From organic dinner ingredients to monthly beauty products, and even bras, subscription boxes are all the rage. Equestrians can get in on the subscription box frenzy and experience that Christmas-morning feeling with each month’s special delivery from SaddleBox, a subscription service for horse lovers. When SaddleBox reached out to see if my Thoroughbred Knight and I would be interested in receiving a box to review, I responded with a wholehearted yes!

Update: The giveaway is closed (but still read this product review post) and congrats go out to Carey and Cosmo of San Diego who will enjoy their June box o’ goodies.

SaddleBox and I have partnered for an Instagram giveaway. You MUST enter! Have a chance to get a June SaddleBox delivered straight to your door! Check it out.

SaddleBox

My dog made it to the SaddleBox before I did as evidenced by the chewed corner.

The first thing that tipped me off there was something great inside this box was the fact I discovered the SaddleBox on the floor of our entryway with our Golden Retriever cowering over it tail wagging. In a dramatic leap I seized the box and said, “NO!” My husband apparently brought in the mail that day and Tigger countersurfed to explore the package. (Spoiler alert: there are treats.)

The presentation of the box itself rocked. The box is a pretty color, reminiscent of Tiffany blue and it has a cute sticker that says “Ingredients for a Happy Horse.” The box smelled very fresh due to soap inside. The goodies were carefully nesting on top of a bed of raffia with chocolate brown tissue paper holding them all in safe and sound.

There is also a thank you postcard that shows Sharon, Sophie, and Phil, the SaddleBox family, and their horse Teddy. They look like people you’d want to have as next door neighbors (good Midwesterners from Ohio), and they give back to the equestrian community by donating a portion of their sales to abused and rescued horses.

SaddleBox.net

The SaddleBox Goodies

I know this is the part you really want to know more about. Let’s begin, shall we?

Epona Golden Glow hoofpick (made from a real horse shoe!) I used to have one like this years ago and it was the most sturdy hoofpick I owned. I was happy to be reunited with its younger, flashier cousin. This one is gold. My old one was dark gray.

Decker soft face brush. Knight adores having his face brushed.

Red bandanna. Perfect for your Western look (which I’m actually going to be attempting in June when I do a mounted shooting clinic–more on getting roped in to that craziness later). Also perfect if you like to accessorize your dog.

Tack sponge. A horse girl can never have too many of these.

Chamberlain’s Leather Milk. A conditioner with UV protection for your tack. Perfect for my sunny Southern California saddle, bridle and halter.

The Little Red Book of Horse Wisdom edited by Yvette Grant. I’m a bibliophile so any day I get a book with horses figuring prominently in it is a good day. This book has an intro by Buck Brannaman (loved his documentary!) and features quotes from famous and not-so-famous horse folk. I loved this one by Cooky McClung

“He met her and fell in love and married her, and part of the wedding vows were ‘love me, love my horses.’ It was part and parcel of the whole relationship.”

Neigh Horse Shampoo Bar. That’s what smelled so good when I opened the box.

ClintRMint horse treats. Knight really enjoyed the taste of these and I will admit I took a small bite out of one to test the merchandise. The smell of the molasses was just too tempting!

My Overall Thoughts on SaddleBox

It was a fun experience to get the mysterious box filled with equestrian supplies and wonder what treasures it held. I really enjoyed that part. What a great idea for fun presents for horse owners–especially a fellow horse lover who either already has everything or is just really hard to buy for.

I have two points of feedback. First, I would love to know what percentage of the SaddleBoxes go to help horses in need, and it would be even more special to know the names of the organizations that benefit from it.

Also, I wish I had a one page write up for each product in the box. For example, I thought the soap was meant for humans and it came in a cute little mesh bag, but the tag got disconnected in the unwrapping and I couldn’t find it. Until I realized there was an unboxing video on the SaddleBox site, I didn’t know the name of the soap. From watching this video I realized it is for horses, but it would have been nice to have a little card with info as I open the box so I didn’t have to rely on the video.

One Other Thing For Equestrian Entrepreneurs

SaddleBox is constantly scouting products to include in their boxes. I know several of my readers (I won’t name names, but I’m thinking of them right now) have Etsy shops or otherwise make and sell horse-related products/equestrian supplies. You should connect with SaddleBox over on their vendor application page to see if you can collaborate with your product and their box. Win-win!

Please share in the comments section: Have you ever tried a box subscription service? Which one, and what did you like about it?

Thank you for reading! If you liked this post, please subscribe to our bi-weekly email (that’s 2x a month) for even more horse fun and inspiration.

Trot along with Saddle Seeks Horse on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter

And check out SaddleBox on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

5 Comments

  1. L. Williams May 23, 2017 at 9:30 am - Reply

    Very neat! I got a HorseBox once for my birthday. Normally the subscription services I used were beauty (Birchbox) and food services <3

    • Susan Friedland-Smith May 23, 2017 at 12:35 pm - Reply

      I have only used a subscription service for organic veggies from Farm Fresh to You. I love the idea and wish I knew of one for dog bones–real bones for dogs. I have heard of Birchbox but didn’t know it was a beauty one. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Olivia @ DIY Horse Ownership May 23, 2017 at 12:17 pm - Reply

    I’ve used the food subscription boxes, but never one for horses.

Leave A Comment

Photo of Susan with her horse Knight

I'm Susan and this is my horse Knight. We have been a blogging team since 2015 and we're glad you're here. Tally ho!

Let’s Connect!