Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit day!!! And it's a good thing I planned ahead and wore today's outfit earlier in the week because it was COLD today! Al is our model this week, and here's what he wore:

I know what you're thinking. Green AGAIN. But this isn't just green. It's green GLITTER! Way better.

Bridle: Ponyo

I love me a bridle that is just completely glitter. They're on sale for $25 if you also need a glitter bridle. But I have no idea what import costs will be now. No idea whatsoever. I think we've already covered how I lack an understanding there. Thankfully, I got these a few years ago, before all the import nonsense.

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes

Saddle Pad: Eskadron

My camera flat out refused to pick up the glitteriness in this pad. I tried video, I tried different angles, I tried videoing at different angles. NOTHING! So you'll just have to trust me that there is plenty of sparkle happening here.

Boots: Eskadron

So then I thought, maybe I'll take the boot photo inside and maybe that will show the sparkle. But alas. You can barely even tell they're green, let along glittery. But they are indeed both of those things.

That's what Al had on, and here what I was wearing for glitter day:

I did not realize how unflattering this top is on it's own. I first took a photo head on, but you could legit see my belly button. Not attractive. Next time I'll wear a cami under here.

Helmet: Equinavia

I don't wear this helmet much because it's a hair tight. I can ride one horse in it, but it starts to give me a headache after that. But I can't bring myself to get rid of it because it's GREEN and it has GLITTER. Two of my favorite things. And it's not expired yet! 

Shirt: Nine West

This tee shirt is also glittery throughout and is also poorly represented in this photo. But you can kinda tell if you look closely. 

Belt: No brand

I got this glittery belt strap awhile back from Amazon, and the buckle I attempted to spray paint with green glitter. But I did too many coats and it mostly chipped off. So now it's distressed glitter. It's called fashion.

Breeches: RJ Classics Harper

These are the pants with the unstitched pockets I was telling you guys about last week! They're so silly. I wore them to run an errand earlier that morning, and my car key wound up like mid thigh. Awkward! 

Boots: TuffRider Regal, embellished by me

I always forget how comfortable the Regal boots are. I try not to wear these too much because I don't have that much faith in the glitter holding up. But so far it really is doing well! I love how these came out.

That's it for today! Thoughts on the glitter? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

We're currently enjoying some easy rides around here for various reasons. Thursday we had a rain day, and then Friday our body worker came. So you know, stretchy rides for all! We seem to regularly take a little step back this time of year. I think it's the change of season. 

Despite our easy rides, we still have lots happening! We'll start with Eros because he's the only one with kind of meh news to report. I think I made a mistake with him last week when I got back from the wedding. I rode him in his bands the first day back and I think I made him a little sore behind. I should have eased him into things a little more softly. I don't think he's lame, but he is feeling a little nqr. We've just been doing light stretchy rides since. The body worker didn't find anything alarming, and his legs are all tight, so whatever it is I think is just a little tweak or soreness. He's not going to jump for another week or so though just in case. 

We are continuing our experimentation with Al. My vet has had me trying different nsaids to determine if his behavior is pain related. I had a good response with Naproxen but less good with Etodolac. When doc was here last he wanted to try Al on Gabapentin to see if we're having a nerve problem. I waited to start him on it though, because we were stepping down the Esopmerazole and I didn't want too many changes at once. Plus I was going away for that wedding and I didn't want to start a new med like that when I couldn't monitor him. 

The body worker was interested to hear how the experiment would go because she did note some sciatic pain when she worked on him this time. That was the push I needed to get moving with it though. We finally started it Friday evening and I didn't see much difference over the weekend, but I did see SOME difference. While he was still spooky on the long side by the neighbor, I was able to get some real work done in other parts of the ring. Sunday he had a moment where he really started to lose his potato. Like it was in my best interest to hop off he was escalating so rapidly. But after I hopped off, I just stood with him for a bit until he came back to planet earth, and then I was able to get on and ride on the less terrifying parts of the ring. So that's an improvement, albeit minor. 

Then Tuesday happened. All of the stars aligned for this ride. The neighbor wasn't home. It was warm out. And there was NO wind. All things that set Al up for a good day. I got on, and he just walked right over to the scary part of the ring. Like it hasn't been a thing for the last however many years. He just went around the ring like a normal horse. For the ENTIRE ride. Both directions, all three gaits. He wasn't particularly forward, which is a constant battle, but he was completely relaxed. I really feel like we need to find that relaxation and only then can we really work on fixing the forward button. So this seemed like a positive step. I was really excited to get on him today and see if it was a fluke. And honestly I'm not sure if it was or not. Today was the opposite of yesterday. Pretty windy, temps dropped 20 degrees, and the neighbor was LOUD today. Like throwing metal poles around, dropping stuff, driving around in circles with his lawn tractor. All of it. Of course, not until after I was on Al and ready to start working... So the first couple of walk laps before the neighbor started his bullshit, Al was just as good as yesterday. Walked all the way around the arena, both directions. Even the scary long side. Once the neighbor started in with his nonsense, I opted to stay on a circle closer to the barn. We're making such good strides, I'd hate to have a set back just because the neighbor sucks. I will say, that even though Al was definitely aware of the chaos over there, he wasn't wrecked by it. He was distracted, and I was not very successful in getting him to work, but he wasn't spooking and the dragon sounds were minimal. Now is this because he has nerve pain that the gaba is helping? Or is it because the gaba makes them quiet? I'm not sure. I shall discuss with doc once he's been on it a week and get his thoughts. Gabapentin isn't the answer long term as it's not show legal and not really something I want to keep him on, but it may help us get some answers. And maybe if he can learn to feel like this while on it, he'll be less likely to go back to his stuck in flight mode feelings? I dunno. All speculation at this point. But I am enjoying my horse feeling safe for the time being. 

Shiny has the most exciting news! I finally got her a saddle! I think anyway. I have it on trial for a few days. Funny story. I missed the boat on the one that was close to perfect for her. And I feared it would be a long while before I found another one. I had commented for a photo of a stamp on one that I saw on Marketplace and a saddle resaler messaged me asking what I was looking for. And lo and behold she actually had it. Like pretty much the EXACT specs I was looking for. Only problem was, it was listed on their website for $5000. Way out of budget. She asked if I wanted to make an offer, and I said to her honestly, I needed to be under $3000 and I didn't want to insult her. Well she came back and offered it to me at 3250. Which, that's pretty close to where I wanted to be. Plus they offer free shipping. That made it right around the same price as the one I missed out on. Dad was on board to let me finance it through him, so it arrived today! 

Seems like a nearly custom fit! There's no bridging at all, plenty of wither clearance (though that photo may not show that so well), nothing feels tight, and when I rode her in it, she felt great! I popped a handful of jumps just to see, and she jumped better than she has in a long time. 

I do think there's something out of the ordinary happening with the panels. It seems like they might have been converted to wool. There are slits that are definitely intentional and what looks like flocking in there. They are also much softer than my other Butet panels. But the fit is really good, and she seems happy, so I'm not sure it matters? I figure too, the tree is exactly the specs I needed for her per my Butet rep who saw her when we were working with Eros and his saddle. So worst case, I can always replace the panels to literally her exact specs if that seems to be necessary down the road. I'm going to ride in it a couple more times to make sure we love it, but I do think it's going to be a keeper. Fingers crossed, because I don't want to keep looking for a saddle.

In other news, I got to do some braiding over the weekend for a really cool show that I hope happens again next year so maybe I can go. There used to be a horse show every summer called Children's Services that took place at the Farmington Polo Club. It was a pretty well attended show back in the 80's and 90's but by the later 90's it wasn't doing as well. There was a show stable on the property as well at the time. But the owner eventually grew elderly and his kids moved on to other barns, so it was sold. The horse show had ended by then too. It's recently been resurrected as an event venue (weddings, etc) and they do have polo matches there in the summer. But it's not a show barn anymore and they haven't had horse shows. Until this past weekend that is! It wasn't a regular show, it was actually just a day of hunter derbies. From 2' up to 3'. So nothing super high level, but it looks the courses were beautiful and everyone who attended had a great time. I'd love to go next year. Maybe with Shiny for the 2'. Or maybe if the stars align with Al in the 3'. You just never know!

This adorable guy on the bottom won his derby. He has one low hanging ear which reminded me of Rio. And he was the sweetest little dude! I haven't braided him before, but he's now my favorite client. Don't tell the others.

It's been kind of an exciting week around here, despite our easier rides. I'm hopeful relaxed Al sticks around, Eros feels better asap, and Shiny continues to love her new saddle. Fingers crossed!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Oh boy. I don't even know which dumb thing to share first. So I'll start with the lightbulbs since that's where we left off last week. So after getting my fixture straightened out in the house I decided it was time for a bit of a lightbulb overhaul. I had a bunch of mismatched bulbs in the barn and my outside fixtures on the house have burned out for like two years. (Listen, I'm very good at taking care of horses, but I am not so good at caring for things like that. Okay? Okay.) 

So I got new bulbs for the outside fixtures and it lights up like daytime out there now! So nice. Should have done that awhile ago. But the problem is in the barn. My aisle lights are all fine, but it was the fixtures in the rooms that were mismatched- tack room, feed room, and wash stall. Amazon had a lovely 12 pack of bulbs available which was exactly the amount I needed. Perfect! And available in a variety of colors. I chose soft white because that's what I thought I liked. But obviously, since this is Truthful Tuesday, I must admit that I thought wrong. Soft white is really yellow and kind of dark. They actually look nice in the feed room and tack room, but in the wash stall they do not. Not at all. Much too dark in there. So now I have to get new bulbs. I'm going to try warm white this time. And they better be the one because I'm not spending any more money on light bulbs this year! 

My next dumb thing is... well.... REALLY STUPID! Last year I bought some new brushes for Al. They're from Waldhausen and they're really nice. Especially the curries. And as we're deep into shedding season at the moment, I decided I wanted to get the curries for the other horses too. But they're sold out all over the US. So I figured I'd get them from Fundis since they had enough of what I wanted. Tariffs from Germany should be around 15% so I figured that's not too bad. But as it turns out, I do not have a good understanding of import fees apparently. My total order from Fundis was around $150. I figured at worst import fees could accumulate to maybe $100. Figure tariffs plus broker fees. Whatever. Um yeah. No. Not even close. UPS sent me a bill for nearly $400! Insane. I tried calling for an explanation but was left on hold for over an hour. At which point UPS was closed so I finally hung up because I think I'd have just been left on hold forever. So let my stupidity be a warning to you. Import fees are not just what ever percentage the tariffs are. I miss de minimus. And I also miss all the money I made braiding this weekend that just went to import fees. 

I dunno guys. I think we're in the bad place. US Government just robbed me blind for some brushes for me horses. Lame.

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! I bet you were worried there wouldn't be a Thursday's Threads because of our rain day. But fear not! I planned ahead and got photos on Monday. Eros is our model today, but he wasn't terribly excited about it this week. Here's what he had on:

It was workout day. Not his favorite day of the week. But he looks just as handsome in workout clothes as he does in regular outfits!

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

He was unwilling to perk his ears for the bridle photo. Thank goodness you've all see this one before!

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Stubben
Saddle pad system: Catago

I originally had the the OG Equicore resistance bands for the horses from when Pammon used them for his rehab. But I really hated the saddle pad, so I decided to try the Catago version at some point when I had a nice coupon available for it. The pad is SO much nicer than the other. And it has properties similar to Back On Track, so it should also feel nice for Eros. Can't tell by his face though...

Wraps: Catago

I should have used a black pair of wraps for this outfit, but you know what? It's nice to have a little color in an otherwise plain look. 

So that's what Eros was wearing this week, and here's what I had on:

Im all honesty after all the fanciness this weekend I didn't have a lot of motivation for outfit day this week. So I went with black and gray. But I did liven it up with my footwear at least!

Helmet: Samshield

This is the old one I probably shouldn't wear anymore that my friend so kindly embellished for me. And it has the additional visor on it, since it isn't a Miss Shield.

Top: Zengjo

Amazon had these perforated tee shirts pretty cheap this summer so I grabbed a couple of colors. They aren't the most comfortable, but they aren't uncomfortable either. I like the additional air flow.

Belt: LV Inspired

Snagged this belt ages ago from Ebay, and it's definitely seen better days, but I think it will be around for a little bit longer. Hopefully!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I'm still in mourning over the loss of this fabric. Also, though, I really wish they would actually for REAL discount them so I can stock up for the future...

Boots: Celeris UK

Best way to spruce up a drab outfit is with some fancy footwear, amiright?? (I am right.) I still love these boots. 10/10 highly recommend.

That's it for this week! Anything you're hoping to see for next week?

What's Up Wednesday

 

I don't have much to report on this week as I've only ridden a handful of times since last Wednesday. Everyone survived my weekend away just fine thanks to a wonderful farm sitter. I think Al was a little perturbed by my absence. When I got home, he wouldn't come over and say hi. He ALWAYS comes to the door when he sees me. But he's forgiven me now. Phew!

I was hoping to jump today and get some fun media for everyone, but we had some dreary weather and all the horses were like meh. Let's go slow and not work hard. And I worked really hard to very little response from any of them, and basically just decided to flat instead. I did pop Shiny over a few things because I started riding her in Eros' saddle again this week and I wanted to see how she jumped in it. It actually seems to working pretty well for her now. The pads aren't slipping, and I think she jumped better in it than her own saddle. But she was SLOOOOOWWWWW. We did 8 in the 5 this week though, so better than last week. Lol! 

That saddle I found for her sold literally minutes before I went to dinner tonight. So that's disappointing. Back on the hunt. But in the meantime, Eros' is working out, so that's good at least. 

As for Eros... I think I worked him too hard in his workout bands earlier this week because he came out a little extra stiff and possibly more unmotivated than his sister. But he worked out of his creakiness and had a nice flat. I think we're getting rained out tomorrow (Thursday) but maybe over the weekend we'll try to jump. 

This photo makes me giggle a little because I don't think of Eros as a big horse (he is 16.3 which is a good size) but I look kinda small here! I think it's the angle.

Al's had an interesting re-entry to work life after his weekend vacation. The one thing I will say about this horse is that he's the same horse whether he's been ridden or not... And by that I mean you never really know what you're gonna get, and not riding him doesn't change that! Haha! I always laugh a little when I read that in sales ads because saying the horse is the same whether it's worked or not doesn't mean it's well behaved. Just means it's always the same! Anyway, I digress. I rode Monday this week since they didn't need four full days off. Monday Al was pretty good. I took it easy on all of them since it was the first day back and I had to be done a little early for Rosh Hashana dinner. But he made an effort to behave himself and I let him know I appreciated that. Tuesday was another story though. It was a warm day but pretty windy as storms were working our direction. And when I got on Al the neighbor decided it was the perfect time to make a whole bunch of noise right next to the ring. Al's getting pretty good at ignoring certain neighbor noise, but the wind in the trees had him pretty worked up. After walking for quite awhile and having a very low level of his attention, I decided to work him on the lunge instead. He was pretty good on the lunge so I figured I'd get back on and see what I had. He was still really distracted, and since he'd worked nicely on the lunge, I just spent some time at the walk cooling him down and working on getting his attention on me instead of the blowing trees. And you know what? By the end I'd say I had about 80% of his attention on me. I'll take that. I just had him dong a serpentine through the little gymnastic that's set up in the middle of the ring. I really focused on getting him to change the bend through his entire body each time we crossed the middle. The first several times through the exercise I'd lose his attention in the same spot, but by the last two passes through I had him the entire time without a change in pace or shape. And I quit on that. The difference between this week and a couple weeks ago was that I was happy with that win. Not disappointed that I only could accomplish it at the walk. 

And today? Today he was pretty great. Still very suspicious of the one long side, but I had him touching that side on both ends of the ring today. We'd go to the rail, around the jump and then head back to the quarter line. Rinse and repeat each direction. And we were able to do it at all three gaits! I had hoped to jump a little, but he tripped and nearly fell over the little cavalletti I wanted to warm up over and decided it wasn't our day for jumping. But we had some really nice flat work. Another win!

I mean really. Look at him! What a dude! So what if we're remedial. At least we look good doing it.

So that's what the horses and I have been up to. It was a really fun non horse weekend at the wedding with my family. It was fancy with cocktail attire for the rehearsal dinner AND the Sunday brunch, and semi formal for the wedding itself. So I was in heels longer than I've worn heels in the last what? 15 years? I'm properly unsound this week after all that. But it was fun to play dress up! Here's my dress for the wedding:

It's the perfect shade of hunter green and I really hope I find some other even to wear this to some day. I didn't get a photo on Friday night, but at least those heels were chunky! And here's me and my mom at Sunday brunch:

I'm 5'2" (And a 1/2!) so yes, my mom is really tiny. I do have a small heel on here, but still. She's SHORT! Also, note my high quality farmers tan on my arms. You can take a girl off the farm but certainly can't take the farm off the girl. And also yes, I had given up on trying to do something with my hair by Sunday. I really only am capable of hunter hair if we're being honest. Completely lost without a helmet.

That's it! That's all I've got for this week. Did you all have a good weekend?

Truthful Tuesday

 

You know how when you're trying to get organized to go out of town you always wind up with extra little tasks that show themselves before you can leave? In my case it was the fixture in the entryway of my house. The bulbs were getting really dim, reaching the end of their lifespan. It was so dull in fact that I couldn't leave it like that for the farm sitter. So the morning I needed to leave my weekend away I found myself on a ladder changing light bulbs. And why did I wait so long you ask? Because I ordered bulbs online due to having zero free minutes to actually go to the store to get what I needed. And you know what? I ordered the wrong ones. But then the morning I was heading out, I discovered exactly enough bulbs in my cabinet. But there were two issues. First, I needed three bulbs, which I did have. But one of them was not like the others. Not that noticeable, just the bottom part of the bulb looked a little different on one of them. Not something you'd really notice. That is, you wouldn't notice if they were the same color bulbs. Alas, they were not. Two are bright white (WHICH I DESPISE!!!) and the other is soft white which is my preference. But once I was up there on the ladder, I wasn't coming down without putting new bulbs in. So now my hallway looks like a warehouse (due to the bright whiteness). I have the correct bulbs en route, and I cannot wait to fix this! 

Anyone else have a preference for bulb color? I personally think bright white should be outlawed. It's a travesty to have to sit in that! 

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! I've been pretty focused on getting the barn set up for the sitter this weekend. Not to mention packing... Which we found out last minute today that the Sunday brunch is cocktail attire, so I had to redo some of that. Good thing I have a shopping problem and a small hoard of emergency dresses! Phew! So I didn't get crazy with a riding outfit this week. We did still look nice and I have a helmet to share that I'm not sure if I've had it on the blog yet. I got it last year, but haven't worn it much. Shiny got to have a redo this week as our model since she didn't really get to do it last week. Here's what she had on:

She kept it classy with farm colors. This pony really looks so good in any color I've ever put her in. 

Bridle: Pinnacle

Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

Her little light colored eyes are sensitive when it's sunny and she kept closing them for photos this week.

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Le Mieux

Fingers crossed this might be one of the last times you guys see this old saddle! Hopefully once she has a saddle that fits I can go back to using her fancy Mattes saddle pads. I'd have to have those sit around unused for too long. I regret not getting them shimmable. 

Boots: Anky

So hers were not the pair that the washer ate recently. But good news, I used the eaten ones on Al this week, and the damaged part does not interfere with their function. So I don't have to toss them. Yet at least. We'll see if they get worse next time I wash them.

So that's what Shiny is wearing this week, and here's what I had on:

I wore one of my barn colors, but I added pink because why not?

Helmet: Charles Owen Kylo

I have a glossy Samshield on my wishlist (to replace my current everyday Samshield that's expiring this month). But it's definitely way down on that wish list. This Kylo was on sale last year though for less than $150 so I figured I'd give it a try. And then I haven't worn it much because I mistakenly thought it wasn't that comfortable. But I pulled it out this week and it's actually pretty comfy! So you might be seeing more of it. I got it with glitter on the top, and rose gold trim. It has MIPS too! 

Shirt: Luyaa

Nothing new here. I wear these shirts practically exclusively.

Belt: Mane Jane

I rediscovered this belt strap when I attempted (unsuccessfully) to reorganize my belts. This one had fallen behind where I keep them and who knows how long it was hiding back there!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I'm big sad that they've discontinued this fabric. I don't hate tech fabric breeches, but I do really appreciate how these don't show all of my cellulite the way tech fabric does.

Half Chaps: LM Boots
Paddock Boots: Horka

I don't remember if I've worn these on here before, but I think not. So I ordered these half chaps more than a decade ago. When they arrived initially they were made for someone with very narrow calves and were so tall they hit about mid thigh on me. Definitely not my measurements! And so I sent them back to be re-made correctly and thus began a years long battle to get them back. YEARS. And it required a mediator. And then by the time they arrived, I had treated my thyroid problem and my legs were a good inch and a half smaller than when I had ordered these. So they still didn't fit, but this time it wasn't their fault. I finally had them taken in last fall, and decided I should probably wear them. Which leads to another funny story. I've been saving these cute paddock boots with the rhinestone toe cap edge to wear with these half chaps. I've had them FOREVER. But they just sat in a boot bag inside a tack box all this time. Know what happens to leather whey you don't use it and it sits in storage for many years? It dry rots. They seemed fine when I put them on to ride. But by the time I was done? They had pretty much disintegrated. RIP paddock boots.

Basically the outer layer of leather completely detached from the inner lining. I had to toss them. Sad day. I have a regular non rhinestone pair I got on closeout from Smartpak recently for $23 so I still have paddock boots to use with these half chaps. But these ones were so much more perfect! 

So anyway, at least they survived for one Thursday's Threads appearance! The lesson here is to use your stuff, because it's going to wear out regardless.