Going on first ever camp! any tips?

[FinnBobs]

I have booked to go on my first ever camp at Somerford Park with my little horse but having never attended one before I was hoping that I could get some tips and advice? I'm quite nervous about it but excited too!

I guess some of the things that I am wondering about are how I can help my boy settle, what I should bring with me, what sort of eventualities to plan for?

We are coming from a big and busy yard anyway but I have never stayed away anywhere with him before so I am a bit worried that he might get stressed and then be stressy when I am riding. It should be fun though

Thanks in advance!

 

[abbijay]

My 2 top tips for Somerford camp; flip flops for the showers and ear plugs (there is ALWAYS some irritating door kicker through the night).

Other useful things are multiple pairs of gloves and dry clothes - if it rains you can't get stuff dry unless you have a very posh lorry.
Dry numnah/saddlecloth for every lesson
Large muck bucket or fold up wheelbarrow
Thermal mug to put your tea/coffee in so it doesn't go cold.
Pre make feeds and put them in xl ziplock bags.
Take a bit of duct tape and baling twine - you don't know what you'll need it for until you need it and then you'll be glad you took it.

I'm lucky my yard is hacking distance away and home is only 6 miles so when i've forgotten stuff I've been able to go back for it. There is a shop on site but I'm too cheap to do that.

Oh and more booze than you think you'll need!

 

[FinnBobs]

Thanks! I'd not thought of most of that. they are very helpful tips

 

[Xmasha]

it depends what facility you have for stopping over.. but id say something to keep you warm. Whether thats loads of blankets or heaters or just alcohol .. Dont underestimate how cold it can get.

Plenty of changes of clothes in case it rains.
Extra rugs for your horse. I find mine are colder than usual when they stayed.
Scissors -- they never anything handy when you need to open a new bale of haylage
Snacks for you

have fun !

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I did a camp year before last , my first one. I was worried about how he would settbut no bother what so ever!! I just took loads of normal day to day stuff with new just in case!! Enjoy!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Lots of good suggestions above.
To add: A goody bag or box. Pack in your favourite crisps, sweets etc, v useful as a cheerer-upper or to have once home if you haven't bust into it!

Meds bag to include plasters, paracetamol, anti histamines and anything else you might want to grab, alongside your basic veterinary items, again, just in case.

Tack cleaning gear, useful if tack gets sodden!
Tack spares too.

Extra pillow (I always end up taking my 2nd one)

Have a good time!

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Hot water bottle.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Oh, and a small flask if you are one who likes a cuppa v 1st thing and cant make one in your own camping accom. Fill flask just before bed, saves a bit of strife for me (I also take coffee, sugar and mini catering milk pots).

 

[Sparkeyboy]

You'll have a lovely time, I love the camps at Somerford Park!

Plenty of layers for night time, you can go during the summer but the nights still get very cold.

A wheelbarrow, not just for mucking out but for transporting stuff from your camp to the stables. Also helpful on the last day when you have to throw all the bedding out before you leave.

Spare clothes in case it chucks it down, or if it's super hot and you want to change after your first ride. I took casual clothes as a couple of nights went out for tea, not sure if you're bothered about this with Covid...

Feeds already made up, hay nets already made up if you're taking your own forage. Smaller water buckets to fill up your main water bucket, I've only ever stayed in the older stable block and there was no hose or automatic feeders, not sure what the new blocks are like.

And most importantly, some extra cash to spend in the tack shop there

 

[w1bbler]

Plenty of alcohol, then nothing else matters ?

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Plenty of alcohol, then nothing else matters ?

And a glass not a plastic beaker to sup it from! ?

OP, head torch, v useful.

 

[abbijay]

A large sports water bottle. I always forget this and don't drink enough. When I have taken one it's great as I walk round with it all the time and pop it by the stable when I'm riding/mucking out/fussing my pony.

 

[FinnBobs]

Thanks I think I will definitely enjoy it more if I feel prepared! just like at a competition.

I think my little man will have such a great time doing something new!

 

[Annagain]

Where will you be sleeping? If in a tent or your trailer, lots and lots of layers and a big thick blanket or duvet to go UNDER your sleeping bag. It's amazing how much warmer you are with decent insulation underneath you. A hot water bottle is also fantastic for keeping warm - or two even - put one in your sleeping bag an hour before you plan on going to bed and take another with you when you go to bed.

If you're in your trailer and you can't close the jockey door from inside, a bungee cord is good to hook the door shut. Some people I know like an eye mask too as you can get woken up by the daylight very early if in a tent.

Plenty of clothes in case you get rained on and can't dry them out - at least two sets of riding gear per day - and a waterproof bag to put them in so they don't get the rest of your clothes wet.

Make up as many feeds as you need in advance and put them in plastic bags so you can just empty them into a feed bucket. If you need to soak something, an old supplement bucket with a lid is ideal - soak enough for as many feeds as you need before you go, and take it ready soaked. If you need to take your own hay, take it in ready made up haynets, especially if you're in a trailer, as you can tie them at the front of the trailer to transport them. They're also easier to manage and you don't waste valuable drinking time filling nets!

Some snacks for the evening - nice social ones you can pass around to help get you chatting to people.

Above all make a list (I love a list!) for you and a list for the horse and tick everything off it to make sure you don't forget anything.

 

[Coblover63]

I did my first camp at Somerford last October and camped in my trailer. I took out the centre partition when I was there and slept inside a pop up tent! Things I found useful were booking an electric hook-up! That was the most important! My little camping fan heater heated up inside the tent really quickly, a heated throw on low kept me toasty all night and I was advised to take an extra bale of shavings as they only supplied two, which made a big difference for the comfort of my mare.

 

[FinnBobs]

I'm going to camp in a tent I think in which case hot water bottles will definitely be a good idea! My box is a 3.5 ton so I don't think I'd really get away with trying to sleep in that.

My horse is lami prone and on soaked hay so is it a good idea to bring my own forage and a bucket to soak to maintain this while we are away?

 

[pistolpete]

I used to live going on horsey camp. Done half a dozen over the years. Take chocolate wine and snacks. I am always ravenous when camping. My ponies/horses always settled really easily. As long as there are other horses around they generally just eat!

 

[FinnBobs]

Hot water bottle.

Thanks. I hope we rock our camp as much as you did OrangeAndLemon

I don't think I will have any problems making lists. I love lists far too much haha

 

[Annagain]

I'm going to camp in a tent I think in which case hot water bottles will definitely be a good idea! My box is a 3.5 ton so I don't think I'd really get away with trying to sleep in that.

My horse is lami prone and on soaked hay so is it a good idea to bring my own forage and a bucket to soak to maintain this while we are away?

You'd be surprised, a camp bed fits very nicely in a single stall of a IW 510. I've slept in mine plenty so a 3.5T is probably luxury compared to that! At least you'd have a door you can shut from the inside - as long as you can then get into the horse area from the back! It sounds odd, but I've seen a tent inside a 3.5 before and apparently its resident was warm as toast!

Is hay included in the price? If so, I'd just take something to soak it in and take a soaked net for the first night - or ask them to soak some in advance. We've done this at our camp and the venue were very happy to help. The only problem was there was no net so my friend had to fill her net with wet hay which wasn't most pleasant!

 

[FinnBobs]

You'd be surprised, a camp bed fits very nicely in a single stall of a IW 510. I've slept in mine plenty so a 3.5T is probably luxury compared to that! At least you'd have a door you can shut from the inside - as long as you can then get into the horse area from the back! It sounds odd, but I've seen a tent inside a 3.5 before and apparently its resident was warm as toast!

Is hay included in the price? If so, I'd just take something to soak it in and take a soaked net for the first night - or ask them to soak some in advance. We've done this at our camp and the venue were very happy to help. The only problem was there was no net so my friend had to fill her net with wet hay which wasn't most pleasant!

Thanks I do have a festival style tent that might fit in I thought it might be a bit odd to put a tent in the box so its good to know that it's been done before.

I really appreciate the advice.

 

[Reacher]

I used a pop up tent in a trailer and was very warm though needed to pin down the corners else the floor banana-ed up . I was glad I due due to torrential rain through night

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Thanks. I hope we rock our camp as much as you did OrangeAndLemon

I don't think I will have any problems making lists. I love lists far too much haha

If you need to borrow anything, just say

 

[Ali27]

Somerford camps are just the best! I’m there at end of June and then another in August! I take a couple of big plastic bags to bring some of the clean shavings back! A wheelbarrow is definitely super useful! And lots of alcohol of course but I limit myself to one bottle of Prosecco per night as last July I had two bottles on the second night and was slightly hungover during country lesson at 9am on the Sun?

 

[Sparkeyboy]

I'm going to camp in a tent I think in which case hot water bottles will definitely be a good idea! My box is a 3.5 ton so I don't think I'd really get away with trying to sleep in that.

My horse is lami prone and on soaked hay so is it a good idea to bring my own forage and a bucket to soak to maintain this while we are away?

I stayed in my 3.5t, I washed it out when I got there and took out the middle partition and put it under the horsebox. I used a sun lounger, sleeping bag and a duvet. There was plenty of room to hang things up, get changed (remembering to cover the windows!) and good lighting for when it goes dark.

I re-call a lady soaking her haynets on my last camp so i'm sure you'll be fine taking a bucket for soaking.

Please post back after you've been with some pictures

 

[Dave's Mam]

I'm going to camp in a tent I think in which case hot water bottles will definitely be a good idea! My box is a 3.5 ton so I don't think I'd really get away with trying to sleep in that.

My horse is lami prone and on soaked hay so is it a good idea to bring my own forage and a bucket to soak to maintain this while we are away?

The last time I was at Somerford, we could only buy big bale hayledge from there, not an issue as there were over 20 of us, so we split the cost. If you have room to take your own, I would.
Have a fab time, it's a brill place for a camp!

 

[Ossy2]

I’ve found my horse always settles quite well at somerford camp, although it gets busy there is a sense of calmness around the stable block. On the camps I’ve went on 2 bales shaving are included plus ad-lib hayledge. I’ve always took an extra bale of shavings as mine likes a lie down and two bales on a concrete floor just isn’t enough for me. On these camps you usually start arriving the afternoon before the two full days, so a Friday afternoon for a sat/sun camp, but they have options for adding an extra lesson in on that arrival afternoon, I recommend this as it just putts your nerves a bit at ease that you can both cope in the situation and your horse is then more snoozy to settle that night. Others often arrange a trip round the farm ride which again is a good way to settle in.
the stables can get really cold at night even at this time of year so take extra rugs for the stable so you layer up if needed.
some people think the hayledge supplied is too rich so bring their own personally I really like it it’s very good quality!
then as others on the advice for yourself... alcohol!