Friday, May 28, 2021

Friday Favorites: Tubby Time Edition


 I'm not here to review any shampoo or anything like that... I'm cheap. I buy cheap shampoo. But I do have some favorite bath (and after bath) items that I thought I'd share. None of the links are affiliate links, I get nothing at all if you decide to try out my favorite things.

Epona April Showers Sponge: $6.95

You guys all know the Tigers Tongue is a great grooming tool. Know what makes it even better? Attaching it to a sponge! I'm all for a two in one grooming tool because it takes up less space. You can find these all over, but I got mine at Big D's here.

Fabric Hose: $22.45

My wash stall hose went to hose heaven last year after repeatedly getting put away with kinks still in it. (Not by my, my helpers aren't very hose savvy I guess.) Since it was the height of the pandemic at the time, I perused Amazon for a replacement and saw these fabric hoses. I found one that's green, and thought I'd give it a try. I wasn't so sure how it would hold up to barn use (seems delicate) but so far so good! This is the start of its second year, so I think it's worth recommending. Though I do not know how it would hold up in a very busy barn setting. You can find it here if you want one.

Jack's Mini Sweatscraper: $2.25

I was a long time metal shedding blade/scraper die hard. Then I got a normal sized one of these in a subscription box and thought that was a useful tool, but hated how much space it takes up. When I was ordering my sponges this spring, I was trying to find something to get me over the free shipping hump and saw these mini scrapers. They're super cheap so I figured if I didn't actually like it, no harm done really and I could donate them to the boarding barn where they would surely get used. But I actually do love them, and wound up ordering some for the show trunk too. You do have to make more passes to scrape the whole horse, BUT you also can get in smaller areas and even do their legs with it. Highly recommend. Here's a link if you want one.

Vornado floor fan: Large $129.99, small $59.99

Okay, honestly, this thing is expensive for a floor fan. BUT it has an enclosed motor making it safer for barn use, and most fans with that feature are pricey. What I like about it (besides it being green...) is how quiet it is, despite being quite powerful. I use it on the middle setting because the highest one seems like an actual tornado blowing on your horse. (I do generally prefer to take my horses outside to graze while they dry, but some days Eros has a lot of feelings about the bugs and doesn't want to be out there. And some days you just don't have time. Life happens.) This is the larger size fan. I did also buy a smaller (and significantly cheaper) one to keep in the trailer for if/when we get back to horse show life. You can find them at these links: Large and small 

Curvon Fly/Scrim Sheet: $92.50

You guys know I have like 8 million options for cooler type blankets for these horses. And while I prefer them to dry nekkid outside when it's hot out, Eros is more likely to stay outside if he has some bug protection on. Shiny doesn't care as much until those giant horse flies show up. I was using a fly sheet from Big D for the last several years, but they never really fit any of horses correctly. I had to get Rio a size 84 to fit his neck (they were closed front) and that's what I was using for Eros. It worked, but was like a dress on him. Shiny had one too, and though I sized up, it was WAY too short for her this year. (Her butt has really developed in the past year, and well... Baby got too much back for it now.) I love the Tuffrider half scrim/half fleece sheets we have, but when it's hot, that fleece part makes them sweat. So I decided to hunt for something new. It's ridiculous I understand, but I wanted something in our barn colors, which is pretty tough to find. Most companies just don't make things in green, and when they do, they often pair them with red or burgundy. Not my taste. There are lots of places to get custom, but I didn't want to spend big bucks on something they'll use just a few months a year not in a public setting. I still had to spend some money, but at least I was able to stay under $100. I settled on these from Curvon. It's a mesh similar to the Back on Track sheets, but much lighter weight. (I think the BOT mesh sheets are pretty heavy for the summer, but do love them for early spring and fall.) I had wanted something with a more open weave, but couldn't find anything in the price range I wanted, so I settled. It's been hot here already (mid to upper 80's with high humidity) and the horses have dried off nicely and cooly with these one. So it was good choice. Also, I custom picked my colors (did not get piping to save money, and I think it saved time too) and they arrived in less than a week which is crazy to me. I'm guessing the store I got them from stocks some size runs in popular combos. No way these got made that fast. Anyway, I got them from a place called Pinkstons which I think is a race horse tack store. You can find them here if you're interested.

Have you tried any of these items and liked them? Or maybe you had a different experience with them? Any other favorite bath items you want us to know about?

12 comments:

  1. I love the mini scraper. I thought I was buying a normal sized one so was disappointed until I actually used it. It's perfect, especially for taking to shows.

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  2. I still have not been converted to the church of tiger tongues lol…. Maybe one day, but for now my loyalty stays with those old school plastic curries lol

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    1. FWIW Tiger Tongues aren't a curry replacement. They're more like a...finishing thing? For me. After curry + stiff brush + flicker brush, they lift the last little bit of dust out of the coat that the other brushes left behind. I love mine.

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    2. Yes, what Jen said. I don't use it in place of a curry, except maybe on horses that hate a curry. I like it at bath time for scrubbing, or in place of bath time with a dry shampoo to get stains off Shiny.

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  3. I didn't even know you could buy mini scrapers, haha!

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    1. I didn't either! I found it when scrolling through the bath products!

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  4. Is the small version of that fan really legit enough for a horse show fan? I have to replace my cheapo box fan with a 3 prong one before Pony Cup.

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    1. I think it's too small to use on the stall for keeping the horse cool. But it works great for trying to get legs dry before wrapping. It's pretty powerful, but it's kind of a concentrated area if that makes sense.

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  5. I'll have to try the tiger tongue for bath time - seems like the combo sponge thingy would work well!

    And fans. I need a couple of fans with enclosed motors (I have a dicey old box fan that I clean with the shop vac - but it needs to be replaced soon) so off to search amazon.ca and see what they have!

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    1. It has just the right amount of scrubby for tubby time!
      I still have box fans in the barn too. I need to get enclosed motors though, it's just a lot safer.

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  6. Great article! Thanks for sharing. I added some thoughts on Horse boots sometime ago

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