Smartpaks!

This post is not sponsored by Smartpak in any way. All reviews are my own.

As a horse owner, I try to give my horse the best. I want her to feel, look and perform her best.

There were 2 things over the past year that made me adjust her health routine...the fact that we moved from a dry, cold climate to a warm, damp climate, and the fact that she turned over the age of 15.

Smartpak is an amazing brand. You choose your supplements, and how much you want measured, then they create your "Smartpaks" for you! The supplements are sectioned off into their own sections, and are labeled. They have so many supplements avaliable, (their own generic brand is amazing and affordable) and they package it out for you. Then they ship it on an auto shipment whenever you want (I do it every month). They are labeled and measured. All you do is rip open the top and dump the supplements. No measuring! It's great for a barn that has a variety of people in charge of feeding. They also give you a free storage container when you first sign up, and are always happy to send samples to make sure they work for your horse.

Their customer service is beyond amazing. I ordered some shampoo that came opened when it was delievered. I called them, they gave me a refund, sent me a new bottle free, AND a $10 gift card towards Shirley's smartpaks. It was beyond expectations. They have won awards for their customer service. Smartpak orders over $40 ship free.

Their website also sells horse items, riding apparel and animal related gifts, and they ship free with Smartpaks!

ANDDD.....they have Smartpaks for dogs also!


Shirley is on 3 supplements. She gets 1 pack a day, usually with dinner.

The first is Smarthoof. I love Smarthoof. When I moved to FL, Shirley's feet got really brittle, due to the grass changes here. Within 2 weeks of using this, her feet have never looked better. Originally I was on 1 scoop, but now that it's dryer here, I reduced her to 1/2. I may increase it back to 1 starting this summer.

 

The second is Smartmare Harmony. I give this to her frankly, because as much as I love my Shirley, she can be very difficult to handle when she is in heat. This supplement has seriously made my life easier. Now her heat is very managable, and actually has reduced her stressing. She gets 1 scoop.

 

 

 

The last one is SmartLytes. I started this right before we moved to FL so she wouldn't get dehydrated. I was worried about the heat and how she would react. We did not have problems, and I give credit to this supplement. I found out that many of the other horses at the barn are on this supplement. As hot as last summer was, I am thankful she was on it!

 

Right now she gets 1/2 a scoop, I will probably bump her up to 1 when summer starts.

 

So that is my review! I feel like supplements have made Shirley happier and more comfortable, and also has made my life easier and took some worries away. Like people, changes in life can cause changes in diet. I feel very proactive in what Shirley gets.

Do you give supplements to your pets? Don't forget to visit Smartpak as well here!

 

 

 

 

Meet Shirley!

I thought I would take a blog post to introduce my sweet girl Shirley Temple!

Her show name is Kiss and Tell, and her barn name is Shirley Temple, or Shirley. Kiss and Tell is the name of a Shirley Temple mini movie.

So the way she came into my life is an interesting one. I knew her previous owner very well, as we went to horse camp together when we were young, and we showed together. One show, she shows up with Shirley. I had my old horse Roscoe at the time (more to come on that), but I saw Shirley and immediately fell in love. I remember thinking to myself that one day she would be mine.

About a year later, I made the decision it was time for me and Roscoe to part. He has not the horse for me. I had owned him for about 3 years at ths point, and I knew I wasn't the right person for him. I put an ad up for Roscoe, knowing that I wanted to find the perfect home for him, not just A home. I received so many phone calls from people on him, and no one seemed to be perfect.

I later heard from a reliable source that Shirley's owner was looking for a new horse. I called her up, arranged a time to see Roscoe and Shirly together, and we ended up agreeing on a trade. I got my Shirley! I knew that one day she would be mine, and I was right. Roscoe went to my friend, and the best part was he was nearby and I could see him whenever I wanted. He had the greatest home until he past away from colic in January 2011.

This was almost 5 years ago. Shirley will always be mine, no matter what.

Shirley and I did the show circuit for 3 years, winning many year end division titles, and many local titles. Now we just enjoy riding and enjoying each other's company :) I even had my bridal portraits taken with her.

Some facts about Shirley:

-She loves black licorice, candy canes, mike and ikes and spicy peanuts
-She is afraid of cows
-Her color is called grulla, and it's very rare. It's a recessive gene.
-She is 3/4 quarter horse and 1/4 arabian
-She is allergic to wool
-Her best friend is my best friend's horse named Willow

Wallpaper is the worst.

So...my lovely H and I bought this house, with a wonderful layout, great location, (this was key...I work north, H works south) and a great yard. Wonderful school district (you know...just planning ahead!). Lots of work done to the house...except the kitchen. Well, we are excited to make this our own!

We are still in progress. We are not moving any placement of the appliances, just upgrading the whole thing.


Here's the before...horrible wallpaper, original appliances from the early 80s when this house was built, low quality cabinets.

 

 

 

My brother in law came down from Air Force training 8 hours away to help us remove the wallpaper. Turns out they had wallpapered OVER wallpaper. What a job! Thankful he knew how to do this. What a difference already! We patched the walls and primed it for painting.

 

 

 

 

Now, we are tackling painting. This is the color we chose. It's called Arid Plains from Valspar, and it's a primer/paint combo, with the walls in terrible shape from the wallpaper, we pried prior (we used Valspar primer).

For the paint, we chose a satin finish. 

 

 

 

We love it! We are painting the kitchen/eating area this color. It goes on really well. I think it will go great with this backsplash. Lucky for us, one of H's members does backsplash/detail work as a side job (who knew?) so he is going to install it for us at no cost, as long as he can take photos for his portfolio and website (we told him absolutely, of course!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to hear your comments and input!

 

 

 

 

First post!

This is my first blog post, and I have wanted to make a blog for a while!

I plan on posting about my many interests...horses, shopping, home decor, makeup, recipes...anything goes.

Here's some basic facts.

• Name is Cathy, married almost 2 years
• I live in Florida, but I'm FROM North Carolina
• I have a Marketing degree, but I am not using it in my current job
• I have a horse named Shirley, and we are currently looking for a dog
• My H and I recently bought a home, and we are excited to make it our home.
• I love to shop...my weaknesses are JCrew, Sephora, Nordstrom, Macys and Target
• Urban Decay is my favorite makeup brand.
• I used to show horses in the hunters, but ever since getting married I've taken a break. Not sure if I want to get back into it.
• I went on a trip to England, France and Switzerland and it changed my life.
• I'm a complete girly girl. Pink and green are my favorite colors. They were my wedding colors as well.