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.