As Seen on TV
April 13, 2009
Gimmicks and gadgets are fine – as long as they stay out of the barn.
Holly Clanahan
I think I must be a marketing person’s dream come true. Apparently I’m very easily influenced. Or maybe it’s that I’m extremely cold-natured, and it’s a fact that your brain (or mine, at least!) just doesn’t function well when chilled.
Whatever. This past winter, I was convinced that I had found the answer to all of life’s problems, and its name was Snuggie. You’ve seen the Snuggies advertised. They’re the world’s best blankets – and they have … drum roll please … arm holes! You can sit on the couch and read, eat, do as you please, without ever having to uncover your arms. I heard angels singing the hallelujah chorus.
My darling husband broke down and bought one, which was a sweet gesture. But then … reality struck. It’s a fine-enough blanket, but a little thin. And the armholes, well, they’re not really in the right place. And curing all of my winter woes? Well, it really didn’t, but the cat likes to curl up on it, so it is being put to use.
And then, bwa ha ha! The I-must-have-it-or-I’ll-die bug bit Hubby. He talked and talked and talked about, and then finally bought … a box of ShamWow “super absorbent towels.” They’re supposed to be a towel, chamois and sponge all in one. Hallelujah!
But reality bit him, too, when the pricey little things just didn’t seem as exciting as they did on TV. “It’s a lot like … a towel,” he said, while I lovingly and understandingly bit my lip to keep from laughing … excessively.
The point – and bear with me; there is one – is that the latest and greatest inventions sometimes aren’t. We have plenty of similar gadgets in the horse world, touted to cure any training problem known to man. But the way I see it, the gimmicks need to stay in the tack store, lest our horses suffer from our experimenting.
Give me some well-made tack that fits my horse and me, and some mentors to help me learn how to use it - whether it’s clinicians, instructors in private lessons or just knowledgeable friends – and we’re good to go.
AQHA Professional Horseman Patrick Hooks, whom we’ve featured in America’s Horse magazine and who will be making appearances on America’s Horse Daily, as well, has a great way of looking at things. His motto: “There’s one bit that works on all horses – a bit of knowledge.”
Click here to read Pat’s common-sense approach to a horse that bucks when it canters. And stay tuned to America’s Horse Daily, where we bring you lots of new “bits” every day!
Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine
Get even more knowledge from the pages of America’s Horse magazine, which goes to all members of the American Quarter Horse Association. It’ll also keep you in the loop on Association news. We want you to belong!
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