Horse Baskets at the Horse Center

February 15, 2023 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

Welcome to our shop! We are a mother, daughter run business in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Referred to by many as Virginia horse country. It is a glorious place for horse lovers of all disciplines. We regularly set-up our mobile shop at the Virginia Horse Center where thousands of riders and their horses come […]

The tools we use

September 28, 2024 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment
brush blog

I’ve been looking though my grooming kit thinking about how the contents have changed.  I’ve been riding and caring for horses for many years and while the basic tools have stayed the same so much about them has changed, Certainly not the pleasure of spending time with my horses or being able to give  my […]

Who We Are

January 26, 2020 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

Gift Horse Baskets The idea for GIFT HORSE BASKETS was born of a couple of loves . . . that of riding and caring for our horses and the desire to create a family-centered lifestyle here in the heart of Virginia’s horse country. Our goal for Gift Horse Baskets has always been to produce a […]

Fall in Hunt Country

September 26, 2014 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

    The nights are getting cooler, the crops are being harvested, and foxhunters throughout Virginia are donning their tattersall and tweeds as cubbing begins. For those of you unfamiliar with Foxhunting, cubbing takes place before the formal (official) season begins. During these first few weekends, the young foxhounds, or entry, are taken out with […]

Bitten by the horse bug

June 21, 2014 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

Someone close to you has been bitten by the horse bug and their every wish includes riding lessons or a pony. It started small with books and toys and it just grew. Where did this obsession come from? There’s no good explanation for the source of this unbridled passion. Some people just seem hard wired […]

Better places to spend a Friday evening

April 7, 2014 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

Many of us use ivermectin wormers on our horses, but did you know that a horse concentration of ivermectin is  poisonous even to a large 78 pound dog?  I didn’t, but I now know that some dog wormers use ivermectectin, yet in much lower concentrations.  We recently spent the evening at the emergency vet after our […]

Winter Horse Showing

March 18, 2014 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

Horse showing on a soft spring day is one thing but at  the end of winter when it’s still more winter than spring is  an entirely different event.  The sunshine riders are nowhere to be seen nor is being fashionably stylish.  It  comes down to a form follows function mentality or  pretty is as pretty does. […]

The other winter grooming

March 16, 2014 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

Spending the winter working in Ocala has transformed how I manage and care for horses. Unlike cold winter weather care, Florida horse care involves constant and precise grooming. Sand is my worst enemy-closely followed by magic cushion and saran wrap… Sand gets in turn-out boots, towels, and worst of all the horses skin. Imagine that […]

Horse care in the cold and dark

January 21, 2014 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

For those of us not headed south to paddocks with palm trees, those who cannot avoid the chapped skin and frozen toes that winter barn work and riding bring, we sympathize, and offer practical solutions. Number one: Day light savings time. Okay, so we gain an hour up front, but after that, we still have […]

Brave new world

December 5, 2013 BY GIFT HORSE BASKETS Leave a Comment

I’m a long time rider and horse owner. My family had a riding guest farm in PA and I’ve lived with horses on our farms from OH to IL to VA for over thirty five years.  My daughter rode even before she was born. About the time my daughter needed someplace to ride safe horses […]