Rachael's Corner: Bling up Your Bridle!

I have always been a total girl and absolutely love to add a little bit of sparkle to anything I can wherever possible. One way that we can do that without making our clothing and tack look cheap is a simple but beautiful diamante brow band to turn heads and draw attention to your horse.  At Tictac Equestrian we stock a large range of stunning diamante brow bands with new styles from different brands being added every day!

One of my favourite brow bands is one by John Whitaker which consists of 3 diamante rope chains, one blue one clear and one read, all twisted together and looks absolutely amazing! This brow band along with several more will be in stock over the next few weeks. My horse’s show colours are red, white and blue so when I saw this in the catalogue I loved it straight away and I can’t wait for them to come in! J We also stock brow bands from brands like Hy and Rhinegold; all of which are absolutely stunning! They come in all different shapes, thicknesses and colours to suit your horses head and colouring.

If you have any questions for any of our team, we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter page J

Keep Yourself Motivated To Ride

In The Tictac Equestrian office today we have been chatting about how difficult it can be to keep you motivated to get in the saddle. Over the winter months, finding the motivation can be even more difficult with the miserable cold weather and dark nights. Our Tictac Equestrian team would like to share some of our tips to keeping yourself motivated to get in the saddle J

I often sit and think about when I was younger and had my first pony on loan and how many hours I spent each day mucking out, grooming, riding and trekking up and down fields bringing horse after horse in just to spend a little more time around them; praying that one day my mum and dad would come around and finally buy me my own.  As the years have gone on and I finally fulfilled my dream of owning not only one but three horses, my motivation to ride seems to have faded which I can’t quite understand. I seem to forget sometimes how much I wanted to be in the position I am in just now when I was younger. If I had thought when I was ten that I would be sitting with a beautiful little horse at the age of twenty after owning my pony Megan and Angel  I would have been over the moon. Riding my horse seems to clear my mind and help me relax after a stressful day, yet I just can’t seem to make myself after mucking out!

We have found a few things that help our team to keep motivated to ride and would like to share some of them with you J I find that planning and outing whether it be a hack on the beach, a clinic, clear rounds or a show; an outing to aim for gives me the motivation to ride as it gives me something to work towards. Riding every day in the arena can become very boring and monotonous for both you and your horse! It is so easy to fall back into the “I can’t be bothered” mind set so self-discipline is essential. On a cold day we would all rather sit in the tack room drinking coffee and chatting but coming into the summer months, there is so much going on to look forward to and work towards. Riding is also a great way to keep you and your horse fit and healthy.

If you have any advice for our team and customers, we would love to hear from you! Do you have any tips that keep you motivated to ride? Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter J

Bitting Dilemmas!

At Tictac Equestrian, we are all strong believers in starting a horse’s ridden career in very basic tack. “Over-bitting” can cause more problems than necessary when starting to train a young horse, often masking problems and making them worse! Choosing a suitable bit for your horse can be a mind wracking task and our Tictac Equestrian team would like to try and help you J

I myself, believe that when a horse has any issues such as being too strong or forward, leaning on the bit, locking their jaw, putting their tongue over the bit or any other issues; this may be caused by some training or schooling issue. Throwing a stronger or more severe bit in your horse’s mouth is definitely not the answer! This can make your horse’s problem even worse and cause them a lot of discomfort. My new horse Honey is very hot headed and nervous, she has a very sensitive mouth and I found it very difficult to find a bit that she would accept and happily chew away on. I found the answer with a Nathe Pelham. I think these bits are absolutely amazing and would recommend anybody who has a horse with a sensitive mouth to try one. They are made of soft and flexible rubber which Honey absolutely loves! She is so much more relaxed and accepting than when I ride her in a simple linked metal snaffle. The Pelham is definitely not as severe as a pelham with a steel mouthpiece as the soft rubber is so flexible and forgiving and it gives me just the right amount of pressure and control for my hot headed little thoroughbred. The Nathe bits come in a large variety of styles and sizes and I would encourage everybody to have a look.

Do you have any issues with choosing a suitable bit for your horse? If so, we advise that you seek advice from your regular instructor or a reputable instructor that you trust. Often a second opinion from a trusted person can mean the world and we are sure your horse will thank you for it J Check out our full range of bits on our bit section on our Tictac Equestrian website. If you have any questions for our team or any advice you would like to share with our customers, we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter. 

Shavings Versus Straw!

In the Tictac Equestrian office today, we have been chatting about what bedding we use for our horses and which ones we prefer. We can’t seem to agree with each other on which is best to use and we would like to know your opinions!Both shavings and straw have their advantages and disadvantages. 

Shavings:

• are very absorbent  
• effectively reduce nasty odours
• *can be very expensive 

Straw:

• is very cheap
• is easy to come by (which means you can give your horse a nice big bed for a fraction of the price of a big shaving bed) 
• is very warm for over the cold winter month. )
• *isn’t very absorbent (if you have a dirty horse then I definitely wouldn’t advise using it as it can become a little bit smelly! J)

I have used both straw and shavings over the years and I definitely prefer shavings for their absorbency but I also love a big cosy straw bed in the winter to keep the horses nice and warm! My thoroughbred mare Angel that was sadly put to sleep in October last year was very wet and dirty in her box. I used straw over the winter months as it would have cost me far too much money when she was stabled almost every day to give her a big shavings bed. In the summer however, I would happily give her a shavings bed on top of her rubber stable matting as the smell of wet straw in the summer months can become a little bit nasty! My other horse Honey is very clean and so now,  she gets a massive shavings bed all year round! Lauren however swears by straw. She says that she finds it easier and quicker to muck out, it is cheap for her FIVE horses! I don’t think giving five horses shavings beds would be very cheap at all! J

Which bedding do you prefer, shavings or straw? Or do you use another type of bedding like wood pellets or cardboard? At TictacEquestrian we have tried and tested them all and we would all love to hear your opinions and any advice you may have for our team and customers J Contact us through Facebook or Twitter.

Tasty and Affordable Homemade Horse Treats!

In the Tictac Equestrian office today, we have been looking at some interesting recipes to make your horse some yummy treats; easily and with minimal cost!  One of the easiest ones that we found is called fruit surprise. Yum!J There is no baking required and we are sure that your horses will love it!

You will need:

• 2 cups of feed (either mix or pony cubes)
• 1 banana - chopped
• 1 apple - diced
• 6 strawberries - sliced
• 4 baby carrots - sliced
• 1 cup of molasses
• 4 mints - crushed

Mix all of the ingredients together then serve to your horse. We are sure that they will love it :)

There are lots of homemade horse treat recipes online to save you money and also give your horse something a little different from the norm. Most of them you can make with things that you just have in your house. A lot of them sound good enough to eat yourself J If you prefer to choose the easier option and buy your horse some treats; at Tictac Equestrian we stock lots of treats, licks and stable toys to spoil your horse or pony from brands like Likit, Gold Label, Equiglo, Spillers, Uncle Jimmy’s, Pettifers and Stubbs.

Do you have any recipes you would like to share with our team and our customers? We would all love to hear from you! Contact is through our Facebook or Twitter. 

Rachael's Corner: Sarcoids in Horses

In the Tictac Equestrian office today we have been discussing the horrible equine ailment of “sarcoids”.  My horse Honey is currently suffering from sarcoids on her chest and underneath her girth area – one of which stopped me from riding for a while.  Jenny, the boss, also had a horse with a sarcoid, sadly due to the speed of its growth – it was a particularly terrible type, eventually her horse had to be put to sleep L she was heartbroken.

Often people in the equine community know surprisingly little about this disease and a lot of false information is often passed about. For years sarcoids have been belittled and under estimated by the term "wart." Believe it or not, sarcoids are actually a form of equine skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in horses, sarcoids being the most common of these.

It is thought that if a horse has a sarcoid, it can decrease their value by 90% (therefore, if a horse was worth £10,000, it would be considered to only be worth £1000 due to this condition)… quite a scary fact!  Research is still being carried out across the world to find further treatment for this horrible disease.

It is common for sarcoids to re occur even if removing previous lesions have been successful. There are many treatments available through your vet; including steroid creams, surgical removing, arsenic cream or freezing with liquid nitrogen. If you prefer the more natural / herbal treatments, Botanica has proven extremely successful at healing sarcoids, wounds and mudrash – whilst preventing scars in horses.

If you have any suspicion that your horse may have a sarcoid, please do contact your vet. The earlier they are treated, the higher the likeliness of successful treatment! GOOD LUCK! and please let us know how you get on – we would love to hear your stories and see your before and after photos. Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter page.

Tictac Equestrian Want To Sponsor You!

Have you heard about our exciting sponsorship competition yet? Over the past few weeks, our Tictac team have been working hard to bring our customers an exciting new competition; giving one lucky person the opportunity to win a year sponsorship by Tictac Equestrian, along with lots of fabulous horsey goodies!

We are giving you the chance to win a Mark Todd blouson jacket, a Mark Todd saddle cloth and a hoodie, all embroidered with our lovely Tictac Equestrian logo and also 20% off of all of your orders from www.tictacequestrian.com for a full year! 

We have had an amazing response so far with over one hundred entries. All of our team love to read about all of your successes and look at your lovel pictures. To enter, we would like you to like and share our Facebook page then post a small paragraph on our page, along with a picture of your horse or pony, stating why you think you deserve to win this amazing prize and sign up to our Tictac newsletter on our website (easy peasy!) After a short time, our Tictac team will select the top twenty people that we believe to be the most deserving to be put forward for this prize. Our quarter finalists will then be sent a short list of bio questions that we would like you to complete and submit, along with a few more pictures of you and your horse. We will then post the interview questions for all twenty finalists onto our Tictac Equestrian blog and from then we will select our top four contestants.  We will then make profiles up for our final four contestants on our website as products and our customers will decide from there by adding the person they believe is the most deserving to win to the shopping basket. We don’t want it to be a popularity contest – we want it to be fair and for the prize to go to a hard-working, dedicated person J

Our team wish you the best of luck and look forward to reading your stories. If you have any questions about our competition, please don’t hesitate in contacting us, either through our Facebook or Twitter page or call our office.

Keep Your Horse Hydrated This Summer

As the warmer weather slowly creeps in, it is important to ensure your horses are kept well hydrated. Our Tictac Equestrian team all feed our horse’s additional supplements onto their regular diet and in the summer months we all agree that feeding our horses NAF Electro Salts helps to keep them hydrated and healthy.

When horse’s work and during warm weather they regulate their body temperature by sweating. Excess sweating can not only dehydrate a horse very quickly but as they sweat, they lose essential body salts called electrolytes; sodium, potassium, chloride and magnesium being the main four. If we do not replace these electrolytes, it can result in fatigue and damage to muscle, bone and cartilage. NAF Electro Salts is a balanced combination of plasma salts:

• ·         Sodium
• ·         Potassium
• ·         Calcium
• ·         Chloride
• ·         Magnesium

Combined with dextrose to optimise absorption of the salts, NAF Electro Salts is an ideal supplement for horses in any level of work or for any horse during warm weather when excess sweating can occur. It is also recommended to give your horse a Himalayan rock salt lick to help them obtain their daily salt requirements. NAF Electro Salts can be fed in your horses feed or dissolved in their water.

Lauren has fed her horses Electro Salts every summer for over four years as they are all in high levels of work. Combined with the warm summer weather it makes it essential to keep your horse well hydrated. Even her three retired ponies have Electro Salts add

ed into their water in the field J NAF Electro Salts are available in 1kg and 4kg containers.

If you have any questions for any of our team, we are more than happy to help. Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter. 

Rachael's Corner: Visit Us at Campsie Show!

At Tictac Equestrian, all of our team are excited about the upcoming show season and all of the agricultural shows we are going to be visiting. Our first show of this year is Campsie Agricultural Show, held by Campsie, Strathblane and Baldernock Agricultural Society on Saturday 1^st June.

Our Tictac Equestrian team will be there all day enjoying all of the events going on and meeting all of our loyal online customers! Even if you are not competing at the show, there are lots of different events going on throughout the day for the whole family including light horses (showing and jumping), heavy horses, cattle and sheep, vintage cars and tractors, dog show, a home craft tent, craft tent, children’s entertainment, inflatables, ALBA Falconry static display, young farmers entertainment, Torrance gala parade/crowning of Gala Queen and of course a variety of trade stands including our fabulous Tictac Equestrian stand stocking Mark Todd, John Whitaker, JHL, Fal Pro, Botanica, Carr and Day and Martin, Pikeur, Equino, Dainese, Coolex and many more amazing equestrian brands. 

We look forward to meeting you all and hope that you have an amazing day at the show! If you have any questions for our team, we are more than happy to help J Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter.

Rhinegold Dottie Torrent Lightweight Rug

As the summer slowly crawls in and the miserable weather slowly disappears, our horse’s requirements change for a range of things; including the weight of rug they require. At Tictac Equestrian, we have been looking through our range of lightweight summer rugs to give you the best value for your money and we feel that the Rhinegold Dottie Torrent Lightweight rug does just that!

The rug is made from 600 denier rip-stop outer, fully lined with breathable cotton to avoid rubbing and keep your horse comfortable. With absolutely no filling so just enough to keep your horse nice and dry in a summer shower J the rug comes in brown with blue or pink dots and lining.

To read more about the Rhinegold Dottie Torrent Lightweight or view our other lightweight summer rugs, visit our rug section on our Tictac Equestrian website. If you have any questions for our team, we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter.

Rachael's Corner: Leather Head Collars

With the show season upon us, it’s time to finish off our last minute preparations and buy the last of our summer wardrobes (for us and our horses! J)  At Tictac Equestrian, we strive to bring you the latest products from the top brands at the best prices on the market!

The simplest things can make you look the part at show. A smart leather head collar for your horse isn’t only very smart, but also very durable and easy to look after. On our Tictac Equestrian website, we have a wide range of leather head collars from brands like Mark Todd and John Whitaker. With prices starting from £29.99, why wouldn’t you invest in one? My favourite leather head collar from our range is the Mark Todd leather head collar with Fancy Stitching. I bought this head collar in “Australian Nut” last season for Honey and she definitely looks the part J It still looks just as lovely as the day I bought it as it just needs a wipe down with some leather conditioner to bring it back to looking lovely!

To view our full range of leather head collars, visit our head collar section on our Tictac Equestrian website. If you have any questions or advice for our team or customers, we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter J

Mark Todd Competition Gaiters

In the current equestrian market, it’s very difficult to find a pair of long riding boots that look smart but don’t cost the earth. Well at Tictac Equestrian, we think that we’ve found a solution!

I know personally that I prefer leather gaiters instead of long riding boots as I feel you can get a better fit, they are also a lot more comfortable and you have a lot more movement. Our Mark Todd Competition Gaiters are perfect for any discipline. They look the part and don’t cost a fortune. In fact, we are now selling them at the amazing price of £44.99 - down from £99.99!

Made of soft supple leather with a strong zip with popper tab closure and stretch panel at the back for additional comfort; they are perfect for any discipline. Whether you compete at a high level or simply enjoy hacking and schooling – at this price you definitely can’t go wrong.

To read more about these gaiters and to view our full range of long boots and gaiters, visit our Tictac Equestrian website. If you have any questions or advice for our team or customers, we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter J

Rachael's Corner: Sell Your Unwanted Horsey Gear at Tictac Equestrian!

Do you have lots of unwanted equestrian clothing, rugs, boots, tack etc. lying around? Well in the Tictac Equestrian office today we have been chatting about our new exciting idea for our website and would like to hear what you all think!

 

Advertising anything you may have can be expensive and time consuming; often making you feel that you may have been better off keeping it! I know I've had that feeling before when i sold my saddle and websites take commission for advertising. At Tictac Equestrian, we were thinking about making a page on our busy website where you can sell any of your unwanted items, new or used, with little stress and of course it would be absolutely free!

What do you think about our idea? Would you use this service? We would love to hear from you. Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter.

Cavallo Simple Boots

Does your horse or pony become foot sore on hard or uneven ground? Suffer from laminitis? Coming into the summer months when the ground hardens and the grass grows, horse owners need to become more vigilant – Every horse has different requirements and we believe that horse’s feet are definitely worth looking after!

At Tictac Equestrian, we have been chatting about our Cavallo Simple Boots and how they totally transformed Lauren’s pony’s lifestyle. Penny suffers from laminitis and on several occasions over the past few years we have feared that she may have to be put to sleep. Her feet are very sensitive on hard or uneven ground and our farrier advised that it was better for her feet to leave her bare foot as her feet were too weak to hold shoes. Lauren invested in a pair of Cavallo Simple Boots for Penny’s front feet and totally transformed her life! The thick rubber sole gives amazing protection to horses with sensitive feet and Cavallo also sell an additional gel pad to put inside the boots for extra protection and comfort. The boots are also very lightweight so does not compromise weight for practicality.

Cavallo Simple boots can also be used to help horses recovering from injuries, abscesses, navicular disease, to keep punctures clean and dry, to protect bruised soles or as a “spare tyre” when a horse pulls a shoe. The lightweight, durable design and range of sizes makes them ideal for any size or shape of horse or pony.

To read more about or to purchase The Cavallo Simple Boots and gel pads, visit our Tictac Equestrian website. If you have any questions or any advice for our team and customers, we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook and Twitter J

Rachael's Corner: Get a Grip on Grass!

At Tictac Equestrian, we all decide to have our horses fitted with shoes with stud holes over the summer months whilst we are out competing on grass because let’s face it, even over the summer months, in this country the ground is never suitable! I personally think it gives you a little bit more confidence knowing that your horse isn’t as likely to slip and injure themselves or you, making it a much more enjoyable experience (as competing your horse should be! J)

On our Tictac Equestrian website, you will find a large range of stud kits, individual sets of studs, rubber and felt stoppers, hole cleaners, spanner taps etc.; Everything you need to keep your horse’s footing on soggy grass this summer and all at amazing prices of course. I think that for the best value for your money, the Mark Todd Stud Kit is definitely the one to go for! It has everything that you need to get you started including a tap spanner, a brush and pick cleaner, eight show jumping studs, eight eventing studs, screw-in hole plugs with key, plastic push-in plugs – all in a handy storage case to keep everything together. At our amazing price of only £22.49, we believe that this is the best product to get you started J

To view or full range of studs, taps and stoppers, visit our stud page on our Tictac Equestrian website. If you have any questions for us, or any advice for our customers; we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter.

It's Time to Look Out the Lightweight Rugs!

It’s getting to that time of year again when our horses get to shed their heavy winter rugs and wear a nice light rain sheet or fly rug. In the Tictac Equestrian office, we have been chatting about our range of lightweight rugs and which ones we prefer. With brands like Mark Todd, JHL, Fal Pro and Coolex, all at amazing prices you’ll be spoiled for choice!

I have several Mark Todd rugs for Honey and can’t recommend them highly enough. They don’t rub shoulders or manes, slide around and stay remarkably clean! Honey has her Mark Todd lightweight rug for summer time if there are some showers, her Autumner turnout with 150g filling for those chillier summer nights and her Heavyweight Combo to keep her nice and warm in our miserable winters!

To view our full range of summer rugs, visit our lightweight rug section on our Tictac Equestrian website. If you have any enquiries or advice for our team or customers, we would love to hear from you! Contact us through our Facebook or Twitter J

Rachael’s Corner: Overweight Rider Survey Results!

In the Tictac Equestrian office today, we have been chatting about the recent survey that has been published in some major newspapers such as The Daily Mail about how only one in twenty riders are within the optimum weight for their horse! Wow!

The survey assessed 152 adults and their horses from the Devon and Cornwall area. Vet guidelines state that a rider should weigh under 10% of their horse’s weight to avoid injury to the horse. A study by Duchy College in Cornwall showed that only five per cent of the people surveyed fell within this bracket. Pretty scary! Thirty two per cent weighed more than fifteen per cent of their horse’s weight and the remaining sixty three per cent fell within the ten – fifteen per cent bracket. Vets state that if you weight anymore than fifteen per cent of your horse’s weight then you are putting your horse at high risk of injury or developing bad behaviour due to pain or discomfort.

A lot of people are under the misconception that “horses are big animals and should be able to carry large weights,” - However, this is not always the case. Some people do not take into consideration the age or breed of the horse, and do not realise that the standard of riding can largely contribute to this issue. Our horses are all suffering from the soaring rate of obesity in the United Kingdom and we have to do something about it.

Keith Chandler, president of the British Equine Veterinary Association, stated that last year they saw an increase in lameness and back problems in horses caused by “the wrong riders on the wrong horses.” Pretty frightening really!

If you have any worries about being too heavy for your horse, we recommend that you contact your vet to give you some information on the matter. At Tictac Equestrian, we would love to hear any stories or advice you might have for our team and our customers. Contact us through Facebook or Twitter J

Rachael’s Corner: Be seen on the Roads This Summer

With the light summer nights approaching, more of us will be taking advantage and venturing onto the roads with our horses for some nice relaxing hacking. At Tictac Equestrian, all of our team are all strong believers in wearing reflective clothing whilst on the roads to keep ourselves and our horses safe and seen!

It has been proven that horses and riders wearing even one item of reflective clothing can be seen by motorists up to three seconds sooner than if they were to be dressed in regular clothing. Three seconds may not sound like a long time, but for a speeding motorist, it could be the difference between them hitting you and your horse or having the time to react efficiently!

With such a wide range of quality and affordable reflective clothing for you and your horse currently on the market, there really is no reason for you not to be keeping you and your horse safe and seen! At Tictac Equestrian, we stock lots of the latest products from brands like Mark Todd, HyVIZ, Luna Rider and many more.  To View our full range of reflective products, visit our road safety page on our Tictac Equestrian website.

If you have any questions you would like to ask us, please do not hesitate to contact us on our Facebook or Twitter page. We would love to hear from you J