Suddenly, we have no shows, no polo tournaments, and no lessons even. Can you leave your horse(s) standing in their stables for the next 14 days? No, of course you can’t. No horse deserves to be jailed for that long.
If, during this unplanned COVID-19 holiday, you run out of things to do, and until the world comes back to some semblance of normalcy, here are some suggestions:
Your Horse’s Training and Health
Make adjustments to your horses’ exercise routines. If there aren’t any competitions or tournaments, make the changes to their fitness work and exercise routines.
You have time to do different things, so take advantage of this occasion to do something different to break the monotony of their training. This may be more flatwork or a little dressage, or even popping a few small fences.
Make sure your horse’s diet is appropriate. If your horse is working less than in competition mode, perhaps you need to make adjustments to their feed and bring it down to one that delivers lower energy, a Cool Performer, or in our case, Zack’s Tack Polo Mix.
Make a new plan for getting back into the fitness work when the competitions or tournaments are scheduled to restart.
Vaccinations – This is a good time to check your horses’ passports and get the required vaccinations done.
It’s down time. Deworming now is as good a time as any.
Get your horse dentist to do a quick check of your horse’s teeth and have them floated if they are rough.
Stable Sanity
Still have too much time on your hands? Here are a few other things that you could do.
Knock down the cobwebs in the stable, especially around wiring and fixtures.
Check the date on your fire extinguishers.
Sanitize your stable! Zack’s Tack has a variety of products from hand sanitizers to stable disinfectants.
Zack’s Tack’s Handy Sanitizer is more than just an alcohol rub. It also contains an anti-bacterial agent, and aloe vera. It come in a 500 ml pump bottle, or a 1 litre refill.
Zack’s Tack’s Stable Disinfectant is a pre-mixed virucidal and anti-bacterial. This powerful disinfectant is perfect for wiping down metal surfaces, counter tops and even for mopping the stable floor.
This is the time also to clean out the vet kit and fridges, defrost the freezers, and start the deep cleaning. Check expiration dates and throw out anything that has passed its use-by date. Declutter, and organize!
Your horse’s first aid kit should be up-to-date and restocked.
Tack-A-Long
Sort out your tack room. Reorganize the mess, throw out anything beyond repair, and put aside tack that needs repair.
If you don’t already do this on a regular basis, take the bridles apart to clean. (If you clean daily, you can go a lot longer between take-apart cleanings.)
Double-check the stitching and oil unused or rarely used tack if needed.
Get tack repaired, otherwise, throw anything that is beyond repair away. Now is the time to Marie Kondo your tack room.
If you have preloved tack or riding equipment that you want to give away, think about donating it Zack’s Tack’s charity box. Someone else can buy it for the cost of a donation to Yayasan Chow Kit.
Professionally wash your spare saddle cloths and bandages. Throw out any that are beyond repair.
Preparations & Reparations
With no polo, I’ll have time to get all my broken mallets repaired. Some of the work I will do myself: I’ll be changing the grips and some slings on old mallets, and checking the heads on all my mallets.
This is also a good time to check the stitching on my knee pads, practice and tournament boots, and get them fixed, if necessary. That also reminds me I have time to wash my elbow guards and all my gloves.
Covid-19 has given us unusual downtime. Let’s make the best of it.
