Five Unexpected Items You Might Find in a Horse Barn

Being an equestrian involves much more than just riding beautiful horses. We have to clean and feed our horses, play with them, beautify them, and clean their stalls. As a result, there are several items that the ordinary person might be surprised to find in a horse barn. Here are five of them. 

1. Diapers

Diapers are a barn favorite and are typically used to administer medication to horses when they get abscesses. The medicine is placed in the diaper and wrapped around the horse’s hoof or leg. When secured with duct tape, it serves as a useful bandage, as the diaper’s padding and absorbency comfortably hold the medication in the diaper and against the area that needs to be treated.

2. Stuffed Animals and Toys

Just like people, horses can get bored easily. Stuffed animals and toys can often be found hanging in stalls to alleviate this problem and provide entertainment. Some horses prefer soft and fluffy stuffed animals like Squishmallows, while others like large, squeaky dog toys.

3. Yarn

Yarn isn’t just for knitting - equestrians frequently use it to braid horse manes and tails. In a typical horse barn, you’ll find yarn in a variety of colors next to piles of rubber bands.

4. Bandages

While you might think bandages would be used for riders who fall off the horses and injure themselves, they’re actually used as wraps to protect horse tail braids. Braids are a work of art that are done with painstaking accuracy and need to be protected from an itchy hind or an upset stomach.

5. Laminators

Between the sand, water, dirt, and dust found throughout a barn, paper products can get destroyed easily. Most stables have a small, portable laminating machine to protect important signs, forms, and other recorded information.