What do horse people do when the monsoon season is upon us?

Well, if you're an eventer, you just carry on with your riding because everyone knows that eventers are made of steel which thankfully doesn't melt in the rain.

The rest of us usually go out to lunch, take in a movie and then sit by the fire. (That is, after feeding and mucking out stalls.) With so much time on our hands, there is nothing better to do than browse through the multitude of horsy catalogs that build up on our coffee tables.

So, in my case, I grab a cup of tea, settle my two dogs nearby -- the larger one on the ottoman by my feet and the little one in my lap and I peruse catalogs. It's very entertaining flicking through the numerous pages on horse supplements.

There are a number of calmers to quiet nervous horses on the market. There is one called Equilite Relax Her. I'm wondering if that would work on me at horse shows when nerves take over. There is one called Good as Gold -- how could you go wrong there?

We all know how good gold tastes, right? If I believed in supplements, I would get Hilton Easy Mare. Wouldn't it be nice to have an easy mare?

Horses suffer from ulcers just like people. There are a number of ulcer/digestive aids available.

They all have very positive names like Finish Line, Succeed, Immediate Response and Restore. I give them an A for marketing.

Usually there is one horse in the barn that is hard to keep weight on.

There are weight supplements for those hard keepers. The names reflect the goal. Can't you just see a horse on Body Builder looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger? Fat Cat is another great name. And my favorite has got to be M.A.S.S. (Multi-Active Strengthening System). It's frightening to think what my mare would look like on any weight gain product. She's constantly on a diet like every other woman you know.

There are so many joint supplements that it is impossible even to give a short overview of those. I love reading the ingredients. A lot of them have hyaluronic acid in them which is found naturally in the synovial fluid in horses' joints.

I always thought you had to inject the acid directly in the horses' joints for it to be effective but I'm not sure that is the case. Then there is MSM powder used to help reduce pain and inflammation. I remember feeding it to my Thoroughbred years ago. Supposedly there are no side effects. Well, in my horse there were. He broke out in hives which did take his mind off his other ailments, so in a roundabout way it worked.

There are hoof supplements and performance supplements and vitamins. Really, humans should have as many choices as there are for horses.

For fun, I put the supplement names together in a little descriptive sentence: I have an Easy Mare with a Grand Hoof who Accels and Succeeds in her job while staying Calm and Cool -- she is Good as Gold.

Do ya think I had too much time on my hands this past week?