Great gifts for the adult horse lover in your life

Sometimes it can be a challenge to find the perfect gift for someone who loves horses or is a horse owner. Too often the person receiving the well intention gift can be disappointed. I know that I have received way too many horse books over the years from friends and relatives that mean well but had no clue what I wanted or already had. Here are my ideas and suggestions.

Adult non-horse owner

The adult horse lover that does not currently own a horse usually loves anything that has a horse on it but they often get way too many large coffee table horse picture books as gifts, so steer clear of those gifts unless they have mentioned wanting a particular book. Documentaries on DVD’s are a good choice, providing they are well done and cover an interesting subject like wild horses or horses in history. Artwork for their office or home such as a painting or sculpture is nice provided they don’t mind a little dusting to keep it clean. I made the mistake once and got a friend a lovely horse statue for her home but I found out that she hates “nick knacks” as she likes to call them, because she hates dusting them.

If you are good at making things, how about a throw quilt or blanket with horses all over it. Good with woodworking? A welcome sign for their home or office with a horse theme.

Adult horse owner

As a horse owner that choices get wider for the gift giver. Not only can you get a gift solely for the horse owner but they will be happy if you got a gift that their horse would enjoy. Horse cookies or a huge bag of apples and/or carrots for the horses. If they have more than one horse you can buy horse treats by the 15lb bag for $16. Gift cards from their favorite feed store would be a very welcome gift. If you know their clothing or shoe size then riding pants, boots or a winter riding jacket would be nice gifts. If they have their horses at home instead of boarding them, then a nice pair of Muck boots would be a welcome gift. Muck boots are a brand name of insulted rubber boots and they usually run in $100 range. Don’t insult your horse friend by getting them just plain rubber boots that you find in Walmart for under $30, they just don’t last very long.

What to avoid

Unless you know exactly what the person you are shopping for likes or dislikes, there are a few things to steer clear of:

• Rodeo themed items. I own horses but detest rodeos. The person whom you are buying a gift for might be the same as I am.
• Horse racing themed items. There has recently been a surge of the average horse owner and lover turning their backs on horse racing because of the gambling and cruelty involved in the sport.
• Western or English? Unless you know that the gift receiver likes the western or english style of riding it is best to get something that does not reflect either style.

Those were just a few of my thoughts and ideas.