Last minute Christmas gift ideas for your horse

Last minute Christmas gift ideas for your horse

In the last few years, buying Christmas gifts for your pet has become increasingly popular, you’ll be hard pressed to find a supermarket that isn’t selling branded stockings for your dog and cat, but what about your horse? Here we look at some last-minute Christmas gifts you could buy for you horse to show how much you care for them this holiday season.

Treats

Adding some treats in your horse’s breakfast on Christmas morning will bring extra joy to your day. You’ve got so many options from fruit and vegetables as a top up to their usual breakfast or you could go a little further and bake a treat for them yourself. The Horse have some recipe ideas on their website to have a look through. If your horse is on a diet, remember to check the ingredients to make sure you horse will be able to eat them.

You can also give your horse a can of Guinness in their stocking! It contains yeast strains and has been said to help horses out with stress as these strains are often found in probiotics. It is also suggested that the hops found in Guinness may help to protect the digestive tract, not to mention the malted barley has a good source of minerals and vitamins. If you don’t want to give your horse a can of Guinness for Christmas, what about a nice cup of tea? You can pour herbal tea over their bucket feed, or stir the tea into it – Have a think about adding some herbal Yarrow, Ginger, Peppermint, Rose Hips or Lemon Balm tea for them as these teas have properties that will benefit your horse.

Toys

We gave you some ideas for toys and entertainment for your horse earlier this month. Balls are always going to be a firm favourite and many horses are more than happy to play around with an exercise ball. You could also try them with a mirror or even a cuddle toy – some horses quite like playing with a teddy bear, just make sure you keep an eye on them! Even a squeaky rubber chicken toy can keep them entertained.

Brushes

You could also have a thinking about binning your horse’s old brushes and getting them a brand-new selection! Most horses enjoy a good grooming and with the recent boom in massage brushes, you could always treat your horse this Christmas by adding a massage into their grooming routine. There are new massage brushes on the market that have soft versions in currycomb with magnetic roller balls. This may sound a little over the top, but these massage brushes are said to reduce pain and improve blood flow. If you’d prefer, you can get silicone versions or hand-held massagers with rolling, soft prongs to stimulated circulation.

Headcollars

Your Horse will be wearing their headcollar most days, so it is a good idea to update this when it starts getting a bit worn. There are a lot of options out there and you’ll want to go for something that is comfortable and functional for you and your horse. There is so much variety out there nowadays and many of them will have generous padding that will give your horse the comfort they need when travelling or in the stable. Leather headcollars are a good idea, especially for travelling, as they will break under pressure during an emergency.

Tack

There are plenty of gift ideas in relation to tack you can buy for your horse and they are not dependant on certain times of year but if you did want to do something for your horse this Christmas, it’s a perfect time to look into updating your tack. Sheepskin girth covers are an excellent way to provide extra comfort for your horse and they absorb sweat. Saddlepads are also an ideal item of tack to be updating this Christmas and they do need to be replaced once they start to become worn. It may be an idea to look into a reflective saddlepad during the dark evenings and nights, like this one from LeMieux.

Accessories

If it was showing off your Christmas cheer this year you can always opt for festive accessories for both you and your horse. Matching Santa hats? No problem, Harry Hall currently have a novelty horse Santa hat on their website for a discounted price of under £10, they also have saddle covers, bandages and horse rugs in the same pattern (all currently for discounted prices). Or, if the mood takes you, Horze are offering a festive Christmas exercise sheet for your horse, so you can really show off your cheer.

Whatever you decide to do for your horse this Christmas remember you cannot put a price on the joy they have brought you, so if you can’t afford to splash out on them, make sure you spend a little extra time with them as a thank you for the joy they bring you.

British Pet Insurance Services offers a range of horse insurance policy levels, with up to £5,000 vet fees and a range of optional extras. Select the level of cover to suit your needs.