this is the riding hat for you! The Gatehouse HS1 is available in black or lightweight silver.

Cleaning the Velcro on Old Mac Multipurpose and Easycare Hoof Boots

The UK wholesaler for Easycare hoof boots, Trelawne Equine has a very useful post on their blog today regarding the cleaning of the velcro or hook and loop fastenings on their hoof boots....
Have you ever come back from a ride, removed your Old Macs Multipurpose Hoof boots, Old Mac G2's or any of the gaitered Easycare boots such as the Easyboot Epic or Easyboot Glove and wondered how to clean the Velcro? The warehouse personnel at Easycare have come up with a great little trick- using a simple dog/ cat brush (their own Velcro Cleaner) on the Velcro to remove grass, hair and whatever else is stuck. They use it on both the hook and loop sides of the Velcro, it will also rejuvenate loop side if is has lost its 'stick'. We at Trelawne Equine think this is a brilliant idea, and will help ensure your boots last even longer and perform as well as they did the first day you use them!

FREE comfort pads with your hoof boots!

For 1 week only, you can get a free pair of comfort pads with your Easycare hoof boots from The Saddlery Shop. You can choose between 6mm medium density comfort pads, and 12mm medium density comfort pads. Hoof boots must be purchased as a pair (even if sold singularly) and qualifying boots include the Easyboot, Easyboot epic, easyboot edge, easyboot grip, easyboot glove, boa horse boots, Old Mac multipurpose hoof boots and Old Mac's G2. For 6mm comfort pads, use the code freepadsjan6 or for 12mm use the code freepadsjan12 at checkout. Make sure you order soon, offer expires 26th January 2010!

Keratex mud fever powder

I discovered another very good use for Keratex mud fever powder over the last few weeks, as a disinfectant 'talc' for inside hoof boots! If like me, you have a horse or pony that has a problem severe enough to necessitate the use of boots over an extended period, there is a chance of bacteria and damp within the foot. A sprinkling of this every morning inside my Shetlands Easyboot Epic Hoof Boots with soft comfort pads has kept her soles looking clean and thrush free!

MASSIVE JANUARY SALE NOW ON!

The Saddlery Shop's huge equine January Sale is now well under way, and our cheap rugs, sale riding wear and discounted horse riding equipment is selling out fast so don't leave it too late to look or you may miss out! We have 100's of horsey bargains for example upto 1/2 price horse rugs and upto 1/2 price riding clothes, all leading brands such as Mast, Weatherbeeta, Mark Todd and many more.