Thursday's Threads

 Outfit Day! It's a short one today, just a riding outfit to share. The horses didn't dress to match this time.

I've been cleaning out the laundry room and some closets and I've discovered all kinds of treasures. Including these tops that still had tags on them...

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS

Went with the green inserts to match my outfit.

Top and Vest: Le Mieux

I got these at the end of last season on sale and proceeded to tuck them away and forget all about them. Glad I discovered them now so I can actually wear them. I'm not always into orange, but I like just a little with the olive.

Belt: Mane Jane

I wish I had thought to wear my orange ostrich strap! It would have looked fab with this outfit... but alas, I didn't think of it. Next time! Instead I went with this olive strap. Also a good choice!

Breeches: Horseware

I wore regular breeches the other day instead of corduroy... and boy are these a lot warmer! 

Boots: Tredstep

Not silly enough to wear any other boots this time of year though! Seriously. I love these. So very much. I've occasionally toyed with the idea of sheepskin lined Celeris boots... but I think I'm sticking with these.

That's it for today! Any favorites? What have you been wearing to ride?

What's Up Wednesday

 

It's the middle of January, so obviously Eros has been lame since Friday. Fortunately, I already had him on the schedule to see the vet this coming Friday, so hopefully we'll get it addressed quickly. I'm not really sure what's wrong, there's no swelling or heat anywhere. He's definitely head nodding around the turns tracking right though which is exactly how he presented last year when he did this. I've been sitting on him daily anyway until the vet comes because I want to make sure he's still doing that when the vet arrives. Cause you know horses can be... We're mostly sticking to the walk, but I trot just enough to make sure the nod is still there. Part of me is just used to Eros being off at this point, but part of my is pretty disappointed because I really thought we were about ready to start jumping. Oh well. At least he's ridiculously good looking.

Shiny has been a bit of a challenge this week. She's kind of wild, which doesn't bother me because her wild is really... not. But it's problematic in that she's been a lot more rude toward other horses. Friday I didn't even try to ride her. During my normal ride time for her the barn was having a moms class for all the moms of kids who ride there. It was chaos. Most of them hadn't ridden in years... So clearly, not the ideal time to ride Shiny. (Maybe three of them had reliable steering...) The weekend wasn't much different. I intentionally rode late Saturday to avoid the lessons, but then the ring closed for a little bit for a drag, and then I wound up with only about 20 minutes to ride before the barn closed. Boo. Sunday I planned my ride in between lessons, but so did everyone else. So more chaos. Despite my telling everyone in the ring that Shiny WILL kick them, I still had people riding up her bum and boxing us in all over the place. I finally just gave up and got off. Having a kicker is tough at a busy barn. Since I ride all weekday mornings at 7:30 (with Pammon) I like to start my weekends a little later. But I think I may have to start going early on the weekends too to avoid the crowds. First world problems... Though also, she's getting looked at by the vet Friday too. Hopefully that potential check issue is resolved and she can get a free lunge. I think that would help tremendously with her sass.

But it's not all bad news around here. Pammon did his first lesson last night! It was just a flat lesson since we're not cleared to jump yet. But we survived the full 45 minutes. Barely. But we did. He came out breathing fire, and though I was terrified, I didn't chicken out. Eventually he got a little tired and I was able to relax a little. The flat lessons are pretty intense. 45 minutes straight with no walking. Lots of transitions and a little lateral work. He was pretty confused by the counter canter, but once he picked it up he held it nicely. He felt good and sound this morning too. It's the hardest ride he's had since getting hurt so you never know... And I was really happy he felt good today. And he was very relaxed with zero spooks! So probably still a little tired. Ha. I'll take it.

Not too much else to report other than that I've been eating a lot of cheese.

I was really excited to have a Raclette night, but the Raclette maker thingy I ordered arrived with a European plug. The adapter I ordered doesn't fit either... So I had to change my plan and just melted the cheese in the toaster oven. Definitely not the same thing, but still delicious!

Are you all "enjoying" rides on the winter versions of your horses? How many days till spring? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Ugh. Guys. I bought some stuff again. I have some issue with FOMO apparently and when things are labeled limited edition or the shop says they only have a few... well. Sometimes things get bought. Though, one thing I stumbled upon and ordered but I did have a need. So, um. Let's see what I got.

First, the thing I stumbled upon but did actually need. 

I finally got a bike helmet! I received a bike for my 15th work anniversary a couple years ago (which is still in the box and I need to put together...) but don't have a bike helmet. I'll mostly use the bike if and when I ever show again to get from stalls to ring, so probably I'd have the riding helmet on anyway... but figured it would be wise to have a real bike helmet too. I mean, I might want to actually ride the thing outside of horses... Plus I bought the helmet with rewards points, so it didn't cost me anything out of pocket. And yes, it's metallic gold! Also has a flashy light on the back and is equipped with MIPS.

The next thing wasn't a huge need, but was something I didn't have. So that's something anyway. 

It's a lunging cavesson (QHP brand)! The noseband part is a leather covered chain. But it's pretty heavily covered, so I'm not sure they'd feel much, if any, chain pressure honestly. Which I like. The other feature I really like is that it has removable bit hangers so you have that option as well. Con was that it only came in black. But does it even matter? You don't ride with it. My only other issue is that now that I have a pony, I have to buy two of anything that's sized. So I had to get a horse size AND a cob size. These things add up.

Okay. Well. That brings us to the truly unnecessary thing. This one was irresponsible. Completely. Though I did pay about half what I would have paid if I bought it in the US. So there's that. 

I bought the all matte Samshield. I know. It doesn't have MIPS. I just... well. I really think it's pretty. And I had a weak moment real late on Saturday night. Had it not been in stock I probably wouldn't have done it. But alas. There it was. If anyone else has a need for a Samshield (despite it's lack of MIPS, I know, I'm a hypocrite) check out Equishop. They have the best prices and stock a lot of fun ones.

Oh! I did make one other purchase that I have yet to actually deliver to its recipient... 

It's a monkey rope toy for Pammon. And it's HUGE! Like three feet tall. His unicorn is unwell so it was time for a new toy. If I have time tonight I'll give it to him, but likely it will be tomorrow.

So yeah. Those are today's confessions. Anything you need to confess? Do any irresponsible shopping?

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! Shiny is sharing her outfit this week since she has a new saddle pad. I didn't grab a full photo of her though, so we'll just jump right in I guess...

Bridle: Camelot RCS Gold
Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

They all have the same bridle and browband over at the boarding barn. Different bits though.

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Hufglocken

This was one of my Black Friday splurges. It has the sheekskin underneath as well. I really like this pad, and it was a steal of a deal. I don't love all the branding on it, but for the price I'm ignoring it.

Boots: Punk Ponies

Hard to tell, but they're navy glitter. Because ponies should always wear glitter.

Okay, my turn!

Yep, I did again. pattern on pattern. #yolo

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS

I wish they had a navy blue insert... The colors they chose to not make confuse me immensely. Maybe they'll do more next year?

Vest and Shirt: Ariat

Ariat sometimes really kills it with the patterns. Nothing this year though... I got this one (and the hunt scene one) last year.

Belt: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

Yes, you are correct. My belt matches Shiny's browband. This is actually a stock pattern, so the browbands and belts can ship right away. Also, I think they're a little bit cheaper than ordering custom.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

Just some gray TS breeches. Nothing too exciting.

Boots: Tredstep

You'll pretty much only see these boots until it gets above 50 degrees. Sorry. But my feet are warm and snuggly in there.

That's it for today! Any favorites?

What's Up Wednesday

 

It was SO nice having time off from work last week and getting to ride horses all day long! Alas. All good things must come to an end and I'm back to my regular schedule. It's a little tiring the first few days back to the regular routine, but I do like the structure. 

All the horses saw the chiro/body worker (Dr. F) this past week. Pammon and Eros both got good reports. She said they both needed a few adjustments, but just kind of normal stuff for horses their age doing what they're doing. She thought they were both improved over last month. So I'll take it! They both felt great riding the next day too. Eros was like a whole new horse. I wish I could get Dr. F out more often, but she travels pretty far to us. Plus she's off to Florida for the rest of the winter, so this is it for awhile. Boo.

unrelated photo of me snuggling Pamnonypony

Shiny was kind of a mess. Her left hind end was totally out of alignment and it was pretty reluctant to get put back in. She's also using herself completely incorrectly causing some back stuff. So our homework is to try to get her lifting her belly and back when she's working... So far it's not going well. Lol. She's been very resistant since getting worked on, but I think understandably. Since she was such a mess, I'm sure she was a little sore after. Last night she did offer up some really beautiful trot work in between fighting me for it. I could really feel her butt moving on both sides, but I think she still could lift more through her back. Baby steps though. We'll get there someday. I think lifting her belly is SUPER hard for her. She's built more to pull a cart than to carry a human. 

Nothing super exciting to report on the riding front other than that. Pammon was a little better today, but the canter was still a bit of a ticking time bomb. He is going to get that free lunge tomorrow, so hopefully a little gallop will get rid of that. I do appreciate him letting me know he's wild though. Always better than being surprised!

In other news, I finally found some snap on browbands that were fairly inexpensive that I could deface. So the cow outfit and my future peppermints outfit will be fully ridiculous. 

I'm not the most patient person so these could surely be done better with some kind of patterned wrapping or whatever. But they're good enough for me! It's not like they're for the show ring or anything, (HAHAHAHA! Could you imagine?!)

Lastly, I was able to get back on my ladder this weekend! 2020 basically canceled this side gig of mine. I think I braided 6 manes the entire year? So I was a little anxious that I wouldn't do a good job. I was also worried because one of these horses I had to do is HUGE and also young. Like HUGE, HUGE. For sure over 18 hands. 

Ladder for scale

Also me for scale. I'm 15.2 hands.
Also, I look crazy here. 

Like... How was I going to do his forelock?! And would he stand still? I've braided his barn mate many times in the past and this guy was always so busy in his stall while I was there. I thought for sure he'd be the same way to braid. But you know what? He was an ANGEL! He even lowered his head for me to do his forelock. 

Icing on the cake was that they both came out pretty decently. Phew. 

Also, the barn was heated (60 degrees!) so it was perfectly comfortable in there to work. Even took my coat off!

That's about it from here. How was your week? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Vacation is over and it's back to the grind! I had a time of it trying to get out of bed to go ride Pammon this morning. And that leads to today's confession: I didn't really canter my horse today. 

He came out snorting at everything and I was a wee bit concerned climbing aboard. But Pammon is kind of a snorter in general so I try to set that aside and just ride the horse. We had the ring all to ourselves, which is LOVELY because the boarding barn can be a very busy place. But Pammon goes best with a buddy in the ring with him. He's a social guy, what can I way? 

Anyway, our warm up trot work went pretty well. He was definitely a little up, but was listening fine. So finally it's time to canter. Well I pick it up and he's tossing his head all around and is completely inside out. (Very hollow, brain oozing out the ears... You know, like horses do sometimes.) So I bring him back to the trot and he spooks. At nothing. Eye roll... 

Then he was on high alert, full periscope mode. I did put him back to work at the trot, but I called it a day with trot work. It's a little tough when they're up like that and you know you only have so much time because the work day is calling. (Literally.)

I hate not getting all the things done. I feel a little like I wimped out. And you know that tomorrow won't be better if they don't work enough today. To try and balance that out, I did put him down to have a free lunge tomorrow. Hopefully that can happen before I ride in the morning. Fingers crossed! 

Thursday's Threads

 

Happy New Year all! I stopped doing recaps when 2019 was such a disaster for me personally. I've decided to continue with that tradition this year, because... well. 2020. But I'll still do my regularly scheduled post! Kinda... Truth be told, I totally forgot it was Thursday so this one is a little weak. Anyway, here's what I rode in today:

Nothing all the exciting. Except for the light up New Year's necklace I found when I was cleaning out the laundry room earlier... I really know how to ring in a new year!

Helmet and boots not pictured were the One K Mips with the blue accents and my trusty Tredstep winter boots.

Sweatshirt: Skidmore College Book Store

I picked this one up at my last reunion, and it's probably my softest most comfy sweatshirt that I own. I hope it doesn't wear out before my next reunion!

Belt: Mane Jane

I went with this light gray Mane Jane strap to match the hoodie. And the gold buckle because it was the most readily available.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

Nothing remarkable here. Just some blue TS breeches.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

I feel like badass socks are a good way to wrap up 2020. 

And well... that's it. Sorry to be a little lame today. It's a weird end to a weird year. Hope you all stay safe tonight and I look forward to a calm 2021 and hopefully a vaccine for all!