Hey people... my girlfriend is a HUGE Horse lover big on show horses... well I never really got into them and have NO idea what to get her for Christmas this year... does anyone else have any suggestions????

-- TheBrain (balawrence@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001

Answers

Oh yeah and can you keep your gift ideas affordable... LOL

-- TheBrain (balawrence@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

One time I took a used horseshoe, cleaned it up, spray painted it gold and put a little sprig of fake holly in a nail hole and a string to hang it up with. Maybe you could get a shoe that her horse wore. If not, I've got lots you could have.

-- malinda (teneniel_80@yahoo.com), November 29, 2001.

I would suggest a simple gift basket of lubraderm and pain killers.

-- Jedburg Pinopolis (jpinopolis@yahoo.com), November 29, 2001.

Try http://www.nickerbaskets.com, I got one for my mom. She said it was really nice and they did a nice job. Unfortunately, her miniature donkeys got most of the goodies and not the horses! She said they were honking over the treats! There are "people" things too.

-- Pam (pamandmatt@earthlink.net), November 29, 2001.

That's a nice suggestion, but its too simple sweet idea though... I mean I don't mind spending money on her, but she asked for a $2000 saddle, and I'm like uh NO... any other ideas?

-- TheBrain (balawrence@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

Why not a beautiful hand woven horse blanket? It could be personalized? Her favorite color--style. Happy 'hunting'

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), November 29, 2001.

Im not a horse person, but I am sure there are horse magazines that are suited to her interests. How about a horse blanket?

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

A matching halter and lead rope set from any decent horse supply store or farm store is always nice, if her horse stands over your chest in height, you need a "Full size halter, or Horse sized". They come in all price ranges and colors, I'm sure you'll find something she would like.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), November 29, 2001.

jeffersequine.com a gift certificate from them, then she can go through and pick something for herself. It would be pretty tough to pick anything for her or her horse, since everything horse is pretty personalized, size, style, western or english etc. And though you may think she wants something horsey get her something nice for herself also, perfume, etc. even this goat gal likes girly things! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

I'm a horselover also. I paint horse portaits so I did a painting of my friend's stallion for her Christmas present one year. If she has a favorite horse this is a great gift. This is very personal and is very reasonable priced. Let me know if you would like a portait painted. A gift card is also good. It is hard to buy for a horse person unless you know something about horses and then one has stable colors, riding styles, etc to deal with.

-- PJC (zpjc5_@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

I'm inclined to agree with Vicki - I sometimes do that. Steer away from her area of interest - you don't know enough to do it well. Instead of a horse gift, buy her a people gift - there you're on level ground. After all, you don't value her because she's a horse- lover - that's part of the package, but you value her because she's herself - person, and girl. Address those elements in your gift.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), November 29, 2001.

I agree with Vicki and Don. There are some lovely earrings structured either towards English or Western disciplines. OR you could get her saddle earrings! They are usually silver. Check in Libertyville Saddle or some such.

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), November 29, 2001.

Well see the thing is I've already gotten her a personal gift... and I wanted to get her something else in that area... I DO like the Gift Cert. idea though

-- TheBrain (balawrence@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

I'm a horse gal & my hubby is not. When we were dating he had a photo of my horse airbrushed onto a nice quality sweatshirt. It turned out really great and was fun to wear to horse shows, etc. This was very affordable.

A nice leather halter & lead with brass fittings & her horses's name engraved on a brass cheek plate would be nice also. A tad more expensive than the airbruched shirt, but I know I would LOVE this gift.

Another great idea is equine photography. If you can afford it, or know someone who is good at it, an excellent picture of her horse in a nice frame that matches her home decor is a great idea. Or even pay for the photo shoot and have it later on when she can be included in the pictures. Could cost a bundle for a true equine photographer tho!

Saddle blankets can be hard. You need to know the style of riding, her color choice, saddle size & type. Can't say just "english"..is it saddle seat, all purpose, dressage??? Same for western saddles - round skirt, square skirt, barrel or western pleasure type??? It all makes a difference! Than you can even get into endurance & Aussie saddles! Yikes!

-- ellie (eagle-quest@juno.com), November 29, 2001.

Hello, I'm a horse lover as well, and I agree that, without specialized knowledge of what is fashionable and the best quality both in her specific art and to her personally, it can be very hard to choose the right gift. My best suggestion is to use this as an opportunity to find out more from her about what the whole horse thing is about as far as she is concerned. Ask questions. Why is this better than that? Would you use a crop? Why or why not? What kind of pad is best and why? Etc. It seems like its a big part of her life, and not only will you probably find out some good gift ideas more suited to her personally, but you educate yourself into a bigger part of her life. Oh, and also, maybe you could go back and reread what Don Armstrong said; he is right on the mark. Don, you are SO COOL! Leslie in WC OR.

-- Leslie Coray (leslie@webolium.com), November 29, 2001.

Oh, isn't she a NICE child? fact is, Leslie, while I am not QUITE ninety years older than dirt, I AM ONLY about thirty years younger than than Mr Hearn, and HE is ninety years older than dirt. Comes to it, though, I've seen a lot of life, and that's one of the reasons I can say some of the things I do - you see enough, you come to understand some things - even if you didn't do them well the first time around. Now, IF you were about fifty years old, I'd start making sweet talk to you - well, come to that, I may do so anyway, but at least we'll know where we're coming from. However, I suspect what I'd really like is an introduction to your widowed mother or your maiden aunt or some such.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), November 29, 2001.

The best horse magazine I have found is called Equus, it is mostly vet science I think you can order it at www.equisearch.com.. Boy Don wish my mom had a computer I would introduce you.She is one of the greatest people you would ever meet[ biggest heart].

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), November 29, 2001.

Don, sedimentary dirt is really not that old... If your sweet talk is of a saturated enough solution such as to make it all the way to Oregon from Australia without substantial dilution, than, please Sir, bring it on. (PS: I do have an extremely attractive divorced auntie, but perhaps she would be too old for you... how old do you think I am? If I had said, "What-EV-er, its all good," how old would you think I was then?) (PPS: Feel free to e-mail me directly if you like.) :)

-- Leslie Coray (leslie@webolium.com), November 29, 2001.

I'm sorry, but if she is asking for an expensive saddle, she may not be happy with something else, especially if it doesn't cost too much. I know, I'm a little cynical about Christmas. If you give her that gift certificate, she could apply it to a saddle if she wants or something else. Jeffers is good.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), November 29, 2001.

Jeez, Jed, don't send ME a gift. I've had equine for 25 years and they've never needed a pain killer!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), November 30, 2001.

Rogo I was stretching to find the reasoning to that one also :) How about the lubriderm for her not the horses, chafing and the pain killer after riding for the first time, both used on the same body part? Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 30, 2001.