GGGear Cross Country Base Layer Set

GGGear Cross Country Base Layer Set

Get ready to stand out from the crowd on the cross country course with GGGear’s base layer cross country colour sets!

I ordered a “children’s design your own base layer, polo and hat silk” set for my soon to be 6 year old daughter Frankie. She is beginning to go out competing more and more so to inspire her further, I thought her very own bespoke cross country set was just the ticket. I did a bit of research as there are a few companies that offer this service but I really like what GGGear had to offer. They are very competitively priced and a family business, which I liked, so I opted to order from them.

They have all sorts of options available with cross country colour; set that are pre-chosen for you, sets that include matching accessories for both rider and horse to co-ordinate and much, much more.

Website

I found the website very easy to use when ordering the bespoke option, with drop down boxes for each item, size, colour options, pompom options and patterns to go on the base layer, polo shirt and hat silk. There is a box where you tell GGGear what to print and where and what colour you want it too making sure you can relay exactly what you want and where the prints are to go. This is a real selling point for us, so you can customise your silks exactly to how you imagined them in your head. The print options they have for patterns is endless: stars, spots, paint splats, apples, you name it. If you have an idea they can probably print it for you!

Because Francesca is going to be 6 (and a tall one at that!) I ordered her the Small/Medium youth. I chose royal blue base layer and hat silk with bright pink stars and then a contrasting bright pink polo shirt printed with royal blue stars. I had picked this option because from the very beginning Frankie has worn her trusty royal blue with pink spots hat silk and loves it, so I wanted something along those colour schemes but not totally the same.

With the order placed and paid for it wasn’t long until it arrived just a few days later by Royal Mail Tracked service. I was delighted when opening the package to see what I had ordered was absolutely spot on and looked even better than what I expected!
I don’t know about you, but children can be hard to please sometimes; even when you think they are
going to like something they surprise you and don’t. However, when I presented Francesca with her
birthday present (albeit a bit early as she was going to a Hunter Trail) the response from her was
sheer delight at her new base layer, polo shirt and hat silk set and it had to be tried on immediately!

It fitted her great, with a bit of growing room so it can be enjoyed and worn plenty of times without
her growing out of it too quickly……hopefully. All she seems to be doing at the moment is growing
out of her clothes!

Look and Quality

As you can see from the pictures she looked so smart in her co-ordinating base layer set and she felt very special in it too as it was made especially for her. She opted on the competition day to wear the base layer on its own as it was a hot 24 degrees.  It was great to have the option of the polo shirt to layer over the top or to change into the polo shirt afterwards.

The quality of all the items is very good and the printed stars are sharp and stand out on the clothing. I was pleasantly surprised when I got asked a few times by various competitors and mothers where the cross country colours were from as they looked brilliant on. With mummy points earned for getting such an amazing birthday present in the eyes of a pony mad child’s as well as running round 24 jumps over a distance of nearly a mile at the hunter trial, this mummy hopes she will be lucky enough for someone to get her her very own bespoke base layer cross country set.

Link for design your own childs set here for £55!

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Product Review - GroomerPluss Hair Removal Tool Review

GroomerPluss Hair Removal Tool Review

Summer is now very much in full swing and it's been getting really very hot in the UK so after a long and wet winter I was desperate to try this hair removal tool all the way from the lovely Canada! Hand made by Groomer Pluss inventor John R Dean in Ontario Canada!

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Ronnie still hasn't lost all his coat but with it coming out in handfuls it cannot be far away and Frankie has been using this useful tool a lot to help get rid of it all.

Made with Canadian hardwood Poplar it's very sturdy and it's been nicely varnished to stop it gathering dirt and grease. Plus as it's not coloured it keeps it's beautiful wood finish which I absolutely love!

The blade is Germany steel and so far hasn't shown a sign of rust or blemish. I do however keep it clean as don't let dust and grease build up in it. 

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Another big plus point for me is that it's ergonomic, meaning it's designed for efficiency and comfort in the hand. As those of you who have horses and ponies who get very thick coats each winter will know, it's often back breaking work getting the hair from these horses and get make hands very stiff and sore, so the fact it has a ridge filed in to the wood block so you can easily fit your fingers in and stop it slipping is wonderful and well designed.

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As I mentioned above, Francesca has been using this tool to groom her pony and even for little hands of a 6 year old haven't been a problem. She does have to hold it in 2 hands to get a really good grip and the level of strength needed to get the hair out but doesn't once complain.

They also come in various sizes; 3 inches which can be used on small dogs, cats, rabbits etc, a 5.25 inch which can be used on larger dogs, smaller horses etc and the 8 inches which can ideal for horses, cattle, donkeys etc. 

We have the 8 inch and while we have used this also on B who is a thoroughbred it's also worked well on Ronnie who is a welsh section A.

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Talking of thoroughbreds, they're notorious for having thin sensitive skin and not once has B objected to being brushed with the Groomer pluss. As the blade teeth are small enough to glide over the hair and grasp and longer winter coat while leaving the summer coat intact it doesn't pinch or pull the hair follicles.

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I have used the Groomer Pluss to removal hair from my saddle pads and boots as it grasps the hair without snagging and makes light work of a very hairy numnah.

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Do purchase one of these lovely grooming tools please email John at groomerpluss@gmail.com 

You won't be disappointed!

Product Review - Smart Grooming's Super Groomer

I'm sure i'm not the only one who likes to make life easier for myself if I can! We've had one of these tools for quite some years now and it's finally given up the ghost and broken beyond repair so when Smart Grooming announced they were now stocking them it was extremely convenient, so we bought two! One for us and one for a yard friend who was so impressed with seeing ours being used.

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You see, having a thin skinned thoroughbred who fidgets and protests on how much he dislikes a rough bristled brush getting the mud off that he's so kindly covered himself in is quite annoying, but we can sympathise, not everyone likes rough brushes. Imagine using one of your skin in the shower; it would certainly hurt!

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Beanie is one of those horses, he moves away from you and generally shows in his face and body that he really would  rather you weren't scrubbing away at that patch of dried on clay mud. So with the Super Groomer you can rub away at your hearts content knowing it's not hurting your horse. 

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It's made up of lot's of rubber fibers molded into a pad and has a handle on so you can really get your elbow grease in! Plus it has a rubber backing to stop your hand getting covered in dust and mud and a nice strong yellow handle so it's not going to break or slip off your hand.

Watch Georgie's video below on how easy it removed caked on clay mud! A winter must have!

Product Review - Hands On Grooming Gloves

When it comes to washing horses, anything that can make the task easier and with better results is an absolute essential in my book, you know, cause you get just as soaked as the horses and all that scrubbing can be hard work. That is why I have to share with you this wonder tool!

They're the Hands On grooming gloves and they are incredible. They can also be used in a number of ways when grooming which I'll go into later. 

These little beauties have rubber spikes and raised rubber lumps that act to massage the skin and lift the dirt to the surface of the coat. Here you can see that they're really collected that dirt on the gloves, so they're extremely good to use before brushing. Read on for how we have found they work best!

The best use I've found for them is really scrubbing out the dead skin, dirt and dust from the horse or ponies coat when wet bathing them. 

In the winter, as I am certain many horse and ponies will do is roll and wallow in the mud as much as possible, so if you want to clean them up and washed them with the Hands On grooming gloves, it makes getting down through the coat and lifting away the dirt and debris much much easier.

We've found these especially helpful with our hairy Shetland pony Millie as under her thick winter coat she has a lot of dandruff and dusty oily build up, which is great for keeping her warm in the winter but come spring when she starts shedding her winter coat it does make her very hot. 

The Hands On gloves are super easy to use and well thought out in design. Simply undo the velcro wrist strap, slip your hand in and secure on quite tightly round the wrist with the velcro. We do advise they be done quite tightly so when rubbing the coat your gloves won't slip off your hands!

Here is Millie mid bath and you can see how much brown dirt is coming out just by looking at the colour of the soap suds. 

Another use is when horses are shedding their winter coat there are lot's of tools around to aid with removing it and we use both the Hands On gloves as well as the Equigroomer to really get it that winter coat out without removing the new summer coat. Simply put on the gloves are normal and run your hands through the coat; we find that doing so in circular motions is a great way to go against the hair and easily remove it! The rubber lumps and bumps will grab the hair from the root and really lift it out and away, making the whole process much quicker. We then usually run a Equigroomer over the remaining hard to remove thick winter hair to really get the coat out.

A final option we've found to be a great use for these gloves is when grooming your horse regularly, pop the gloves on and rub your fingers through the coat, quite hard against the skin, to bring the dead skin and dust to the surface. Then use a long bristled body brush to flick the dirt and dead skin off the coat. The gloves work must better at getting under the coat much better than bristles can! Then you should be left with a nice shiny dust free horse!

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They can be purchased from Smart Grooming for £19.95 or Horsehealth.co.uk

Product Review - Smart Grooming's Polar White Stain Remover

Polar White Stain Removing Spray by Smart Grooming

Georgie and I are pretty lucky in that we don't have a grey or white horse; I can only imagine the elbow grease needed to keep them clean all the time! We do have a horse with white socks though and he loves to wallow in it. We also have very clay-y ground where we are and it's an absolute nightmare to clean off and stop mud fever, but we have been using this amazing product for well over a year now and it's fabulous.

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Not only does it clean mud off but also other stains and muck less easy to remove. Such as stable stains, which our friends horse Millie loves to demonstrate. What is it with greys and laying on 'poo pillows' ?

Alas they leave these almighty dried on stains but with some warm water and polar white stain remover they come off well.

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First step is wet the area with a sponge to really allow the stain to lift from the skin. Once left for a minute or two to saturate then spray on a decent amount of spray. Use sparingly as it does go a long way but obviously enough to cover the whole stain. Then, depending on how ingrained that poo stain is either use a sponge or brush to work the polar white into the muck. You should notice that almost instantly it begins to lift away from the skin and come off.

A little bit of elbow power later and your stain should have entirely gone!

Poo Stain!

Cover it in Polar White!

Gone!

Ta-Dah! Poo stain removed and non the wiser that it had ever been there. 

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We've also found with Beanie is that in the summer time when he lays down to rest he gets these greasy patches on his shins. Our prediction is that they're from his sheath where he's tucking his legs tight into himself when he's laying down and the mix of fly spray and grease is transfering onto his legs.
It's also really hard to get off and not even normal shampoo and break down these gross greasy stains but we've found that polar white is just the product to get rid of them.
Obviously with legs you do have to be careful not to make the area sore so not too much vigorous brushing but just repeat the steps above; wet the area, spray on polar white stain remover, work in with a sponge or softly with a brush and a short while later it will have lifted off.

Spray on Polar White and leave for a few minutes

Run in and lather before washing off 

White stain free legs!

This is a must have product, not just in the summer in your grooming kit for the show ring, but year round! Now we're coming up to a new show season I am about to buy a huge long supply bottle to keep us going for months! We recommend using it in conjunction with Smart Groomings Leg and Body Whitener as once the area is clean and stain free, it can be made to me super duper white for the show ring and other events.

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A 500 ml bottle is £9.95 or an extra large supply bottle of 5 litres is £45 and will last for ages!

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Psst another secret tip for this wonder product is that it'll get stains out of saddle clothes and other white or light coloured items such as mud covered or grass stained breeches! Seemingly endless uses...

Product Review - Leather Genie Conditioning Balm

I’ve not a product review for a good few months now, but I had to write one about this awesome product.

A friend of mine has become a distributor and gave me a tub of Leather Genie to try and it’s safe to say I haven’t put it down. It’s called Leather Genie and apparently can be used on all sorts of leather products such as furniture, car interiors, bike leathers, leather shoes and boots and of course riding tack.

First impressions were good; It smells absolutely beautiful, it looks to contain beeswax so it’s good for weather proofing or at very least help water roll off the leather before sinking in. And looks like it would stop sweat from building and sinking into the leather. When I first opened the tub and had a look and smell it reminded me very much of Renapur. Myself and Georgie have used Renapur previously and had good results so I was hoping this was going to do the same if not better.

I’ve been riding in my beautiful Ariat Heritage Contour tall riding boots and over the winter and spring I neglected them a little. I figured the damp and dirt would help break them in and make them fit nicely and mold to my legs but that left them covered in grease, dirt and dust. Which was true, I needed to work them in but by leaving them about 6 months without cleaning them they were in need of some conditioning.

As you can see they weren’t massively caked in mud but had a lot of grease from the horses skin from riding, so they definitely needed some leather feed.

After having them a good couple of months and wearing them in I finally decided to clean them up. Firstly I used some mild leather cleaner on a soft microfiber cloth and gently got the mud off and not scratch the leather. Once cleaned the leather dried naturally for a few minutes, now that they were dry I got out a clean sponge dabbed it into the pot so it was covered in a thin layer of product. I then, in circular motions, worked the Leather Genie conditioner into the leather making sure to not put too much on only one area. The product instantly began to sink into the leather and made it supple, leaving it with a really nice shine and darkened the brown leather to a beautiful mahogany colour. It really didn’t take a lot of product to really work in and bring out a whole new level of smart.

Here you can see the difference between them. The left boot is clean but no Leather Genie and the right is after being conditioned all over with Leather Genie.

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Once my family had seen the results I got inundated with requests for cleaning and conditioning. I used Leather Genie on leather boat shoes, belts, my nieces Jodphur boots, my Mum’s leather wellies and my leather handbag.

Due to the JoJoba Oil and beeswax the effect on the leather wellies really was amazing. Obviously they’re walked in water a lot and this really helped to make the leather supply but also water proof; stopping the water from saturating the leather.

And the final finish – They look absolutely amazing.

I've also been cleaning and conditioning my boots every every after hound exercise and hunting and they just look nicer and nicer each time. I absolutely love this stuff!

Leather Genie really brings out a really rich colour in the leather and gives it a nice soft shine. This boots really do look like new again and I am really very impressed. As some of you close to me may know, my Dad John used to work for renowned Newmarket saddlers Gibsons and he said to me that (and I quote) “This is the best leather conditioning product I’ve ever used” and I really feel that is saying something for someone who has been a saddler for so many years.

I’ve also been using it on tack and found the results really very good indeed! A few weeks ago I did 4 bridles and 4 saddles ready for the hunt staff the following day and every single person commended on how nicely their tack looked, how renewed the condition was and that it smelled great! Hunt tack gets all manner of dirt, grease, sweat and weather all over it so its extremely good at not allowing the leather to crack and subsequently break. 

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£12.99 plus shipping from http://www.leathergenie.co.uk/