Truthful Tuesday

 

Couple of things to admit to today... First, because this is just so 2020... One afternoon last week I got up from my desk to use the restroom and you know what I saw in the hallway? DO YOU?! Why, it was a baby snake. In my house. Chillin' in the hallway. After taking a few seconds to acknowledge why yes, that is a baby snake on my floor, I went to the craft room to grab a trash bag to collect baby snake. Sometime in those 15 seconds baby snake disappeared. So instead of trying to find it I went back to work. Sometimes I ignore things I don't like, okay?

Anyway, I finish my work day and now I'm more focused on looking for baybay snek. And know where he was? On the railing of the stairs. Okay, self! Gather yourself. Catch the baybay snek! Only, he drops himself off the railing into this pile of award coolers.

So um... Know what I did? I went and rode my horses instead of tearing that apart and finding the snake. Long story short, he lives here now. His name is Ssseth. And I think he tried to use my credit card online. (Because yes, also my credit card was used fraudulently again. 4th time this year between a few cards.)

So anyway, that happened. The other thing I have to tell you... This one is pretty hilarious. I've been getting groceries delivered, but my local store hasn't had any canned pumpkin. I wanted to make pumpkin bread so I went online and ordered a can. You guys. PAY ATTENTION to can sizes when you order stuff, or you might just get this...

Yep. That's enough to make 8 pies according to the label. I don't have any plans to make 8 pies. But I guess before I open it, I will get some recipes for the bread I wanted, some pumpkin cookies, and I dunno? Maybe pumpkin muffins? Pumpkin dip? The options are endless. Much like this can.

Thursday's Threads

 

Happy outfit day! It's a short one because the horses didn't dress up last night. But... next time I wear this theme, they will join in for sure. (Hint... something fun is coming!) Anyway, here's what I wore to ride last night:

It was super chilly here for a couple weeks, but the weather has taken a warmer turn, which I'm thoroughly enjoying! It's been in the 60's which is pretty nice for riding. Plus, I don't have to wear fifty layers.

Helmet: One K Mips

It took FOREVER for this helmet to get here. Size small long oval was delayed from the factory I guess. But it was worth the wait! I found this helmet to fit exactly the same as the regular One K helmets meaning it's very comfy. And the added safety from the MIPS is great to have. I chose to replace the front vent and the piping to the hunter green option but kept the center panel black. I like it! Side note: I emailed Samshield to see if they plan to incorporate MIPS into their helmets and was told "we don't need to" and sent some video about why their helmets are already safe. So that's disappointing. 

Top: Twenty Second

It's surprisingly difficult to find a top with some cow print, but not entirely cow print... So I was excited to find this one on Zulily. 

Breeches: Botori

You all can blame Molly for this one... She found these and posted them to her insta story, and obviously I needed to get a pair. I almost didn't because they are tights, and I'm 100% not a tights person. But I couldn't pass up those cow print patches. And I'll tell you, those side pockets are pretty awesome. I'm not a tights convert by any means, but this pair can stay.

Boots: Celeris UK

I still think these are amazing. I really can't decide between these and the unicorn boots as my favorites. It's a tough call. I will admit, for the sake of being completely honest, I did break the bottom snap on one of these boots. I'm not sure what was happening, but it got stuck (couldn't unsnap it) and I pulled too hard and it came out of the leather. My spurs hold the flap shut though so not the biggest deal. PROBABLY why they don't recommend this leather for a full boot though. 

Arm Party!

Lefty:

Um. Yeah. Well. I saw that C4 has a cow print band and was like yep. Add to cart. It happens. The little bit bracelet I made though!

Righty:

Righty is wearing the Fitbit in a boring black band along with a couple of other bracelets I made. I was so excited to find that cow print leather!

And that's it for today! Any favorites?

What's Up Wednesday

 

I dunno you guys. Things are slowing down a bit with jumping Miss Shinypants. We got rained out on Friday last week, and I prefer not to jump them after a day off. So we didn't jump this week. And you know what? I don't think she really cares one way or the other! We've also been contending with the neighbor while trying to ride. Mostly he only torments Eros for some reason. Or maybe I notice more on him since Shiny is generally less bothered? Who knows. Video below is what we get to deal with while trying to ride.

Even though we're not doing much jumping, everyone is still getting ridden every day. 

And I try on the weekends to spend some extra time with them grazing while there's still grass to eat. (Autumn, while pretty, is so depressing!)

I got some new blanket tags from Thoughtful Colors on Etsy that arrived last week, and had the time to attach them this weekend. I really love how they came out! I put horse's name and size on the front and then blanket description on the back. 

I have a chart on the board what they should wear for which scenario, but sometimes my helper gets them mixed up. I figure this should make things easier. Especially when the heavies I got arrive and look almost exactly the same as the 160 gram blankets. Labels are helpful.

And well... that's about it really. I'll just drop some extra photos here to wrap up this post.

Peep Shiny in the back!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today I am confessing that I was horribly wrong... 

For awhile now (at least a couple of years), I've been convinced I wanted the Hermes Cavalle saddle. I was CERTAIN! I mean, it's beautiful. It appears to have the same balance as the very old Essentielle I'm still stuffing my bum into. And I mean... it's Hermes. What's not to want? Well. I FINALLY found a used one to try. It arrived Thursday literally as I was tacking Eros up. 

I mean, look at it. It's art. So pretty. So soft. But. (You knew a but was coming.) It was a bit too narrow for Eros. I made him try it anyway because it wasn't terrible, and I figured if I still liked it, it would probably work for Pammon since he's a little more narrow.

So I get on. And it fit me very well. But (yeah another one), it didn't make my butt sing. Well. That's not true. My butt liked it well enough. Like a happy humming, as opposed to a full on ecstatic song. I just didn't get that secure feeling I have in my other one and in the Butet's. Like there wasn't anything especially wrong with the fit, but I felt a little like I was sitting on top of it instead of in it. If that makes sense. So, with a strong feeling of disappointment I packed up this beauty and sent her back. The good news is the same shop has a Butet for me to try instead. And even better it's about half the cost of this one. So saving money is always nice. 

I have one other confession today too... Pre pandemic, I used to stop for McDonalds at least once a week for lunch. It was the only food place on my drive between home and work. And I do like crappy food now and then. But I haven't been since lockdown happened. There isn't one near where I live and who drives out of their way for McDonald's? Not this girl. (Though Taco Bell is a different story... Haven't had that either though!) But um... I'm not sure how it happened. At some point I re-discovered the frozen White Castle cheeseburgers you can get at the grocery store. And I've been eating them occasionally. They are delicious! Terrible for me, surely. But so good. So yeah. That's confession #2.

Thursday's Threads: Holo edition (I took it too far.)

 

OUTFIT DAY! Guys. I got a little more extra than normal this week. MAYBE a little too much... Whatever, it's fun, and I ride in my backyard. Also, holo is awesome and all, but you have no idea how awesome until you use it at night. Seriously. Anyway, I'll start with the ponies this week.

Yeah.... the bridles are definitely extra. For sure not for everyday use. But still... Fully awesome. Especially at night.

Bridles and Bits: Punk Ponies

Are these top quality buttery soft bridles? Nope. Of course not. But they are shiny and super fun. My only real complaint is that the noseband buckles are on the wrong side. Not a big deal, but kind of weird.

Boots: Punk Ponies

DO YOU SEE THAT HOLO AMAZINGNESS ON SHINY?! Do you?? Seriously. This stuff was made for night rides. I had no idea.

Saddles: Butet
Eros' Pads: Halfpad is Ippico, baby pad is Smartpak and I decorated it
Shiny's Pad: FSS

My friend that borrowed my saddle was really thoughtful and cleaned and conditioned it. But it's kinda gross and sticky now (I'm sure will come clean when I actually clean it) so forgive its weird appearance. I used the Cricut to decorate Eros' baby pad, and I love how it came out! I did one with rose gold bits too which you'll see soon. This one has holo bits which are a little difficult to photograph, but they for sure match the rest of the outfit. Trust me. I DO have holo stirrups too, but I've decided I'm far too lazy and particular to be switching those around. So these are plain.

That's what the tall kids wore... but here's what I wore:

Yassss.... Holo sweatshirt!!! I'm dying a little waiting for my holo helmet. It won't be here for like a million years. (Or like five more weeks, same thing.) But seriously. You think we were extra today... wait till that gets added to the mix!

Helmet: One K

I mean, this one is totally doing a stand up job here. It's more or less the right color, and it has plenty of shininess. BUT, it's not holo.

Sweatshirt: HDE

I totally ordered the wrong size on this. I thought it was fine though until I actually wore it and missed the return window. It's cool though, I have the appropriate size on the way. And maybe I'll sell this one if anyone's looking. It's a large cause I evidently don't check my orders. Oops.

Belt: Tailored Sportsman

I don't normally spend money like these TS belts cost, but I had been hunting for a holo belt FOREVER. When this one popped up at Jods, I had to have it. I really like the Jods lady though, so I justified it by telling myself I was supporting a small, woman owned business. They didn't actually have my size, but these are cut to size anyway. She cut it down for me, AND emailed me to let me know in case I didn't want that. Which I think is nice service.

Breeches: Some rando generic brand black pants, decorated by me

So the iron on I used for these wasn't really the right one because it doesn't stretch. So the bits broke a little when I put them on, and I'm not sure they'll really last too many rides. But whatever. I can always redo them with the correct material down the road. I think they came out kinda cute! 

Boots: Celeris UK

I mean. I already loved these boots. But then I wore them in the dark, and they are AMAZING. Look at them! Ah! Celeris is releasing something awesome Friday (I can't say what yet...) and I want that thing to match these. (And the cow boots...)

ARM PARTY!
Lefty:

Lefty is donning a bit bracelet that I made along with the apple watch.

Righty:

Righty is donning a different bit bracelet that I made along with the Fitbit in a Tory Burch holder. The leather on that one is about spent though, so I think I will replace that soon.

And that's it for this week! For sure it's extra, even for me... But it was so fun to put together! And discovering how much more awesome the holo is at night was a total bonus. Any favorites?

What's Up Wednesday

 

We had some weather woes last week and the home ponies all got a bonus day off. Then Eros had Friday off too. Well. Sort of. I got on and the guy who lives on the other side of the woods from me was playing with his antique tractor... Normally not too big of an issue, but it kept backfiring, and Eros just could not. It was getting dark out, and I feel like some days you choose your battles. Shiny gives zero effs about such things though, so she DID get worked Friday. 

The inconsistency during the week lead to somewhat interesting rides on Saturday. It was really windy, but otherwise a nice enough day. But you guys. Both horses were a little bonkers. Eros wound up spending our entire ride on basically a 20 meter circle. It was a LONG 40 minutes. 

But we got some work done and thankfully that ride re-installed his brain for a nice ride on Sunday. It's funny. Sunday, the guy next door decided to clean out his shed (right next to my ring) while I was riding Eros. I don't know what all he keeps in there, but it was LOUD. Like he would just literally throw things out from inside into a large pile. There was much crashing and loud noises. Did Eros care? Nope. That horse is so odd you guys.

Refusing to leave the end of the ring on Saturday...

Shiny's version of bonkers is very different from Eros. She doesn't do anything too crazy. Usually... she did run away after popping over an x one time...

Pivo Red couldn't keep up with her SO FAST RUNNING! 
(which lasted about two and a half strides. lol)

Nope, Shiny doesn't usually get wild. Instead she gets rude. She was inconsistent in the contact, behind the leg, and just generally doing what she wanted. On more than one occasion I asked her to circle and got no response.

Zero interest in listening to mom

I realized trying to have a jump school with that particular pony on that day was pointless. Instead we just kept working at reinstalling the correct buttons. She finished up well enough at least. Sunday, she was still a little... opinionated. 

Clearly annoyed with me.

So instead of jumping courses or working through the grid, we continued our flatwork session from the day before. But this time I would throw jumps in as we were going. So we'd flat for awhile, working on different things, then pop over a jump and go back to whatever we were working on. 

It was a good lesson for her, because often once we start jumping I will lose some of the suppleness I normally achieve on the flat. It was nice to keep that conversation happening. And have a softer pony.

I've been getting used to and enjoying our Sunday bareback rides, and was disappointed to miss out on it this week, but sometimes we have to do work. Such is life. Sorry pony. 

Pammon is doing about the same. We're getting him weaned off the ace which is nice. I'm hoping once I can ride him safely without it, maybe he'll give me a little more and start feeling less... blah. Time will tell I suppose.

In other news, I dropped off my ballot over the weekend, so I have officially voted! Feels good to have that done. I was planning to vote in person, but in my small town, I feel confident that nothing will happen to my absentee ballot. The drop box is right at the town hall, so the USPS doesn't have to handle it. 

I also walked a 5K on Sunday. There are a handful of races I normally run every year in October (despite the fact that I run almost never the rest of the year...) and I wanted to keep that tradition going.

 

They have all offered a virtual option this year, so I registered and am picking away at them. Even if the first one I walked instead of running... I still wound up with shin splints! Ha. #outofshape

Hopefully you're still with me at this point, because I wanted to point out that I added a "Stuff for Sale" tab to my home page here on the blog. Currently it only has breeches on it, but I'll slowly be adding other stuff as I get around to taking photos. So if you're looking for some schooling breeches and you wear size 28 or 30, check out my new tab! If you're interested in anything, just comment on that page, or feel free to message me either on Facebook, Instagram, or my email.

I hope you all had a good week/weekend! Do anything fun?