What to do with all that hay twine?!

This time of year, everyone has piles of hay twine, that you have saved because you just know it will "come in handy" at some point.  So of course, the most obvious answer is... throw it out!  If you don't want a fire hazard or this... 

You can always find other crafty things to do with it!  I will no doubt update this post as time goes on with new and unique ideas. And I would absolutely welcome suggestions from any readers!

 But for now, here are some that I rather liked....

Crochet or braid it into:

• Rugs or mats (especially for entryways)
• weatherproof saddle pad
• lead rope (Use multiple strands to make it extra strong)
• halter or a bridle (Something I frequently crafted as a kid with a pony)

Use it to tie up baby trees that are leaning the wrong way.

Make a diy fly whisk with a bunch of twine and a stick.

Use it to "temporarily" fix broken gates and fencing, if you don't mind your place looking like the Clampetts live there! (We all know these temporary fixes seem to morph into permanent fixes, as other projects take priority).

More favorite products and cool things for farm use

Alcohol wipes For cleaning off cell phone and tablet screens, wiping down general sticky gunk from surfaces. I have always carried a few in my purse and now habitually use them to clean phone screens and my car display screen.  Funnily enough, I just recently saw them marketed (for quite the markup) as "electronic device cleaning pads". Guess somebody stole my idea! 

Game sled for dragging hay bales and mucking stalls. I actually bought this sled to use on my small farm to drag hay bales in behind my tractor.  It works much better than I expected, and I plan to buy another!  Even though I don't use it on snow, but over a rocky driveway, it has held up amazingly well, and allows me (an average size woman) to easily transport 2 bales of hay down the hill to the horses.  I can drag it by hand, or with the tractor or truck.  Excellent item!  The bottom is now beginning to be a bit abraded, so I will look for some sort of reinforcement for it, but after a couple years over rocks, no surprise!

Hoof Rasp (Heller) - I frequently rasp my horses' hooves between farrier visits to keep them from chipping and cracking.  The difference a new, sharp, quality rasp makes is amazing!  Literally a few swipes, and boom, you're done!  I had purchased a different brand new rasp last time, and I may as well have been using a cheese grater for all the effect it had.  Just one note... when using this, wear heavy leather gloves!  It will shave the skin off your hand before you feel a thing, and it's very easy to do.  Excellent product. 

Mesh Laundry Bags - These things are super handy for washing stuff like polo wraps and leg bandages.  Also useful for washing tack cleaning rags, tack sponges, and the like.  I also use them for washing my makeup sponges and powder puffs and all my million hair scrunchies. 

Of course, I would wash dirty rags and anything that might have horse poopies completely separate from all other laundry!! In fact, if a saddle pad or something is really dirty, I normally hose it off and do a first wash in a large muck bucket outside before putting it in the actual washing machine.  Sadly, I do not have the luxury of a separate barn washer and dryer, although those that have them are lucky!

Handy Craft and Tool Items for Farm Projects

So, I consider myself quite the DIYer, able to MacGyver just about anything in a pinch. (BTW, did you know that "MacGyver" is now a recognized verb in the Oxford Dictionary?!)  Over the years, there are a number of products that I have found to be very useful for various things around the farm. I am sure there are quite a few more that I will come across and want to write about, but without further ado, here is a list of some of my top clever ideas with useful products:

Shrink wrap bags - for covering labels on bottles of fly spray, coat polish, hoof oil, etc. Also for long-term storage of things that must stay dry, such as medications and bandages.  You can sort of DIY your own first aid kit this way.

Shrink tubing made for wire - to use as agulets (those are the plastic things on the ends of your shoe laces) and to seal the ends of rope and string... frequently rope / string ends that I have crafted into halters or lead ropes.  Also good for covering sharp points sticking out (e.g. nail to hold tools). Also to replace lost keepers on bridles and other tack.

And of course, in order to shrink the above two products, one needs to buy a heat gun.

Electrical tape - wrap ends of rope after knots, replacement keepers. Comes in fun colors, like brown to match your leather! Oh yes, and it's the best thing to hold pasture braids in place... it actually comes off very easily, and doesn't damage the mane or tail hair. If you give lessons, it's very hand to use to mark where your student needs to hold the reins. I also use the white or brown colors as to secure the loose ends of electric fence tape. You can also use the brown to make replacement leather keepers for bridles and halters.

Shrinky Dinks / Shrink Plastic - for halter / bridle tags.  Also tags in tack room.

Dremel Tool - Clean rust off metal buckles, conchos, etc. Use soft brush to clean leather crevices, use the grindstone to sharpen tools.  I also frequently use the sanding attachment to trim the dog's nails... sort of like the tool advertised for pets, but more powerful. The one I have linked here is cordless, which makes it handy to use down around the farm.  

One of the uses I had for mine was sanding off the rust on my electric fence gate connectors that hadn't been used in a long time, so the electrical connection is good.

I would love to hear about clever hacks, tips, and tricks that others have tried or use.  I sometimes seem to come across something in a horse forum, or perhaps on Pinterest, but other than that, there doesn't seem to be any one website or location to find these things.  So if you have something nifty and clever to add, please let me know in the comments!

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