Fitting Equine Hoof Boots!

Do you keep your horse barefoot or are you interested in equine hoof boots? The Saddlery Shop is the country’s leading authority on booting barefoot horses, holding the largest stocks of hoof boots and accessories in the UK! So how do you find the right boots for your horse? There are many factors that should be taken into account when fitting boots,particularly the accuracy of the measurements. Fit is easily the most important factor in selecting boots and should not be taken lightly, a bad fit can cause a variety of issues such as rubbing, boot loss, and product failure. Follow these Top Tips to have Hoof Boot Success! 1.) Measure after a fresh trim 2.) Measure to the heel buttress line, not the heel bulbs 3.) If possible, use a metric ruler since millimeters are more precise than inches. 4.) Do NOT trace for an accurate view after the event; take pictures 5.) It also may be helpful to have someone else take measurements and compare them to your measurements. For more advice or to find the answers to your hoof booting queries why not contact the team at The Saddlery Shop? Our expert team are happy to help! To find out more visit the website and enter your details into one of our Hoof Boot Enquiry Forms.

Summer Hoof Care

Hoof care throughout the year is a crucial part of care for our equines and it is particularly vital during the summer months. This is because the summer weather can cause the equine feet to dry out which can lead to problems such as cracks, heat and bruises. Also any horse which already suffers with poor feet will often fare worse during the drier months when there’s less moisture in the grass and the ground and can in severe cases cause the horse to suffer with lameness. Summer weather also often leads to the ground becoming hard and this can lead to concussive forces to the equine hoof and the limb. Various hoof supplements can assist the equine during the summer months providing much needed essential nutrients protecting and supporting the equine health and their hooves. Providing nutritious compounds with ingredients such as Choline, Lysine, Lecithin, DL- methionine, Ascorbic acid, Copper, Zinc, Biotin to name but a few, these nutrients can boost and support the health of our equines. These hoof specific ingredients alongside other nutrients allow horse's liver and the hoof corium to build and assemble a highly crosslinked hoof wall that is denser and more resistant to cracking or drying out. Including brands such as; Farriers Formula, Feedmark Hardy Hoof and Equus Health. Alongside including a hoof supplement in the diet, hoof management is vitally important. Here are some tips from The Saddlery Shop for keeping healthy hooves all summer long! 1. ) Always ensure you provide a healthy diet which is full of nutrients which help to support both hoof and general health all year round. When the grass becomes dry, bleached or overgrazed consider adding a vitamin and mineral supplement to the diet. 2.) Regularly pick your horse’s feet out and look out for any changes, e.g. cracks, heat in the horse’s feet, or an increase in the digital pulse. This is particularly important when your horse is spending a lot of time out at pasture. 3. ) Use a fly spray during warmer weather as your horse often will stomp and kick the ground, potentially damaging his hoof health and if shod, his shoes, when getting irritated by flies and midges. A huge range of fly sprays are available from The Saddlery Shop. 4. ) Include a hoof supplement in the diet which contains high quality, relevant nutrients such as the products offered by The Saddlery Shop. 5. ) Avoid applying heavy, cosmetic, topical products that do not allow the hoof to breathe such as some hoof oils and polishes. For more information about the products available from The Saddlery Shop visit the website www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk!

Taking Care of Your Tack

Though the winter months can often be tougher on our tack than the summer, warm weather can often dry out our leather work so efficient and effective tack care is important all year round. Keeping your tack clean will ensure it remains supple and flexible and will prevent any mould spores developing. Not to mention that the British weather often brings us an impromptu shower during the summer months regardless! So why not bring your tack home today and give your bridle, saddle and breastplates some tender loving care! Regular cleaning and conditioning of saddles, bridles and other leather products will ensure your horse's tack remains comfortable, particularly important when your horse has been sweating in warmer weather. Using "leather food" will nourish your tack and increase the lifetime of your leather work, improving the longevity of your expensive gear. The Saddlery Shop offers a wide range of leather products including; dirt removing lotions and sprays, saddle soap and leather conditioning products. Brands include Belvoir, Carr & Day & Martin, Horsemans, Effax, Ko-Cho-Line to name but a few! So give your tack a really good clean today and check out the range of products to help you available from The Saddlery Shop.

Fleeces; The Perfect Light Layer.

The spring and summer months have finally been bringing us some lovely sunshine but this has often been accompanied with a cool breeze. For this kind of weather fleeces provide the ideal layering item as the breathable fabric protects you from the wind, whilst the light fabric is comfortable and flexible to wear; perfect for riding. The Tottie Courtney long sleeve fleece from The Saddlery Shop is available in a range of sizes in a stunning Rhubarb colour to make sure you stand out on the yard with style! The gorgeous fleece is embossed with a horse shoe pattern and has a half zip opening at the top of the garment and a Tottie woven label stitched onto the sleeve. To find out more or to see more of the stunning range from The Saddlery Shop visit the website www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk

Body Protectors, An Essential Piece of Kit!

Body protectors for horse riders have come a long way from the days of awkward-looking rigid foam back shields. Today constructed with both comfort and safety in mind and subject to rigorous repeat testing and available in various styles and colours, the Body Protector is a must-have item for any rider, whether a top-flight competitor or happy hacker. Body protectors are an essential piece of equine kit as the important item of equipment can make the difference between a serious injury and a minor one. Body protectors can protect the upper back and torso and are designed to protect the wearer in the event of a fall from a horse,whether jumping, schooling or hacking but also to offer protection from impacts such as being kicked, which can happen at any time. Understanding Body Protectors BETA 2000 and BETA 2009 are general standards to which all body protectors sold in the UK must conform. Having a BETA 2000 and BETA 2009 label confirms that the body protector has met all the requirements of the European standard EN 13158 and is certified to the Personal Protective Equipments (PPE) directive shown by the CE mark. This is important as it can accurately provide piece of mind that this item is safe to use and will protect you. Manufacturers of these products are also required to undertake additional testing on an annual basis to ensure long-term consistency in quality and design so you know that what you are buying will have durability and longevity. Under EN13158:2009 there are three ‘levels’ of protection: Level 1 (black label) denotes a body protector intended for jockeys only, as it is designed to meet the weight restrictions of race riding. Level 2 (brown label) body protectors offer lower protection for low-risk situations only. Level 3 (purple label) body protectors are the ones that are suitable for normal riding conditions, and are designed to prevent minor bruising, reduce soft tissue injuries and bruising and limit the risk of rib fractures. The Saddlery Shop thinks Body Protectors are really important so we stock a wide range of Body Protectors for Men, Women and Children including Racesafe, Harry Hall, Mark Todd and Gallop. For more information visit our website today www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk to view the stock we have available. If you have any questions or queries about which Body Protector would best suit you contact a member of our team on Tel:0844 880 6900

How to Choose a Bit

To conclude our Bitting Blog Feature which saw us feature a three part series of Questions and Answers regarding bitting we present our latest blog explaining how to measure your horse for a bit. Use a piece of smooth round wood, e.g. a wooden spoon handle or piece of doweling, and two rein stops (rubber bands can be used but are slightly less accurate.) Put the wooden rod into your horses mouth, so that it just lifts the corners of his lips into no more than 2 wrinkles, and push the rein stops up to touch his lips on either side. Remove the wood, and measure the gap from the outside of the rein stops to give the correct bit size including the right amount of clearance for the bit. If you are between sizes (e.g. 5 1/4"), it is normally better to choose the smaller of the two sizes (e.g. 5") unless opting for a loose ring bit when it can be advantageous to go slightly large to prevent pinching. So which bit should you buy for you horse? It can be a challenge to find the right bit for your horse however there are some conformational pointers you can look for that help to suggest what type of bit may suit your horse and narrow the search. Certain breeds of horse can be prone to certain mouth shapes for example cob types often have large tongues which leave little room for a thick bit to sit comfortably in. Thin bits are often considered to be severe, but if a horse has a thick tongue a thinner bit will allow the horse to relax and swallow where a thicker ‘kind’ bit would not, presuming the rider is competent enough not to need the reins for support the thin bit is actually far kinder to the horse! When examining your horses mouth, have a look carefully at the shape and anything that is different or unusual as even little things can potentially make a big difference to the way a horse will react in a bit. These can be such as; parrot mouth, a low palette, the presence of wolf teeth to name but a few! To receive one-to-one bitting advice for your horse contact The Saddlery Shop online and with our huge range of bits available there is sure to be something to suit every horse and rider combination.

Bitting Edition Part 3

As the final part of the three part series The Saddlery Shop takes a look at bitting and presents a Q & A featuring bitting enquiries and bespoke answers from bitting expert and owner of The Saddlery Shop, Lucy Nicholas. Question "I have a new 15hh cob Teddy, who is 7 years old, green, and very forward going. At the moment he is in a pelham (5.5 inch although I think he would benefit from a quarter inch wider bit) because he has poor brakes. I'd like to do dressage and showing with him in the long run. Ideally I would have a dressage legal bit for schooling him, but I do need brakes. I would like to use one bit all the time.What would you suggest?" Answer Lucy says "I always advise to have your horses teeth, back and saddle checked and recommend that you have a good progressive schooling plan in place with an instructor. The emphasis needs to be on lightening your horses' forehand using lots of circles and transitions during the session ensuring he responds immediately to the aids. This will get him between hand and leg, giving you far more control in a snaffle. Very few horses only need one bit, working in an arena or doing a dressage test is not as exciting as cantering accross open coutryside in company and even the best schooled horse will usually need something different for the extra control needed. Pelhams can make a horse feel very 'dead' in the hand and do sometimes encouraging leaning on the bit unless you ride with double reins to enable you to push the horse up into the bit without the use of the curb. I would really recommend a bit that will help with schooling like this Myler Low Port Eggbut Snaffle. This bit will enable you to give very clear instructions to your horse, and will be comfortable in his mouth as it is not too thick and has space for the tongue. You also have the option of adding a curb if you needed extra brakes out hacking in the immediate future. Kind Regards, Lucy