4 Budget Friendly Barn Buddy Gifts

The holidays are here. Merry music, fattening food, and crazy consumerism.  Its a beautiful time of the year. Especially for credit card companies.

We're all looking to be money-conscious this season, so allow me to present 4 budget-friendly gift ideas for those barn buddies, trainers, managers, et cetera. 

Idea #1 - Homemade Horse Cookies

Everyone loves homemade cookies, and given how outrageous store brand horse cookies are these days, this is a much more economical option. Buy a cute holiday tin from the dollar store or a roll of cellophane wrap and ribbon, and you're good to go! 

Not only are the ingredients inexpensive and readily available at your local grocery store, you can make large batches and check multiple people off your list with one fell swoop. Also work great as dog treats. You can eat them too if you want. I sure have.

Idea #2 - Medical Armband

Perfect for that pony clubber neice you've got, that eventer pal or trainer, or that barn buddy who cares about safety. Also works as an iPod holder. And a saddle bag label. The list goes on. And you can never have too many of these - goodness knows they seem to go missing when you need them. Spend an extra 5 minutes to decorate an insert for the pocket or even decorate the holder itself with fabric paint or stickers, and you've got a cute custom gift. They're $10 at the tack store, or $6 (free shipping) if you buy them from me. 

Idea #3 - Horsey Photo Shoot
There's a few ways you can give this gift. The first way is to surreptitiously go to the barn and take several photos of your friend's horse, and either print and frame the best one (dollar store or thrift store for the frame), or make a disk with the top photos. Bring a santa hat or a bow and ribbon for some extra cute pics. The older generation especially loves this gift because they generally don't think to take photos of their horses except maybe for shows. Having a nice framed headshot to have at work or at home is a nice gift. Another way to do it is to give out a gift certificate for photo shoot of your friend with their horse. They can wear a cute dress, you can help groom their horse, and spend an hour getting some cute shots. It takes 2 people and its a fun, inexpensive way to give someone something they'll treasure for years.



Idea #4 - The Eighty Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts
This is a book adored by horse people and non horse people alike - a heart warming and historically interesting story about a plow horse who became a national champion jumper. For only $11 at Amazon and widely available at bookstores, this is an affordable and thoughtful gift for anyone on your list.