Some old and some new - nifty favorites

As I've been unpacking and storing things away from our Florida trip I thought about old and new favorites and tricks of the trade.

Old and nifty favorites:

• White Duck Tape with black Sharpie: Super to mark/label everything from buckets to blankets to halters … and then some
• Old fashioned thermometer: When Remy got sick I bought one of the fancy digital thermometers, only to find that I never seemed to get twice the same reading in a row. Enter the old fashioned thermometer, luckily not so old fashioned - nowadays they are Mercury free. Accurate reading, and they come with a hole at the end for easy string/clip adjustment
• Bell boots (with sheepskin top, I like Lemieux): Important for travel (that's the only leg protection Remy wore on his trips, as bandages can sag and shipping boots get too hot). Also important for turnout in Florida's sandy soil, were any scratch get lead to a nasty infection due to the flies

New and nifty favorites:

• Ice boots from Finntack / Horze. Easy, peasy - all in one, no inserts, easy to put on and they stay on. Also perfect to keep things cold on the way home (my drinks were still cold three days later in a trash bag, no cooler)
• Slobber Mash from Havens Horsefeed. When Remy was sick he lost his appetite, but started to eat again when introduced to the Slobber Mash. 

Just add water and you have a yummy feed that's easily digestible

• Assure Guard Gold from Arenus. Great product for horses with hind gut ulcers. Smells like licorice (I'm tempted to try) and Remy loves it. 
• Horse Hydrator. This one was a great discovery at the horse show. My stable neighbor had it installed at the water spigot and let us try it. It cleans the water, takes the smell out, so picky horses will drink unfamiliar water. I could see and smell the difference. One filter is good for about 2,000 gallons, easy to throw into a tack box, and at about $25 worth the money!

Nifty water filter

• Speaking of drinking: Yuengling Lager!  I first was a bit doubtful (Chinese beer?) due to the spelling, but then I figured out that someone probably tried to Americanize the German 'Juengling' (Young Man). How one letter can throw one off ...Yuengling is America's oldest brewery, founded by a German immigrant from Wuerttemberg (yay, home!), still in the family and run by four sisters. All that and it tastes great. What's not to love?

Adding to my favorites Rothaus, Warsteiner, and Pilsner Urquell - this hits the spot

And of course - old and new favorite:

The niftiest of favorites!