Well... I had hoped to have my super awesome boots here for this week's Thursday's Threads. But alas, they didn't make it. BUT they will be here later today, so I'm STUPID excited. Outfit day is light this week my friends. Sometimes that happens. Anyway, here's what I wore to ride yesterday:
It's getting to be that time of year that I start out in a tee shirt, but honestly, by the time I finished with ride #2 last night, I was cold! Ugh! (To be fair, it was still in the 70's... But I could have used some sleeves!)
Helmet: One K Avance
I wore my wide brim helmet last night. This one has rose gold accents and probably the helmet I wear the most right now.
Tee shirt: I can't remember which brand this is from
I think this shirt sums me up quite well. I've never been known for having the best eye... but I've been pretty successful at making the bad spots work out. Lol. Fake it till you make it right?
Belt: Mane Jane
I wore the light gray Mane strap with the gunmetal buckle.
Breeches: Ovation Aqua-X
You know? I really like these breeches for the summer. They're super lightweight, and they're very comfy. They don't sag like the Pipers. Definitely would recommend them.
Boots: Celeris UK
These were my very first pair from Celeris. I kept these fairly calm, obviously, but I really do love them. They're completely broken in at this point, and I can't say a single negative thing about them.
The horses didn't really match my outfit this week, except for their boots. So that's what I'll share from them:
Eros
Shiny
These are one of the new colors we got from Punk Ponies! So yes, to recap my shipment from Punk Ponies in New Zealand arrived faster than my boots from the UK. Just sayin'. I should have grabbed a close up, but they're black base with silver and gold sort of plaid accents. Love them, and they will match so many outfits!
Good news! My boots have finally cleared customs, so hopefully I'll have them in a few more days. Still super lame they're taking so long. But I'm just glad they're on their way! Also, follow up on those random Staples orders sitting on my front stoop... They're still there! Staples never came for them! Guess I need to call again. Now on to horse stuff!
If you recall, Princess Shiny was having sassy maritude problem last week.
I really felt like it was attitude and not a physical problem, but you never really know that for sure, right? So I let her take the lead for a few days. Wednesday I let her spend the entire ride trotting. 30 minutes of trotting. It was boring. But she didn't kick out! She gave me some attitude if I asked for more trot, sometimes blatantly ignored me, and occasionally tried to drop down to the walk. I'm calling it a "Compromise Ride" as we both gave an awful lot but neither of us fully got what we wanted. The next evening I suggested canter, but didn't demand it. She offered it up one direction but not the other. I accepted that answer, but made her really work at the trot. So I won a little, but not all the way. And same for her. Mares. You gotta give to get some days. On Friday, I kept the pressure off at the trot, letting her plod around with her head up if she wanted, but I demanded the canter both directions. She complained, yes, but she did it.
Normally Saturdays are our jump school days. I was on the fence whether I wanted to jump, but I know how much she enjoys it. I thought skipping it might not help our cause so I decided to do something a little different this Saturday. I set up some very small gymnastics for her with the plan to just work on those. The "jumps" were so teeny they wouldn't stress her body but they should get her mind working and focused on something. (Pivo and I had a little disagreement this day and I somehow recorded nothing, but thankfully I had propped the ipad up in the barn for backup video.)
I've never actually taken her through any gymnastics. She may have done them prior to moving here, who knows? I'm calling these her first gymnastics though, and she was great! She went right through everything I pointed her at. After going back and forth through the one stride a bunch of times I decided to play a little with some direct lines across the diagonal "jumps". Just for fun and to see how she'd react to something a little different than she's used to. Again, the obstacles were itty bitty so she could easily step over if things didn't go well. But she just locked right on and went right through. Total star! She wasn't super motivated, and there was a lot of breaking to the trot when we weren't aimed at fences. But I was so thrilled her with efforts over jumps I didn't get too demanding. Sunday we took a bareback toodle and then grazed for awhile. I think the easier week capped off with the easy day was just what she needed as her attitude has been improved so far this week. Thank goodness!
Eros has "Eros Wild" days still but he's been quite good otherwise. If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen this already, but I still think it's hilarious so I have to share here too. He saw or smelled or heard (I have no idea, my senses picked up nothing...) something in the woods the other evening. He wanted SO BADLY to turn and run, but he was trying very hard to be a good boy. And this is what we got:
I just think this is hilarious. I mean... that lean!
Anyway, he's working on more of the same. He'll be due for another re check soon, and after that I expect to start working more at the canter, including asking him for some shape at that gait. I've been letting him just do his own thing at the canter right now, but it's pretty inverted and not very organized. Our focus right now is at the trot and also on the trot poles to get him stronger behind. I set some individual raised poles around the ring this week instead of having them set like trot poles... It backfired on me a little as he kept jumping them. Oops. Doc had said it's okay if he did some little raised poles and landed in canter, so we'll just say that's what he did... He's no worse for the wear so I'm not worried about his "jumping". I still had poles trot poles set at one end of the ring, and he did those nicely.
I'm happy with how things are going with him. I'm not sure if he feels more sound or not. He'll never be 100%, we knew this when we bought him. But I do think he's getting stronger, and he's getting his focus back (most days.) I think he'll be happier when he gets to jump a little too.
Not too much to report on Pammon unfortunately. Our vet was moving into their new facility this week, so he won't be here until this Friday. 3 weeks after the initial injury. Ugh. Maybe we'll get lucky and Pammon will just magically be all better by then? Cross your fingers friends. In the meantime, we've been doing our hand walks. And I got him a new stall toy which he's pretty excited about.
It's a unicorn rope toy. There's a squeaker in it, but he hasn't found that yet. I can't wait until he does! He's been weirdly good for his walks. I'm not complaining... it's just weird!
In other news, I got braid a horse this weekend! It wasn't my best work for a couple of reasons. First, I haven't braided since last year. But also this horse's mane was SUPER long and thin.
I would have liked to shorten it way up, but I wasn't sure if the customer wanted me to. So I just did the best I could with what was there.
It was nice getting to be on my ladder again. I felt safe being at a different barn because I was there late and didn't see a single human. I did have a mask with me though in case someone came in for night check.
And that's about it from here. Did you all have a good week?
I don't have any major confessions today, but I have a few random things to share. First, and don't worry I didn't take photos, but I went to put oil in my car Sunday and you know what I found under the hood?? Rat shit. Yes. That's right. A FUCKING RAT had been under my hood. Disgusting. I hope it didn't do any damage.
Next up. I have AMAZING boots coming from Celeris. They shipped. They should have gotten to me Friday. BUT THEY DIDN'T. They're sitting in limbo at JFK. Supposedly. No tracking updates since 12:01 AM on Thursday. It's a special kind of torture let me tell you. I'm hoping they will just magically appear on my doorstep today or tomorrow. But UGH! Can you imagine if that they are lost?! There would be tears.
First world problems I know. I'm really grateful I'm not in CA right now which is on fire, nor in the Gulf region that's getting hit with DOUBLE Hurricanes. Climate change you guys. It's real. I hope you're all safe in those areas!
Outfit Day!!! I kept it green again this week, but I toned down the excessive logos this time. I mean, there still there... but not so many.
See? You can't even see any of them from here!
Helmet: Charles Owen
Greenie! I love him. I hope Charles Owen comes out with custom options for their MIPS helmets. Would love to get a safer version of greenie.
Shirt: EquestrianAF
Shiny does not agree with this tee shirt. But it's still very accurate.
Belt: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks
I still love this belt so much. I kind of want lead ropes. And dog collars... And I REALLY want the hunt coat with the Boy O' Boy trim on the collar. But it's stupid expensive.
Breeches: Tailored Sportsman
I hate to see stores go out of business. Especially tack stores which are getting fewer and fewer. But when that does unfortunately happen, I don't hesitate to grab TS breeches for $100 or less. Just saying.
Boots: Fama 4 All
Spur Straps: Mane Jane
Um... I kinda forgot I had these. They're barely even broken in. Oops. I really like how these came out, but I was bummed they made a small error. The toe cap was supposed to be the same leather as the heel and cuff.
Arm Party!!!
Lefty:
Lefty is donning all the tech along with my slow twist bracelet from Loriece.
Righty:
Righty is donning this wide Boy O'Boy Bracelet. I really wanted my logo on it, so I got the wide one, but I kind of wish I had just gotten the narrow instead. It's a bit bulky.
Shiny's Outfit:
She's just the cutest thing, isn't she? I wish I hadn't stood her half in a shadow though.
Bridle: Shiva by QHP
Browband: Dark Jewel Designs
Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Mattes
Boots: Equestrian Stockholm
That shadow again... These are green, I swear! So just a note on these boots if you ever are considering a pair: The elastic on the straps is a single piece and very stretchy, so you have to make them fairly tight or they will slide down. Most boots have the elastic doubled up, which I prefer. It's not a deal breaker, but I don't love that about them.
Eros' Outfit:
He's so handsome, I almost can't stand it! His bridle doesn't match his outfit, so we'll skip that part for him today. I only have one of his bits at the moment and it was getting late so I didn't want to switch it.
Saddle: Hermes
Baby Pad: Dover embellished with the Cricut
Half Pad: Mattes
Next time I think I'd like the brown half pad with this outfit. But the green was more accessible yesterday. I think the logo came out cute with the brown horse. Maybe next time I'll make the ribbon blue? What do you think?
Boots: Equestrian Stockholm
So that's what we wore to ride last night! Any favorites? Do you have any favorite equine brands that I should check out?
Not a whole lot to report this week really. I'm still waiting on doc to come see Pammon, but he does seem to be walking a bit better, so hopefully whatever he did is on the mend? We've been walking in the mornings before work.
Eros has actually been a good dude this week. Though, funny story... He likes to spook by the pine tree next to the ring. I've been streaming "How I Met Your Mother" on my phone while I ride from my phone. I just leave it in my pocket and listen while we work. I let it play through the phone speakers. Anyway, he was being super relaxed last night, and JUST as I was about to canter past the scary tree (most days we come back to trot past that area but I was feeling brave), the people on the show started screaming. Scared the poo out of poor Eros! Lol. My bad. Thankfully he was over it quickly and it didn't mess with the rest of our ride. We're still plugging away at our trot poles, though this one time he wasn't paying attention...
Maybe I'll stick to posting for now. Here's the longer video of our ride from that day.
And Shiny... Oh Shiny. We're going through something. I'm not sure what exactly. I can't decide if I need to back off and let her have an easy week, or if I need to push through and get after her. Here's what's been happening.
We did a jump school over the weekend that wasn't stellar. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't great.
From watching the videos I KNOW I'm a significant part of the problem. But we're definitely going through some stuff. On my end, I'm for sure pulling too much, and locking up my elbows. I know this about me. Always been a thing. (I'm trying to fix it! It's just taking some time...)
But on Shiny's end we have a few issues. Her responses to my aids are... intermittent. If that makes sense. Like, she does listen fairly well to a half halt, but at the same time, I have trouble pulling her up. So I can slow down, but I can't stop. And the leg? She listens well to my leg, but only when we're jumping. On the flat? Psh. Forget it. She's always been lazy and a bit obstinate. But lately she's just giving me the equine finger. And last night she flat out refused to canter. I did finally get some canter out of her, but she was kicking out any time I put my leg on to keep her going. I palpated all over her back when I got off and she's completely non-reactive. Legs all look good. So I don't think it's a physical issue. I think she's just feeling a little sour. I'm just not sure if I need to be assertive and get through this, or if I need to back off a little and get her in a better head space. Mares. They're so tricky! We went through almost the same thing last year, but I honestly don't remember what got us through it.
Here are some clips from our jump school. I just strung together the actual jumps so you can't really see our issues here. But they're really not jumping related I don't think. She definitely enjoys that part!
And because I am not one to hide the ugly, please enjoy this clip of me not trusting we'd make it out of this line... (From two angles)
So that's what the tall kids have been up to this week! The short kids are doing well. They haven't done anything fun in awhile because it's been too hot for puggers to play outside. It's starting to cool off already though, so we'll get back to playing outside soon. Artie and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on Friday! Seven years with him! I hope we get at least 7 more.
And the last bit of news... Remember the Celeris boots I reserved at xmas time but didn't order until May? Well... they're on a plane right now!!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THEM TO GET HERE!!!! Look:
I know! Amazing. So unicorn. I've been tracking them like 100 times a day.
And that's really it from here this week. How about you guys? Horses being agreeable? Any thoughts on when to push and when to back off?
I've been SO GOOD about not buying crap lately. Like really. Very good. At least for me. But I've been waiting to get Shiny a holo bridle (I already have a horse sized one) and it finally came back into stock. So obviously, I also had to buy some other things to make the shipping from New Zealand worthwhile. Let's just say the equine will have some well decorated legs soon. In a few colors. Oops. I just can't help myself around Punk Ponies limited edition boots.
Speaking of spending lots of money... When doc was out prior to Pammon injuring himself again, he was concerned about the Voltaire's fit. It doesn't seem to be working for Pammon. (It also doesn't work for Eros.) And we all know my beloved Hermes really no longer fits me. So clearly, I need to get moving on a new saddle. But then I realized, how does one try saddles when one doesn't have a horse that jumps? I wouldn't want to buy a saddle with jumping in a test model first since I do plan to someday jump again. Unfortunately, I didn't come to this realization until after briefly chatting with an Hermes saddle fitter. She agreed I should wait. And I guess it's fine since Pammon isn't getting ridden right now anyway. (Doc didn't make it out last week, so no updates yet, sorry guys!) I guess it's actually good news sort of? I don't have to buy a saddle yet? Lol. Ugh. Sheesh.
In any event, I'm going to sell the Voltaire and I also have an extra (also too small) Hermes saddle to sell. (I'm keeping my beloved one. I can't let him go.) Just debating where to send them as I don't want to deal with selling them on my own I don't think.
Outfit Day!!! And it's Shark Week! You all know I love a good theme. Full disclosure. I don't actually watch Shark Week. I'm just here for the outfit. I don't have an arm party to share this week. Mostly out of laziness. Hey, I'm nothing if not honest.
Helmet: One K Defender
This is the navy snakeskin model. I'm sad they don't make these anymore.
Shirt: Modcloth
I thought for sure this top would be trashed after walking/grooming Pammon in the morning and then doing the horses in the afternoon. It was so humid and hot I was basically sweaty all day. But somehow, the shirt came through okay. It's definitely dirty, but I think it will live to see another day.
Belt: C4
I love this shark belt. Especially that guy on the left that's staring out at us.
Breeches: RJ Classics
I went with blue breeches to resemble the ocean. OBVIOUSLY!
Socks: Dreamers and Schemers
These are the old school D&S socks. Before they had the better material ones. I've kept them around since they are pretty awesome.
Boots: DeNiro Salentino
Spur straps: Mane Jane
DeNiro Salentino are still the most comfortable boots. I really need to get the black ones fixed. I went back and forth on which ones to wear, and almost went with the gray Celeris. But these went better with the helmet.
That's what I wore, but the horses dressed accordingly too. Shiny's outfit didn't have any sharks because her saddle pads are too expensive to be themed. But she wore shark gray:
Bridle: Camelot
Browband: Boy O' Boy Bridleworks
Boots: Premier Equine
Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: FSS
Eros went with the theme though, thanks to Cricut!
Bridle: M. Toulouse
Browband: Boy O' Boy Bridleworks
Bit: Sweet Billy's
Boots: Punk Ponies
Saddle: Hermes Essentielle
Saddle Pad: no name baby pad with Cricut decor
Half Pad: Ippico
It took my awhile to find the right image for the saddle pad, but I think I chose a winner. Especially with the water done in glitter. Very realistic... Lol
Well, that's it from here. Any favorites from today? Any themes you want to see?
