DIY Santa Mash

Last year, at about this time, I came across a company called Emerald Valley Equine.  The website offered a variety of horse feeds and supplements, but what really caught my eye were the mashes.  They didn't include any bran, and were instead based on one of two products manufactured by British Horse Feeds: Speedi-Beet and Fibre-Beet.  I am a sucker for feeds and supplements and have tried dozens and dozens over the years.  And if I'm going to feed beet pulp, Speedi-Beet is what I now use, because it soaks crazy fast (it's usually ready in 5 minutes!).  But back then, I was still learning about the products, and I wanted to give the mashes a try.  So I ordered several different kinds, including one called Santa Mash.

I tested it out on Donut, who loved it, along with the other kinds I ordered.  The one thing about the mashes, though, was that I couldn't get them locally, so the price of the mash plus shipping was cost-prohibitive for any kind of frequent use.  The mash costs either $6.95 for a single serving (13 oz) or $59.95 for 10 pounds.  And with shipping costs now - I just discovered the small flat rate box through USPS is now $9.20!!! - I was struggling with the economics.

But there aren't many ingredients in the mash, and it occurred to me that I might be able to deconstruct it and make my own.  So that is what I did one evening.  The mash basically has 4 ingredients: Fibre-Beet (beet pulp and alfalfa meal), rolled oats, shredded coconut, and dried cranberries.  (The ingredient list does include a few other things that are probably for flavor: cane molasses, vegetable oil, calcium carbonate, biotin, and peppermint flavor.)

When I deconstructed the mash, I was able to approximate how much of each thing was in the mash.  Here are the weights that I got:

•      Fibre-Beet: 10.16 oz
•      Dried Cranberries: 1.16 oz
•      Shredded Coconut: 0.25 oz
•      Rolled Oats: 1.2 oz

(I know it is just short of 13 oz, so probably I had some measurement errors on my scale.)

I don't have access to Fibre-Beet at my local feed stores, but I can get Speedi-Beet, and I feed it daily to Freya.  So I already have it.  We eat oatmeal occasionally, so rolled oats is easy to have on hand.  And I already feed shredded coconut to Freya every day.  So really, the only out-of-the ordinary thing was dried cranberries.  And it would be fun to add peppermints or candy canes.

The next thing I did was price it out the ingredients.  If I replaced the Fibre-Beet with Speedi-Beet, I could get everything either from local stores or through Amazon.

• Speedi-Beet (44 pound bag): $44.00
• Dried Cranberries (2 pound bag): $18.95
• Shredded Coconut (2 pound bag): $13.99
• Rolled Oats (3 pound bag): $13.99
• Candy Canes (35 individually wrapped): $I have no idea because I forgot to save the receipt, but maybe $5?)

Based on the above amounts, I decided it was worth it to make my own and see how it went.  And then I had a bright idea.  What if I made Santa Mashes for all the horses at the barn for Christmas?  I always want to do something for everyone, and then I run out of time and never do.  But if I got started early, maybe I could manage this.  

So I ordered everything or bought it locally, and this past weekend, Gemma and I made 30 Santa Mashes.  I used 5x8 inch Mylar bags as packaging, and we experimented with how much of each thing should go in the bags.  Despite the fact that the bags appeared to be the exact same size as the ones the Emerald Valley Santa Mash came it, Gemma and I were only able to get about 8 oz per bag.  I suspect that is because we don't have manufacturing equipment to compact and vacuum seal the bags, although we did discover that the Speedi-Beet will settle quite a bit if the bag is shaken, so the amount below is based on some compacting to get everything to fit.

Here are the approximate amounts per bag of the ingredients:

• Speedi-Beet: 5.5 oz (a little under 1 1/2 cups)
• Rolled Oats: 1.4 oz (a little under 1/3 cup)
• Shredded Coconut: 0.5 oz (about 1/8 cup)
• Dried Cranberries: 0.75 oz (about 1/8 cup)
• 1 candy cane

These aren't the right amounts to add, just a picture so you can see what everything looks like.

After adding a gift tag, here is what the finished product looks like:

Note that I didn't heat seal the bag.  My understanding is that it can be done with a flat iron (like for straightening hair), which I have, but I felt like the Ziplock seal was sufficient.

The gift tag is printed using digital paper from Ali Edwards' December Daily 2020 Main Kit, and I added the text in Photoshop.  I was going to cleverly print the instructions for the mash on the reverse of the tag, but that is easier said then done, so to preserve my sanity, I printed the instructions on a different sheet of paper, cut them out, and adhered them to the back of the tag.  Then I punched a hole in the tag and the bag and used a piece of twine to tie everything together.

When I calculated the cost per bag of my version of the Santa Mash, it came out to $1.92 per bag (not including the gift tags and twine).  So that is a huge savings over buying the bags individually, and well worth it if I'm going to make them in bulk.

I think these little mashes would make great stocking stuffers for friends and family with horses (not to mention your own horses would probably love them!).  And they would make fun additions to prizes for shows too!  Plus, you can easily customize the mix to exclude ingredients that aren't the best for your horse or to provide some variety.

Overall, I'm super happy with this particular DIY, and it might be the only one in my history to actually cost less than the thing I was trying to imitate!:)

Conditioning Star

Gemma is planning to move up a level in her hunter shows for next year (even though, based on her age, she could stay at the current level for two more years).  So she'll be going from Pre-Short Stirrup to Short Stirrup.  Pre-Short Stirrup has one division with three flat (i.e. no jumps) classes.  One class is walk only, one class is walk/trot, and one class is walk/trot with fancy stuff like jump position and sitting trot.  

Short Stirrup has two divisions, one focused more on the rider (Equitation) and one focused more on the horse (Hunter).  I'm still trying to figure this level out, but here is what I think I know so far.  In Short Stirrup Equitation, there are three classes.  One class is walk/trot on the flat, one class is walk/trot/canter on the flat, and one class is over fences not to exceed 18" (with the option to trot the course instead of canter).  I think the maximum is five jumps for the course.  This division is not VHSA-sanctioned, which means the Virginia Horse Show Association doesn't offer the option to compete in it for finals.  (That may or may not matter, depending on how the year goes.)

Short Stirrup Hunter, which is VHSA-sanctioned, also has three classes.  One is walk/trot/canter on the flat, and the other two are over fences (with the option to trot the courses instead of canter).  The courses are simply the reverse of each other, and I think there are five jumps, with the possibility of one change of direction (so the horse needs to be able to do a simple or flying change if cantering).

What all this means is that Gemma needs quite a few more skills to show in Short Stirrup than she did to show in Pre-Short.  She has already been practicing full courses of 7-8 jumps of 15-18" at the canter, and really the only skill she needs there is learning simple or flying changes.  She also needs a horse that is fit enough to canter at least one course for equitation, at least 2 courses for hunter, and up to three courses if she wants to do both divisions, plus walk/trot/canter flat work.

Freya is coming along, but we had a little set back.  I'll write more about that in another post.  Essentially, though, we had to pull her out of work for a few weeks.  We are gradually putting her back in work now.  I don't have any concerns that she would have the fitness level to do both divisions in Short Stirrup, but my big goal for her is that she learns how to move correctly and in balance while she does it, so that she stays sound and happy for Gemma for many, many years to come.  That means I'm willing to take the time it takes on that front.

Star is also coming along and continues to amaze me.  But the reality is that she is 24 years old, and that we don't have full access to her.  Gemma can ride her 2-3 times a week, and if she does, I can't ride her at all.  Which means I can't work Star like I would prefer and give her the kind of work that would be most beneficial to building her strength.  (Although even with me only riding her occasionally, she wowed everyone during our last lesson with my instructor.  She was doing a fantastic shoulder-in at the trot and we even started shallow half-pass at the trot.  I wish I could ride her more!)

But Star is currently not fit enough to handle two divisions with three jump courses.  I'm positive that she can do the Equitation division with just a little more conditioning, though.  So I've talked to Gemma about it, and we've agreed that our goal for Star next year is to get her fit enough for Equitation and we'll leave the Hunter division for Freya when she is ready.  

My preference is for Gemma to get the hang of the Short Stirrup level (particularly the walk/trot/canter class) with Star, whose only fault is likely to be going too slow, before she uses Freya.  Freya has shown herself to be very good in a number of situations, including one where Gemma was riding in the arena and another person got bucked off of their horse and said horse went cantering around like a loon.  Gemma knew to halt Freya and wait for the loose horse to be caught, and Freya was perfect at standing still.  I've also seen her stand completely still near a jump while another horse cantered behind her and over the jump.  She can spook, but if she does, she typically moves sideways for a couple of strides and then stops and looks at the thing that is worrying her.  So Gemma can easily sit that.  The one unknown is how she does if she is in a large group of horses all cantering around the arena with riders of different skill levels.  

I admit to a full-on panic attack when I think about Gemma cantering around an arena with 15 other horses whose riders have no clue and that look on the verge of being out of control.  Not every show is like that, but some of them are.  As of this writing, I've not seen anyone get hurt, but it isn't safe, in my motherly opinion.  (One of my friends - who has raised a horse-riding daughter - recently pointed out to me that it's possible that I might be overprotective, before admitting that she was pretty cautious when her daughter was younger too.  The problem is that I know exactly what can go wrong and how significant the damage can be, so even though the likelihood of something going wrong is small, the amount of damage that can be done is huge, so I continue to err on the side of safety, and I refuse to apologize for it.  I want Gemma to have a long life with horses.  And yes, at some point, she will probably have an accident that injures her, but the more skills she gets, the easier it will be for her to handle the situations that could lead to an accident.  Which means my focus is on building those skills as safely as I can, and not worrying about chasing points and getting ribbons.)

Anyway, this whole long explanation is the backstory for why we are now being more diligent about conditioning Star.  The biggest thing she needs help with is cantering for longer periods of time.  So out to the fields we go for some trot and canter work on hills and over jumps.  Cross-training is our friend:)

Luckily we are blessed with two things out at the farm where I board.  One is a field with a low hill that is perfect for strengthening exercises.  The other is the very recent addition of cross-country jumps that are low enough for Star to jump. 

The plan right now is to get Star out in the field for (short) trot and canter sets once a week.  Twice would be better, but it will be hard with the other lessons that she has going on.  Although, I am contemplating whether we can get away with doing field work on the same day she has a beginner lesson.  The lessons typically aren't physically challenging for her, so it is possible that we could add 20 minutes of hill work on those days.  Even just walking up and down the hill a few times could be helpful.  And I'm even wondering if that work would help warm her up for her lessons.  Right now, she really needs about 20 minutes to warm up and even then, the longer she moves, the better she moves, up to the point of getting tired, which typically doesn't happen for about an hour.

One of the things I want to work on is helping Star move more "uphill."  This was our first time cantering her up a hill, and it was hard for her.  I expect that with more conditioning, she will be able to keep her balance better.  But we have to start somewhere!

The other thing is to get Star out over the cross-country jumps once a week as part of Gemma's regular lesson.  She surprised me by jumping them with ease for the first time last week.  I don't know if she has ever jumped cross-country jumps in her life, but if she has, it has been at least 10 years.  And she acted like she had been doing it for years.

 

Then, of course, Gemma will continue to work on dressage/flat work, ground pole exercises, and regular jumps in the arena.  My hope is that both the variety of work as well as the focus on increasing Star's endurance at the trot and canter will be what she needs to help her feel comfortable doing the higher level division.

I would love to hear from you if you've had experience bringing an older horse back into condition.  Were there any exercises that seemed to help more than others?  I know we need to go slowly and pay careful attention to make sure she doesn't lose weight or strain herself.  And if, in the end, she isn't up for it, we will stop the work.  She is an amazing horse, and neither Gemma nor I want to see her injured.  On the other hand, she continues to surprise me with her willingness to work and her ability to improve both her endurance and her skills.

Product Review: Blanket Tags

It's that time of year when the sheets and blankets come out of storage (or in my case, come out from under the seat in the truck where I wadded them up from the spring with the expectation that I would wash them before fall).  I'm not actually a huge fan of blanketing, but I do always try to have a waterproof sheet and a mid-weight blanket on hand, just in case.

Star's blankets from last year needed to be replaced, and I bought Freya a set as well.  Donut does fine without any blankets, so I'm waiting until she is done growing before getting her any.  But with two horses that share a blanket bar, I figured it might be a good idea to label the blankets both for us and for the barn staff.

I turned to one of my favorite resources for customized horse stuff - Etsy - and it didn't take me long to find some good candidates.  I ended up choosing a shop called CarolsStitchery for my first order.  Gemma's favorite color is definitively yellow at the moment, but she is always a fan of rainbows, so we ordered two tags for Freya with yellow and rainbow embroidery.  The tags were shipped within a few days and were clearly well-made.  We got one on a sheet for Freya which you can see below:

I have to admit, the rainbow version of the tag is pretty cool.

For my next order, I got a purple tag for Star.  The shop has an option for either a snap or a split ring as an attachment for the tag.  I had gotten the snaps for my first order, but decided to try the split ring next.

I like the split ring option a lot.  Gemma likes to move things around, so having the snaps on the tags she uses for Freya makes sense, but the split rings seem a bit more permanent and less likely to come off with a lot of handling.

I ended up placing a third order for a tag for Star because we didn't have her mid-weight blanket at the time of my second order, and Gemma wanted to make sure the tag would coordinate.  What was really great was that I forgot to add a note stating that I wanted the split ring for the tag (the default is the snap), and the seller promptly messaged me and asked if I wanted the split ring because she knew I had gotten it on my previous order.  I consider that to be impressive customer service!

In total, I ordered four tags for Freya and Star plus a couple as gifts for a friend, and all of the tags looked like they were well-made and all orders shipped quickly.  Here is the link for the tags that I ordered: https://www.etsy.com/listing/620200722/tags-for-harness-bags-halter-bags?ref=shop_home_feat_2&bes=1

There is also a second product that has two lines on the tag, which is a great idea if you need to note the weight of the blanket or add some other short piece of information to help keep your blankets organized and used properly.  Here is the link for those tags: https://www.etsy.com/listing/680977911/2-lines-horse-blanket-tags-bag-tag?ref=shop_home_feat_3

If you are looking for blanket tags to help keep your blankets straight, I think these are a great option.  They cost $9 per tag ($10 for the two-line tags), and they are available in a multitude of colors and fonts, with two attachment options (a snap and a split ring).  They ship quickly and are well-made.  Plus, they would work great as stocking stuffers for Christmas:)