Horse Lover’s Holiday Gift Guide
Rather than a traditional holiday gift guide, I’m giving insight into what I’d like to receive most as a horse lover and rider. I’m not one for celebrating Christmas in July, but I do love the holidays. Now that Thanksgiving is wrapped up it’s time to focus on my holiday shopping. With three daughters, they certainly boost the holiday cheer and bring additional excitement to the mix. There is something about the music, the lights, and the preparations that put me in a hectic, but happy place.
Although who doesn’t have a Bad Moms Xmas moment at some point?
Honestly holiday shopping for my rather large family gives me anxiety. So many people for which I need to choose the perfect gifts. I always try to shop for what the person would love most, not what I would like to give them. But this can be incredibly hard. Good news is that I am very easy to shop for. I’ll give you a hint: horse-related items or books. Choose one of those themes and you have a winner every single time!
So I thought to myself what are a few of my favorite things that I would like to receive as a gift?
My Holiday Equestrian Wish List
Equestrian Art
Have you read my recent interview with artist Ashley Gilbert of White Stallion Studio? Stall signs and pet portraits in pyrography. Ashley is a local equestrian and artist with amazing talent.
When I interviewed Ashley she sent me some amazing pictures of her work. I absolutely love the ornaments. My Christmas tree is a collection of ornaments as memories for every trip and happy moment my husband and I have together and with our children. These would make a great gift for any dog owner, even as a memorial for those that lost of beloved pet to the rainbow bridge.
When I eventually become a horse owner, her stall sign is a must for me. The detail is amazing!
Order custom work on Etsy.
Equestrian Clothing and Accessories
Working with animals I have lots dirty clothes. I often dress for comfort at the barn rather than fashion. When I wear my hair down suddenly everyone tells me how nice I look. It says a lot about the effort I put in. Who am I trying to impress- the horses?
But when I have a day off or a night out my sense of fashion would be termed “Edgy Hippie”. Picture boho meets rocker. So the typical preppy equestrian flair is not what I feel comfortable in. Show me an equestrian brand that fits my style and I will be your ambassador all day long!
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- Horze Victoria Women’s PU Leather Breeches. These literally sold out before my eyes while I was adding it to my cart. I’ve heard rumors they are back in stock, so get them while they are available. Fun, and perfect for the winter. You can go straight from the barn to the bar. Wink wink. $79.99.
- Buckwild Breeches are fun and different. Definitely out of the box and something that tickles my fancy. Who wears a fox on their bum? I would. On sale now for $99.99.
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- The All Weather Rider by Asmar Equestrian. Outerwear. Okay, I just love Noel Asmar. A bit chic for my everyday style but this all weather coat makes me positively drool with desire. My favorite part is that you can adjust it to wear in the saddle and out, doubling as a blanket for your horse in the cold. $358.00.
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- C4 belt. So fun! I tend toward the whimsical. The prints I love are: Feathers Black; Vintage Horse; Mint Bits; Jump Grey; Tan Horseshoes. I am sorry but I can keep going. And if the choices aren’t enough you can customize your OWN belt. Choose the design, the width, the belt buckle……the list goes on. They have a large equestrian line but are certainly not limited to horse themes. In fact they have some great dog belts! $19.99- $38.99.
- Hicks and Brown Fedora. I absolutely love hats! I have a whole hat section in my closet for every mood, and for most every occasion. These wool fedoras are beautifully crafted with wonderful detail.
- Ugly Christmas Sweater. There are so many variations and fun sweaters available. Pick a breed and choose your favorite. Although I do have a soft spot for thoroughbreds.
Tack
I don’t need much in the way of tack, being that I don’t have my own horse. YET. And there is that little detail that I already have quite a bit in my amateur tack room. But I am really wanting to trade in my current half pad for a Thinline. Maximum comfort for both horse and rider, and its sleek design makes for a close contact feel. This is a must have for my wish list.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
A monthly subscription box. What is better than the gift that keeps on giving?
In the United States try Saddle Box. A family-owned business that has a fantastic assortment of gifts for horse and rider. I was lucky even to review it a few months ago, see what I think here.
For the young equestrians in your life, how about Painted Pony Package?
Games
Have you heard about Equestrians Against Normalcy? Available for purchase here starting today, this is the game every horse lover will appreciate.
Stocking Stuffers
Books!
Of course I’m biased, and already have a copy. But the Equestrian Handbook of Excuses makes for the perfect stocking stuffer for the horse lover in your life. As equestrians we are united by our love of horses. But whether you own, lease, or borrow some days you just want to call your trainer and cancel. For those days I’ve compiled a handy list of excuses to tell our trainers, our horses, or ourselves for why today just isn’t a good day to ride. Suitable for every level of rider, from lead line to Grand Prix. Potential excuses cover ~ weather ~ your mood ~ your horse’s mood ~ random acts of laziness.
When the Horses Whisper by Rosalyn W. Berne. An award-winning author, this book is on my nightstand to read as soon as possible. From the author:
When the Horses Whisper shows the capacity of horses to help us heal the human heart. It expresses in human language what horses have to say when given the chance to speak. It is a story about the sacred bond between us, and the communication made possible when the horse-human relationship is based on love. Conversations with fifteen horses, most of who live and work in Costa Rica, are featured along with their photographs, capturing them as individual beings in service to humans on a shared evolutionary journey. This journey amounts to the “re-membering” of our whole selves in the wholeness of creation, especially the parts we split off, deny, and place in shadow because they are too painful. Horses, as the book shows, can help us see these lost parts, and call forth our courage to reclaim them. For the author, these included the loss of a newborn daughter, the mental illness of an adult son, letting go of a thirty-year marriage, and childhood sexual abuse. The story recounts the equine healing work that helped in reclaiming her authentic self. This book is testimony to the power of horses and equine healing work in transforming life’s losses into a deeper human wholeness and a further communion with the non-human world. (Rosalyn W. Berne)
All the King’s Horses by Kimberly Gatto and Victoria Racimo. This is the amazing untold story of Elvis and his love for horses.
When Elvis Presley decided he wanted to buy a horse in 1966, he didn’t want just any horse. “He wanted a Golden Palomino,” Priscilla Presley remembers. “He would get up at 3:00 in the morning, go to certain farms and ranches and say, ‘Do you have a Golden Palomino for sale?’ People would say, ‘That was Elvis Presley!”
Elvis’s legendary love of horses drove him to find the Golden Palomino who would become his beloved companion Rising Sun, and to fill Graceland’s stables and Circle G Ranch with horses for family and friends to ride.
In the first-ever book dedicated to Elvis’s equestrian side, horse lovers Kimberly Gatto and Victoria Racimo share rare stories, interviews, and photographs that shed light on the beautiful, quiet life the King lived when he was with his horses. Amazon.
In the Heart of a Mustang by MJ Evans. Another book I cannot wait to read about the bond between a boy and a horse. I’ll be lending this to my daughter when I’m done reading.
Everyone needs loyalty, love and at times healing. Lucky is the soul who finds all three In the Heart of a Mustang.A boy is told that his father was a brave and virtuous man, a soldier who traded his life to save the lives of countless others. He was the man that Hunter needed to emulate. The only problem is the story is a lie, all of it. The truth, which Hunter discovers as he begins his sophomore year of high school, is that his father has actually spent the boy’s entire life in jail, paying his debt to society, but not mending his ways. A wild mustang mare is rounded up by the BLM. The spring rains had been sparse, the forage on the plains even more so. The mare and her herd are rescued from certain starvation and placed for adoption. In a sandy corral at Promise Ranch, a home for troubled teenage boys, the boy and the mare meet. A weathered old cowboy brings them together – a mentor for one, a trainer for the other.
The bond that forms between boy and horse becomes one that saves the lives of both. Amazon.
The Big One- a Horse!
The gift every girl wants for Christmas. I’m contemplating a Kickstarter campaign to fund my board. Kidding….kind of.