Goose's Summer Essentials


Summer is here in the Carolinas, and with it comes the heat and humidity. I have zero complaints so far - it's been pretty mild, though we know that will certainly change in another few weeks. 

Summer Goose is a bit of a challenge. This pokey dude is even slower, doesn't do well in the heat, and gets weepy eyes and fungus like it's his job. Sweet itch? We're on a first name basis with that bitch. I also don't fare well in the heat, and as I was ordering my summer supply of Nuun tablets and Goose's summer supply of electrolytes, I figured why not blog about our summer essentials. Note that I'm not sponsored in any way by any of these products - these are just the ones I've found I like best over the years and these words are entirely my own opinion. 

Goose's Summer Essentials

Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Listerine - Vinegar is pure magic, plain and simple. Naturally antibacterial,  anti fungal... basically is anti-everything bad and pro-good health without chemicals. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of products and potions and prescriptions as needed, but honestly the vinegar works better for a lot of things than expensive products do. I keep a gallon of white vinegar at the barn, fill a small bucket about 1/4 of the way with vinegar and fill the bucket almost to the top with water and sponge him off after rides or when he's really hot. It helps with bugs a little, but really helps with skin issues, of which we have many. 

Generics work great and are cheaper! 

My major go-to besides just plain white vinegar, is apple cider vinegar and listerine. For the ACV and Listerine (the brown original stuff, not the minty one), I fill a spray bottle with half and half and keep it on hand for everything. If scratches/fungus are particularly bad, put a squirt of betadine in there too. Thrush? Spray in their feet and nail holes a few times a week (but not too often because you don't want to kill all the good bacteria too). Scratches or rain rot? Spray it right on and watch the fungus fall away (over a few days or weeks depending on severity, but I swear it's magic). Sweet itch? Face scunge? You got it, spray away! 

I often spray vinegar on cuts and wounds too if they don't warrant a betadine scrub or other major topical. Also, if I get mosquito bites or ant bites I spray them down with vinegar and it really helps. I use ACV/Listerine on my dogs too if they get hot spots, and in the summer they each get a cap full of ACV in their meals which helps with coat health. Since Franny is wet 90% of the time in the summer with pond swimming, kiddie pool swimming, mud puddles, etc, she is super prone to hot spots in her neck wrinkles no matter how much I dry her off and bathe her. This has really helped me manage her hot spots and keep them under control. 

The hippotatomus lounging in her doggie pool. This is why she is ALWAYS wet in the summer and get gross fungus and hot spots. 

Coat Defense drying paste and powder - While it's not the cheapest product on the market, it is worth every penny. Our barn cannot live without this stuff especially since our horses live out and are prone to all kinds of grime and fungus ('cuz pasture board and mud and bugs and the south). The coat defense powder is amazing for general upkeep of your horse, especially if they're prone to rain rot. Goose got random small patches of rain rot this spring before I clipped him, and between my vinegar concoction and coat defense powder, he was under control in no time. I also use the powder on my dogs, especially Franny. As mentioned, she is constantly wet at the barn and prone to hot spots, so a few times a week when she's dry, I sprinkle the powder over her coat and work it in to her fur so it gets to her skin. It has the added benefit of making her smell GREAT and not musty like she does from being a water dog.  

Water dog? I is a water P R I N C E S S. 

The drying paste is my favorite of the two products. Goose got a bout of scratches on his hind legs last spring after I'd given him time off when I was quarantining in March and April. They were really bad, and I felt like a bad mom when I came back from my initial total isolation and noticed how bad his legs were. I slathered on the drying paste a few times a week and it cleared up so quickly and beautifully; I was shocked. I would curry the dried paste off before I rode, spray his legs down with the vinegar and listerine, ride, make sure  his legs were clean, then slather on the paste again. M A G I C. It also is working wonders on his sweet itch along his belly and chest, and also his face fungus he gets. He gets these horrible sweet itch spots under his jaw too, so standard practice I slather some on before I put on his fly mask and turn him back out. I don't know what I did before this product, go get yourself some.

These spots on his chest/armpit are usually red and raw this time of year. While they're not 100% under control and healed, I've been using Coat Defense for a few weeks now and it's cleared up 85% and I guarantee will look even better as I continue to apply over the summer! 

This is directly under his throat after I curried it last night before riding.  Last week it was red, raw, and weeping. This is it after two applications of CD.

The underside of his jaw is totally healed now, but I still slather on a bit of paste about twice a week to make sure the scunge doesn't come back. 


Pro tip: Coat Defense works WONDERS on bug bites! I get eaten alive by mosquitos and have occasionally lost a battle with fire ants. I was home the other week trying to figure out how to not just chop my ankles off to stop the itch, and remembered I had the Coat Defense powder here for Franny. I mixed up a little bit of powder with a little vinegar and it turned into the paste and dried out my bites so quickly, and the relief was immediate. A friend of mine has also used the paste on her poison ivy and said it really helped!

Shoo-Fly Leggins -  A ton of bloggers have done reviews on these and seriously people if you don't have these on your horse, what are you doing with your life. I HATE fly boots with a passion and firmly believe they promote fungus and skin issues, however these are game changing. They stay off the leg thanks to the sturdy seams that hold them upright, only the bottom that sits around the ankle touches their leg for the most part. I clean mine once a week and soak or spray down with vinegar to get rid of anything gross, and they work a charm. The majority of our horses have these now and the only horses stomping at flies are the few outliers who don't have the boots on. Goose got pink because they were the only larges in stock, and I don't hate it, he is adorable. I bought mine locally but I know friends who got good pricing on them from Stateline Tack, linked above. 

Fly season, but make it fashion.

This is my second summer with this set of Shoo-Fly, and they've held up pretty well to nearly 24/7 use. I'm thinking this set may need to be retired after this season as they're a bit worn in areas and the plastic seams that hold them upright have collapsed near the bottom, but they still function as they should and clean up to be that brilliant neon every time I scrub them. I try to take them off him when I know it's going to rain and I never ride in them - I'm a firm believer that he shouldn't have something on his legs all the time, it just promotes scratches and leg fungus even if these have given me far fewer problems than more traditional fly boots. I'm diligent about giving him a few days' break from the boots every so often especially when it's rainy or super wet, and clean/disinfect the boots regularly.  



Equifit Gelcompression Tendonboots - I bought these back in 2015 when Goose bowed a tendon, and they are arguably the best money I've spent on something for this horse's wellness. The gel ice packs are amazing, they're not hard or stiff and really conform to their leg. The boots are easy to use and cover from fetlock to knee, and the compression aspect is awesome. There's a little valve you attach the hose to fill with air, close the valve, and let them sit for your desired icing length of time. I use these in the summer pretty regularly, and they come in handy if Goose ever has something swell or decides to give me a heart attack and be swollen and lame for three days like he did last summer. 


A relaxing Goober enjoying his ice boots when his leg ballooned up last summer.


Cashel Quiet Ride Fly Mask with Ears - This is my favorite fly mask, and the only one Goose will keep on his face. I've had a few different types over the years, usually Cashel brand but most fly masks are heavy and he tears them off easily. Though the Quiet Ride is meant for, well, riding in, he wears it in turnout and it stays on his head. This year, he's been wearing it since March and has only pulled it off himself a few times, usually when he's scratching his mane off in his poop palace (we named his shed for him).

Yes, in March he was wearing both his sheet AND fly mask because it was chilly at night but bugs came out as soon as the sun did. 
 
My theory on why he likes this one so much is that it's so thin and light, doesn't make his face overly sweaty, and I can make it tight enough to stay on through his normal itching but it doesn't make him uncomfortable. If he really goes to town, he can get it off but most of the time it stays right in place. Goose is the kind of horse that NEEDS to be in a mask because his eyes blow up from bugs the second he's not wearing it, so it's really important he lives in one. I've also ridden in the mask and have no problem with it, but prefer fly bonnets overall for riding. 

If The Bonnet Fits Fly Bonnets - These are my FAVORITE fly bonnets, and bonus: they're custom! Goose is the kind of horse that is completely unrideable without a bonnet in the fly season. He shakes his head, throws fits, and is generally an ogre with flies around his ears. For awhile, I thought he had that head shaking syndrome until I started riding him in bonnets years ago and realized he's just ornery about bugs. Same, dude. 

I can't figure out how to rotate this so it's fine

Close-up of the detailed piping and sparkles

I ordered two If The Bonnet Fits bonnets for Goose back in 2016 and they've held up incredibly well to daily use 8-10 months out of the year. Last summer I wanted to get him a new one, and ordered two custom bonnets. Mine is black with some teal piping and sparkles, and I got Kendra a maroon one. She offers custom embroidery on the ears, so I had her put "Sparkle Bitch" with one word on each ear. I've written about this before, but back when I was in training with Kendra in NJ, this was our saying to get Goose and I more active and moving. "You have to make him sparkle, get after him and SPARKLE, BITCH!" We're college friends and I adore her and this was the actual perfect training environment for me. But I digress...


This navy bonnet I've had for FIVE years and it still looks amazing and has held up great! Every behind the ears photo I take features one of these bonnets.


Goose sparkling on one of our Camden adventures.


These bonnets are fabulous and you need one. There is a significant lead time because she makes them all by hand, but they're fully custom, hold up well, and are worth the money. She has an awesome Instagram account in addition to her website, so check it out! 

Alyssa's Summer Essentials

Nuun Hydration Tablets - Another product Kendra introduced me to! I absolutely melt in the summer and dehydrate very quickly. This has gotten slightly better since I've lived down south for four years now and have mostly acclimated, but I still don't do very well. Nuun are electrolyte tablets that you dissolve into water. They're not sugary or salty at all and taste great with multiple flavor options. I typically buy them from Amazon but you can find them in some stores as well. If I'm going to be at the barn all day, I pre-fill a few of my reusable water bottles and dissolve the tablets in them before I leave the house. These have saved me on trail rides, long barn days, and even at the beach. 



Though Nuun tablets are meant for athletes, occasionally drinking can be a sport, right? If you're partying at the beach, by the pool, wherever and beverages are involved, pop a couple Nuun before/while/after you drink. We've even blended the lime ones into margaritas before, and none of us had any hangover. I promise this isn't a usual thing for me, I don't have a problem, but for those times where you pretend you're back in college, these come in handy. 

Cooling Towels - I bought these on Amazon last summer and I LOVE them. They come in little plastic packs with a clip on them, so you can fill them with water and take them to go. The best part is that it doesn't have to be cold water; the towels have a cooling effect, so they feel cool no matter the water temp. I love these for the thick heat of the summer at the farm and will often wear them around my neck, wrapped around my wrists, or even draped over my head. They're inexpensive and I love them! 




Insulated Wine Tumblers - Swig makes a great one (linked) but other brands like Brumate and multiple venders on Amazon make ones just a nice. I've had these for years, as you can see by my collection, and one of my barn friends gifted the fun cow print ones to our whole barn crew last year and we had our initials put on them. These are perfect for mimosa Sundays at the barn, wine drinking, or whatever else you care to put in them. I hate using plastic cups that we toss after our barn socials so I usually bring my collection out for everyone to use, and they're always a hit! Easy to clean and come in many fun colors, patterns, and sayings. 


There are probably a dozen more things that I use regularly in summer, but they're far less interesting. I'm sure you don't want to read about sunscreen and sun shirts, though if you have recommendations I'm always looking for better things to help me through the summer heat and sun! 

What are your summer must-haves? Anything work particularly well for you or your horse? 


Comments

  1. I must be the only person on the the planet who still hasn't tried the shoofly leggings, but they're on my list! 😁

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    Replies
    1. If your horses wouldn't really benefit from fly boots then there's no need, but fly stamping was really starting to affect Goose's feet last year. Totally recommend these if you're in the market for fly protection!

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    2. that's exactly charlie's deal too... i figure, i can pay for coffin injections, or keep him in fly boots. it's early days this summer so far, but his feet right now are in a whole different (and better!) place from where they were this time last year (when i was kinda hamstrung from maintaining them bc of the covid lockdowns....)

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  2. Between this post and Lauren's recent "useful things" post, my Amazon cart has a lot of nonsense in it. Now, to score some photography gigs so I can justify buying it all lolololol

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    Replies
    1. I just read her post this morning, a few more things jumped into my cart too! My current justification for buying pretty much anything (within reason) is, the new house NEEDS it haha

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