Thanksgiving Morning Feed from Fleeceworks

5 things equestrians are thankful for.

Turkey Day is symbolic of many things. American tradition, copious amounts of food, elastic waistbands and, most importantly, remembering all that we have to be thankful for. As equestrians, we have many things to give thanks for today, but we came up with our top five list. What would you add to our list? Post your ideas in the comments!

1. Saddle Tite/No-Slip/Sekur-Grip/Stuff That Makes Us Stick

Image via SmartPak.

This is one of the first products I can remember using repeatedly in my early days of riding. Wherever we went, we packed industrial amounts of the stuff in our grooming boxes so we could lather it on before we hopped on. And it’s glorious, wouldn’t you agree? Sure, go ahead and put me on that wild-eyed 4-year-old. Let me just don my full seat britches and a year’s supply of Saddle-Tite and off I go!

Admit it, this sticky stuff has saved your butt more than once.

2. Trucks. All of the trucks.

Photo via Wikipedia.

Everyone loves a big pick-up truck who can do their dirty work. Need to get a friend out of the mud? No problem. Got a horse to haul to its next show? Got it. Have an extra amount of road rage where a compact car just won’t do the trick? Check!

Horses and trucks just seem to go hand in hand, no matter what your discipline of choice is. If you don’t own one, you suddenly notice each and every truck on the road and imagine how good it would look hauling your equally bad ass looking trailer along.

3. Caffeine. The equestrian’s lifeline.

Image via Wikipedia.

I usually plan my drive to the barn around a trip to either the gas station or Starbucks to grab some caffeine. There’s something about heading out to the barn that lights a fire in my brain regarding the need for caffeine. Between early morning barn chores, a late night foal watch, or an endless horse show day, caffeine is every equestrian’s best friend (and worst enemy once you realize how many of your hard earned dollars are supporting your habit).

4. Our jobs — love ’em or hate ’em.

We hate them most days. Mondays are the most dreaded day of the week. Blissful weekends fly by at the barn. Our paychecks disappear alarmingly fast because Pony needs new shoes. But without them, we wouldn’t be able to support our horse lives, and that would just be a tragedy. So once you’ve crawled out of your turkey coma, look Monday in the eye and say thanks for enabling you to keep living the dream. Or the nightmare, however you want to look at it.

5. Last, but most certainly not least, our horses.

Photo via Sinead Halpin.

We couldn’t leave our four-legged companions off the list. At the end of the day, our horses are what drive us to want to succeed. They inspire us with their trust and entertain us with their personalities. They break our hearts and we come back for more, time and time again. Would we have it any other way? Of course not. Give your horses an extra Thanksgiving hug today, HN, because they give us something to be thankful for each and every day.

Go Thanksgiving, Go Riding, and Go Fleeceworks!