Thursday's Threads

 

The last few weeks were a lot, so I toned it down a little today. Gotta class it up a little here and there, right? Ha! Anyway, here's what the horses wore this week:

Shiny would definitely be that pony in the model that just refuses to stand up nicely. Eros, however, has the confirmation stance almost down perfectly.

Bridles: Joseph Sterling
Browbands: Dark Jewel Designs

Eros sometimes bites his tongue just like Jampy used to do. Horses are weird.

Saddles: Shiny-Custom Saddlery, Eros-Butet
Saddle Pads: Shiny-no brand Eros-Smartpak

Eros Halfpad: Ippico

I can't recall the brand on Shiny's pad, which is unfortunate because I really like it. I got it from Ebay awhile back. The pad itself is a little lighter weight than the PEI pads and the Mattes pads, which is nice for this time of year. And the sheepskin part is really nice too. Eros' baby pad was a gift from a very good friend of mine. I like that they are classy black, but still have a little green. 

Boots: Shiny-Punk Ponies, Eros-Premier Equine

I didn't realize Shiny didn't have any plain black boots until I was trying to dress them this week. She's a little tough to find boots for because often times pony are too small, but then small horse can be too big. It's very hit or miss. The Punk Ponies pony size fits her perfectly though! Eros can be an odd fit also. He has relatively short cannon bones but his legs are wide. So while medium is the perfect height, in some brands they don't fit around. The PEI boots fit him great though in size medium. 

Okay, my turn! Here's what I wore:

Shades of gray mostly. Muted colors, but still fun! And I added some orange to liven things up. 

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS wide brim

I really like the new wide brim MIPS helmets from One K. You do have to order the rose gold front shield separately if you want it, but it's a small add on charge and I think it was worth it. Love this helmet with my matching boots!

Tee: Mare Goods

Mare Goods always has the cutest prints! I'm not sure who their artist is, but I just love their artwork. They have some new ones out now too that are adorable. This is an older one though. 

Belt: C4 for Mare Goods

I actually bought this belt to leave in Florida awhile ago, but haven't been back since... might as well wear it! Plus it matches my shirt.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I had some regrets with this breeches choice because they are not ideal 90 degree weather pants. But generally speaking, I do like my TS breeches. They just fit me the best. 

Socks: Mare Goods

Had to stick with the Mare Goods theme, right? 

Boots: Celeris UK

I know you guys have seen these a ton, but now they have a matching helmet so I had to share them together. Plus, they're still so pretty!

That's it for today! Any favorites?

What's Up Wednesday

 

It was a lovely week here, though a bit steamy...

Shiny after literally a 15 minute flat ride. Poor abused pony.

My cousin who lives in Japan was visiting NYC for two reasons. First, his oldest son who goes to boarding school here in the states is looking at colleges. The second reason is that vaccination roll out is pretty terrible in Japan, so he came back for his shot. They were visiting Yale on Thursday, so we planned a visit for that afternoon. It's so nice that travel is getting back up and running so we can see family again! 

The horses got to see their bodyworker on Monday and both got really good reports! Neither had any issues related to saddle fit. 

Eros had his usual stuff, but much improved from the last visit. And our doctor commented on his coat and general condition looking better. I haven't been happy with his topline so we talked about sharing some of Shiny's ration balancer with him to see if that helps. Shiny didn't have much off at all and doc felt that her neck was in much better shape than ever before. So all good news! Yesterday, when I asked her to pick up trot, she actually trotted off straight instead of bulging through her left shoulder. I'm not naive enough to think that will last, but it was lovely to experience at least once!

Otherwise, the horses have had a good week. We haven't been working super hard since we're in the midst of a five day heat wave. Thankfully Friday wasn't too hot though, because both horses earned themselves a lengthy ride. Eros was just being spooky for no good reason, but he did humble up pretty quickly. He's no dummy. Shiny on the other hand... We had a back to basics sort of ride. All I wanted from her was a circle in each corner at the trot. And she could NOT get it done. You guys. It took us an hour to get to a decent stopping point. AN HOUR. Of trotting circles. It was exhausting. Ponies. She did end in a good place though, and I really think the lesson stuck with her as she was jumping a lot better the next day. Both horses had a short and sweet jump school Saturday. Both were pretty good. Eros even got to jump a 2'6" vertical! Moving on up! (Shiny did the 2'3" oxer! Mountains! We're jumping mountains! Or maybe ant hills. Whatever.)

2'6"! There are actual divisions we could show at this height!

2'3"! And I'm happy to report it was easy for her from both the
good spot and the tight one. So 2'6" will likely be in her future.

Since both horses are going nicely over fences for the time being, I figured it was time we start re introducing related distances. Thus, Monday I moved all the jumps around for a new course. 

We won't start playing with it until Thursday this week though, as they are getting their feet done today. Plus the heat. Tomorrow should be cooler. I set up mostly single fences again, but also a four stride line on the outside. I set it for the horse stride, and Shiny can do the add. Also, for the first session, I set the jumps super low so we can trot in and canter out to get started. I just want everything to be unexciting and easy as we move along. I'm all about minimizing my own anxiety and setting us all up for success. So far it's been working so hopefully it will keep on!

Sunday was a funday in which we did a 15 minute bareback/sidepull walk and then went out for snackies in the side yard. 

despite having delicious grass available, Eros prefers to
eat as close to the barn as possible. Which is mostly weeds. 
Weirdo.

Pammon is acclimating well out in his field with his buddy. Though he is being a little pushy with his friend. The first day they were thick as thieves:

But ever since then Pammon chases his friend away when I come to visit. And his friend quickly leaves, so I do think Pammon is being a little bit of a jerk. His friend doesn't have any marks on him or anything, so I don't think anyone is getting hurt, but it does make me sad they aren't best friends. They both seem happy enough in general though, so maybe it's just me that it bothers. Am I THAT mom now? Pammon's buddy has stood up for himself at least, as evidenced by this bitey face mark on Pammon:

I'm confident he asked for that. Lol!

I did braid one pony last weekend, so I am sort of earning my keep around here:

And I have a bunch for this weekend coming up. Definitely glad this side gig is a thing! There is a pretty serious braider shortage around the country so if I really needed I can pick up a lot of work. Most of it isn't local though which is tough with the farm. Nice to have the option though! 

The most exciting part of the week though?? 

The Snack Shack is open for the season! The first day I went though, I was told they were struggling to find lobster and didn't have any. Can you believe it?! No lobster? Fortunately, he sent me a text on Saturday that they were back in lobster roll business. THANK GOODNESS! All is right in my world once more. 

 

And lastly, I finally found a pool company that would both answer their phone and are available to open/service my pool. So after two years of being closed, it is scheduled to open today. It will take a few visits to get it useable I'm sure. Assuming everything is in working order... But I'm excited to get it going again. It's long past time as shown by the eco system living on the cover right now:

Did you all have a good week? How's the weather where you are? (Not you TX, I know you're soggy!)

Truthful Tuesday

 

An interesting side effect to being "retired" is that I'm having trouble finding my groove for the day to day. I suppose the big bonus to not being tied to a desk for 8 hours a day is that I can do whatever I want with my days. Which sounds amazing, and for the most part really is. The issue though? Well it's me. I thrive on schedules and order. I'm just having a little bit of that feeling of being out of sorts because my days aren't all identical anymore. Part of that is that I've been a little busy between the horses and taking care of all the many, many appointments that didn't happen in the last year due to covid. These things really add up! Mostly dr stuff and house maintenance stuff. That sort of thing. I've come to be much more reliant on my calendar that's for certain! And on the days when I don't have any extras scheduled, I just have this feeling of forgetting something. Or not doing something. You know what I mean? 

I've grown so comfortable with every day being the same that it's kind of uncomfortable having them all a little different. But I think it's a good thing! I will, however, be really glad when all the extras are caught up. Especially getting my hair fixed... I really need to get that scheduled!

Thursday's Threads... another one with too many logos

 

Outfit Day again! It was time to break out all the logo gear again, so enjoy this ridiculous outfit today... Here's what we all wore:

I'll start with the horses's outfits today.

Bridles: Joseph Sterling
Browbands: Dark Jewel Designs
Bonnets: Equine Star

I hadn't actually used any of my Equine Star Bonnets until yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they fit. The ears are stretchy and fit snug, but in a good way. Often bonnets seem to have way more ear than my horses do but these don't. (Okay, not true for Shiny... girl can fill out a bonnet...)

Saddles: Butet on Eros, Custom Saddlery on Shiny
Saddle Pads: Equine Star on Eros, Mattes on Shiny

Eros' Half Pad: Mattes

Equine Star will make pretty much any pattern or image you can come up with into a matchy set, so obviously I had to get my logo done. I ordered these sets awhile back and honestly have no idea why I haven't used them for Thursday's Threads until now. Better late than never!

Boots: Equine Star

I just think boots with my logo all over them are pretty fantastic... Also, I initially made a typo on "fantastic" and wrote fabtastic... I think that might be a useful new word. These are FABTASTIC! And yes, the straps are glitter!

Okay, my turn!

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS

My wide brim One K helmets arrived yesterday (this isn't one of them though). I got the black and rose gold and the navy with rose gold. But I swapped out the rose gold on the navy for a lighter blue to be my helmet at the boarding barn in their colors (Stepmom's horses will be there soon and I can ride them, so it's useful still). I had planned to use the rose gold rail from the navy helmet on this one that I already had. So I could have green and (rose) gold on this helmet. But I'm thinking I kind of want the rose gold front plate instead of the green on here now. What do you think? Should I swap out that triangle piece in front with rose gold? Or maybe black for that piece and just have the top and rails in green/gold? I dunno, I'm just not sure I love it the way it is right now. Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments...

Tee: ArtsCow

Heh.... so ArtsCow is this place in China that will print whatever you want on pretty much any clothing item. So like Equine Star but for humans. I've had other stuff from them on here before. And yes, I have lots of clothing items with my logo on it. I'm super weird. I am who I am.

Belt: Zazzle

Zazzle is a company here in the US that will also put your logo or whatever on all kinds of fun stuff. I may or may not have gotten nail stickers from them with this print too. I may require an intervention. But anyway, this belt and buckle are super fun! The belt is reversible and has that smaller repeat print like the buckle on the other side.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I snagged these brown TS breeches on Poshmark for a great deal. I spend all my money on custom crap, so second hand TS breeches are kind of my jam.  

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers
Backless Sneakers: ArtsCow

Lol. Shut up. I love them.

Boots: Fama-4-All

The Fama boots are not the same quality as the Celeris. The leather is definitely not as nice, but even still, these boots are probably my favorites. I mean... my logo is cut out of them. That's pretty amazing. They also cost less than the Celeris, so if you ask me, you are getting way more than you're paying for, and I would recommend them for beautiful customs on a tighter budget. They are, unfortunately, a bit too big these days, but I could always wear thicker socks if that became a problem. Coolest boots ever.

And that's it for today! Any favorites?  And seriously, opinions on changes to the helmet are appreciated.

What's Up Wednesday

 

It wasn't a particularly exciting week around here, but it wasn't a bad one either. I have been jumping Wednesdays and Saturdays for the last few weeks, and like that schedule. But it rained nonstop all weekend which was expected, so I moved the Saturday jumping day to Friday instead when it was a beautiful day. I rode Eros first. 

Guys! Look! This brief moment in time, my hands are not in my lap.
Though my reins are still too long... I am who I am.

It had dropped 20 degrees in temp since our Wednesday jump ride, which might invite Eros to be a wild pony, but he was actually quite good. A wee bit more strong than I'd prefer maybe, but very rideable so I'll take it! 

This one is only 2' (obviously) but he jumped it great!

2'3" oxer, we're almost modified adult ready...

I put a couple of the jumps up another hole to 2'3" so we're really going places! Lol... Baby steps my friends. I know it probably seems ridiculous to be excited about 2'3" when we used to jump around at 3'3", but it's been a long road. I want to make sure he stays rideable and, most importantly, sound. And I'm also just wanting both of us to feel confident. So here we are, celebrating 2'3"!

Here is a little clip:

I was also looking forward to jumping Shiny around Friday, but alas... my neighbor ruined it.

I have no idea what he actually did, but I think he was pruning the greenery along our shared tree line. It sounded like he shook a tree. I didn't end our ride there, but she was super distracted so I opted not to jump. I'm not on any sort of tight schedule, and when you're jumping alone, you have to think a little extra about safety. At least I do. She DID get to jump on Wednesday though! AND we jumped our first official 2'3" vertical. (It's possible we've done the height before at the other barn, but I'm not positive. This time, I'm positive.)

I was expecting her to feel a little challenged and give more effort, but she really just cantered over it. It's nice to know it's easy for her, even with her giant old lady human aboard. Maybe we'll jump around 2'6" yet! I think it's just about time to set up some grids for her. I'd like to see if I can get her to use herself a little more and get more round in the air. Might not happen... but it's worth working on. I may wait until trainer gets back since that's something that's easier with someone assisting from the ground.

Here's a clip of her too:

We were rained out all weekend. It did stop for a little while Saturday evening, and I ALMOST decided to ride. But the ring was pretty wet and it was 48 degrees and I was like... eh.... nope. Sunday it never stopped raining. So they wound up with two full days of vacation. Monday was still pretty chilly and they were both kind of awful. Understandable so I didn't argue. Just rode through it the best I could and called it a day. I let them each have a free lunge before riding yesterday and they were MUCH better. Shiny didn't even spook when the neighbor drove his lawn mower through the woods... (Seriously dude.) 

Pammony pony had his move outdoors mildly delayed with the weather. But yesterday he spent his first night out in a paddock next to his new buddy so they could get to know each other. I think today they'll move to their shared field where they'll have a run in shed and plenty of grass to eat. I haven't heard from the barn, so I'm assuming the night went well. I'll go over and visit him later today after I ride. 

In other news, the Custom Saddlery rep came out on Monday to check the fit for Shiny and replace my billets (yay!). Guys, she's also a Master Saddle Fitter, and has this fancy rig:

She mostly works in the dressage world, but is also very knowledgeable about jumping saddles. She marveled at Shiny's shape... lol. Who doesn't. But the best part? She said my saddle fits her quite well, and didn't want to adjust the fit at all. She did add just a bit of flock to one area (on both sides) where there just wasn't any left, but otherwise she only needed to change out the billets. She said the saddle is probably 15 years old but it's in great condition. She even said to call her if I ever want to sell it. I was so grateful she could swap the billets right there in my driveway and I don't have to ride Shiny bareback for the next month. Ha! I rode in it yesterday for the first time, and it felt great. Yay! I'm going to have her back if/when Pammon gets back to work. I'd like her to check his saddle too. I didn't have her look at Eros' saddle since he had such a good report from the body worker last time. The fitter agreed, if it's not broke, don't fix it!

That's about it from here. How was your week? Do anything fun? Avoid the rain?

Truthful Tuesday

 

Well... this is embarrassing... So I've had a sore thumb on my left hand for some time now. I thought it was from how I have to lift up Pammon's saddle to get it on my saddle rack at the boarding barn. (I have a top rack there, and I am not top rack height.) But I haven't used his saddle in weeks, and the thumb has remained sore. It was only yesterday that I realized how I actually keep injuring it... 

Yes, that's right. I keep hurting my thumb by smacking my pony. Perhaps it's time I switch to a dressage whip.