Guys. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. Like, super duper.
A little while ago, I was stalking perusing instagram. One of the equestrians I follow posted a little IG contest for something called "the Herbal Horse." I immediately started following the Herbal Horse and ventured over to her Etsy shop. We know I love Etsy. When I failed to win the contest, I still didn't hesitate to buy some products.
I fell in love with everything that I've tried: Be Calm, Healthy Hair, and Heal Quick.
Review
I started with a gross pony.
Life is hard.
After a quick workout, the Dude and I came together with some balms from Herbal Horse.
Helen, the owner and mastermind, lists everything she uses in her balms. All the details can be found on the product description on her store. Let me point some things out: coconut oil (which we know I love), essential oils targeting specific issues, and an expiration date. She also uses recyclable containers. I love this lady!
Be Calm
I used Be Calm the last time I trailered Archie. I rubbed it along the bottom of his neck, so he could breathe it in. It is now going to be a definite part of my trailering the crazy pony routine. Between it and the super yucky SmartPak show prep paste, my guy had no nervous poops on his last adventure. That's huge! It's also safe for human use and Helen recommends it for bedtime for us two-legged folk. If you see me sniffing it, you know why!
Heal Quick
As you can see from the above photos, Archie had a little superficial scratch on his inside gaskin/stifle area. I applied her Heal Quick and it resolved, no issues. I compare the consistency to that of Fuze, but all-natural and with no harmful carcinogens.
Healthy Hair
My BM's kid swears that braiding the forelock will help it grow. I'm not going to discredit anything that might help with the mini-rat-tail stuck on the Kid's forehead. After having had it in a braid for a few days, I pulled it out. It was nasty and super grungy. I slathered it in her Healthy Hair to help with the crispies.
Grungy.
Slathered.
And, you know me. I put it in my hair, too! I let it soak for a couple hours one night, washed it, and had soft hair the next day. I think the absolute best part was that the amazing scent lingered for a few days. Sure, I got some comments about holding my hair over my face and breathing while my coworkers tried to talk to me. Screw them, it smells good!
Someone else also loves the scent.
Contest
Helen has graciously agreed to sponsor a contest for some of her products. If you win, you will receive four 1-ounce tins of your choice! And even if you don't win, you can use discount code OWLS20 to get 20% off your order until 12/15. Stocking stuffers for your barn friends?!
You have four ways to enter (and you can do all four):
1. Best horse memory.
Galloping Archie while on the trail ride from hell and finally just letting him loose. It was exhilarating and terrifying and I wish I could get him to let go like that again.
Recreation.
Somewhere along this road.
2. Worst horse memory.
Crying on the phone with Duke's owner after she told me that he was humanely euthanized following an unsuccessful colic surgery. Rest in peace, Big Guy.
3. First horse memory.
My cousin and I were driven to a random farm land outside of Houston, Texas. Then I remember being plopped in the saddle in front of a cowboy and gripping the horn as we raced around the pasture. I'm sure it was maybe a slow lope, if that, but it felt like we were flying. I was probably four or five. My cousin cried. 4. Last horse memory.
Turning Archie out in the big pasture, which means no more cantering in it. Having just pulled his mane, totally pissing him off, but easily making amends with beet pulp and a carrot.
Before.
After. Yay, pissed off pony!
5. Most memorable horse story.
"Hey, so one time I fell off a pony because I didn't check the girth and I lost my memory and drove myself to the hospital while still in the black-out phase of my concussion. The best part? I remembered Duke's name, but didn't know who the guy with me was. We were engaged*."