When it comes to DIY horse care I’m all for putting in a little blood, sweat (and usually tears) to help save a few bucks.
After all horse care is rarely cheap, or easy.
Luckily, I’ve put together 10 great ideas that are the exception to the rule! These tips are so simple it makes me wonder why I didn’t think of it myself.
Homemade Ice Packs
Pour Palmolive Dish Soap into a heavy duty resealable plastic bag and freeze.
Palmolive brand will not freeze solid (some other brands do, so you can experiment).
After a few hours you’ll have a low cost, nontoxic, reusable and fully flexible cold pack. If the bags leaks, just wash it off. Genius!
Recycle Old Socks
Cut the bottom out of your used socks for easy leg protection.
These are perfect for keeping wounds covered and bugs at bay. You can even apply fly spray (try my Easy Homemade Fly Spray) or essential oils.
Just make sure the socks fit securely before leaving your horse unattended.
Jugs in the Water Trough
Freeze gallon jugs of water to help keep your trough cool in the summer.
Alternatively you can use hot water to help prevent freezing in the winter.
Horses seem to love playing with them too.
Reuse Dewormer Tubes
Don’t throw out those used syringes. Give them a thorough washing and fill with apple sauce as a treat for your horse.
Soon they’ll be eager and open their mouth willingly. No more battles with the dewormer! (from thinklikeahorse.org)
Pool Noodle Boot Trees
Keep your boots in perfect form with these inexpensive pool noodles. They’re great for drying and makes for a tidier boot room.
Remove Scratches in Leather
Put olive oil on a soft cloth and rub into the leather in a circular motion until the scratch disappears.
Wipe off any extra oil and you’re done!
Clean in the Dishwasher
Use your dishwasher to clean any non-leather horse tack.
So far I’ve tried bits, stirrups, halters, girths and lead ropes.
Instead of dish washing detergent I use a baking soda mix to avoid any potential skin irritation. Works like a charm. (from oughtonlimited.com)
Protect Power Cords
Drill two small holes in a overturned bucket to protect your power cord connections from rain and snow.
This also makes it easier to find after a big snow fall. (from doityourselfrv.com)
Monitor Trailer Temperature
Get an inexpensive indoor/outdoor thermometer to keep tabs on the temperature inside your trailer (without pulling over every 10 min!).
Put the outdoor portion in the trailer and keep the reader inside the cab of the truck. Great for piece of mind while travelling, especially during extreme weather.
Keep Buckets Covered
Use mosquito netting to cover feed buckets if they’ll be sitting out before feeding time.
This is great for keeping flies out in the summer and mice out in the winter, while still allowing air flow. I do this year round when soaking beet pulp.
Check out my Do-It-Yourself page for more ideas!
Do you have DIY Horse Care tips to share?
Thank you. These are awesome!
Also keep some diapers for hoof wounds and Kotex on hand. Great absorbent n wound protector. I use k flex with the Kotex. Good for dogs too. DC from Texas
I do leather work, if you have mold on leather, wipe with lemon juice, then oil.
Thanks for this tip !!
I love all your horsey tips and have shared several with my horsey friends. Thanks so much!
I don't have a horse, but it's something I'd love to do in the future when my husband and I can invest in a corral. These are great hacks! I help feed my mother in-law's horses now and then and I'll share this with her next time I see her. http://www.producedirect.com.au
Be careful when oiling leather with Olive Oil, it will darken light colored leathers
How do you get the socks over the hoof?
Lift horses hoof and pull over the sock from the toe, up over the hoof and stretch it up over the leg…as you would your own foot/leg?
I put hoof in a zip lock bag and pull socks over it.
Great tip! I struggled with getting them over my geldings hooves.
Put a plastic bag on hoof first. Sock slips right on and pull bag out from under.
I appreciate the information on taking care of horse equipment. My mom is looking into getting a horse or two but she wants to learn a little more about them first. I had never thought to use old socks for the horse to keep their wounds covered and flys off of the horse. http://www.vehigeenterprises.com/products
How do you get those socks of horses feet?Thanks,KateR
These are great tips thank you.
the socks stay over the hoof for 5 seconds. over the knee for about 30 seconds. a complete waste of time.
Not everything works every time, just not the right thing for your horse then.🙂
how to make the horse stop eating the wood deport and burp
We use knee high stockings (think the kind your great aunt Agatha wore) and vetwrap to keep the flies from biting the horses legs in the summer and as a wound cover if needed. They are so light the horses don’t even realize they’re wearing them.