Gaps in the Equine product and service market

[gina2201]

A specific wood pellet bedding fork!

If there is one let me know!

 

[Starzaan]

The way we keep horses. This has been in my mind due to the discussion about the lack of racing grooms. We still keep and care for horses the same as 100s of years ago. If you looked at a film on a farm 50 years ago and now it would be completely different, with machinery taken the place of most members of staff, yet if you took the film in a stables it would be nearly the same, with girls wheeling full wheelbarrows and carrying buckets of water.

I think the design of stables should be altered, so it is easy for machinery to get in and muck out so grooms can ride, groom and care for the horse, but the heavy mucking out business it done by machine.

Apparently in Germany a business man built himself stables where the floor is a conveyor belt, the stable partions can all fold back and every so often the whole floor is just emptied out into a large trailer at the end!

There is a company that make stables with folding partitions for this very reason. They’re called Rower & Rub. Worth a look!

 

[silv]

Gosh; living in the UK is so complicated.......

You are so right, things seem to have changed since I left 22 years ago, thank goodness New Zealand is such an easy place to live.

 

[EquineEEF]

Thank you everyone for your input, a really broad range of ideas to get me going. Thank you.

 

[Greylegs]

How about

• non-stick feed bowls to make cleaning them out a lot quicker/easier.
• gate latches that are actually easy to open/close from the back of a horse
• rubber "banks" for stables to avoid having to bank bedding up the walls
• a sensible device to enable handling/hanging wet hay nets possible without getting soaked clothing in the process
• a hoover specially designed to remove those peculiar dusty cob-webs which you seem to find in all stables
• a sensible and practical way to recycle baler twine/feed sacks/plastic packaging from shavings bales
• ...or better than the above ... bio-degradable packing for all stable consumables, which could be put on the muck heap and decay naturally

I'm sure more will occur as I ponder on it ...

 

[EquineEEF]

How about

• non-stick feed bowls to make cleaning them out a lot quicker/easier.
• gate latches that are actually easy to open/close from the back of a horse
• rubber "banks" for stables to avoid having to bank bedding up the walls
• a sensible device to enable handling/hanging wet hay nets possible without getting soaked clothing in the process
• a hoover specially designed to remove those peculiar dusty cob-webs which you seem to find in all stables
• a sensible and practical way to recycle baler twine/feed sacks/plastic packaging from shavings bales
• ...or better than the above ... bio-degradable packing for all stable consumables, which could be put on the muck heap and decay naturally

I'm sure more will occur as I ponder on it ...

All very interesting thank you! particularly like the biodegradable packaging..very big topic right now as well.

 

[The Trooper]

Being able to get decent rider clothing above a size 14.

Not talking like 22+ or anything dramatic, but plenty of ladies have larger chests/hips/thighs which means they need to go up a size. Many of the major brands “designer” stop at a small made 14!

Whilst the “plus size/average size” clothing does exist, it’s currently not quite as appealing as smaller sized brands.


Boots to fit horses with bone who are not 17hh+ XL boots are sometimes wide enough, but often super long.

Try getting a decent pair of insulated winter riding boots, gents, size 11/12 to facilitate a 17-18" calf. Nigh on impossible so i feel your pain.

 

[EquineEEF]

Very interesting. Do you have then names of the companies that provide these less appealing plus size/average size clothing? I would be keen to take a look. Thanks both for you input.

 

[Asha]

Cheshire

There is a group on facebook. Just look up Cheshire freelance grooms

 

[BOWS28]

A specific wood pellet bedding fork!

If there is one let me know!

They do exist!! A lady from my yard uses one! It's just like a shavings fork but with raised sides, so almost a scoop. You can just take a huge load of bedding in it and toss it around in the fork, just leaving the poo. She loves it! I'm a future fork kind of girl!!

 

[D66]

As farmers don't like producing the small bales it would be good to have a compact, affordable big bale handler along the lines of the powered barrows that are available, so you could at least manoeuvre it round the yard and into a shed.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I've always thought that shoeing is something that I just wish someone would re-think and somehow apply some modern technology to.

We are still (or the farriers are!) banging on metal shoes to feet just the same as the Romans and their like did 2000+ years on!

I remember when I was a kid (60's/70's), there was a bit of a "thing" about someone inventing some plastic shoes, but they never seemed to take off.

Think the discussion needs to centre around

(a) IF we're going to continue nailing on shoes onto horse's feet, then why do we need to keep using metal?? They're heavy, cumbersome, and slippery on roads!

(b) Perhaps some different way of protecting the hoof needs inventing? I.e. hoof boots/covering, that is quick, easy and hassle free to take on and off. Have been-there-done-it with hoof boots: NOT an option on a freezing cold morning when your fingers are like ice and you've got a wet mucky feathery foot to deal with!

Just food for thought!

 

[holeymoley]

A way of getting water to stable or field, that doesn't involve either carrying buckets or dragging them!

You need the little trolley thing with wheels. Or one of the water buckets with wheels. As long as your not going off road or anything haha

 

[holeymoley]

My biggest challenge is hay soaking due to my dodgy back. My horse has a large haynet which I soak in a plastic half barrel. The problem is pulling the wet hay out of the water and hanging it up to drain. I then have to tip the container over to empty it. I've often thought that I need a container with a plug that is accessible whilst the hay is in it and a grid or similar at the bottom so that I can just take the plug out and leave the hay in the container to drain.

I could split the hay into smaller nets but that's just more faffing around filling nets. The alternative is to use haylage but I find small bales expensive. Livery yard does not allow large bales and I wouldn't use it before it went off.

I see n the very thing that fits your description a few weeks ago however I'm sure it had a nifty price tag with it.

 

[Cortez]

I've always thought that shoeing is something that I just wish someone would re-think and somehow apply some modern technology to.

We are still (or the farriers are!) banging on metal shoes to feet just the same as the Romans and their like did 2000+ years on!

Just because I am a pedant....the Romans didn't nail on shoes; they used a nifty thing called a hipposandal which tied on around the coronet, not unlike a hoof boot....

 

[The-Bookworm]

How about

• non-stick feed bowls to make cleaning them out a lot quicker/easier.
• gate latches that are actually easy to open/close from the back of a horse
• rubber "banks" for stables to avoid having to bank bedding up the walls
• a sensible device to enable handling/hanging wet hay nets possible without getting soaked clothing in the process
• a hoover specially designed to remove those peculiar dusty cob-webs which you seem to find in all stables
• a sensible and practical way to recycle baler twine/feed sacks/plastic packaging from shavings bales
• ...or better than the above ... bio-degradable packing for all stable consumables, which could be put on the muck heap and decay naturally

I'm sure more will occur as I ponder on it ...

There are already horse friendly gate latches out there.

I wear waterproofs for hanging wet hay.

 

[The-Bookworm]

Hello everyone..This is my first time posting so...Hi

I am preparing a research paper on the perceived gaps in both the product and service market within the equine industry and I am looking to understand what, as horse owners, peoples biggest challenges are day to day? If possible I would like to understand what things you regularly think " I wish someone made X to solve that problem and make life easier" or "I wish there was someone that did X so I didn't have too"

All weird and wonderful suggestions welcome. If it is a problem/challenge that you encounter daily I would love to hear about it...from feed bucket solutions to unusual horsey holidays (literally plucking these out of the air) then please post below.

Thanks in advance!

Have you got a horse?
Do you ride?
That's the first place to start.

Infertile stallions so my mare can have some safe fun.

 

[The-Bookworm]

Something that can pick up a small bale of haylage off of a stack and carry it to where you need it. Wrapped small bales are a nightmare!! I just don’t have long enough arms and they are so heavy!

Bobcat/ small tractor.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I need something that can pick the bale off of the stack.....

A serf?

 

[tda]

Was pondering this yesterday, how about a poo Hoover that would wander round the field on its own, coming back to a docking station when full, like one of those robotic vacuum cleaners 😁

 

[tda]

A specific wood pellet bedding fork!

If there is one let me know!

There are quite a few but they all seem to be plastic 🤔

 

[The-Bookworm]

https://equestrianco.com/products/f...MIsPWo3e7i3wIVZZPtCh3v9QPOEAQYAiABEgKxXfD_BwE

Pellet fork

 

[npage123]

Will probably be much too expensive and impractical but would LOVE to be able to hire a water treadmill for my horse, i.e. on being brought to the livery yard as opposed to boxing up and travelling great distances to get to the nearest one.

 

[fburton]

Infertile stallions so my mare can have some safe fun.

Vasectomy is certainly possible. I don't know of any cases where this was done 'domestically' though.

 

[Orangehorse]

I've always thought that shoeing is something that I just wish someone would re-think and somehow apply some modern technology to.

We are still (or the farriers are!) banging on metal shoes to feet just the same as the Romans and their like did 2000+ years on!

I remember when I was a kid (60's/70's), there was a bit of a "thing" about someone inventing some plastic shoes, but they never seemed to take off.

Think the discussion needs to centre around

(a) IF we're going to continue nailing on shoes onto horse's feet, then why do we need to keep using metal?? They're heavy, cumbersome, and slippery on roads!

(b) Perhaps some different way of protecting the hoof needs inventing? I.e. hoof boots/covering, that is quick, easy and hassle free to take on and off. Have been-there-done-it with hoof boots: NOT an option on a freezing cold morning when your fingers are like ice and you've got a wet mucky feathery foot to deal with!

Just food for thought!

Well people have been trying to find an alternative to metal for some time - but metal is easy to shape, can be fitted to any size hoof, can be recycled easily. Various plastic shoes have been tried, but they still have to be securely attached, and the "slip" problem was discovered early on. A physio I used was working on an alternative and said they were very nearly there, had to try out different sizes of horse/pony, but I never heard that it made it into production.

 

[Orangehorse]

Some things are available in the agricultural sector - like a giant vaccum cleaner for instance! Used for cleaning out grain storage bins.

 

[MrsMozart]

A way to feed hay in the field that isn't wasteful and is close to the ground, so horses at their supposed proper eating angle. And that doesn't allow the irriate ones to get tangled up!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I've always thought that shoeing is something that I just wish someone would re-think and somehow apply some modern technology to.

We are still (or the farriers are!) banging on metal shoes to feet just the same as the Romans and their like did 2000+ years on!

I remember when I was a kid (60's/70's), there was a bit of a "thing" about someone inventing some plastic shoes, but they never seemed to take off.

Think the discussion needs to centre around

(a) IF we're going to continue nailing on shoes onto horse's feet, then why do we need to keep using metal?? They're heavy, cumbersome, and slippery on roads!

(b) Perhaps some different way of protecting the hoof needs inventing? I.e. hoof boots/covering, that is quick, easy and hassle free to take on and off. Have been-there-done-it with hoof boots: NOT an option on a freezing cold morning when your fingers are like ice and you've got a wet mucky feathery foot to deal with!

Just food for thought!

Duplo (not the people who make kids toys) make composite shoes which can be glued or nailed on. They are made in Germany and my farrier now supplies and fits them and I have been seriously considering them for winter when putting 4 Hoof boots on with split and sore fingers is a real pain.

 

[EquineEEF]

I've always thought that shoeing is something that I just wish someone would re-think and somehow apply some modern technology to.

We are still (or the farriers are!) banging on metal shoes to feet just the same as the Romans and their like did 2000+ years on!

I remember when I was a kid (60's/70's), there was a bit of a "thing" about someone inventing some plastic shoes, but they never seemed to take off.

Think the discussion needs to centre around

(a) IF we're going to continue nailing on shoes onto horse's feet, then why do we need to keep using metal?? They're heavy, cumbersome, and slippery on roads!

(b) Perhaps some different way of protecting the hoof needs inventing? I.e. hoof boots/covering, that is quick, easy and hassle free to take on and off. Have been-there-done-it with hoof boots: NOT an option on a freezing cold morning when your fingers are like ice and you've got a wet mucky feathery foot to deal with!

Just food for thought!

A way to feed hay in the field that isn't wasteful and is close to the ground, so horses at their supposed proper eating angle. And that doesn't allow the irriate ones to get tangled up!

This is one of my biggest frustrations when feeding hay from the floor, hay stepped on and trampled on the floor all around the fields!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

This is one of my biggest frustrations when feeding hay from the floor, hay stepped on and trampled on the floor all around the fields!

Have you looked at the Harmony Trickle Feeder? I don't think it would work in a field but for stable use it looks as though it would help with trampled hay.