SmartPaker Stories & Adventures

For many riders, spring means snow, thaw, and plenty of mud. When SmartPaker Kit's mud-loving mare Truffles comes in caked from nose to tail, he relies on five grooming essentials to get her clean and ride-ready. Read more to find out his must-haves!

Recently, our area was warned that we could receive anywhere from 12 to 24 inches of snow over the course of two days. While storms like this aren’t unusual for us, preparing for one of this magnitude does require some extra foresight, especially when you have horses.

As any horse owner will admit, as much as we painstakingly dress our horses for success all winter long, sometimes horses are horses and blankets rip. When my horse came in from turnout a few weeks ago with a rip in his Ultimate, I can’t say I was all that upset because I knew with the Ultimate warranty this would mean I got to try out the brand new line of blankets!

Wintertime water woes are a thing. While you may be in a part of the country that rarely sees anything below freezing, I am currently struggling with frozen water buckets during the wintertime. The magical solution? Well, I wish there were one, I'd share it with you right here and now! But for now, I can at least share some solutions that I've used in the past and still use today! (Like literally today, it is SO cold out!)

This winter in New England has been freezing and snowing, plus it's the first winter I’ve boarded at a barn that doesn’t have an indoor arena! It's been a learning curve on how to keep her brain stimulated while riding is not an option. I’ve come up with a few ideas, and a few coping mechanisms along the way, that I’m going to share with you.

Each new year, I like to set aside some time to make goals for Nemo and Goose in the coming year. I enjoy this exercise, as it helps me have something tangible to work towards with both, and helps me look back and see what we’ve accomplished in the past year. This year, Nemo will turn 22 in May, and Goose, 9 in September. While I would finally consider Nemo a senior, he’s still active, and true to his Morgan breed, he loves having a job. Goose, a spunky cattle dog, isn’t near considering slowing down, and still enjoys multiple mile walks daily, or as often as winter weather or extreme summer heat allows.

When winter weather hits, it can be harder to keep all of our four-legged friends active (horses AND dogs included!). Rider and dog owner Ellen takes us through how she keeps her very active cattle dog busy and engaged.

Ellen has been hard at work preparing for winter with her 21-year-old Morgan gelding, Nemo. To help him stay comfortable and happy through the colder months, there are a few steps she likes to follow.

Gina's Bernese Mountain Dog, Argos, has always had a sensitive stomach. To help, Gina makes homemade treats tailored just for him with simple and wholesome ingredients to give him the best chance of enjoying them without issue. See her latest recipe here!

SmartPaker Julia reviews 4CYTE™ Epiitalis® Forte Horse Gel and how it works for her Quarter Horse gelding Pete.

SmartPaker Kit takes us through the best way to swap out horse and barn gear from summer to winter. What do we need? What do our horses need? Kit has the answers!

SmartPaker Ellen shares her honest feedback on why she chose a new senior joint supplement for her aging Morgan gelding, Nemo.