Horse Owners’ Essential Tips Book Review

If you are a fan of saving money, DIY, and horses, you should definitely check out Philippe Meyrier’s book titled Horse Owners’ Essential Tips. This softcover, highly illustrated book gives over five hundred ideas for grooming, horse care, tack, building jumps, riding tips, and pasture management.

Firefly Books gave me this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Over the years I have read dozens of horse books and I really haven’t encountered a book quite like Horse Owners’ Essential Tips that had so many new (or new-to-me) creative ideas.

Ideas like. . .

1. Using a large plastic garbage can with wheels (like the kind for green waste or recyclables) for storing pellets–the whole container can be rolled down the barn aisle way to make feed time more efficient.
2. Making an edible Christmas wreath for your horse  consisting of hay, apples, and carrots.
3. Vinegar in lieu of a store bought (and teeming with chemicals) fly spray.
4. Attaching a rubber band around the “T” clasp of your horse’s blanket to keep the clasps from coming undone (this happened last winter on Knight, my horse’s blanket–I’m definitely trying this tip soon!).
5. Leaving a birch log in your horse’s stall to alleviate chewing/cribbing on the stall door (birch is apparently very soft wood).

The drawings are really cute and frequently funny. Horse Owners’ Essential Tips would be a fun and practical gift idea for a fellow horse lover. If you have a barn holiday party this would be a great present for the host or your trainer. I think horse crazy girls would also dig the book because of the cute pictures and each tip is basically only a paragraph or two long.

The book was originally printed in French in 2014 and the English translation was just published this year. I liked the fact that the horse advice originated from another culture because I enjoy learning about the nuances of horse care from a fresh perspective. Having said that, there were a few instances where I was unfamiliar with a product such as Petrole Hahn Lotion Vert which is used for dandruff free manes. This was something I noticed only a few times and it did not interfere with my enjoyment or comprehension of the book at all.

Overall, it’s a cheerful book with the nice illustrations and myriad money-saving tips. It will be a useful addition to your personal horse library.

Your Turn: What money-saving tips for horse care do you use? 

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