Betcha anything your mum reckons your bedroom already resembles a stable and could do with a darn good mucking-out! If you're a horse-lover, then you probably already have heaps of horsey stuff in your bedroom.

In our "Hall of Fame" section we ask "what's on the walls of your bedroom?" and the answer is almost always HORSE POSTERS! But what else can you do for the ultimate horsey room? Plenty...as long as your parents don't mind!

Short of keeping a horse in your bedroom (how much fun would THAT be, apart from the poo of course), you can make your bedroom resemble a stable as much as possible. Here's some ideas!

Raid the saddle shops! Well not raid exactly, but visit a few saddle shops and check out what's on offer. You'll find lots of inexpensive items you can buy and display in your bedroom to give it that stable/tack room feel...and if you don't own your own horse yet, theyÕll come in handy for when you do (make sure you tell your Mum and Dad this!)

You can get things like:

• Haynet...this will come in handy for storing all your large stuffed toys;
• Headstall and leadrope;
• Bridle rack;
• Hoof pick;
• Brushes;
• Crop;
• Browbands...buy some plain leather browbands and make your own ribbon browbands. Make a few, including rosettes, and display them on your bedroom wall;
• Saddle soap and oil (this smells divine, who needs scented candles?!)

If your parents have an Ebay account, you can also try there for bits and stirrups and anything else you can find. Searching is half the fun! If you need a bedspread, you can also buy a new rug to keep you snug during cold weather. There's lots of synthetic horse rugs in trendy colours to suit any bedroom/stable! And remember to remind your parents that it'll come in handy for when you get your own horse....

Don't forget to get a copy of any saddle shop catalogues and also ask to be put on their mailing list so you can check out their specials.

Even your bedroom door can be made into a stable door, but you'll need a solid wood door and a dad who's a bit of a handyman. He can cut the door in half so you can shut just the bottom and leave the top open. But if that's not an option, consider getting a door mural. These are awesome, you just stick them to your door with wallpaper paste and hey presto...instant stable-like effect! (Horsewyse has some for sale in their June 2007 issue). If you live on a rented property and are an arty type, you could draw or paint your own stable door using poster paper and sticking it on.

Other stable-type things you can do is use a bucket for a rubbish bin and a grooming box to store all your make-up and (human) hair brushes. You can sometimes find mini buckets which are ideal for storing all your pens and pencils. Get some old horseshoes to hang on your wall; show ribbons and rosettes are also perfect wall decorations, Horsewyse includes a ribbon as part of our Totally Horses membership package.

For the floor, a rug of artificial grass (available from Bunnings) would be a nice horsey touch, or you can also consider seagrass matting to resemble straw. Get some different coloured hessian from the craft shop and make some cushions to resemble sacks of feed.

No stable would be complete without the horses! There's lots of model and toy horses to choose from, including Breyer, Painted Ponies, My Little Ponies, beanie ponies...the more the better!

For a stable atmosphere, record some horsey noises like neighs, snorts etc. You can take a small dictaphone to any show or Pony Club and record your own, or download free WAV files from the internet. Put them all together onto one tape or burn them to CD and have it playing in the background.

Of course, the first rule of good horse-keeping is keeping your stable neat and tidy, so muck it out regularly! Clear out the junk, pick up your clothes...a place for everything and everything in its place (your parents will LOVE it!)

So have we given you enough good ideas to turn your bedroom into a stable? If you can think of any more, send them in!

© 2007 Horsewyse Magazine. Cartoon © Peta Taylor.