City Horse Resource

http://www.cowboymagic.com/5-apps-for-horse-owners/

Most for students, but some in here are for adults too:

  USEF Recognized Affiliate Scholarships

Why yes, that is my recipe box back there, covered in My Little Pony stickers. In my head, I may still be a horse-crazy twelve year-old girl :)

BTW I always write out the recipes for my homemade concoctions on a piece of paper, then tape them to the bottles/containers in case I lose the original recipe. It's handy when I don't feel like rooting through my recipe box because I'm being totally lazy. I usually cover the entire homemade label with tape in case I spill oil or water on it, which inevitably happens. I also always write my recipes on index cards and save them in my recipe box. It's good to have a backup, especially when everything at the barn is likely to get wet/slobbered on/spilled/rained on/you name it.

Anyway, I prefer these homemade blends to the commercial sprays.

Why?

Because those sprays are mostly full of toxins that I don't want to put on my horse's body. If something is deadly enough to make the flies fall dead off of my mare, I don't want that stuff seeping into her skin. I wouldn't put it on my own skin, so why on hers? Also, they are friggin' expensive, and at those prices, for the amount of spray I use out here in LA, where it's summer pretty much year-round, I'd be in at at least $45 to $60 per month.

I usually make up double batches because I go through so much of it.

I store my mixes in glass, because it is more durable, and rats/mice can't chew the bottles. Plastic bottles tend to deteriorate quickly, and aren't great for long-term storage.

Store these blends out of direct sunlight-- essential oils lose their impact when exposed to heat for long periods of time. Don't worry, they'll do their job just fine on your horse though.

I've listed sources for finding the oils at the bottom of this post. CHR Recipe #1:

2 cups water

1/2 cup witch hazel (cheap, find it at CVS or RiteAid. Great toner for people skin, too)

1/2 cut apple cider vinegar (white will probably work too, though I can't say for sure because I haven't tried it. Also, it doesn't smell as nice)

1/4 tsp cedarwood essential oil

3/4 tsp citronella essential oil (don't use the citronella oil blend you can get for outdoor torches at places like Home Depot or Lowes-- that isn't pure essential oil, and is diluted too much to have any effect in these recipes)

8-10 drops orange essential oil (how do you measure "drops?" I use an eyedropper or a plastic pipette, which you can find at the links listed at the bottom of this post. You can also just dip a toothpick into the bottom and use that to let a few drops of oil slide into your batch. BTW, only use drops. Orange essential oil in any higher of a concentration than this in this size a recipe may cause irritation to your horse's skin)

Mix it all together and spray away. You have to shake it a lot, but it smells great, repels dirt, keeps the coat shiny, and most importantly, repels the dang flies. I also spray it on the walls of my horse's stall on really bad days, but after reading about those Bounce sheets (below), I may just hang a few of those high enough where my mare can't eat them. CHR Recipe #2: *see notes on ingredients in first version

2 cups water

1/2 cut apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp citronella essential oil

This base works well by itself, but here are some optional ingredients to add if you want to vary the scent a bit or pack an additional punch. Include one of the following:

1/2 teaspoon lavender essential oil or

1/2 teaspoon sandalwood essential oil or

1/2 teaspoon tea tree essential oil or

1/2 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil

*If you want to use more than one, use 1/4 tsp of each additional oil.

*Essential oils can be a bit intense on the skin if too much of the pure stuff is used. On a side note, some essential oils are caustic to skin when applied directly, but not the noes I've listed here. Anyway, if you accidentally add too much, just add more water and cider vinegar to balance it out. You'll use it all in the end eventually. Sandalwood is very expensive, but it works nicely. I tried it once because I happened to have a surplus lying around (long story). Usually though, I err on the side of the less expensive oils, and they all smell wonderful. This one's from http://www.danceyquarterhorses.com/Homemade_%20horse_recipes.html In a quart sprayer combine:

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup Skin-So-Soft oil (CHR note: Skin-So-Soft is a product for people by Avon, and on the more expensive end. If you're going to shell out money for this stuff, you may as well buy commercial flyspray-- it's about the same price. However, Skin-So-Soft does smell very nice, and does soften skin, and flies absolutely hate it)

1 cup water

1 tablespoon eucalyptus essential oil

***Common sense precaution with all flysprays, including ones with natural ingredients-- never spray directly into eyes or nose. Spray some repellent on your hand or a cloth and wipe around the horse's eyes and face. Numerous sources online also swear by using Bounce fabric softener sheets. They are reputed to work like magic. I've seen suggestions to

tie them to your horse's headstall

tie them to the back of your saddle (if you live in an area where massive horseflies will swoop in and land on your horse's backside, this could be a lifesaver)

clip them into the top of your horse's tail, or lower down in the tail

attach them to various places on your own body, such as the back of your neck, or in a back pocket.

attach them inside horse trailers, especially if you are traveling and need to tie your horses up or leave them confined for a while

hang them throughout the barn

Cheap, and awesome! I may also try this in my backyard, perhaps tying them to parts of my fence or close to areas where I don't want flies to land, like a picnic table.   Where to find essential oils: FYI I'm not endorsed by these guys, I just shop them myself.

www.scentsofearth.com(amazing customer service and lightning-fast shipping! My favorite by far, though a smaller selection than the other two I've listed here)

www.camdengrey.com

www.wellingtonfragrance.com

When shopping the bigger sites, make sure to look at the prices of all the variations of an oil listed-- one may be far less expensive than the rest. For example, here are three different eucalyptus oils from Camden Grey, note the differences in price.

http://www.camdengrey.com/essential-oils/Essential-Oils-Madagascar/eucalyptus-citridora-M.html

http://www.camdengrey.com/essential-oils/Essential-Oils-A-E/eucalyptus.html

http://www.camdengrey.com/essential-oils/Essential-Oils-A-E/eucalyptus-citriodora.html

This recipe is all over the net:

1/4 cup hair conditioner 1/4 cup baby oil 3 tablespoons vinegar 1/4 cup water

CHR Version:

1/4 cup hair conditioner 1/4 cup baby oil 6 tablespoons white vinegar 1/4 cup water                                                                                                                        1 tsp eucalyptus oil (removes residue, smells great, skin toner) - you can buy this at most health food stores, or at *www.camdengrey.com, or at www.wellingtonfragrance.com, or just do a quick google search. Be sure to get the essential oil, not a fragrance oil. Store this version out of direct sunlight, as essential oils are diminished by heat.

Baby wipes for the face, girth, and fetlock areas. They're cheap at the $.99 store and work great. They also don't leave a sticky or slimy residue.

I'm riding N because his owner is a close friend, and is also recovering from a back injury. I'm also comfortable with horses who are on the hot side, and N can get a bit jumpy and spooky when he's not in regular work. A few weeks ago at a clinic, he was such a freakshow-- spooking at everything in sight. He probably had one-two legs on the ground at any given moment for the second half of the clinic, but in fairness to him, there was a lot going on, and he hadn't been ridden in a few days. Anyway, N's mom and I hatched a plan to make him a bit more manageable to ride, and I'm happy to help. I think it's important to ride other people's horses too, especially when you're not in regular training with an instructor, or when you have just been riding your own horse for years.

I have been working out regularly for ages, and I'm in pretty good shape, but horseback riding, like any specialized sport, utilizes its own set of muscles. And mine are sorely under-developed!

After several days of pushing N to motor on, my butt and legs feel like they have been through a meat grinder. Let me be clear, I'm not the kind of rider who clamps on and stays in regular contact with the lower leg, not at all. I don't use any aids until I need to, except my seat, and I make every effort to avoid accidentally coming into contact with the horse via my hands and legs unless I want to intentionally. But with N, I am having to squeeze squeeze squeeze like he's a giant tube of toothpaste! I'm hopeful that as he develops more muscle tone where it counts, so will I, and I'm also going to break out the spurs for the first time in ages. My mare, L, is so energetic I never need to use spurs on her, so they are gathering dust.

In the meantime, I'm going to be doing more yoga and pilates to strengthen my inner upper thighs. My bathing suit body will thank me regardless!