I need to spend more time on this part of the forum … all this talk of horses ‘living out’ makes me feel much more at home than usual!
[QUOTE=kalidascope;7288475]
I need to spend more time on this part of the forum … all this talk of horses ‘living out’ makes me feel much more at home than usual![/QUOTE]
I can’t speak for everyone, but my hunt horse has enough energy without having it conserved in a stall! Manners are just as important in the hunt field (arguably MORE important) than in a show ring. Mine has a way of forgetting hers when she’s in a stall for half the day or more :rolleyes:
Just as well, though, benefit of turnout is proven; reduces the risk of colic and ulcers to have them outdoors.
It’s been said a ton, but blankets with hoods, true hunter clips, and a vacuum are the way to go.
A secret I picked up years ago was spraying a little Pledge on a rag at the end of the grooming session. Helps pull out the last bit of dust. If you’re worried about using a household product, baby oil and water mixed up in a spray bottle helps some, too.
Also, Cowboy Magic (or any other greenspot remover) is your friend.
And I thought I had it tough with my 90% white coloured horse who lives out 24/7! At least he doesn’t show the dust!
He gets a full body clip, but half his face and most of his legs left on. I use a long neck rug (would never leave a hood on in a paddock). I usually wash his white tail the day before and pop it in a tail bag, then wash his legs on the morning of.
Three things work in my favour: he keeps himself fairly clean, the paddocks don’t get horrendously muddy, and in NZ we don’t have such high turnout standards, especially as we get more into mud season!
Kalidascope - where are you in NZ?
[QUOTE=ISR;7288652]
Just as well, though, benefit of turnout is proven; reduces the risk of colic and ulcers to have them outdoors.[/QUOTE]
For sure! Ulcers are becoming the ailment of the moment, but colic is pretty uncommon here.
[QUOTE=Feliz;7290401]…and in NZ we don’t have such high turnout standards, especially as we get more into mud season!
Kalidascope - where are you in NZ?[/QUOTE]
:lol:
I’m in Taranaki. I have not hunted but (like last year and the year before :rolleyes:) would like to this season. Where abouts are you?
Dorkland, I’m afraid :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=Hinderella;7287581]
I love your idea of mounting the shop vac overhead! I could diminish the noise level by having the shop vac in the loft, and then just run the hose down through the hole.[/QUOTE]
It probably won’t work. Make sure you test it before spending too much time on installation.
The longer the hose and the more uphill it needs to go the less suction you’ll get. Maybe if you can get a vacuum twice as powerful as you need it would be acceptable mounted like that.
Great tips! I started with a blanket clip but went with a full body clip which definitely helped the hot toweling process. Yesterday’s hunt started with a view 5 minutes after leaving the trailers and a blistering pace for the next hour. The little patch of hair I’d left on his rump was a soggy mess so off it went. I can’t believe how well my Lister Stars went through all that hair and scruff.
I found that filling up my 5 gallon water jug in the bathtub made it easier to haul hot water down to the trailer than fussing with buckets.
Sounds like a good day - I’d like a full hunt report please - it’s over 4mths till opening here and I’m feeling hunting deprived 
It’s amazing how much of a difference removing all the body hair makes. Plus it’s even better when they shed in the spring.
I have a hose so I can siphon water from the laundry sink into my water containers (laundry is in the garage). However I’ve ordered a new trailer that has a water tank so I’m looking at options of portable califonts, like: http://www.equipoutdoors.co.nz/contents/en-us/d777_Portable_Gas_Showers.html
I’m not the best at giving reports since I’m mostly focused on keeping my very green and energetic TB between me and the ground and sufficiently far enough behind the horse in front of us. I just joined Green Spring Valley Hounds this season so I’m usually at the very back of a large field until about half way through the day as folks turn in. Jumps are occasionally an “oh please dear God let us make it over in one piece” experience.
Hunting with GSV is a very different experience from my previous few years of hunting with other clubs. My memories of my fastest and craziest hunt days in the past are eclipsed by the action nearly every single time I go out with GSV and yesterday was no exception.
Since it was the first week of rifle season, we had a large number of guests from surrounding hunts including Carrolton and Amwell Valley. I saw a few other buttons I didn’t recognize but I didn’t have to opportunity to chat with their bearers. I didn’t get an official count but if I had to guess I’d say there were about 30 riders in first and 20 in second. It was a misty, foggy morning with a slight drizzle a couple of hours earlier.
We struck off from the Slaterbeck’s at 11:00 and got no more than 150 yards from the trailers when Sir Reynard was seen by the field streaking across the end of a long pasture and into the woods followed by a white tailed deer. It took a few moments for the hounds to find the line and open up. The paths through the woods were wide with good footing for the most part other than some deep mud in the lowest valleys. A long, circling chase ensued at a blistering pace. At one point we crossed a single track wooden foot bridge covered in leaves and my horse slipped near the end, losing his footing and me in the process. I should have held him to a walk but I was foolish and over eager and didn’t realize how slick the surface was. Luckily we both came up unharmed but in the process of finding and reattaching my stirrup leather and remounting, we’d lost the field. The wonderful Liz waited for me and by the time we struck out the field had left us in the dust!
After a short hack, both us and our horses catching our breath, we found them close to where we had begun the day and it was only a few minutes before the hounds found the line again and took us back through the same hole in the woods and underneath an amused hunter in a tree stand, this time armed with a camera phone to catch a video of us all thundering past. At that point my memory starts to get a bit fuzzy as pain and exhaustion started to take some of my attention. I’d been working so hard building a shelter, setting up the new farm and working that I hadn’t had much time to ride and hadn’t hunted in about a month and my calves and ankles were screaming.
Some more thundering through the woods, up and down hills and through recreations of the Swamps of Sadness (Artax, NOOOOooo! Don’t give up!!) Sir Reynard went to ground. By then the fog had burned off and it was a gorgeous sunny day, unfortunately, the scent started to lift, too. The hounds found another line leading to another chase but eventually that tricky fox disappeared with the mist.
Three hours later we returned to the trailers, exhausted but deliriously happy. I wish I had a GPS track of the day… I can only guess at the miles we covered. There were not too many jumping efforts. Mostly straight forward coops… a good thing because the speed and the distance travelled were enough to wear us out!
Here’s another option for hot water on a trailer. You could get one of these installed at an RV dealer
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/eccotemp-high-capacity-portable-tankless-water-heater/42241#readreviews
[QUOTE=gumtree;7286327]
The only suggestions I have is;
Get up extra early
Keep a blanket or turnout sheet on
Don’t own a grey unless it can be cleaned up and kept in the night before.
Get a vacuum. No reason a decent size shop vac wouldn’t work unless your horse has problem with the noise. Though most should get used to it.
Not a fan of Electro-Groom, got one for Christmas a few years ago and it was no different then the ones we used as kids in the 60’s. It always gets clogged in short order, the attachments are “MacGyvered” to the hose. Ridiculous for something that costs $700+
If anybody knows of something better please post.
Thinking of putting in a “whole house” vac or a “Shop dust collector unit” Cheaper stronger and have a much bigger collection bag.[/QUOTE]
A tip on using the Electro Groom: make sure to scootch the bag down between the filter and the removable metal box. Otherwise the bag will block the airflow on the filter, and your vacuum will act like it’s clogged. I think the old Electro Groom design had a bar or something across the top of the filter to prevent the bag from interfering.
Great report thanks - though I think it’s made my withdrawal worse :winkgrin:
I took a gps out one day and we covered nearly 30km (20 odd miles) - and my green mare and I were taking it pretty easy. I think the front runners would have covered nearly twice this!
Ok I’ll add my tips;
-Cowboy Magic green spot remover is a godsend for grey spots. Keep it and a rag handy at all times
-Consider keeping mane fairly thin and short, or better yet, take it right off with your clippers. A hogged mane, if done correctly, looks sharp and reduces grooming time. Also consider having a sh*t strap on your tack if you hog because you can’t grab mane anymore 
-bang a tail up shorter then you would otherwise
-once clean, spray Showsheen or other slipperier-then-black-ice product on legs and hocks in order to help repell dirt/burrs etc. Just don’t get it under your tack or on your hands!
I’m intrigued by this vacuum idea. I’ve heard of it done but I have to admit I thought of it as a hoity-toity snobby thing for barns with more money then horses to spend it on. So tell me, what is the best budget friendly vacuum for poor horsey folk like me? Basic shop vac? Is there a power rating or something to look for? Because a $700 beast is out of question, that’s for sure!
Shop vacs vary from $20 to $1000 plus. Cheaper ones are generally less powerful and noisier.
If you are trying to compare vacuums inches of water lift is probably the most useful number. The $700 Electro-Groom one claims 150 inches.
I kept mine out on 5 acres for years and whipped in twice a week. Full clip leaving legs from hocks/knees down and front half of head unclipped. On unclipped legs did tidy up feathers though. Waterproof blanket. Note this was back when New Zealand Rugs were the norm. But not the hoods and such, personal preference, I just think people overblanket in general just like they overdress human kids and mine were always ultra comfy with just the body protected and head and neck free to the elements. They had shelter if they needed it. Vacuum certainly if you’ve got it- this particular spot I leased had no electricity or running water so I just used basic grooming tools and elbow grease. Show sheen in the tail to detangle/demud works well and also facilities removal of briars amassed during hunting. Owning a horse with minimum white on legs is also an advantage, but- after grooming, generous application of baby powder or cornstarch gets those whites whiter, or at least less red in VA. Also, in the red clay of VA, owning a chestnut is a plus, second best, dark bay or brown. If you own a gray and keep it in the field the night before hunting, well, I salute you because horses much prefer to be out, but observe you would possibly be meeting Einstein’s definition of insanity.
Horse Vacs
[QUOTE=Corky;7303097]
Ok I’ll add my tips;
-Cowboy Magic green spot remover is a godsend for grey spots. Keep it and a rag handy at all times
-Consider keeping mane fairly thin and short, or better yet, take it right off with your clippers. A hogged mane, if done correctly, looks sharp and reduces grooming time. Also consider having a sh*t strap on your tack if you hog because you can’t grab mane anymore
-bang a tail up shorter then you would otherwise
-once clean, spray Showsheen or other slipperier-then-black-ice product on legs and hocks in order to help repell dirt/burrs etc. Just don’t get it under your tack or on your hands!
I’m intrigued by this vacuum idea. I’ve heard of it done but I have to admit I thought of it as a hoity-toity snobby thing for barns with more money then horses to spend it on. So tell me, what is the best budget friendly vacuum for poor horsey folk like me? Basic shop vac? Is there a power rating or something to look for? Because a $700 beast is out of question, that’s for sure![/QUOTE]
The first horse vac I used was made by Shop Vac and it hung on the wall. It was wonderful and both I and the horses loved it. The key, it seemed, was the 12 foot hose. It lasted almost 10 years.
I now have the Electro Groom which also works well. We did extend the hose which makes it easier to maneuver.
Im not a hunter, but I DO have muddy horses and I am finding the portable blower to be more useful than the shop vac. I have a small unit with a strap that slings over your shoulder, and I rub with the brush and blow the hair- down to the skin with the other. ITs lightweight and should you choose to use a hose on the horses to clean them up- dries them off as well. My horses including a spooky 2 yr old dont mind it. Maybe theres a dog groomer in your area that would let you try it? Mine is orange, dont know the brand. The only bad thing is if used in a barn with lots of little signs, notes, bills tacked up on the bulletin board- be a little careful about the aim or you will create a tornado of paperwork blowing about the aforementioned spooky 2 yr olds head! Funtimes!
[QUOTE=Griffyn;7367337]
Im not a hunter, but I DO have muddy horses and I am finding the portable blower to be more useful than the shop vac. I have a small unit with a strap that slings over your shoulder, and I rub with the brush and blow the hair- down to the skin with the other. ITs lightweight and should you choose to use a hose on the horses to clean them up- dries them off as well. My horses including a spooky 2 yr old dont mind it. Maybe theres a dog groomer in your area that would let you try it? Mine is orange, dont know the brand. The only bad thing is if used in a barn with lots of little signs, notes, bills tacked up on the bulletin board- be a little careful about the aim or you will create a tornado of paperwork blowing about the aforementioned spooky 2 yr olds head! Funtimes![/QUOTE]
Sounds like its a little Metro dryer. They’re pretty great. http://tinyurl.com/mqtqya2
Suggestion from a driving chat group. set the shop vac so it blows the dust off rather than vacuums it. Supposedly it also reduces the static build up.
Baby wipes also work for spot cleaning
I started using this on the dark horses this year.
Southern Illinois
Dust Beater
1 Bottle Witch Hazel (16oz)
1 Bottle 70% Isopropanol (16oz)
1/4 cup baby oil
Mix in a spray bottle. Shake each time before use. Use liberally with a wiping towel when grooming during the winter. Removes dust, conditions coat, kills static electricity. Perfect for removing sweat buildup after your ride or that gunk from under your traces after you drive! Use in mane and tail as well!
