Just The Basics Equine

Equine Healthcare

2011-03-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the websites I like for getting information fast on my horse's healthcare. A lot of the time, the more knowledge one has, the better the veterinarians can manage the situation right on the phone. The more you know, the better you will be able to answer questions giving the veterinarians the ability to give you feedback on what you should be doing and looking for while they are enroute to your barn.
http://www.thehorse.com/

Winter Blanket Cleanup

2011-03-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Finally we are coming out of winter! The sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. Time to switch those heavy winter blankets for lighter sheets. If your blankets look as bad as Buckley's, check out our web page http://www.justthebasicsct.com/Blanket-Wash---Light-Repairs.html for our blanket cleaning services!

Spring is Almost Here!

2011-03-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Spring is almost upon us. Today was a beautiful warm day. Time to start thinking about getting those blankets washed and put away. And, most of all, how to combat those nasty bugs which will be coming out very soon. One way to help combat them is with our Just The Basics Simple Fly Spray. This is a light, fragrant spray that we've used for about 3 years now on our own horses. It keeps those flies at bay and allows the horses to graze on nice days with minimal bother. Check our website www.JustTheBasicsCT.com for updates on ordering our "Simple Fly Spray". Use our spray and combine with your farms' own pasture maintenance and you'll see the difference.

Bazaar and Indoor Yard Sale

2011-02-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to pass along a great indoor event coming up on March 27th. The Rhode Island Federation of Riding Clubs is having its annual bazaar and yard sale. Check out their flyer at http://www.orgsites.com/ri/rifrc/. We are planning to be there with our products, hope to see you there...

Come on Spring!

2011-02-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Here in New England, this winter has been a very difficult one. Some many friends have lost buildings important to their business' due to the heavy amounts of snow that fell over the region in the last month and a half. Thank god, there were no casualties of these disasters and thank god for insurance. I think now is the time for us to be thankful for what we have and look forward to tomorrow. My best wishes to those friends dealing with putting things back together. Hopefully, spring will be just around the corner and we can all warm up and get back to normal.

Mosquito's!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well, all the rain we had brought them out and they bit up my horse pretty badly.

Good to keep some benedryl on hand!

Rain! Rain! Rain!

2008-09-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, the rain is here. It started late last night and hasn't stopped! My boys (horses) are inside enjoying their nice cozy stalls. I'm sure they are getting totally spoiled with treats by the other owners who kept their horses in today.

Greener Thinking

2008-09-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Going Green to keep our environment safer for our future and our children's futures should be a number 1 priority on everyone's list of things to do every day.It's amazing when you look at what is around your home and then, when you look in the horse barn. Holy Cow, there are so many things that we have chosen to do out of convenience that have a huge impact on the world. We all need to stop and take the time to really examine things.

This summer, I met a young horsewoman who has her own cleaning business. Her cleaning business is based on "greener" methods of cleaning. She uses vinegar and lemons, no harsh chemicals, sprays, etc. So, we got to thinking about all the products we use in the barn and over the summer, we started to make the change to becoming greener.

The first real significant step we took was to stop buying the harsh chemical fly sprays. We'd buy two mixed spray bottles per week. Or a gallon bottle to refill the original bottles. We always had a bin full of bottles, half of them weren't even recyclable bottles. We changed that and went to mixing our own fly spray from water, vinegar, ivory soap and skin so soft oil from Avon. I had two empty spray bottles that I recycled and have been using all summer and we mix batches of spray in empty gallon juice bottles from our favorite cranberry juices.

#1 We saved ourselves a lot of money.
#2 We stopped poluting the environment and our horses with the chemicals in the sprays.
#3 We stopped buying 2-3 plastic bottles of spray per week.
#4 we used empty juice bottles to keep gallons of our mix on hand.
#5 we reduced our unrecyclable waste.

The change and the response from the fly population was amazing. Our horses stood outside amongst 30 others at the farm. Their tails hardly moved all summer. The other horses couldn't stop swatting. Their owners kept using the chemical sprays that smelled like ant and roach spray. Our horses had shinier coats, smelled very pleasant all the time and when it came to being bathed, they already had a little soap on their coats from the ivory soap and we ended up shortening our bath time, saving water and making less run off into the sewer system.

We didn't need to buy any special bath soap for them, they were clean in minutes.Now, I'm sure there are a few things in what we did use that may not be so green, but, when you look at the overall change that took place, we saved ourselves and the environment a lot. We actually did better for our horses who weren't so bothered by the flies anymore.

Taking a look at what we do every day will totally help our environment. We still have a long way to go, but, we will get there.

Taking a little from my cleaning lady friend, I no longer buy the harsh chemicals to clean my house, just vinegar and lemons. The change in my house is huge. The vinegar kills the germs and the lemons with the acid and great smell do there part too.If everyone does their part, a lot will change for the better!

My Dogs

2008-03-20T07:26:00.001-07:00

Just in case you were curious. Here are my two "Alarm Clocks"

Happy Spring!!!

2008-03-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

Happy First Day of Spring to all. Unfortunately, this morning it was raining again. It had rained thru the night, waking me and my dogs up at 2:30 this morning. So, we got up and did some work on the website before going to the barn to get the horses day going. I love the new barn. My horses love it too.

Here is a picture from a few winters ago.

Hello Friends

2008-03-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well, this is all very exciting. Even with all of the rain we are having today, we are still very happy and excited knowing that after work, I'll be driving to our new farm in Dayville, CT. We are renting a 12 stall facility on 22 acres that has an attatched indoor where we can ride ANYTIME WE WANT!..... My partner and I are thrilled and can't wait to share our happiness and our new farm with all of our friends and family. It's been a long time coming, but, we are finally there and can't wait to see what the future holds.

Visit my website www.justthebasicsct.com and see a few of our horses.