We all know that as soon as something is marketed for equestrian use, the price tag always go up! Luckily there are a lot of common household items that can do double duty at the barn. The list below contains my own ideas and many that I picked up reading the Chronicle of the Horse Forum.

• Ivory Soap: for cleaning white spots, bathing before clipping, sheath cleaning, and for treating fence boards that horses chew (truly a multipurpose product!)
• Listerine: for cleaning water buckets and trough, treating itchy tails and as a liniment or inn a bath
• Duct tape: for making hoof boots, temporarily serving as a zipper on a boot, fixing broken fence boards, temporarily fixing blanket tears.
• Kitchen shelf liners: for non-slip saddle pads.
• Microfiber cloths: for that “finishing touch”.
• Car wash mits (sheepskin) for grooming ticklish horses.
• Diapers: to make hoof boots (with duct tape) and as wound dressing.
• Plastic gas cans for carrying water.
• Saline solution (for contact lenses) for rinsing wounds.
• Benadryl for allergies.
• Infusium 23 to condition tails.
• Panty liners: to cover wounds and to put in helmets to improve fit when you can’t find any of the regular shims.
• Charcoal lighter fluid for cleaning clipper blades.
• Baby oil for cleaning sheaths.
• Baby wipes for cleaning faces, wiping tack, cleaning the baby oil of hands after cleaning sheaths.
• WD 40 for getting burrs out of manes and tails (have never tried this!).
• Corn starch for whitening socks.
• KY jelly for sheath cleaning.
• Baby powder on hooves to get hoof boots on.
• Murphy’s oil soap as a leather cleaner.
• Castile soap as a leather cleaner.
• Thermacare pads over Epsom salt paste to draw out abscesses.
• Silicone hair serum for detangling tails
• Shop vac for vacuuming dirty horses.
• Deep Woods Off for fly spray.
• White vinegar for cleaning water buckets.
• Rubbing alcohol for cooling out hot horses.
• Nylon pot scrubbers for removing mud or rain rot.
• Witch hazel for sweats, along with generic cling wrap.
• Rubber Maid containers to store supplies and for grain.
• Baking soda to clean water buckets.
• Athlete’s foot treatment for scratches.
• Car cleaning rags for just about everything.