Thursday's Threads: Chanukah Edition

 

Outfit Day! And it's a theme week! Eros modeled for us today so let's start with his outfit because it's super fun. 

You may recognize his outfit from last year's holiday card photo.  I felt like we needed a break from the same old Chanukah print I've shared the last several years. Plus I spent HOURS attaching all this tinsel to everything for the card photo, so I might as well get some use out of it! I have a quarter sheet too that matches, but it was warm enough not to need it. You'll also notice nakey legs. That's because of all the snow and mud. Plus we are just walking so leg protection not so necessary. 

Bridle: Generic, embellished by me

I bought this side pull from Amazon specifically to cover in tinsel. It's a braided nylon, and I think I paid $12 for it. I hand sewed all that tinsel to it and the reins. Normally Eros doesn't seem to mind my shenanigans, but I swear he rolled his eyes when he saw this monstrosity. 

Saddle: Butet

Saddle Pad: Roma, embellished by me

Half Pad: Mattes

I should have gotten a closer photo of the pad. It has gold stitching for the quilting and is really quite pretty. But the tinsel really makes it.... Ha!

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

Confession: I did not actually wear these boots to ride. I would have if the ring wasn't all mucky and gross. Instead I wore my very ancient winter Ariat paddock boots and my full chaps. Happy to report that the chaps did not damage the tinsel on my breeches.

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

Oh man, I just did a deep dive into when I got these One K helmets, and they all will be five years old this year. Looks like I need to start saving my pennies for some new helmets soon. The only one that is newer is the gray one. I wonder if mine have a little extra life in them since I rotate through all of them rather than wear them every single day. Probably not. Sigh.

Sweater: Love By Design

Technically that menorah can light up, but I scored this sweater on Poshmark, new with tags, for a screaming good deal because it's missing its battery pack and switch. So mine does not light up. But that's okay with me. I don't need lights.

Belt: C4

This belt is getting to its last legs. Most of the pattern has worn off it. But it still functions perfectly fine. I think I'll just say it's distressed, and people can think it's meant to look this way. 

Breeches: Dover Embellished by me

Can tinsel be understated? I feel like this is an appropriate amount of tinsel for holiday breeches. Not to flashy. Just enough.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

D&S started printing Chanukah socks last year. I feel as a Jewish person, it is my responsibility to be sure to purchase things like this to encourage retailers to continue making Chanukah stuff. So obviously, I bought every print they offered. This year they had a design you could customize with your horse's face. So I got a pair with Eros on them wearing his Chanukah bonnet. I was going to wear them with this outfit, but this pair was a better match.

Boots: Pioneer

I bought these off Facebook several years ago, but I don't wear them a ton because they're not that comfortable. And there was something weird with the zipper that I just finally figured out what it was. The last owner must have had the elastic panel added later, as it's on side of the zipper closer to the inside of the boot. When you buy boots that are made with the elastic panel it's usually on the other side of the zipper. This also explains why the poppers at the top are too short to snap closed. I'm not mad about it, because they wouldn't fit me without that panel, and I didn't pay much for them anyway. Other than those little things, they are really pretty boots!

So that's it for this year's Chanukah edition! Next week we'll do Christmas. I haven't decided what we're wearing for that yet though! We'll see what the weather brings, that will help guide us. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

I feel like a lifetime has passed since last Wednesday. December is a RIDE isn't it?! Aside from the usual duties at home, I've attended three holiday band concerts for my nieces, a holiday party at last year's winter barn, and I got a new part time job! Also found some time to finish holiday shopping, wrap all the presents, and the holiday cards are heading to the mailbox in the morning (I'm a little late on those). So yeah, it's been busy. Add to that a snow storm and my helper out sick Monday.... Vacation can't come soon enough!

Okay, let's back things up a little. Last week was really cold around here, but I did still manage to ride pretty much every day. Even of some of the days were walk only rides. I'll take it, better than nothing! Then Saturday was actually quite nice. I was a little late getting chores done so rides were a little short, but we were able to do all the things. Might be the last time I get to canter for awhile! Haha! 

It was supposed to end at 10am (this photo was around 8) 
but it kept going until mid afternoon. 

And then Sunday. We were supposed to get a little snow. 2-4" they said. They were incorrect. We got about 6". Enough for the plow guy to come. Which thank goodness I found one before this storm happened! I can't tell you how difficult it was to find someone. But I did, so should be all set for the season with him. 

Tools of the trade on a snowy day

As much as I dislike the snow, the horses seem to enjoy it. Well. The boys do. Shiny doesn't seem to have an opinion really. The boys both like to prance through the snow. Eros does the big trot and Al gets full on zoomies. But Al also really loves to eat the snow, and wandered around clearing all the snow off all the jumps. It was pretty cute. 

I had briefly considered riding them in the snow after chores, but the wind started to pick up and honestly I was pretty frozen. So they enjoyed a few days off after the snow. 

My worker had texted me Friday evening that he came down with a fever and I should disinfect the barn... Yeah, after I had already touched everything he touched.... But I did anyway, better safe than sorry! So Sunday evening I set an early alarm in case he was still unwell and couldn't come to work. Which good thing I did that because he called out at 6am. Totally understandable, if you're sick I don't want all the cooties in the barn anyway. But I will say, he probably had an inkling Sunday that he needed another day... could have let me know the night before. The worst part about the extra day of chores, wasn't the chores at all. It was the fact that when I went out to the barn at 7 it was 8 degrees. Not feels like 8. Actually 8. Miserable! I puttered a bit hoping the sun would warm things up a little before I put the horses out. It kind of did... It was 11 when they all got out around 8:30. They really don't seem to mind the cold too much though. They were content out there while I cleaned up inside. Since it was Monday it was their usual day off. But I wouldn't have gotten on anyway with it being so stupid cold. 

Tuesday was a little better. It got almost to 30, and the sun was out part of the day. But I opted to wait one more day to ride because starting today, we're getting temps in the 40's!! Yay! But Tuesday everyone got a good grooming, and I finally got around to conditioning and brushing out their tails. I don't really comb them out much in the summer because they're always swishing and knotting them up. Too much chance to pull hairs with all those tangles. So unless we're showing, I just leave them be. But come winter I like to keep them brushed and conditioned. I've been slacking though, it was definitely time!

Today I finally climbed aboard! I made a pretty big error last time we got shoes and forgot to get winter shoes put on, so despite it being downright warm out, we stuck to tack walking. They were all getting snow balls, Eros the worst of all because he's the only one with front shoes on. I'm not out to get anyone hurt, so we just all had nice meanders through what's left of the snow. They'll be due soon, so we'll get proper footwear then. Well. Eros will all around and Al will behind. All the rest of our feet are barefoot. 

Oddly enough, Al was the smartest in the snow. He walked carefully and calmly and only had a snowball issue once that I can think of. The other two kind of got a little panicky about the snowballs. But they did figure it out eventually. Tomorrow is another nice day, so we'll probably do more of the same. Friday will definitely be a day off for the horses though. We're supposed to get a crazy rain storm with 50mph winds... And then it will probably all freeze over night. So ice. Ice everywhere. Then it will warm up a little again, so I dunno. We'll see what we end up with. 

We're supposed to do our family Chanukah party Friday night, but most everyone else has been sick, so we may postpone that until next week. I wouldn't mind. Germs are gross.

And the last little bit of news. I am officially working very part time for Turnout HQ! I would love to interact with you all over there, so check it out if you haven't already!

How's the weather where you are? Is winter doing it's thing super early for you too? Or is it just here because I decided to stay home this winter? I'm kind of thinking it might be the second one...

Truthful Tuesday

 

Okay, so I owe you guys an explanation about the boots... These ones in case you weren't sure:

I've been very strict with myself about not buying boots, especially not customs, because I don't really have the extra money these days. (Who does?!) And I obviously have enough boots. But Celeris reached out to me personally saying they had this leather available, only enough for one pair of boots, and they thought I might be interested. And at first I was like oh that's a lot. How do I turn them down nicely? 

I mean, I love greens, as you all know, but my greens tend to be more in the hunter/forest realm than the lime/avocado range. But then I thought about my love of all things neon. And how absolutely amazing these could be if done right... And well, next thing I knew I had committed to new custom boots that are lime green. But I figured I had time to pay them off ya know? You just pay the deposit up front, so that's not so bad. I figured a few weeks later I'd pay a couple hundred more, and then it wouldn't be so bad when they finally were ready. Only they came in FOUR WEEKS! So fast! I thought for sure I wouldn't see them until around now, maybe even after the new year. Nope. FOUR WEEKS later I had these amazing new boots. And a rather sad little bank account to tackle the holidays with. But whatever. Totally worth it. YOLO right? 

Thursdays Threads

 

Outfit Day! And yes, I have the new boots for you today. Aren't you excited?? I'm gonna make you wait though because Shiny wants to go first. Here's what she's wearing:

Why yes I did have a matching saddle pad already in the arsenal!

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

Apparently she was very tired. All of the bridle photos I snapped feature her eyes closed. At least this one has her ears up! 

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: The Hangry Mare

I snagged this saddle pad from Facebook marketplace a few years ago already. But I haven't actually used it, which just goes to show that I'm not having enough neon in my life lately. I love my pads from The Hangry Mare, but I think she's out of business. 

Boots: Anatomeq

I really like these boots from Anatomeq. They are very breathable, and wash up really nicely too. 

Okay, now it's my turn and you can see the boots!

I heart me some neon. And these boots are so much nicer than the DIY ones I painted. 

Helmet: Samshield

I figured most of this outfit was loud enough, so I picked a not loud helmet for this ride.

Sweater: Ralph Lauren

I got this at the Ralph Lauren outlet near me YEARS ago. Like I don't remember how long ago it was it's been that long. It's just a cotton blend, no wool, but it's still really heavy and warm, so perfect for this time of year. And even more perfect because it matches my boots so perfectly. 

Belt: Sandy Duftler

Another Facebook Marketplace find, probably from around the same time I got the saddle pad, but possibly older. It barely fits me, but it DOES, so that's a win.

Breeches: Dover Wellesley

I really love these pants for winter. I'm really pretty broken up that breeches brands only want to use tech fabric now. Clearly only catering to the show crowd that doesn't spend any time in winter temperatures. Annoying.

And finally! THE BOOTS!

Boots: Celeris UK

LOOK AT THEM! I know they're a lot, and they're definitely not for everyone. But they are absolutely FOR ME! The heel, top, and toe are glittery which you can maybe see better here:

Kind of. Not really. It's hard to photograph. The stitching is pink to match the piping which I didn't even know was an option and I will now look into for every pair of boots ever. 

I have a shocking amount of clothing to match these which I am very excited about. Most of it is more spring/summer weight stuff but that's okay because I am NOT trashing these in the ice and snow this winter. So you might not see them again for a little bit, but you will plenty when the weather gets better.

What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew, it's been a week! Lots of little inconveniences this week. I had the Gator picked up last Tuesday because it hasn't been starting reliably when it's below freezing. I figured it probably needed a battery, mechanic though maybe glow plugs. Turns out we were both right. But the reason this was inconvenient was that they picked it up Tuesday and then didn't even have time to look at it. We are pretty dependent on the Gator here to bring the manure buckets to the dumpster and also for dragging the ring. With the cold, days we can actually successfully drag the ring are rare so for it to not be here was a little annoying. Especially since it wasn't being worked on. I can use my truck to get the manure buckets to the bin, but my drag doesn't hook up to my truck. So yeah, that was inconvenient. Thankfully, the Gator came back on Monday evening though, so we're back in business there!

Cute photo of Rita to balance out the whining

My next annoyance came on Sunday evening. I was wrapping up a 12 hour day in the barn, blowing the aisle as one does. I got about half way done and the blower started squealing and then smelled a bit like it wanted to catch on fire. Now obviously, yes I can sweep the aisle. But with the rubber pavers, you really need the blower to get the shavings and what not out of the cracks. I ordered a new blower (I use a corded one, so no fumes) and chose to get it from Lowe's because they said they could get it here for Tuesday the 9th. But alas, when shipping info came, it won't be here until this coming Monday. I've been doing a LOT of sweeping. My helper doesn't have the psychosis that I do, so I also have to sweep up after him, not just my own mess. Hopefully I'm going to have super toned arms for vacation! Sweeping the rubber floor is actually a solid workout. My apple watch always asks me if I'm running when I do it. 

Sunday stats

Oh and the biggest annoyance of the week? We had a really cold day last week, I think it was Friday? I wound up giving the horses the day off because the ground never really thawed and I had a very long to do list that was stressing me out. So I did my PT exercises in the morning, and then a little house cleaning before I took my shower. And it was cold. I had no hot water. I was not going down to my basement all damp and unclean, so turned the faucet as far as it would go on the hot side and managed a tepid shower. Then headed down to my creepy basement to see what the issue was. Fortunately it fired right up when I hit the restart button. But sheesh. Of all days to get a cold shower! It was in the teens outside! Brrr. 

Magic keep the ground unfrozen pellets

Inconveniences aside though, it really was a pretty nice week. The horses have been well behaved, and we're still riding regularly. I had put some mag down in the ring earlier last week, and it really does work to keep the ground unfrozen. Usually. It would work better if I could put it down and then drag the ring. But when I was able to get it down last week, I couldn't drag without the Gator. I should have put more down and dragged today, but I didn't have enough time. I had to be at a concert for one of my nieces this evening. And now it's raining and will hard freeze by the morning. Seriously, Mother Nature is being mad difficult this season! I'm happy to get rain rather than snow, but if it could just stay warm long enough after the rain for it to drain a little that would be really appreciated. 

I have to give Al some props as he's really been pretty consistent lately. We did have a couple days where he struggled a little last week, but I was always able to redirect him which a few months ago I couldn't. So I'm really happy with this new ability. And today he earned some big props. I wasn't able to do what I had HOPED to do today, but that's just how life goes sometimes. We had a warm day today in the 40's, so I was hoping to canter some of our little jumps with him. But alas. The wind was WHIPPING when I got on him, and The Red Hood next door was all banging and clanging and wandering around the entire ride. But you know what? Al was still really good today! We are starting to have more regular type rides versus having to do seventy five million transitions constantly. I didn't feel confident enough to try and canter the little jumps when we had two negative stimuli to deal with. But we did trot a bunch of them, and we got some quality work done at all three gaits on the flat. And he never once lost his shit. Did I lose his attention a few times? Yes. Did he need a few walk breaks to adjust his two brain cells? Sure did! But he also put in decent work, and was able to come back to me when he would get distracted. I really am seeing a change in him. And I hope I can do my part to keep this trajectory for us. 

Eros has decided he no longer appreciates rides under the lights. I mean, he'll do them, because he's Eros and he's a people pleaser. But he has feelings about it. The nice thing is, he goes very forward while he's having these feelings. The down side is that he wants to be hollow and wiggly... but still. It's FORWARD at least! One thing I've noticed while trying to figure out how to ride Al is that I'm much more cognizant of what my body is doing and which aids I'm applying when. And that's carrying over to my rides on Eros. Eros can be a heavy horse, and he wants you to do a lot of the work generally. I've been working on trying to get him softer and using my legs more than my hands to get his body doing what it should be. Some days go better than others since he's been a bit of a hand ride for a very long time... But today he really started to soften and bend his body both directions from my leg and seat while staying soft in my hand. I'm not sure if I'll be able to replicate that all the time, but it really felt like a breakthrough moment. Time will tell! 

Shiny is the same as always, which what more could you want? (I mean it would be nice if she would come out like a normal horse, but she is who she is.) I've been having to keep the rides a little short this week due to family obligations in the evenings, so by the time she's finally warmed up and willing to work, our ride is over. All good though. Today I let her pop around the little course and that seemed to make her happy. Made me happy too. Jumping is a little few and far between with cold weather and darkness. So it's nice when we can make it happen these days. 

That's about it from here. We're plugging away, doing our thing, and trying to stay warm! I really hope we keep our motivation through the winter. But if not, my house could really use some attention so it will be time well spent if I have to redirect. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession? I LOVE Little Debby Christmas snacks. I'm not even sure I can pick a favorite. They're all delicious! I've narrowed my favorites down to two: The vanilla Tree Cake and the Gingerbread man cookie. But the chocolate tree cake probably should be in there too... I haven't tried the donuts, though I'm sure they're also delicious, and I have nothing bad to say about the tree brownie either... 

So what say you? What's YOUR favorite Little Debbie Christmas snack? And if you're one of those "I would never put that processed garbage in my body" types, you can just move along. I like a little treat sometimes, okay?

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! Today's outfit isn't too crazy, but fear not, the holidays are coming! It's a little too wet and gross out to wear anything especially fun this week, but things are drying out so maybe next week will be better for a more fun outfit. Al was our model this week and here's what he was wearing:

Doesn't it look cold out? That's cause it's cold out. But we're still carrying on! I'm proud of us.

Bridle: Pinnacle

Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

It was pretty windy out. Al thought it was cool like when they use a wind machine for models. It was less cool when he had to pay attention to his work while it was windy though. 

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Mattes
Quarter Sheet: Catago

We are really loving these quarter sheets. They do produce a little bit of static when you take them off, but so far none at all while we ride. So good enough! Plus they're pretty.

Boots: Eskadron

Nothing new here, but I do love these boots!

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

Layers! I was wearing layers. And full chaps because wind.

Helmet: One K Avance CCS with MIPS

I really love my new sparkly front shield. 

Sweater: Cocogio

Vest: Old Navy

I bought this sweater several years ago solely because it was wool and it was on clearance for super cheap. I call it my Cosby sweater because I'm old. Back in my youth Bill Cosby was not yet known as a predator, but was a beloved TV dad who wore sweaters like this that were popular in the 80's. 

Belt: The Sugar Lady (Etsy)

This is the belt I had made with Rio's tail hair. It's my absolute favorite belt. 

Chaps: Journeyman
Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

Paddock Boots: Celeris UK

Ya know, I had toyed with the idea of saving up for some new full chaps, but in all honesty, I still love these so much, I don't think I want anything different. Which is great because my accidental order of the neon boots depleted my fun money. 

That's what Al and I wore this week and we stayed pretty toasty warm for our rides! Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty brutal though, so I may opt out... We'll see how the day goes.