Truthful Tuesday: The one with the new beginning

 

So I was planning to post a hilarious story about how my "County" saddle I got for Shiny is actually a Custom Saddlery saddle. True story. I totally made up that it was a County. No one ever suggested that. Lol. Whatever it is, it fits her and she likes it so it's fine. 

It's the widest thing I've ever seen.

(But if you know anything about them, would love to know more! Like, are they decent saddles? Or does my little backyard pony really just love cheap stuff?) So anyway, that's that story. 

But my real news today is that my "position was eliminated" at my job today... so I'm fun-employed now. I knew it would happen eventually. If you've been around awhile, you know that I work for a company that my Dad built, and I was a partner in. We sold 5 years ago and I stayed on. I was the last of the family to remain. I went from being a partner that helped out in many different roles (my main gig was sales though) to being sales/customer service. My title was then downgraded to solely customer service but they weren't able to cut my pay because of my contract. So I was massively overpaid for my role. To be fair, my actual duties never changed, just my title... so good luck to everyone taking over my stuff! 

So... that's it. I have no real life plan so I guess I should start thinking about that stuff. I'm regretting my impulse buying three new pads from Premier Equine this weekend (they brought back the wool pads in new colors... and one is GREEN!) but whatever. I got an okay severance package so I can still afford them. 

Fear not though, Thursday's threads will be plenty entertaining in the weeks to come. I have plenty of stuff you all haven't seen yet. And I'll just have to work "fun outfits" into my budget plan moving forward. I mean, clearly, I have my priorities straight!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit day! Kind of a short one today, but as spring starts to throw teasers around up here, hopefully Thursday's Threads will start to liven back up soon. 

I'm wearing blues this week since the horses are all donning blue pads right now. Which you won't see because I forgot to snap any photos so far this week... Sorry.

Helmet: One K CCS Mips

Recycled photo, but Eros is the cutest so it's worth repeating. Obviously I went with the blue accents to match my outfit!

Sweatshirt: Horseplay Apparel

I love the details on this hoodie and wish they had come out with some other colors (hunter green especially). It has nice long sleeves and thumbholes which is always a fun bonus.

Belt: Nocona

I had hunted this belt down second hand to match my navy boots. Alas, when it arrived it was a smidge too small. Fortunately, it had a removable buckle, so I swapped out the one it came with for this horse shoe and that gave me some extra room. It fits perfectly now! I love this one, and am excited to start wearing it more.

Breeches: Ariat Olympia

I'm a big fan of the Olympia breech. They do run a little on the smaller side, so size up if you decide to get a pair. I am somewhere in between a 28 and 30 generally, but these I definitely need in the 30. 

Socks: Nobel Outfitters

I'm not the biggest Nobel Outfitters fan out there... most of their stuff just fits me weird. But I do really like their pedi socks for winter. I have some of the ovation brand and they are kind of tight and too long. But these fit great, the right height and I like the amount of stretch in them.

Boots: Tredstep

I haven't put these away just yet. It's still pretty cold in the mornings when I ride Pammon and often by evening when I ride the last one too. So they're sticking around for now. BUT you guys... we have a problem:

I wore through the stitching. BIG OL' HOLE right there (though it's not the best photo to depict that). I think it's reparable though, so I really just need to find someone who does boot repairs. I have three that need attention so it will be worth it I guess? Any suggestions on where I can send boots to get fixed?

That's it for today, Friends. I'll try and be a better blogger next week and get photos of at least one pony's outfit.

What's Up Wednesday

 

Big week over here... the vet was out Thursday, and he gave Eros the green light to start jumping! So last night we hopped over a couple tiny jumps for the first time. Guys. I forgot what a freight train he is and did not put the right bridle on him... It's funny to me how a horse that is SO broke on the flat is so different and STRONG as soon as we add jumps to our ride. No media from last night, but hopefully we'll get some next time. So excited to get going with him! In lieu of exciting media of Eros jumping, here's a photo of him in his more natural state:

Doc took a look at Pammon too, since he's clearly very back sore still. He does this horrific little shuffle when I get on, and I feel like a horrible person riding him that way. But alas, back sore horses need to work I'm told so we keep at it. Doc double checked his saddle fit and watched him move under tack. He recalled that we discussed injecting his SI a few months ago, but since the Robaxin had made such a big improvement we put it off. Now is the time though. It was late when Doc was out, so that will get done the end of this week I think. Hopefully that will have Pammony feeling 100%. Doc was also thinking he could be ulcery so we've added some Omeprazole to his diet for a little while.

We did still have lesson number 2 this past weekend though! It went fine, and we jumped a teeny bit bigger (some jumps not all), putting together a little course. We had some hiccups (homeboy can root something awful when he thinks I've waited one too many strides...) but overall it was a good lesson. Video below of our last course.

We didn't pull Shiny out for the vet since it was so late when he arrived and Pammon seemed the most urgent, but we did talk a lot about her. Since I've seen very little improvement in how she's going we decided to try treating her for Lyme. It's so common here where I live that most horses will get it at some point. And it's pretty common to have a false negative test. So far I haven't seen a difference with that antibiotic either, but it's been less than a week that she's been on it, so waiting to see... (I feel like I do a lot of waiting.) Looking forward to getting to ride her outside though, because I think she kind of hates the indoor.

I wasted a bunch of hours playing with apps the other day... 

In other news, my Celeris sample boots arrived and they are a perfect fit! Like... maybe I should use that person's measurements next time because they fit better than mine do I think.

My last bit of news is that my state has lifted restrictions on office capacity. I don't fully understand why they are making changes already when the vast majority of people still aren't eligible to be vaccinated yet. While I thought for awhile that my company cared about our well being, it seems they only cared about being compliant with state regulations. They haven't said when yet, but they are planning to bring us all back to the office soon. I let them know I have serious concerns about returning before I'm fully vaccinated, but I'm not sure if that will actually be heard. Looks like I have some decisions to make about the ol' future... Should I stay with the company and return to the office, I will have to make some changes to my riding schedule. Once the horses are home, it won't be too much of an issue since I can ride whenever I want, but while still boarding, I'm not sure how I'll get everyone ridden everyday. Might have to explore a different boarding option for next year if that's the case. More waiting to see I guess!

Truthful Tuesday: Saddles again.

 

I've always been a little old school with saddles and saddle fit. I felt that for the most part, most saddles can work just fine on most horses. And while I realize this isn't a popular opinion, generally, I still think it's true. However, I'm not so naive as to think that there aren't exceptions. Of course there are! You'll remember that last year I finally bit the bullet and got some better fitting saddles for the boys. (And me... My butt did NOT fit in my old one anymore.) I'm not sure if I've noticed a big difference in how they go in all honesty. But it is nice to know that they are comfortable in them as confirmed by my body worker and vet. 

My exception to the "most saddles fit most horses rule" has of course been Shiny. When she first arrived (nearly two years ago already!) I plopped my saddle on her only to discover it couldn't work, not even temporarily. At the time, I had my Hermes with the teeny tiny 3.5" tree. Fortunately, I also had the old PJ that I had used on Mowgli. It still wasn't wide enough, but worked for a quick first few rides with her. I got super lucky with an ebay search and found an extra wide Butet with short flaps for a ridiculously good price and that's what I've been using on her ever since.

In reality, French saddles are not shaped like British/American ponies (she's welsh/quarter horse). Not even a little. Shiny here, is basically a wine barrel with legs and a neck attached. Even this extra wide Butet isn't really quite wide enough for her. An extra wide Butet is only 5" wide. For reference, below is Pammon's wide Butet (4.5" tree) that I plopped on her to look at how the flaps hit her:

It's like the Lincoln Tunnel... You could drive a dump truck through there!

This has a slightly forward flap, so you can see where that's not ideal.

So I've been casually looking for something that would fit her. I mean, with all of our issues lately, I can't help but wonder if saddle fit is part of our problem. My realization was that nothing I like would work for her. 'Cause I love me some French saddles. The bright side to that is the saddles that would fit her tend to be a lot less expensive. So, bright side I guess?

What I needed was something round, with a 17" seat for my lady size butt, but nothing with long or forward flaps. Not exactly easy to find. I really had hoped to find something with a short flap, but also, near impossible with a 17" seat. 

I've been stalking used saddle pages on Facebook and the internet in general, and following along on all the ISO's that people post for anything similar. I promise I'm not a poacher! I only inquired if OP's passed. And finally, this past weekend, I think I've found what we've been looking for. It's not exact, but I'm hoping it will work.  It's a county with 6.25" tree.

The flap is about the same length as Pammon's which might be a little long for her (especially since this one would be sitting a lot lower thatn P's!), but it's not as forward. I hate the idea of the flaps taking up half her body, but I think a comfortable tree is probably more important. It was cheap enough that I'm confident I can resell it without losing money if it doesn't work. Also, it's wool flocked so that leaves more room for improvements too. It should be here Friday, so cross all your parts that it fits her please!

Do you have any experience with County saddles? It seems like they mostly do dressage and all purpose type saddles, but this is obviously a close contact. Hope I don't hate it. But if it fits her, I'll learn to love it, amiright?!

Thursday's Threads

 

Happy Outfit Day! I got to wear breeches that aren't corduroy yesterday since it wasn't too cold (today is though, boooooo).  So we'll do my outfit first and then we'll do Pammon's.

There will be a LOT of dog hair featured in this post. I'm such a talented blogger... hahaha!

Helmet: One K MIPS CCS

Prepare to see this photo again shortly... I don't have a helmet that matches this outfit at the boarding barn, so I just wore the green one. Probably should have used the blue one though since my breeches were blue.

Sweater: StarDream

You all remember my days of the week sweaters I started collecting at the height of lock down? I figured it was time to bust them back out. Yesterday was Wednesday, so did wear the correct sweater. Even though I'm posting on Thursday... So confusing.

Belt: Rebecca Ray

This is navy, it photographed oddly. 

Breeches: Dover Wellesley

The purple accents on these were a pretty close match to the sweater. And it felt great to ride in slightly lighter weight pants for a change! 

Socks: Betsey Johnson

Obviously these aren't boot socks. But they say Wednesday on them so I had to wear them.

Boots: Tredstep

Yes... recycled photo. It was warm enough for lighter breeches, but not so warm that I was willing to let me feet get cold. Soon I hope to wear fun boots again though!

Pammon's outfit really didn't match mine. He's needing to wear the fuzzy lined pads right now because he's gotten some rubs, so my options are limited. Shiny wears them full time, so I have a bunch that need washing before I can put them on him. I don't like to share things between horses that aren't washed. Anyway, here's what he's wearing this week:

Bridle: Camelot RCS Gold Wide noseband

Browband: Boy O' Boy Bridleworks

See? I told you the photo would be back again... I also look forward to having the horses back home fairly soon so we can wear our fun tack too! I haven't decided on a moving date yet. Waiting to see what the weather does. I'm also not positive who's coming home yet. All in good time!

Saddle: Butet

Saddle Pad: Premier Equine

Quarter Sheet: B Vertigo

This is still my favorite saddle of my current collection (retired Hermes excluded of course). It's just so soft and grippy and I love it. And as for these saddle pads? Guys, they're mostly gone from the PEI website. I don't know if they're going to bring them back in new colors (I REALLY HOPE SO!) or if they're just discontinued. I really hope they'll bring them back though. They're great pads.

Boots: Premier Equine

I like these boots a lot. Wish they came in green!

And that's it for today! Any favorites? Have any intel on what PEI is doing with those pads?

What's Up Wednesday

 

GUYS! It happened! I had my jumping lesson on Pammon this weekend! He was PERFECT! 

Okay... well maybe not perfectly perfect, we did somehow have a rail over an 18" vertical, and I definitely didn't have a very good canter... (perhaps those two things are related?) But he didn't get wild, he jumped everything calmly, and didn't spook at all. So I think that's pretty perfect. Also, I mean, how much canter do you really want to jump speed bumps? There's not much to say about the lesson. We kept it very simple, all straight lines, and like I mentioned above, the jumps were very small. I think it was the perfect start! AND I have video!

It was a nice weekend weather-wise for riding (indoors anyway, it rained all weekend, but was in the forties so was nice and warm feeling) so I think that helped set us up for success. This week has been cold again, with feels like temps in the single digits yesterday. I forgot to put Pammon down for a free lunge yesterday before I rode so he was pretty wild (35 degree temperature drops will do that). The wind was absolutely howling which is pretty scary for a horse in the indoor by himself. We did a walk trot ride on just half of the ring. 

Yesterday's weather after I finished riding Pammon... Brrr.

He had his play time this morning before our ride, but it was still pretty chilly. I'm confident the cold weather makes his back hurt because he was really funny when I got on today and he hadn't been that way while it was warm out. It's something I started feeling with him when we had that cold snap a few weeks ago. I have him on the list to see the vet about it, but I kind of think it could be more of a chiro issue. Our body worker/chiro vet is still in Florida though, so I'll take whoever I can get to see him. He gets better as he moves around so I'm not freaking about it. He IS 14, so there's bound to be some stuff we need to maintain on him.

You try to take a nice photo...

Things are same old-same old with Eros these days. He's been a very good boy with minimal spookies. He takes awhile to warm up, but one he gets moving he is giving me some AMAZING trot work. Like huge extensions that come all the way up through his withers. It feels incredible. And I can get it both directions. The canter is still full of issues going right, but I think that's one of those things we'll be working on forever. Had an interesting revelation in our lesson last night while cantering some raised cavalletti. We were doing a circle with one raised cavalletti at the 12 and one at 6, so pretty easy. To the left, it was simple. We flowed around that circle with a lovely metronome canter just popping over the rails as the came. I kept my butt in the saddle easily. To the right? Total disaster. We chipped, we landed the wrong lead, I felt like I was thudding on his back. That is, until I got into a lighter seat. Once I took my butt out of the saddle going right, everything flowed smoothly, and it was almost as nice as the left lead had been.  Weird, right? The head trainer here is very insistent that everyone stay sitting all the time, but honestly, I don't think that works on Eros tracking right. His right lead canter is kind of a hot mess, and it's very hard to sit. I think in my trying to keep my butt in the saddle I'm actually just getting in his way and making things worse. Once I gave up that fight, he was able to get his parts working better. I'll have to play around with it some more now that I'm cognizant of it and see what we get. Stay tuned I guess?

She was reaching around for an itch, but I just love this photo of her with her eyes closed.

Shinypants I **THINK** is starting to come back around to being a good pony. While the canter transitions are still a real disaster, she is starting to move off my leg, and we are achieving forward into the contact again. Not consistently. And certainly not for the full ride. But I'll take what I can get. She still will randomly kind of shut down, but like Pammon, that seems to happen more on the cold days than the warmer ones. So I think she also feels some soreness or discomfort on the very cold days. I do think she's tripping a lot less since the next injections, and I also think the thyroid meds have started to work. I have her on the list for the vet as well to see what he thinks about our little bit of progress and if there's anything else we should do to help her along. It might just be time. Or she may still need an adjustment with the meds. But I'm not a vet, so I need some guidance! I do know from my own thyroid problems that it can take along while to get the dosage just right. For me it took over a year. So I'm hopeful we'll get her back to comfortable and happy to work again.

That's about it from here this week. How are things your way? Horses good? Have any riding breakthroughs recently?

Pammon loves the goat at the boarding barn.

Truthful Tuesday

 

Um... I had a few tackcidents recently. I was supposed to be not shopping so I can pay my taxes this month. But I'm on track for that, and so I had a few little slips... Okay, not that little. Worst part? They were the things I'm not supposed to buy any more of! Namely, boots and breeches. Also bad? I bought two of each. Oops.

So first up is breeches. Karen had a pair of RJ Classic breeches in the best teal color on her insta for a great price, so of course I needed those. To be fair, it's a color I don't have. I don't have a photo though, they are currently in the mail. Sorry about that. And the other pair of breeches? Well they are amazing, and also second hand, so I feel like that makes my purchase more acceptable. Plus... how do you NOT buy these:

Why yes, those ARE tie dye Pikeurs! I've seen a purple pair floating around the sales pages on FB, and I REALLY want them, but I've only seen them in a teeny size. So when these popped up, I got really excited. And then less excited because they're a size smaller than I normally wear. The seller said they had plenty of stretch so I took a chance and they actually fit great.

So then the boots... First was a pair of boots from Epplejeck. Problem with them is they arrived and the calf is too small. BUT they don't have an elastic panel in them, so I'm going to see if I can find a boot repair place to add one. They should fit if that gets put in. Anyway, these were on sale for just over $100 so I couldn't resist. Even with the alteration, they will still be pretty inexpensive. So whatever. Here they are:

Fun right?! These were XLW so I thought they'd be wide enough, but I have enormous legs. They didn't have a size chart for the calves so it was a risk. Hopefully I can get them to work. If you have a recommendation on where to send them to get the elastic put in, let me know in the comments please!

The others I feel a little ashamed about... It was a total impulse. Celeris posted on IG that they had some sample boots available. I ALWAYS look when they have samples because they sell them for less than half price and that's just a really good bargain. They never have any that would fit me though because I'm such a weird size. Fairly long calf (for my height), small feet, large WOMANLY calves. Most people don't have those dimensions. But this time? This time there was a pair of boots basically in exactly my measurements. Plus they're the Bia boots (full laces) so I can adjust them if needed.  And they are CRAZY. Like legit, would never, ever have these made. And probably if I wasn't so excited to see my size available in a sample pair I wouldn't have bought them. They're a lot, even for me. But I did it. I ordered them right there at first sight. They're already in the mail to me. Wanna see them? Of course you do. Here you go:

I told you. They are A LOT. But I'm here for it. I might even pair them with the tie dye breeches... I mean, 2021 is really just 2020 the sequel so I think we all could use a little too much in our lives. 

So there it is. I fell off the wagon. Whatever. If you feel the need to judge me, just move along. But if you're here for it too, let me know!