From bits and stirrups to the silver on your Western saddle, knowing how to get a good shine out of your metal tack can make a big difference when you step into the show ring. These tips and tricks will help you to get your metal tack to shine like new.

Clean Regularly

Regularly cleaning your metal tack is key to keeping the job…

You provide your horse with plenty of fresh hay and regular grain feedings, but still he feels the desire to gnaw on his stall or pasture fencing like a beaver. Wondering why wood chewing occurs and what you can do to stop it? We’ve got the answers for you.

Why Horses Chew Wood

Many foals chew wood when they are first discovering and using…

Apartments in or above barns can be convenient and appealing to both boarders and barn owners. A barn apartment offers many advantages, but building it requires special planning. Be sure to do the following when designing your barn apartment.

Investigate Local Housing Codes

Before you dig into planning out the barn apartment, find out…

Given the rising cost of electricity, you certainly don’t want your electric bill to be any higher than it has to be. Your barn may be a source of wasted energy, though, resulting in higher bills. Check out these common ways that your barn may be inefficient with its electricity usage.

Running Old Refrigerators

Old refrigerators…

There’s nothing better than a well-maintained horse pasture. But sometimes, despite your attentive maintenance, weeds can take hold and threaten to take over a paddock. If you’re battling weeds in your horse pasture, these tips can help you to get them back under control.

Identify

Before you set about removing or destroying weeds…

If there’s one thing that every barn has plenty of, it’s baling twine. So what do you do with all of this leftover twine, aside from throwing it in the trash? Here are some creative ways to use old baling twine.

Braid a Grooming Wisp

Group a handful of baling twine together into a grooming…

Many barns, especially large facilities, feature apartments that are either above the barn or located on the property. When planning your barn building project, whether or not to include an apartment is a choice that you will face. You will want to consider the following points when deciding whether to build an apartment with your …

As the cold weather drags on, it tends to feel like the end of winter is nowhere in sight. Luckily, we’ve come up with some fun activities for you to help beat the winter riding (or non-riding) blues.

Host a Barn Movie Night

Bring together students, boarders, trainers, and everyone else in your barn for a barn movie night. Choose a…

Providing your horse with access to fresh, clean water is important year-round, but keeping buckets and troughs clean in the winter can be a challenge. Rather than battling the algae that often grows in troughs and buckets during the summer, the winter brings cold temperatures that can make cleaning buckets and troughs difficult. These tips can help to make the process easier…

Have you ever wanted to live with your horses? Or maybe you’re considering building an apartment above your barn for a caretaker, or to rent out. Living above a horse barn may seem simply idyllic to a lifelong horse enthusiast, but it’s not always all that it’s cracked up to be. Wondering what it’s really like to live above a horse barn? We’ve got the scoop for…

If you’ve never built a horse barn before, then when you set out to build your first barn you will be in unfamiliar territory. While building a barn will require some research and question asking on your part, we thought we’d give you a little help now with these common barn-building mistakes that you will want to avoid.

Entrusting the Project to a…

The New Year is a perfect time for self-reflection and making changes for improvement. If you board your horse, would your barn owner consider you a good boarder? Have you ever thought about it before? Following these tips can help you to stay on good terms with your barn’s manager.

Read Your Boarding Contract

Before you sign any contract, you…

Many horse owners have one – the horse who, either due to injury or old age, can no longer be ridden. If your horse is unrideable, you will face some decisions about his future. There are a few different options for unrideable horses that may work for your situation.

Keep as a Companion

The most obvious, and often most desirable option…

Owning and managing your own barn is a dream of many horse owners. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have horses in your backyard? When Karen Rudolph of Frost Hill Farm Miniatures in Hampstead, New Hampshire, partnered with Classic Equine Equipment to build her very own…

On January 23, 1994, jockey Pat Day achieved a major milestone in his impressive racing career: While riding Miss Popsnorkle at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Day won his 6,000^th race. In doing so, Day became the 10^th Thoroughbred jockey to win 6,000 races during his career. Day went on to win two additional races that same…

If you're thinking of breeding your mare for the first time, you’ll be journeying into new territory. It can mean big changes for you, your finances, and your free time. If you’re thinking of breeding your mare, this advice can help you get started.

Choose a Mare Worth Being Bred

One of the most common mistakes that…

Safety is always a consideration when transporting your horse, but winter weather adds an extra challenge to trailering your horse. When you have to transport your horse during the winter, you will have additional factors to consider with each trip.

Keep a Close Eye on the Weather

When scheduling your trip, closely monitor…

When sending a horse away for training, that horse may be away for a few weeks or even a few months. And while you may have done your homework before sending your horse away for training, there’s still room for things to go wrong. Monitoring your horse when he’s not at home can be tricky, but it’s also important to ensure that he is safe and training is…

Are you lucky enough to have a Hackney Pony in your barn? This flashy, high-stepping pony has an intriguing history and makes a popular horse show competitor.

History

The Hackney originated from Norfolk, England. Norfolk Trotters, a popular breed of horse, were used in the region and were bred to emphasize both speed…