Introducing the most essential equine supplies

A horse isn't merely an animal to be used for transportation or in a competitive environment - it's one that you will regard as a true companion for as long as it lives, showering it with love and affection. Equine supplies therefore aren't an area in which you should be willing to accept any compromise. From horse bedding and feed to health and supplements and grooming products, you might be curious to know what the most essential horse supplies actually are, as well as what you should consider when browsing these various products in a physical or online store.

Certainly, horse feed and the various associated products is an obvious place to start. A good store will offer a good mix of balancers, chaff and grass, mix and nuts, straights and sugar beet, from such major brands as Baileys, Dodson & Horrell, Spillers, Topspec and Allen & Page. But if that range of horse feed and associated products sounds overwhelming enough, the range of health products and supplements for a horse is surely even broader, encompassing not just feed supplements but also first aid, hoof care, fly repellents, shampoo and body care, worming products and treats and licks. A good store's shampoo and body care section alone, for example, is likely to include heel to hoof cream, louse powder, sheath cleanser, sunburn lotion and more.

Another key investment for enthusiasts of equestrianism is certainly the most appropriate horse bedding - and again, the choice here can be vast, popular options including Aubiose Hemp Bedding, which is derived from the hemp plant's soft centre, as well as Easibed's equine bedding, which has long been popular among big show organisers, leisure riders, competition riders and other horse enthusiasts. This latter type of horse bedding is manufactured from carefully selected recycled whitewood fibre, helping to make it as 'green' as it is comfortable and supportive for your horse.

Other horse bedding options include small flake woodshavings and the Gold Shavings, Red Straw & Shavings and Yellow Rapestraw products of the Sundown brand, but you may not have much time to consider those before perusing the full range of vital grooming products, for example, which can include coat care, brushes and curry combs, hoof picks, oil brushes and scissors, sweat scrapers and more. Horse owners also routinely need to shop for tack and associated products, ranging from bridles, girths and saddle covers to spare parts, stirrup leathers and irons, not to mention leather care.

Saddlery, encompassing boots, wraps and bandages, lunging equipment, saddlecloths and more, is another key product category, and the horse owner may also need to spend a decent amount of money on rugs, which in any good store, should include stable rugs and turnout rugs, as well as rug accessories. Such a complete complement of products, from horse bedding to feed, can be vital if you are to truly get the most out of horse ownership.

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