Thursday's Threads: Storm Cloud Edition

 

Outfit Day! I chose this week's theme based on the weather. We're stuck in an unsettled weather pattern here in the northeast, and the sun hasn't been seen since Monday. Thus far, we've been lucky here and the severe weather has fizzled out before reaching our area. So it's just been a little dreary and drizzly. So how does one match an outfit to dreary weather you ask? Eeyore! Everyone's favorite sad donkey of course! Eros, who kind of resembled Eeyore when we first met him, was the obvious choice to model today. Here's what he had on:

Don't worry, you'll see better when we look at our tack more closely. And try to disregard that sad top line. We've been so inconsistent this year. It will come back!

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Browband: Homemade by me

I probably should have posted one of the many versions of this where he looked sad and dejected. But this one is too cute not to share. 

Saddle: Butet

Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Ogilvy, embellished by me

How adorable is that Eeyore trim? Eeyore is my favorite cartoon. 

Wraps: Centaur, embellished by me

I forgot to snap a photo of these pre-ride, so here they are all dirty afterwards. 

Okay, my turn! Here's what I had on:

I was planning to wear navy boots, but then they really weren't working with the shade of blue on the breeches. So went with gray instead. 

Helmet: Samshield

I recently learned that the five years maximum for a helmet actually starts at first wear rather than manufacture date, so I'm feeling even better about the great deal I got on this pretty helmet!

Tee shirt: Amazon

Awww, poor sad Eeyore. At least he's TRYING to look on the bright side.

Belt: Homemade by me

Still loving my interchangeable belt over here. I have some ideas for version 2.0, but haven't gotten around to attempting them yet. 

Breeches: Horse Pilot

I snagged these on sale some place a few years ago, and I really like them. I don't see them marked down very often though. 

Boots: Celeris UK

These weren't really the perfect match for today's outfit but they served the purpose well enough. They match public domain Eeyore (the OG) better than the Disney version. I guess I should have looked for OG Eeyore ribbons and shirts instead. Maybe another time!

That's it for this week! Any favorite items from today? Are you an Eeyore fan?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Oh man, guys, it's SEPTEMBER. I feel like this summer just passed me right by. But we still have a few more weeks of summer technically, so I'm hoping to make the most of them. And getting things done around the property is certainly productive, so even if that messes with my riding time, it's for the greater good of the farm. Or so I'm trying to convince myself anyway. This coming weekend they'll be (hopefully) finishing up the fences, so I'm not sure how much productive riding will happen. Probably none with Al if I'm being honest with myself. But for that reason, I'm making sure to make the most out of our weekday rides this week. 

Anyway, when we left off last week, Rita had gone in for her dental and had to have THREE teeth pulled. Poor baby. She was pretty swollen for a few days, but she's pretty much back to her old self now a week later. One more week until she can have her favorite chew sticks though. She's been having cream cheese on a lick pad instead which she seems to enjoy just as much. 

I only had time to ride one horse last Wednesday since I had to pick Rita up at 3:30 and then had family dinner that evening. I did Al since I always feel like he benefits most from less days off. He was awful that day though, so I think I made a poor choice! In his defense, they had a lot of days off the week before due to my being on my own and having a lot of braiding to do. Took him a few days to regulate I think. 

I wound up also giving the horses Sunday off. My town's country fair was this weekend, and I really wanted to spend some time there Sunday afternoon. So I did! Though I almost didn't. 

Saturday morning, at 7:45 the people who had been working on my fence said they would be at the farm at 8:30. But the problem with that was we didn't schedule that. And since I wasn't aware anyone would be working at the farm, I didn't get the horses out until 7:30 since I didn't think we were in any sort of rush. Which meant Shiny would have to come in after less than hour. I really wasn't okay with that. So I told him I hadn't expected him, and that he'd need to start later, after 10:30. And then I realized he would be expecting to work Sunday too which is when I had planned to just turn horses out and do chores early, then leave for the fair for the afternoon. I wouldn't do that if they were working. First because I can't turn out where they're working, and second because while these guys are very nice to work with, they can't be left unattended. And at first I just resigned myself to not getting to do what I wanted. But the more I stewed on it, the more I decided I was pretty tired of always acquiescing to other people dictating my time without consulting me at all. And also, I literally have done nothing this summer but stuff around the farm and braiding. I deserved to get to do one fun thing! So I let him know we could make Saturday work but not Sunday. He then tried to guilt me into changing my mind but I stood my ground. So they're coming this weekend instead. Hopefully they'll get it all done this weekend. Fingers crossed. 

The fair wound up being fun. I ate a baked potato and ice cream (not at the same time) and got the most delicious lime rickey with cherries. The previous lime rickey people had stopped coming several years back and this new one was here for the first time. I was so happy!

Also it was enormous.

I watched the horse pulls, saw some bunnies (I love bunnies so much!). and walked through the exhibits. It was a nice day. I even brought home some treats!

Caramel corn, a chocolate/caramel apple, some treats for Rita (which are in the freezer until she can chew again), a crocheted potato and resin unicorn. Did I need a potato and unicorn tchochke? Yes. Yes I did. The potato is cheering me on! 

Honestly, what's better than a hype potato? 
Nothing. Nothing is better than that.

Sorry. You're not really here for country fair content. Let's get back to the horses. They had Sunday and Monday off. Part of me felt like I should have ridden Monday, but I had a ton of things to do and that was really the only day to do it all. So I stuck to the plan. And then Tuesday I was really excited to ride them all. I felt so refreshed! And weirdly (ok, not at all weirdly) the horses were all great too! Even though it was raining all day. It was light, and I was determined. And it was great. 

Then, today, they were all great again! Today we warmed up as briefly as is fair to them, and then just popped over a few jumps. Eros was so perfect! He never got the zoomies, even when I made a mistake and he had to pop chip one. Usually that's what triggers the turbo boosters. But not today! He just loped right around like a perfect happy boy. Al was next, and he was just as good! I didn't quite do everything I had wanted with him, because bang and clang started clanging away about half way through the ride. Instead of quitting then though, we stayed to the other side of the ring and jumped a few more things. He was really good! Shiny was great too. She loves jumping, and the more complicated I make the courses, the more she gets invested in it. It's pretty cute. 

My plan for the rest of the week is flat rides tomorrow and then possibly another jump day Friday. Saturday and Sunday we'll just play by ear. I'm expecting a hay delivery sometimes in the next week or so too. I also met with a tree guy, so we'll be having tree work done here soon too. (Al's going to HATE that.) So much going on, I'm just going to need to be okay with not riding every day. The horses don't seem much worse for the wear with our somewhat light riding summer. Though I can see they've all lost a lot of fitness and muscle. I'm sure that bothers me a lot more than them. We'll get back at it eventually. Hopefully. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I spent almost all of my braiding money on new blankets for the horses. And I don't even feel badly about it. I think I finally have exactly what I want for weights. Hopefully. We shall see how they work out over the winter. Our previous turnout gear had almost all lost it's water proofing and some of them had holes. So it was time. And I wasn't happy with my stable wardrobe last year. The 100 grams didn't fit the horses properly, the drop was too short and they shifted a lot. I'd come in to them kind of hanging off one side. And the heavies, while lovely and warm and cozy actually weighed A LOT. As I'm aging, I have a lot more aches and pains in the cold weather, and those very heavy blankets were pretty difficult for me to get up on the bigger horses. So I ordered the Amigo's for inside. I had similar ones from Amigo at the old boarding barn, and I really liked them other than the color. So hopefully I will like these too. 

Anyone else getting ready for the dark season? I dislike winter so much, that I'm hoping having new outfits for the horses will at least bring a little joy. 

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! But I have to be honest, I forgot to take horse pictures every single day this week. Fortunately, the horses have worn this outfit many a time, so I have some photos from last year to share of Al's outfit. Here's what he had on:

We're sticking with barn colors for now because I haven't recovered enough from the last couple of weekends to turn on the creative side of my brain. 

Bridle: Pinnacle
Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

He isn't using this bit anymore, but the rest of the bridle is the same! Pretend that's a full cheek. 

Saddle: Butet
Baby Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Mattes

This is definitely my favorite set up. A mattes half pad an Ogilvy baby pad. I still like the Anatomeq pads too, but they're pretty expensive and don't have a ton of options. 

He didn't have boots on this week because it's a flat only week. So here's what I wore:

I was bored with full barn color outfits, so I mixed it up a little bit this week. 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

I also apparently forgot a helmet photo. But I wore this one. (Clearly, I'm not caught up on sleep!)

Top: Luyaa

I love a good pastel! Lilac and powder pink both pair really nicely with green. 

Belt: Mane Jane

Opted for a nice neutral for my belt this week. I still love my Mane Jane belts, even if the buckles are started to show their age. 

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

These are dark teal, so a bit of a stray from the usual darker green. I just discovered these have a hole in the butt seam which makes me very sad. But I have a pile of breeches to bring in for repairs so I'll add these to the pile. Nothing a few stitches can't fix!

Boots: Celeris UK

I don't think I've shared these in awhile! Definitely still on the favorites list. They're SO comfy!

And that's it for this week! Any favorites? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew! It's been busy the last two weeks! Sorry for my absence but the sleep deprivation was real! As you may recall, I had two full weekends of braiding and also my helper was off, so that meant wearing an extra hat and nine days on my own in the barn. And you know, what better way to cap off a busy time than to throw in fence repair that first weekend? 

So I've been trying to get the rest of my fence posts replaced for awhile now, and finally the person I hired had dates he could do it. Which happened to be that Saturday and Sunday of my first braiding weekend. AND THEN he asked if they could work on the yard clean up that same weekend. Sure why not? Of course, this was a little disruptive because it meant having one less turnout area. But what can you do? 

The first day he started late, so I was able to get Shiny out for a few hours before she had to come in, so that wans't too big of a change for us. But the second day they said they were starting early. But it seems, early to non horse people is not the same thing as early to horse people. So I didn't put Shiny out in her paddock and instead rotated her into the ring turnout. Turns out though, she could have had a couple of hours after all since they didn't start until close to 9. I was told the whole project would take two days, but since they're hours are not the same as mine... They haven't even finished Shiny's paddock yet. Which still leaves the ring and the med paddock. Sigh. At least it's started! 

I don't think this person is as experienced with fencing as I was lead to believe. He is doing some things really well, especially filling the holes around the posts. In the past, once it rains I end up with craters around the posts that need more fill, but they're actually tamping them down and filling with extra dirt as they go so that hasn't happened. But they don't seem to be aware of using the string method to keep the rails straight. So we will need to go over that when they come back to finish. (He was on vacation this past week so we're on pause.) I'm trying not to be annoying about it though, it needs doing, and it's not something I'm able to do myself. So patience it is! 

And of course, the yard clean up was also not without it's hiccups. At the very end of the day on Sunday around 6pm, one of the guys cut the power cord that feeds my pool. So then I had to get an electrician out Monday to fix that. I just want to point out that all this is going on while I'm trying to do barn chores  and ride during the days, and braiding all night. Thursday night to Friday I got a total of 2 hours sleep (thankfully I DID have my helper for Friday) and the next two nights I got 3 hours of sleep. To say I was overstimulated that entire weekend is an understatement! But it all got done! Well almost. Saturday they all got ridden, but Sunday I only wound up doing Eros. With all the interruptions all day from the clean up crew in the yard, it was after 4 when I got done with him, and I just waved the white flag. 

First weekend's braids:

Monday everyone had their usual day off, but I did the morning chores. I honestly don't remember what the rest of the day involved. Just house chores I think. Tuesday was Sophie's kid's last day here. She went back to Florida to start school on Wednesday. We miss her already! But they had a really fun ride Tuesday and I got the other two ridden also. Wednesday was more chores and riding. Thursday was going to be another very full braiding night. I had the same amount as the Thursday before, but this time they were split between two farms so more commuting time. I opted to just do chores and not ride Thursday so I could fit in a nap before I started braiding. Everything went fine in all locations. I got done around 4:00 and was asleep by 4:30. Admittedly, I started chores a little late Friday morning. I think it was close to 8 am when I fed breakfast. Thank goodness my horses are pretty patient. I was DRAGGING through the day and again opted not to ride in favor of fitting in a nap before braiding time. It's shocking how much longer chores take when you're running on less than 3 hours of sleep. But chores got done, horses had extra time in turnout, and then all my client horses got braided that night. Wash, rinse, repeat for Saturday. Thankfully, Saturday night I just had to braid in one location. I was home early, around 2 am and got four hours of sleep before starting chores in the morning! By this point I was only semi coherent, so opted again to not ride. This week was a wash anyway, might as well just start fresh on Tuesday, right? 

All of weekend #2's braids except for one tail I forgot to snap a photo of

Monday I did very little. I slept for 7 and a half hours which was like the longest night's sleep ever! Then I sat around and did some THQ work. Some laundry. Fed horses. Ran two errands. That was about it. Pretty much a total sloth day. GLORIOUS! Just what I needed! 

I finally got to ride all my horses again yesterday. They were all pretty good, especially after a five day vacation. Al had one big spook, but otherwise kept a lid on things, which again for all that time off was pretty good! Eros felt a little stiff, but he always does better in work. So that wasn't surprising. He got sounder and sounder as we went along. And Shiny felt just fine!

I'm not sure how many I'll get ridden today. I dropped Rita off at the vets this morning to get her broken tooth removed and have a dental. So I'm not sure what time I need to pick her up yet, they're going to call. And then we have family dinner tonight. So I may only end up getting one or two done. Is what it is! 

And that about catches you all up! Nothing too exciting around here, just chores and braids for the most part. Hopefully more fun to come though!

Truthful Tuesday

 

I'm back! Thanks for hanging with me while I was overwhelmed with life last week. Today's confession is that I've finally accepted that I can't do all of the things all of the time. And as a result, my horses only got ridden twice last week. But fingers crossed, we're back to (mostly) normal this week. The only hiccup I'm so far aware of is tomorrow. Rita is having a dental and a broken tooth removed, so I will have to pick her up late afternoon which might mean I only have time to ride two tomorrow since it's family dinner night. But that's okay. Just doing the best I can with the hours supplied in a day. 

Anyone else? Or are you still finding ways to put more hours in a day? If so, share with me your secrets!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! We've had some fun ones the last couple of weeks so today we went with a classic barn colors look. Eros is our model this week but apparently I forgot to snap a full body photo of him... Oops. So we'll just look at the close ups.

Bridle: Pinnacle
Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

I love the color of this bridle ob him. It's almost exactly his color!

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Ogilvy

I'm still holding out hope that Ogilvy will make a darker brown colored pad. But for now, I do really like this shade too. 

No boots today since we haven't jumped yet this week. So that means it's my turn! Here's what I had on:

Greens and browns... but also cow print!

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

Still loving my sparkly front shield.

Top: Mathcat

This is a little bit brighter green than I normally wear for my barn colors outfits, but it's working!

Belt: Dapple Bay

Dapple Bay had bogo belts a few weeks ago, so I picked up a couple. I actually want to sew one onto a pair of pants I have that doesn't have belt loops. Because they aren't working as is, but I think with a built-in stretchy belt they will be okay. So this was the free one. 

Breeches: RJ Classics

This is the pair I picked up last year at a tent sale. Glad I found them!

Boots: Celeris UK

These are still my favorite pair of boots. They're just so fun! But also they're ridiculously comfortable. Win-win!

And that's it for today! Any favorite items?