Somw ideas...I did wine one year (Hot to Trot brand) and made custom labels online with the picture of Pong. Last year I did cute custom acrylic monogram tags in each persons fave color (found on etsy). Or a cold weather kit with gloves, hand warmers & boozey hot chocolate ingredients. Or why not one of your hand stamped items??

I love Nicku's cold weather kit idea!

Wine is always a good go to. Also, you could do a small ($20 or so) gift card to a coffee shop or lunch place that the vet might frequent?

I love the idea of giving them something special - my vet is amazing, she went as far as to visit us a couple times, send cars and flowers, and call us a couple times a week for awhile after we put down our OTTB. She stayed there all day at the barn afterwards (in 20 degree weather with terrible wind) with us, cried with us. Vets deserve a lot of thanks!

ugh poor Archie... it's always something! awesome that you have such a great team tho! back when i lived with my parents my step dad would always bake a couple extra loaves of awesome nut bread for me to dole out around the barn... but i've definitely slacked since then

From a veterinary point of view...lol...home-baked goods are da bomb. And also COFFEE. We LOVE our clients that deliver us coffee and bagels first thing in the morning on a workday! Last week we had an absolutely insane surgery day where no one had time for lunch breaks and what kept us going was the Starbucks coffee and homemade banana bread a grateful client had brought for us that morning. <3

I'm a practical person, so the gas card thing makes a lot of sense to me.

I know my farrier is really proud of his very expensive hammer. Maybe you could get a handle and have it personalized? (like burn his name into the wood in a classy way?) They usually can replace handles; I think it's the heads that are so expensive. And your vet really enjoys playing bass guitar. My hubs always liked getting guitar strings & picks...might be nice to get Reece some really nice bass strings and some awesome picks.

As a hoofcare person I know I personally always LOVE a good bottle of wine, but that is because I love wine. And I don't do reds, so if someone gives me red I won't drink it. I'm less partial to baked goods because I am super picky about food and likely as not I won't eat it. Gas cards are always good - or even just a big cash tip! A portable coffee mug or something of the like is always nice too - something your busy professional can take on the road easily.

So many hugs for you - I'm so sorry I haven't been able to send sooner. Bad stories abound, and I'll just say it, fuck you, universe, you don't get to pick on Beka too! It sounds like you have the best support team and it does indeed make all the difference. Im afraid of answers too, as Solo tells me something is still NQR, but we will have to ask questions anyway once I get to be home for more than one day during the week. I will offer - DO THE POUR INS! You will not regret it. Encore wears EquiPak through fly season (has the copper sulfate already included!) ; I've used rubber on Solo (hated, nasty thrush) and several of us have tried leather, as it does breathe but doesn't hold up to our tough sand and rocks and gets soggy with junk inevitably worked under it.

I'm truly sorry again, it really is a type.of mourning. Even though no one could have predicted the outcome, I will always hold myself responsible for Solo's injury. If I had had any idea, I would have withdrawn that day and I'd still be able to kneel. Who knows how long we could have kept flying, or he could have just as well.stepped in a random hole.a.week later, but after the past 3 yrs, stealing hopes, stealing futures has definitely topped my list of Cruelest Life Twists. Know you have all my hugs and you know where.to find me if you need to unleash cursing rambles. <3

My farrier has been working lots of overtime for Miles and I ever since July. He's been getting a bi-monthly bonus for taking my calls on Sundays and coming out the next day. Thank goodness for good teams!!