Shop these Equestrian Brands with Heart

Black Friday is long gone, but if you have more shopping to do this holiday season, here are some of the “Good Guys” of the equestrian world that you should shop. The equestrian brands and businesses listed here were all very helpful and supportive when our barn burned on October 9 during Canyon Fire 2.

Yes, insurance covers some losses due to wildfire, but not all, so to have these equestrian brands lend a hand has been just awesome! Here’s my chance to celebrate them, publicly thank, and support. You can celebrate them too when you shop these equestrian brands with heart.

Knight looking chill with a Silver Bay Jump in the background.

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Silver Bay Jumps. This is literally a mom and pop jump shop. The owners are wonderful people with three small kids. Seriously, you couldn’t ask for nicer folks. If you’re not buying jumps at this stage of your equestrian life, at least give them some social media love and like their Facebook Page. (They also repair jumps and make accessories like flower boxes, etc.)

Wild Gold. Wild Gold is a line of cold-pressed camelina oil supplements for horses, dogs, and people. It contains Omega 3 and 6 oils which contribute to anti-inflammation and shiny coats and a whole host of other benefits which you can read more about here. Knight is on Wild Gold right now and I like the fact it’s a liquid supplement and it doesn’t have to be refrigerated. Wild Gold donated a case of oil. Yipee!

Mary’s Tack and Feed. I can’t say enough good things about Mary’s. If you ever travel to the San Diego area, skip Sea World and the touristy stuff and stop at Mary’s. You won’t regret it. You will get sucked into their awesome selection and be charmed by their wonderful staff. Mary’s donated a ton of stuff to my barn including multiple gift cards and day-to-day necessities like lunge lines and fly sprays. (They donated to several other different California horse folks/barn families after the fires. Philanthropy is their middle name.) And by the way, they have an incredible online store too, so you don’t have to even be in California to give them your business.

Majyk Equipe. This beloved jumping and dressage boot brand is also based in Southern California. Their personal touch was to make a donation of boots to my trainer and deliver them in person at the year-end horse show. (Very classy!) I have been slowly replacing the items lost in my tack trunk (thanks to my  lame insurance company) and during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales I snagged these jump boots. I can’t wait to try them on Knight.

SmartPak. SmartPak not only responded to my email telling about the fire almost immediately, but they wanted to talk on the phone to get a real sense of what it was like in the fire’s aftermath. Being able to tell my story was actually therapeutic and it was remarkable to have two sets of listening ears on that phone call. SmartPak responded by sending supplements. This was great because the feed shed burned and all its contents. By the way, SmartPak has the 25 Sales of Christmas going on right now. Each day a new product is spotlighted and even better, discounted! 

Our feed shed after the fire.

Kensington. Kensington is based here in Southern California and they were generous in donating blankets and fly sheets and cute groom totes like this one. Kensington also has a line of fly masks that you should check out when it’s fly season in your area.

Boehringer-Ingelheim, the Makers of Ulcergard. If you have a horse who struggles with ulcers, you know how valuable this donation was. Ulcers can be triggered by any kind of change, and to have our group of thirty horses abruptly trailer to a new barn and be “thrown” into new stalls with new neighbors, new food, that’s just a recipe for stress and possibly ulcers. I think I might have actually done a happy dance the day I walked into the tack room at the evacuation barn and saw the boxes that said “Ulcergard.”

If you missed my blog post 20 Answers to Your Questions About Equine Gastric Ulcers, you should check it out! 

Horseware. I love Horseware for the clothes–I have a navy sweatshirt I bought at Mary’s last spring and I am obsessed with it and wore it almost daily during Thanksgiving break. But as you know, Horseware is more than just awesome clothes, they have incredible horse blankets! They donated several to our cause. We are grateful and our ponies are warm.

Hunt Seat Paper Co. Amy, the creative entrepreneur behind this equestrian gifts and greeting card line knows what it is like to live through a barn fire because last year her horse had to be evacuated during a different wildfire. She led the charge to raise donations by creating a special pin and the proceeds went to both Northern and Southern California wildfire victims. In addition, she took a laundry basket and set it out at her barn with a note asking for donations. I met her after work one day and picked up the saddle pads, lead ropes, leather cleaning products, etc. You can read more about Amy’s unique small business here.

Some of you Saddle Seeks Horse readers! I know you’re not brands or business, but I can’t not say something! I saw the Go Fund Me page with familiar names. You are so thoughtful and kind. Thank you for donating. We appreciate it!

Conclusion: If you are reading this and know of other businesses who came to the aid of equestrians affected by the wildfires (whether Northern or Southern California), please leave that information in the comments section. I’d love to highlight their kindness too. 

Thank you for reading this post and following on our horsey adventure.

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Tally ho!