Here is a great selection of horse gift ideas, not just for those horse lovers in your life, but for the lovely horses as well.
There are a whole host of reasons you should keep a quick thank you ready for the handy people in your life you make horse existence great.
Personalized Horse Gift
- Tell your best friend you love them with a halter sporting his name on it! That shows your horse is special. They vary greatly in price depending on what type you select but ultimately all horses have to have one.
- Maybe a stable blanket, about $250.00 or so for a good Weatherbeta but I don’t know a horse in the world that likes to be cold.
- Or even better, a Jolly Ball, only about $20.00 and they come in about, 3 different flavors and a bunch of sizes and shapes, most horses adore them and will play for hours with it.
- And Stud Muffins! Watch the diet on our chubbier friends, but they are great as an occasional horse gift to say “I just think you’re the most awesome horse in the whole world”.
For the Veterinarian
- Anyone who loves horses likes Hotties, those little hand and foot warmers for out in the cold, and a vet is no exception to this rule. Having a few handy will make you a welcome sight on a cold day.
- A Starbucks Coffee card. Most of us are often cold in the winter, as well as highly caffeinated, showing you understand this is a great way to show your appreciation to the vet, even if your horse isn’t as enamored with him.
- A car safety kit is a must for those of us on the road all the time, and they can either be put together by you or purchased at various places. Flares, a safety blanket, a flashlight, maybe a candy bar or two, the ideas are limitless and those of us living out of our car nowadays really love the thought taken.
For Horse Lovers
- A nice set of gloves. Deerskin, and the like, these are comfy and great for riding as well as horse-gift just looking cool around the barn.
- The little statues are fun and most gals seem to enjoy them. They come in more styles and colors than can be imagined and are available everywhere. I’ve seen these used as wedding gifts pretty often.
- Baseball caps, sweatshirts, all kinds of things can be purchased with anything Arabian to zebra on it. Your horse friend will just be impressed you know what kind of horse they have, or what discipline they ride in.
- A good picture and frame of them and their horse. A very personalized horse gift, and nice, this is something they will keep for a long time and just love that you made for them. These always make great Christmas gifts.
For The Farrier!
- I love a gift basket full of goodies, and they can be full of almost anything. It’s about who you making one for, and everyone has a thing. Learn what they love and run with it.
- Restaurant Gift Card. Hey, we all have to eat, and most Farriers I know make regular meals of whatever garbage can be pitched out a window at high speed. A good restaurant is a welcome change, and I love to take my clients with me.
- Little signs, like the one pictured here, are inexpensive, fun, and easy to find. They make a great quick, easy find for a gift when you need one.
Horse Racing Gifts
- A great gift for horse racing fans is a print of the sport. Many talented artists devote themselves to producing the best image available of these horses at the top of their game.
- Christmas ornaments. These are great and can be easy to find at Christmas. Go baby go.
- Ties. Many fun hand-painted ties are available for the horse racing fan man of your life and provide a unique piece to talk about at work when one is worn.
- Tickets. A day at the races is always a blast and is a great quality time to spend with the special people of your life.
Great Gift Ideas for Friends and Colleagues in the Equine World
Maybe you are running a horse show and need a way to show appreciation to your judges and out-of-state staff, or, if you’re like me, you over-employ a kind Veterinarian who spends many hours of time slaving at your facility.
Maybe, you need to tell that Farrier of yours “Sorry my horse kicked you in the head and put you in Intensive Care.” Hopefully, that isn’t the case, but whatever the reason for your need you’ll find several great ideas and price ranges to try out here.
The twenty to forty dollar price range
Not going to put you in the poor house, but still enough to say hey I care and I’m thinking of you.
Bath Basket
I like going to Wal-Mart and getting little hand towels with horses on them, cowgirl-themed soaps, and home-cooked pie-scented candles for the female crowd (and let’s face it, unless you’re talking about a Farrier, your friend is probably a girl.)
Get creative and make a horse-themed bath basket, they look so nice in someone’s bathroom and smell awesome, plus they are cheap and fun to put together, there are so many little ideas you can put in one basket with these.
Coffee Basket
As for the men in my life, well most of them enjoy their coffee as much as they enjoy their beer. Starbucks makes premade baskets you can buy, and also sells all the trimmings for you to make your own, should you feel so inclined.
Gift certificates and one’s favorite pre-ground brew are a great way to show your appreciation to someone who makes your horse-owning career a pleasant experience. No hardworking horseman goes without his caffeine in the morning, and little things like this really let them know you appreciate the hard work they do for you.
The fifty to a hundred dollar price range
When you want someone to feel extra special, and don’t mind eating pork and beans for a week or two.
Grooming Basket
If you’ve got a little extra to put into this, a horse grooming gift basket can be a really beautiful gift and everything you need you can get at your local feed store! I put hoof polish, a nice set of brushes, a bottle of Show Sheen, a metal comb, (the plastic ones break), and a good hoof pick.
Clients who ask pretty please can even con a Farrier into forging a horse head hoof pick, and talented farriers can hand make these to be breed-specific,( be sure to do a little something special for him at the end of the year too).
If your shoer isn’t able or doesn’t have the time to make you one, you can order one at www.MSPFarrier.com, they ship within the week and are 100% authentic one-of-a-kind horse head hoof picks. They do a great job and will get you a beautiful product for a reasonable price that you can’t get anywhere else.
Horse Chef Basket
These are so much fun for anyone who enjoys entertaining; I throw in a horse head bottle opener, horse cookie cutters, a horse apron, horse kitchen towels, and even a horse cake pan. Novelty items like cookies that look like manure (oh yes, these are a big hit even with the classier crowd, I believe they are called “Stud Muffins”) and horse head napkin holders make a great personal gift someone special will enjoy for a long time to come.
Buying a Friend a Novelty Horse Sign
It might not seem like that big a deal, but buy a Quarter Horse girl a sign that says Arabian Owners Only Parking might be a good way to have her” fit to be tied” for a month of Sundays. At the very least, your gift will end up in the trash and not in your friend’s barn so here are some things to keep in mind when picking out one of these gifts for someone you care about.
Breeds
Know them, period. Only buy a breed your friend has now, not anything that they might have had in the past (so if your friend has an Appaloosa, don’t buy a breed sign for a horse they had when you guys were younger.) I don’t care how much she loved that old Morgan Horse, if she doesn’t have one now she doesn’t want the sign.
This really seems kind of silly, but horse folks are exceptionally territorial in so far as what breeds they associate with, and many won’t talk to owners who own different breeds of horses in the same public barn, and if you’re not a horse person, don’t just assume that a horse is a horse of course!
Check and see before you buy, I guarantee any horse person will be more than delighted to ramble on about what kind of horse Peaches is if you ask.
Profession Related
I am all for it, Farrier ones for Farriers, Vet ones for Veterinarians, etcetera. Go for it, but find a good one if you can though, many business owners display these and will be disappointed if they don’t hold up to a reasonable amount of wear.
Practical Signs
Though a little on the dry side for a gift, many horse people are also very practical folks and see the appreciation in the more boring (but useful) signs you can buy. One of my favorites can be found for Washington State, as well as many other states, and covers the Equine Inherent Risk law.
It is a sign basically stating that by being within sighting distance of the sign, you are in a non-spectator area, and if you are hurt by a horse you have been warned that large sometimes unpredictable animals come through the area and it is not the property owner’s fault should you get injured, as you are choosing to be there.
Do check to make sure the recipient will be covered under the Equine Inherent Risk law, not all states have laws covering this sort of thing, and if that is the case a simple “if the gate is closed keep it closed” kind of sign will serve as a similar type of gift.
Materials
They come in metal, wood, stone, ceramic, just about any material you can conceive of, and really the only consideration you have to take into account is where it is going to spend most of its time and what purpose it is going to serve.
Wood will need to be special treated in order to weather well, and steel in the weather will rust if penetrated by water, so consider if you can how the sign is likely to wear, after all, you want a gift that will last as long as you are friends.
These are just a sampling of ideas of gifts for the horse racing fans in your life. I hope they help point you in a direction that helps you find what you really need.