See both Bold- is a running martingale [ or any martingale ] allowed in HUS classes?
If anything, cob sized might be too long in the cheek pieces and too tight across the brow. Had that with both my 16h, fine headed TBs. Doubt anything but the brow band us going to be too tight if you have a more refined head.
There is such a thing as Pony sized and some vendors carry Arab sized, which is a cut down cob. Definitely look at cob or yearling sized halters, you have to compare them visually as there is no standard sizing on such things. Your trainer is probably the best source, they are used to dealing with fitting Arabs.
My biggest challenge with both the TBs and Arabs years ago was the noseband. Many are shaped and canāt be shortened enoughā¦
Congratulations! I get the impression from the excitement in your post that this is the first time youāve owned a horse? If so, hereās honestly the best advice I can give you:
Donāt go overboard on buying a ton of grooming supplies. special shampoos, special conditioners and so on. Keep in mind that the horse world is big business. There are all kinds of companies trying to sell you all kinds of specialized stuff you donāt need. Start with the basics and add anything extra you think you need later on.
The basics you absolutely have to have? A good hoof pick (A GOOD one. Not the cheap $3.00 Farm and Fleet special), a hoof brush, a curry comb, a decent brush for their coat, a mane and tail comb, a halter, a fly mask during fly season and maybe fly spray during fly season. (Although to be honest, Iāve tried dozens of different brands of fly spray. Iāve yet to find one that lasts more than a few hours. And most of them donāt work at all.) And a head bumper if you are going to trailer (protects your horseās head if it smacks the roof of the trailer)
As far as halter size, I typically use Weaver halters and use āSmallā on my Arabs. Small is a little misleading cause Weaver will tell you itās for a horse that is between 500 and 800 pounds. But the small sized halter fits my Arabs perfectly. Anything larger than small is way too big for them.
Donāt use wound dressing when you donāt have to, btw. Especially not for ātiny cutsā. This contributes to antibiotic resistance in the same way that antibacterial soaps do.
Hope that all helps!
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I agree, buy as little as possible now and decide as you go along which are āwantsā and which are āneeds.ā The list of wants can get very long, but the list of needs is often shorter than you think!
My 14.1 and 14.3 Arabs wore Cob sized everything and my 16.0 Arab wears a horse size bridle on the top hole, and regular horse size tack overall and a 78" blanket. In a pinch, everyone shares with everyone else. Talk with your horseās former owner about things like girths and other equipment that he may or may not like. One of mine hates, hates hates leather girths or any girth that is stiff, and insists on neoprene. My other is fine with a leather girth as long as it has elastic on both sides. You can save a lot of aggravation and a lot of money by working with the previous owner on sizes and styles, especially about blankets. My Arabs have done better with high necks or Rhino styles because of the way it fits their head/neck/shoulder, but if you are picky about manes that might not work for you (mine are NOT show horses!). Cachel fly masks or good old fashioned Farnham masks seem to work best (get horse, not Arab, on the Farnhams) and we like the Tough-1 horse size easy breathe grazing muzzle - rubs less because itās bigger.
Welcome to the world of Arabs!
Itās so hard to generalize about tack sizes - my purebred (almost 16 hands) can wear a cob bridle but I had to buy a full sized browband. Saddle shopping can be a real experience! Blanket/sheet sizes all over the place. So measure twice and order once!
No, but martingales are often used during training. A breastplate is allowed for showing.
Also, only clear products on the head and body. Someone mentioned eye shadow above but that has been banned. People still use it for pictures, but not in the show ring. Same for balding, all the goopy stuff, etc.
Good luck and enjoy. They are great horses!
In my case, the Farnham āhorseā sized fly masks are way too big for my Arabians. I canāt tighten them nearly enough to prevent flies from simply crawling up inside the mask. So I do use the Arabian sized ones for my Arabs (that size is hard to find around here. I usually have to order them. This tends to be Quarter Horse country.)
Of course, every horseās head size is different, but for my Arabs, I have to use the Arabian sized. The horse size ones donāt fit at all.
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Bizarre advice, especially considering the source.
Antiseptic ointments are worth thinking more carefully about, but theyāre a drop in the bucket compared to the antibiotic use in livestock and fish production, hospital use of antimicrobials, and incomplete courses of antibiotics, in terms of sources of antibiotic resistance.
The risk analysis of using antibiotic ointments in horses swings the other way in my calculus ā equine wounds are nearly always contaminated, the risks associated with infection can be significant (e.g. cellulitis, lymphangitis, infection of other structures like tendon sheaths) and can be associated with high vet bills and long-term consequences, and it can be difficult to identify on initial inspection which wounds are the most likely to become infected ā¦ on the other hand, any application of something like bacitracin to a horseās wound has only a small likelihood of contributing to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria, especially because these animals are not typically in the sort of clinical (or livestock production) environments where a high concentration of sick people/creatures and extensive use of antibiotics/antiseptics create a perfect storm for breeding resistance.
Being aware of how our actions might impact things like antibiotic resistance is good, but I find it baffling to see this advice from this poster, who has elsewhere in the forums proposed owners injecting horses with penicillin on a mere suspicion of infection and without consulting with a veterinarian, giving antibiotics āto be safeā, and an unusual abscess treatment protocol that starts with antibiotics (vs. more typical draining, topical antiseptic, bandaging, pain relief). If you really want to fight antibiotic resistance, youāre better off putting down the self-prescribed penicillin syringe than leaving wounds undressed.
OP, Iām glad your trainer has given you some guidance on what to buy. I do hope youāre able to focus on the essentials for now, and figure out what other items from the long list you need after you start settling into a routine and getting a sense for what will get good use.
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Iām not saying they should never be used. Only that superficial wounds such as āminor cutsā rarely get infected. So Iām not sure that itās a good idea to automatically apply antibiotic wound dressing to every single cut your horse gets, no matter how superficial it is. Again, I didnāt say ānever use themā Only ādonāt use them when you donāt have to.ā
If your āconsidering the sourceā statement comes from other posts Iāve made? An abscess is, by definition, an insult to the hoof that has become infected. Even then, it doesnāt always make sense to give an antibiotic. After all, once an abscess forms, it means the horseās immune system has done its job. It has attacked the infection, formed a protective capsule around it, and is working to expel it from the horseās body. The antibiotic canāt actually reach the infection inside the abscess itself because the horseās immune system has already quarantined it and is ensuring it is isolated. But if there is concern that infection might exist outside of the abscess, then it might make sense to give an antibiotic. This is something your vet should determine.
As a general rule, I donāt give antibiotics unless my vet tells me I should.
Sounds like youāve never experienced the joys of cellulitis.
Glad to hear it. Some of what you said in your navicular thread gives a very different impression about willingness to give antibiotics without vet involvement.
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Upon more careful reading of your post ā¦ I donāt believe I have ever proposed giving antibiotics without veterinary advice. And in the case where antibiotics should be given, penicillin would not be my first choice because of the risk of having a reaction to it. (That said, penicillin is still very effective against some strains of bacteria where other antibiotics donāt work very well. So sometimes, it has to be given.)
If I ever have proposed it? Then I am truly sorry. It was not my intent. I do not believe antibiotics should be given without veterinary advice. And when they do need to be given, penicillin would not be my first choiceā¦
I havenāt. I hope I never will.
Glad to hear it. Some of what you said in your navicular thread gives a very different impression about willingness to give antibiotics without vet involvement.
I made it clear in my navicular thread that the antibiotics were given on the advice of my vet. And that they were prescribed by my vet. I know you can buy penicillin over the counter for ālivestock useā. But I would never give it without a vet telling me to do so. I donāt believe I have ever suggested anything else. If I have, then again, I really am sorry. It was not what I intended to suggest. I donāt think any antibiotic should be given without vet advice.
I am going to try to reply to everything!
Thanks for all of the info about the antibacterial pros and cons. Our barn has a vet that comes out very often, so I can always ask her about stuff like that!
If you canāt tell, yes this is my first horse! I have been riding for years, I just havenāt yet been able to buy one.
I will try to keep my equipment list to a minimum, though it seems so hard to not buy Amigo (my horse) EVERYTHING!
We use a martingale for training purposes, they are not allowed in the ring.
What would you guys consider the bare necessities tack-wise? I donāt want to go crazy, but I like to have everything laid out and ready if I ever were to need it!
I am definitely going to have my trainer reach out to the previous owner for some more info about equipment.
In my grooming bucket, I currently haveā¦
Hoof Pick
Hoof Brush
Body Brush (medium hardness)
Gel Curry Comb
Face brush (very soft brush)
Finishing Brush (a soft brush that supposedly flicks dirt off)
Mane and Tail Brush
All natural baby wipes (the last horse I leased has goopy eyes, so I would wipe them)
Polo Wraps
I have a few maintenance questionsā¦
Our barn farrier comes out every 6 weeks (is this normal?)
How much do you typically spend getting horses hoofs done? (most horses at our barn have front 2 feet, or 4 feet with shoes)
What kind of insurance do you use with your horse?
What is your favorite fly spray? ( I wonāt have to buy this until spring)
OTC antibiotic-containing topicals are not a significant source of antibiotic resistance.
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It is normal for a regular barn farrier to visit at least every 5-6 weeks. Itās a big advantage over trying to set it up yourself for just your horse.The better farriers prefer the barn routine over traveing for just one horse.
Cost varies by area but expect to pay 100-200 for a trim and shoes depending on the particulars. Might the be less for trim and reset fronts only and really get to be alot more then 200 for special shoes for navicular and other issues.
As far as a bridle goes, it may be difficult to find a good size. My 14.2 Arab wears a pony halter with a cob size breakaway crown piece. Finding him a bridle was a challenge! He needed a smaller noseband than most on cob-size bridles (which otherwise fit him well). I ended up contacting a lot of companies about the actual measurements of their bridles. I think there may have been a spreadsheet involved 
However, since your Arab is bigger, hopefully you wonāt have this problem! Congrats on the new horse :)
In a main ring arabian barn horses can be ridden almost constantly in a running type martingale, an arabian martingale, or a training martingale. I had to request to take my reins out of one when I took lessons at a such a barn.
https://www.sstack.com/arabian-equipā¦ng-martingale/
There are classes at shows where training equipment such as blinkers, draw reins, martingales, and leg stretchies are allowed. The belief is it helps a trainer or owner get the horse into a busy show ring with some extra safety type equipment to prevent any incidents.
You might find it instructive to attend a show that has an Arab division (if you cant find a nearby all Arab show).
I have actually shown quite a bit! I live in a place where arabs are very common, and there are many arab shows each year. I havenāt made it to the National level, but I have done several Class Aās.
I think it is going to be financially and mentally hard to find tack for Amigo, for the next few months!
They used to say the same thing about OTC antibiotic hand soap. But recent guidelines say that most people should not use them because of that risk. So whether or not OTC antibacterials contribute to antibiotic resistance or not is an open question in my mind.
I would ask the previous owner and/or your trainer about bridle sizing. There are some companies that make bridles that better fit Arabs and Morgans. (I never found a dressage bridle from them, though) My last Morgan needed a āFrankenbridleā :winkgrin: It was a cob sized bridle with a horse- sized browband and extra holes punched in the noseband. Ideal would actually have been a horse crownpiece and browband with pony-sized cheekpieces and noseband. Never got those pieces thoughā¦ (He was 15.2 with a refined, wedge shaped head)
