Embrace Pet Community blog

Equine Magic

Embracer Christine has been testing the Vermont Soaps line for horses on her boy, Jake.  Their horse shampoo, Equine Magic, is the first USDA certified organic shampoo for horses.  Christine noticed how clean and sleek the shampoo left Jake's coat.  It can be used on the entire horse's body, as well as the maine and tail.  The one thing to note was that while the product contains essential oils to repel insects, Christine did notice that the smell attracted a few flies.

Her new favorite find, however, was the Farm and Ranch Multi-surface Cleaner!  I wish I'd done a video review, so you could have heard how thrilled Christine was with how clean this got Jake's stall buckets! She has made the switch from her previous cleaning regimen to the Vermont product, to clean the buckets faster and more thoroughly, without any harmful chemicals in her big boy's stall.

Related:
Make the Switch to Natural Pet Shampoos
Lula Blue Dog Shampoo
Horse Accessories

Holiday Shopping Guide: Custom Art

Every pet parent loves showing off pictures of their pets.  (Just look at how many of your Facebook friends have their pet as their profile photo.)  What better holiday gift than a piece of custom art?

Artist BZTAT (pronounced bee-zee-tatt) does gorgeous colorful pop-art pieces from your pet's photo.  I've been fortunate enough to watch a piece in action, and her laying process is painstaking, but worth it.  The effect is deep, vibrant art that catches the playful spirit of your pet.  Pricing starts at $425

Another gift idea: Try searching on-line for pet photographers in your area.  As cute as your home snapshots are, professional pet photography seems to show something deeper, as if from the pet's soul.  (Check out Virginia's Sara Riddle to see what I mean.)

And if you're on a tight budget or schedule, there are endless ideas for photo gifts on-line-everything from shirts, puzzles, mugs, jewelry and home decor.  Shutterfly can do mounted wall art for less than $50 with quick turnaround.

In Clover Orthopedic Pet Story Contest

We're very impressed by In Clover's line of pet supplements. Their all-natural supplement, Connectin, has successfully undergone clinical trials, and earned the National Animal Supplement Council seal of approval.  Lyger and Tahlula had great success during our six week trial, and we were even able to scale back their prescription pain medications.  The combination of Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Hyaluronic Acid and nine natural herbs increase joint health and actually work to reduce the friction on a pet's joints.  There’s real science behind the magic..

The supplements are tasty too.  My dogs thought they were treats, and it’s nice to know that giving your pet something that tastes good is very good for them too.  Connectin is available for Dogs, cats and even horses.

In Clover sent us one touching story of a satisfied pet parent:

"A gentleman called us and said that his vet told him upon his first visit with his new puppy that the puppy would certainly need joint surgery when they were older due to his bone structure.  Because the pet parent put him on Connectin, the pet never needed surgery and is a happy bouncing dog five years later!"

Read more Connectin success stories.

 

In honor of Embrace's Orthopedic Month In Clover is offering an amazing opportunity for one lucky pet.  Head to Embrace's Facebook page, and post a story about your pet's orthopedic issue, along with a photo.  Tell us about their injury, joint illness, surgery, or recovery.  In Clover will pick one deserving pet story to win a year's supply of Connectin!

 

Related Posts: In Clover OptaGest

 

Contest rules: Contest open until 10/31/10 at midnight.  Submissions must be uploaded to Embrace's Facebook Wall.  Please include your e-mail address in your ID, as winners will be contacted by e-mail. Prize fulfilled by sponsor.  One year's supply is for one single pet, based on their weight and the suggested dosage.  Embrace and In Clover will have rights to the stories and photos submitted  U.S. residents only.  Embrace staff and families not eligible to win.  One entry per person please.

Thinline review: Cotton Ultra ThinLine Half Pad

Meet Jake!  A 12 year-old standardbred, retired race horse, recently adopted by Embracer Christine.  Because Jake is transitioning to his leisure life of Dressage, Christine was excited to try the Trifecta Cotton Ultra ThinLine Half Pad.  No wonder it's one of ThinLine's best selling items, as it's supporting the rider and improving the smoothness and stability for the horse.  See for yourself:

   

It goes on comfortably as it is spine free, for a comfortable fit, with plenty of wither clearance.  It  has ventilation to keep your horse cool, and it's also "shimmable" so you can modify saddle fit simply by adding shims to the comfortable pockets.

So, how was the ride?  Christine found that it was comfortable under the saddle, and while she could feel it, it wasn't creating bulk like some other therapeutic pads.  Jake was much more willing to stretch down with the Thinline pad than without, and the trot was more relaxed and slow paced.  For a former race horse, a slow trot is an impressive feat in itself! 

Christine has been using the pad for a few weeks now, and is loving it more and more.  She and Jake are really enjoying getting to know each other, and the easy ride created by a ThinLine helps that bonding time go much more smoothly.

Horses in Your Mailbox

Not actually horses, but horse information. Horses in your mailbox is an online source for purchasing books, DVD's, Video tapes and software exclusively on horses. 

This one stop website covers all of your equine needs including training, pleasure, entertainment, health and even cartoon books for the kid at heart.

The site has 101 catagories with more than 2700 items to choose from.  You can search by catagory or look for that hard to find item by searching on a key word.

Prices for horse things in your mailbox vary from $7.00 to a $100.00 (a Leather back book).  From large to small if it has to do with information on horses, this site is a great place to find it.

Don't you think it's time to curl up with a good (horse) book?

Store those Blankets!

Okay, so this site is primarily for dogs and cats, but we know many of you also have horses, so we thought we'd share a few cool products for you equine enthusiasts every now and again

The first one we want to let you know about is the Stall Front Storage Bag from Tack in the Box.  Every horse owner has "stuff" and lots of it.  We’re always looking for ways to organize our stuff and some of the most bulky and cumbersome items are our horse's blankets and clothes.  The Stall Front Storage Bag is a great way to store your blankets, coolers and sheets on the stall, or pack it away for the season.

No more magic marker on the blanket that disappears in one wash. Tack in the Box offers embroidery on this this bag in 14 colors and 4 letter styles, so you can have your horse's name permanently displayed.  This is great for people with several horses looking to keep their blankets from becoming mixed up.  The storage bag is listed as $30.00 on the web site and the embroidery is $10.00 for the first 5 letters and $2.00 per letter after that. 

Don’t stall-get your horse her personalized Stall Bag.