You know how some people are impossible to buy for? Well, not horse owners. What non-horsey people don’t know is that horses and dogs like to hide small, random, unattended items such as hoof picks. Well, that’s the only explanation we have for why we can never, ever find a hoof pick on the yard, anyway. It’s either that or aliens.
The equestrian in your life will always welcome these thoughtful little gifts…
1. Socks
Horsey people never have enough socks, possibly because in cold weather we like to wear three pairs at once. We like to have a full ‘sock wardrobe’ available, from super-thick and fluffy winter socks to knee length, technical riding socks, but we’d frankly settle for anything clean, dry and without holes in.
2. Gloves
Hands up who owns 14 left hand gloves and only one right hand glove (which doesn’t even match any of the left hand gloves)? A new pair is always welcome, as is a locked box to keep them in.
3. Carrots
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While a 1kg bag of supermarket carrots is likely to be interpreted as an insult that we don’t do enough cooking, a 10kg orange net bag of the exact same vegetable will be welcomed with open arms. No need to wrap it up.
4. Any item of everyday riding clothing
Yes, your other half already owns 14 pairs of breeches. No, that’s not enough. Tops, legwear, boots, woolly hats and coats will all be smiled upon. If in doubt, go for anything that says ‘technical’ or ‘waterproof’ on the label.
Fifty per cent of all horse treats never actually make it to the horse – they’re left in pockets, run through the washing machine, eaten by dogs, crushed on the floor and pinched by other people, who don’t feed them to their horses either. We always need more. Don’t use your initiative, though – your beloved will have their favourite brand, and may recoil in horror from anything else. After all, you want to be careful what you’re putting through the washing machine…
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Sara is an experienced copywriter and journalist, who has owned horses all her life. As a journalist, she’s written about everything from following in the footsteps of William the Conqueror in Normandy to interviewing top chefs, while when it comes to equines she says: “if it’s got four legs and a mane and tail, and, er, isn’t a lion, I’ll write about it.” Sara is also a fluent French speaker and also enjoys writing on countryside and rural topics.
