Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Truthful Tuesday

Meh. I don't have much for you guys today... I didn't do any shopping this weekend, nor did I manage to embarrass myself in public or anything! Shocking, I realize. I do need to confess though, that I got super behind on blog reading. So if you're getting random comments from me today on blog posts that are a week old... well, that's why. I should be all caught up now though!
Did you guys do anything crazy or embarrassing this weekend that you'd like to share? Buy anything awesome and irresponsible maybe? Tell me all about it in the comments!
I promise I have some entertaining equine content for What's up Wednesday tomorrow at least!

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Thursday's Threads: the one with the purple boots

It's a gross, rainy, dreary, no fun day here today. And since I put zero effort into my work outfit today, let's just jump right into last night's riding outfit and my new boots, shall we?! We shall.
I had been stalking my boot package all day, and knew they would arrive before I did last night. I was ridiculously excited for them! So obviously, I coordinated my outfit for them. Duh.

Top: Ralph Lauren
Just a basic polo shirt in a lovely lilac color. I don't know if polo shirts are still a thing, but I'm hanging on to them. Classic staple in my closet. Especially for the barn.

Breeches: Smartpak Pipers
These are charcoal with lilac piping and lilac gel for the knee patches. I've heard mixed reviews on these breeches, but I'm pretty happy with mine. I've worn them and washed them a lot, and so far so good.

Belt: Noble Outfitters
I love the embossed horse shoes on here. So cute! It's not quite the same purple as my shirt or the boots, but I went with it anyway. I think it's managing to work.

BOOTS!!!!
Stivali Romitelli

Yeah, super short. My bad.

I totally messed up the height on these, and I have no one to blame but myself. But whatever, they're obviously just for schooling, so they'll be fine. You guys, the leather on these is really, really nice. They're soft, but not floppy soft. I wore them around the barn for a bit, and they were completely comfortable the entire time. Nothing was digging in anywhere. I like that even though they are custom, they still have the elastic in the back. I think from now on I'm going to request that in all my boots. Just makes them more comfy. So aside from them being short, I was also a little bummed about the color. I thought I was ordering this color:
Not that same boot, I got the boot I wanted, but I thought the color I ordered would be this kind of pinky purple shade. But when I opened the box they were more gray/purple. I'm a little disappointed since my Fama Lusitano boots are also gray and who needs two pair of gray boots?! But not that disappointed because I still think they're awesome. I checked with the store to make sure it wasn't a mistake and it wasn't. Turns out, I got some false information when I inquired about getting the above color. They did offer me 10% of a future order in their shop to try and make up for it. Not really their fault entirely though, so no hard feelings here. I'll just have to get actual pink boots next time... JOKING! (Maybe. Anymore bad pony news and it could happen. Someone take my credit card!)

Helmet: Charles Owen
I mean.... the boots DO match my helmet pretty perfectly.

Ok, enough with the boots. Here's what I wore to work today:
Yeah. Zero effort. I had to go to the dentist this morning, so I was much more preoccupied with that. It's my first visit since my dentist retired. I hate change. And the dentist. Also, the new guy is about 12 years old. Ugh.

Sweater: Pink Rose
I love the heathered mint color to this sweater and that it's just a little sheer. I wish I hadn't shrunk it up to nothing though. It's really short now!

Jeans: True Religion
Nothing very exciting about these. But they fit GREAT and are super comfy.

Belt: C4
You saw this one last week with a purple buckle on it. Here it is in its original form with a silver buckle. I love how versatile these belts can be.

Shoes: Sperry
Heh... They don't ACTUALLY match the sweater. I thought, eh, close enough when I put them on, but they're really not close at all. They're super fun though with that glittery look to them.

Arm Party!
Lefty:
forgive this wonky photo, Blogger wasn't having it with my edits today...
Lefty is donning a pretty enamel bangle from C.Wonder. It reminds me of those crazy expensive Hermes ones, but this one was only $24.00.

Righty:
Righty is wearing a quadruple wrap bracelet from Nakamol and a little friendship bracelet from Ettika. I was introduced to Nakamol via Little Black Bag many moons ago, and I really love their pieces. They are delicate and pretty, but really sturdy, and don't seem to fall apart.

That's what I'm wearing today! What do you have on? Would you be embarrassed by how short my boots are? Or does the crazy color scheme distract from that?

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

What's Up Wednesday

So I already filled you all in on Romey's vet visit on Friday. So we'll start what's up with Wednesday with Jamp's appointment. We already knew what was bothering the Jampasaur so we didn't have to spend too much time re-flexing things. Basically, Jamp is getting older and what I'm feeling, for the most part is just wear and tear.
We did his hocks and we'll see how he feels in a couple weeks. Doc is going to come back out and possibly do his SI at that point. Doc seems to think that Jamp is not in terrible shape and could certainly fit in one more show season! So we'll see how he's feeling after his next appointment and then maybe we'll try and get back in the ring. I'm not holding my breath though, because yesterday I noticed this:
Can you see it? His nose is twisting off to the right (his right, your left). It may not seem like much, but this was the first thing that happened to Rio before his big EPM episode. So I sent this photo to doc. He said to keep an eye on it for a day or two, and if it's not resolved we will treat him. Seriously, what is with these horses?!

Rio had a quick visit with the vet too because I've noticed he's had more muscle atrophy. We think it's probably from the epm mixed with his getting older. Just to be safe we did some blood work including a test for Cushings. Fortunately, I found out today his blood work looks great and he does NOT have cushings. Thatta boy Rio!

Since Jamp and Romey had all that work done on Friday, they had the weekend (and Monday and Tuesday) off. You know what that meant?! All Rio, all the time! Ok not entirely. Jamp and Romey got plenty of attention, hand walking, and grooming also. But all my saddle time was with Rio. We did a quick flat in the ring both days and then wandered around the yard eating grass and walking some hills. Because hills should help some with his muscle deterioration. Maybe.
He loves our fake trail rides!


Sunday everyone got trimmed and had their manes fixed. And more grass of course.


All that primping and not working was clearly exhausting though:

Technically Romey and Jamp were supposed to start back under saddle for a light ride on Tuesday, but I had tickets to a Yankee game, and doc said it was ok to give them an extra day off. It's always fun to head to the stadium, and as usual I ate my way through the game. We had great seats!


Before the game started, they had a moment of silence for the Manchester, England attack. Following that, they played Britain's national anthem prior to our own. It was pretty moving and I thought it was really a nice thing to do.
Unfortunately, my boys in pinstripes blew the lead they held the entire game and wound up losing. But hey, can't win them all! I still won, cause my belly was full of delicious crap.
In other news, my awesome purple boots came today! But... They're not the color I thought they would be and I messed up measuring the height so they're a little short. I emailed the store I bought them through to see about the color so I didn't ride in them yet. Despite them not being perfect, they are undeniably still awesome. And it's ok if they're a bit short, it's not like I could ever show in them... Wanna see??? Ok, I'll give a spoiler, but you'll see them better tomorrow on Thursday's Threads.
Other than the height, they fit perfectly, so I'm not totally fired from measuring for boots... If I ever get another pair, I'll just take these measurements and add some height. Hopefully my gray boots are better. I checked those measurements tonight against these, and they were taller, so I think they'll be alright. They should be here soon too!

And that's what's up this Wednesday! What's up with you? I shall leave you with this photo of two Pug loaves:

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Truthful Tuesday: Romey edition

Well... You know how you say you want answers when your horse is NQR? Yeah. Sometimes the guessing is a little more fun. As you may recall, Romey has been not all that sound pretty much ever since I got him. Initially we thought it was the "ankle injury" (which was really a suspensory because of course it was) that he got on the track that ended his career not being fully healed. So we did light flat work all last summer to keep him sane but still allow for healing. The vet came back in the fall for him because he was noticeably unsound behind. Which we figured was maybe there all along, but masked by him being more lame on the front leg which by that point was much better.
Unfortunately for Romey, the day the vet came out in the fall he took second fiddle to Jampy and HIS mystery lameness. By the time we were done with Jamp, it was getting pretty late. Romey presented much like Jamp had. Neither blocked out sound anywhere from their foot all the way through the stifles. This does not make for easy diagnostics my friends! Unfortunately, we ran out of hours in the day and vet and I decided that since it was almost winter to just rest him early, and see what we have in the spring. Ok by me! He continued with daily turnout but we stopped riding.
Also in the fall, I had someone come out to do some body work on both boys. (Poor Rio can't have that done, not recommended for neuro horses.) Figured it couldn't hurt and maybe she would find something my regular vet and I couldn't see. No surprises on Jampy, but we did find that Romey may have kissing spine. Of course something like 80% of thoroughbreds have it, so it's not surprising. But it did leave questions. Does he have it and it's causing the lameness? Does he have it and it's not actually of consequence? Maybe he doesn't even have it?! She agreed that since he's having the winter off anyway, unless he seems uncomfortable hanging out, it was ok to wait until spring to really dig into diagnosing that. So all of that brings us to last Friday when my regular vet was back with lots of time for both horses. We'll save Jampy's info for tomorrow though, as his isn't that exciting.

Romey presented (as I've been feeling all spring) as pretty sound to the left but very unsound to the right. We did some flexions but nothing really made it better or worse. Thus, we moved on to the fun part: Ultra sound! ($$$$$) The ultra sound found that he has a great big tear in his meniscus, BUT he has no edema surrounding it. Due to that, Doc wasn't convinced that's the problem. He said it's really hard to believe that's making him so acutely unsound with no fluid or inflammation surrounding it whatsoever. Can't argue that really. So we moved on to x-rays...($$$$$$$$$$$$$$)

Doc started with stifles because that's really what he was thinking after watching him go under saddle. But those came out clear. We then moved on to hips which also looked pretty good. So lower we went, to some part of the femur that I can't remember what it's called. And low and behold... My horse has a broken leg. YOU GUYS. MY HORSE HAS A BROKEN LEG! Doc says it's old, definitely happened years ago. But that is like 99% why he is so unsound to the right. Excellent.We also took some pictures of his spine to see about that kissing spine, which yes, he has that too. But like the meniscus, Doc doesn't think it's causing him any duress at the moment.
Where does that leave things with him? I don't really know for sure. Doc has seen this injury a few times in the past, and he says they never get worse. (Ok, well he's lame though, sooo...) He said that we could have some success injecting his SI to see if that helps, but that we can't inject away the actual injury. So we did the SI, and he's coming back in a few weeks to see if that helped him at all. He doesn't think he's really in pain, but rather mechanically, he has a hitch in his git-along (if you will). So he's rideable, if you don't mind an uneven moving horse. Will he ever be a show horse? Likely not. Will he jump? Probably. But not higher than 2'6" most likely. I'm holding off on making any decisions until we see if the injection makes any difference. But I imagine I will be looking for a place for him to live out in a field somewhere. Or a home that doesn't care if he's uneven and just wants something to play with in the back yard. He'll be tough to place for that though since he's not friendly and cuddly. I guess if you guys know anyone who might want a pasture pet that bites, but is really pretty, send them my way!

After all that blabbing... Here's my confession today:
I bought a horse for $2800. I spent another $2800 on the prepurchase. And somehow I STILL wound up with a horse with a broken leg. Who bites.

Have any of you been in a similar situation? Any suggestions on a retirement home? He's only 8, so I need something pretty affordable, as I imagine he'll be living the retired life for a VERY long time.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Thursday's Threads!

Outfit Day! Woohoo! You guys, it's legit summer here today. The projected high is 95 degrees, though I'm pretty close to the water so it will probably stay around 85 here. Sunny with a clear blue sky... PERFECT! This is my weather. I've been waiting all winter for a day like today! To honor the weather, I had to wear some pretty flowers today:
I thought about sandals too, but I haven't swapped out my boots for those yet, and didn't have time to go shoe hunting this morning. Boat shoes work just fine!

Top: Sweet Claire
Possibly the least flattering angle to take a photo... Anyway, I LOVE the back of this top. It's all one, so it has that black and white striped backing with the floral tied around it. It would be a lot cuter if I dropped some of this weight I gained (thanks Hashimotos...) but it's still pretty cute. At least I don't generally see me from that angle!

Jeans: Henry & Belle
I love the shade of khaki on these, though honestly with the top, I think a slightly less yellowy color might be better. Henry & Belle jeans dance on the boarder of being jeggings because they're so soft and stretchy. I'm a big fan!

Shoes: Sperry Top Sider
These shoes are right on the mark with colors though! If the pants were the same beige as the shoes, they'd be perfect.

Belt: Swanky Saddle
I've seen a few companies doing things with this equine themed LOVE depiction. I bought a hoodie from one of those Facebook ads awhile back, and when Swanky Saddle made the belt buckle, I HAD to get one. I thought "love" tied in well with the pretty floral print.

Arm Party!
Lefty:
Lefty continued the horsey theme with my Gucci bit bracelet and this rein bracelet that's also from Swanky Saddle. It's adjustable, and the clasp/button has a little rhinestone in it. Super cute!

Righty:
Righty went a little horsey and a little feminine, all tied up with a little no worries! The horse shoe nail is a new edition to the Swanky Saddle line (they need to stop making cute things, cause I have no impulse control), the pearl bangle and the Hakuna Matada bangle are both by Adeline Quinn Co by way of Zulily.

It was pretty warm last night for my ride, so I thought it was time to break out the pastels:

Someone looks pretty fancy here... and it's probably not the lady dressed like an Easter egg.
Did I fail to mention the helmet I ordered to match my incoming purple boots? Oops. Well, you couldn't have expected anything less, did you? Honestly, I think it was a wise investment, because it will be cooler on sunny summer days.

Helmet: Charles Owen GR8
Did you guys know you can still get custom GR8's? I thought they were done with them, replaced by the AYR8, but no! These are less expensive and have a few more color options. I got this one from a British company on Ebay.

Top: Um... I'm forgetting who makes this shirt right now...
You've seen it before though, so feel free to scroll the archives if you're dying to know. It's mint and lavender, so pretty much a perfect polo.

Belt: C4
I had ordered this belt with a gray buckle, but decided to grab this purple one from another belt to tie the outfit together a little more. I think it looks cute!

Breeches: Ariat
Tack of the Day had these Ariat breeches on sale for under $40 a few weeks back. I recently purged my old pair that were a similar color since you know.. chubby. So I was happy to add the color back into my wardrobe. I forget which model these are, but they're very comfy. I wouldn't mind having them in another color too.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers
Best way to finish off this outfit? Purple Unicorns, DUH! I wore my old faithful Regal boots which you've seen a thousand times, so I'm sharing my socks today instead!

And that's what I'm wearing today! What do you have on? How's the weather where you are? Any favorites from today?