Care for your Charles Owen Velvet Helmet

A helmet is designed to be weaker than your head. Do not do things to the hat that you would not do to your head. Helmets are sensitive to extreme heat and solvents. Cleaning of the interior should be done using Charles Owen hat cleaning products (available at The Gift Horse) foamed detergents or shampoo and water followed by vacuum drying the lining. It is important to use the minimum amount of water as helmets are difficult to dry and easily become moldy. With any cleaning agent, it is important to try a small section to establish any allergic reaction. After riding, leave the helmet in a warm, dry place overnight. Do not dry in front of a fire or on a radiator. Do not store it in a plastic bag before dry. This will reduce the risk of rusting of the metal compounds. Mud on velvet is best left to dry and then brushed off. The pile of the fabric can be revived by holding the hat in steam from a boiling kettle. Your helmet should not be dry cleaned or exposed to solvents.

We're Now Offering Layaway for the Holidays

If you've seen something in our store that you think would make the perfect gift for someone special, but you wished we had layaway, well, now we do - just in time for the holidays. Give us a call or stop in the store to find out more!

North Florida's The Gift Horse is Going Green

Walk into our store in Jacksonville or click through our online store and you'll find a small patch of "green grass" among all the other wonderful things we carry. Well, it really isn't real grass, but g.r.a.s.s.™ which stands for Green Riding Apparel for Style & Sustainability.

g.r.a.s.s., a division of Kerrits® , has created riding apparel that is manufactured from environmentally-friendly fabrics - including Organic Cotton, Recycled Poly, Recycled Poly/Carbon, and Bamboo Woven. g.r.a.s.s. is dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for future generations and creating earth friendly alternatives for riding apparel.

The green doesn't stop at the clothes either. The woven labels inside the clothing are made from recycled polyester. And, be sure to toss your hangtag on the ground. Yes, you heard correctly. The hangtags are made from environmentally friendly recycled seed paper, so plant your hangtag and you'll soon see some beautiful wildflowers sprouting!

So, what does the g.r.a.s.s. line look like? Here is a quick peek. Click on the thumbnails below to learn more about each item.

If you're in the greater Jacksonville area, we invite you to stop in to discover our new "green" section of g.r.a.s.s. and if you're not in the area, stop by our online website and check out these awesome clothes!

We Proudly Launch Our New Blog

The Gift Horse is proud to announce the launch of our blog! We have a lot planned for the blog and we look forward to sharing with you our new product arrivals, great tips and articles on horse care, as well as developing a deeper relationship with our customers!

We invite you to leave us comments at any time, let us know what you'd like to see us carry in our store and online, as well as give you the opportunity to get to know us a little better!

Be sure to subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter (at the right) as it often includes specials that are just for customers who receive the newsletter!