Thursday's Threads

Outfit Day!!!!!!! AND it's sort of nice out. Currently it's cloudy and sad looking, but it's already almost 60 and I do think the sun will be out later. So very exciting! I decided to dress for the occasion:

Floral pants and a sweater, because it's spring, but it's still chilly. Duh. Also cameo by the one and only Miss P.

Sweater: H&M

I grabbed this specifically to go with the pants actually. But it's a nice basic and will work with a lot of things I have. Plus it was $12.

Belt: Mane Jane

I pretty much have a Mane Jane strap for every occasion. I'm undecided how well this one is working here... but you can't see it anyway so I guess it doesn't matter really.

Jeans: H&M

There's an H&M outlet that just opened recently at the outlet mall where I get the dog's their food. So I popped in Saturday when I was in the area. I had seen these jeans there a few weeks ago, but was feeling especially cheap and didn't buy them. Turns out, it was smart to be patient! They were marked down to $10 and then were on sale on top of that. I paid $3.50 for them. No lie. Not sure if you can tell, on my computer the photo looks kind of gray, but they are a pretty dark olive green color. I think they would like great with a lilac top too since the flowers have that color in them.

Shoes: Sperry

Yeah... I pretty much have a pair of Sperry's for every outfit too... Sperry + Mane Jane = perfection? I dunno... Works for me!

Arm Party:
Lefty:

Lefty is donning a fun Ettika bracelet. It KIND OF looks like a curb chain with some neutral colored thread woven into it.

Righty:

Righty is wearing this fun springy stack! First up is my #backyardbarn mantra bracelet from KJ's Creations. The next two are both from my jewelry subscription to Nicole's Creations. I LOVE these two! And the colors are perfect with this outfit. And last is a beaded friendship bracelet from Nakamol.

That's what I wore to work today, but I have similarly colored riding outfit to share too! This was from Tuesday.

I didn't take a full photo of my outfit because I planned to grab a screen shot over the cavalleti. Unfortunately, everything came out fuzzy, so this is the best I have today. Sorry...

Helmet: One K Defender

During Helmet Awareness (week/month, whatever it is) Tack of the Day had these on sale for SUPER CHEAP. Like I got two for less than the price of one normally. I already had a black one, so I got the blue and the brown during that sale. I really like these helmets. They're very comfortable and the air blows right through them! Not great when it's 20 degrees out, but lovely the rest of the year.

Shirt: Ariat

I picked these up (this one and a green/blue version) at the end of LAST winter on clearance. They're great tops! Fleece lined, so they're pretty warm without being bulky. Perfect when it's in the 50's or so. I really have no idea what color the stripes are on this shirt. I thought they were a tan color, but in some light they look olive. Let's just call it Khaki color and cover all the bases.

Belt: Ralph Lauren

This was a second hand find. I forget if it was from Ebay or Poshmark, but I LOVE it. Half of it is ribbon with those horse heads on it (it is backed with leather, so it's sturdy) and the other half is a leather strap like you can see on the buckle.  Super cute!

Breeches: Horze Crescendo

Nothing new here. You've seen these a million times. They're starting to look their age, but they're still very comfy so I'm not getting ride of them anytime soon.

Boots: Horka

I haven't worn these in awhile! I really like these boots. They're not super flashy or anything, but they're SO comfy! Not quite as comfy as the Regals, but I'd say these are the runner up in that category. I'm not sure how well they would hold up if I wore them everyday, but they're holding their own so far!

Jampy wore a coordinating outfit too!

Bridle: FSS
Browband: Boy O Boy Bridleworks
Bonnet: Horze

The ears on that bonnet are kind of huge. But they are noise cancelling so we deal with them. Jamp has tiny ears to begin with though, so seeing him with mini mule ears kind of cracks me up. How handsome does he look in that browband though?!

Saddle: Hermes
Baby Pad: Lettia
Half Pad; Le Mieux
Girth: Tough One

I'm not going to lie, I'm really missing that new to me Voltaire I got in the fall... I really need to get down to Florida and get it back! Though at this point I may just wait for them to come up here with it. Still, it was nice riding in a saddle my butt actually fit in. Hermie here is amazing, and I love it. But it's definitely too small for me since the weight gain.
This Le Mieux pad is my favorite non sheepskin pad that I have. It has pockets for shims so I don't need to use a riser pad. The lining in the pad itself is some gel/foam hybrid. Very light weight, but holds its shape. And it's not too thick. Highly recommend if you need a shimmable pad.

Boots: Beval

No lie, these are at minimum 12 years old. They might be older. I don't think they make them anymore. Honestly, I'm not sure Beval has any branded products anymore? Maybe just the bridles? Anyway, these are great when it's muddy. You can wipe them right off, and the liners snap out so you can wash them separately if you want to. I usually just throw the whole thing in the washing machine, but I'm not really sure they were meant for that.

That's it for today! Any favorites? Get any new tack or apparel you're excited about? Enjoying the Spring weather? Let's chat in the comments!

What's Up Wednesday

It would seem that Spring has FINALLY decided to show up in New England! Finally! I'm so excited. I actually rode in short sleeves on Sunday! SHORT SLEEVES! Outside! Amazing. I planned to have Saturday be a lunging and flat day for Jampy so we could jump on Sunday. Unfortunately, my neighbor decided to build himself a metal shed next to my ring all weekend, so jumping didn't happen. I will give Jampy credit for being surprisingly good about all that noise though! Sir-spooks-a-lot really kept his head in the game for the most part.
Saturday wound up being a little annoying. I had to first wait for my mom to come get me so I could pick my car up at the tire place. Byebye $1200 dollars, but hello smooth ride! Next I had to drive up to the Apple store to replace my rapidly dying phone. Fortunately, I am partial to the little bitty Iphone SE so it didn't break the bank too much more than the tires already had. But it did take an hour and half to transfer all my stuff over. Ugh. I traded in my old phone, or I would have just done it at home.
I finally got back to the farm around 1:30 to find that my helper had accidentally ran over the tail gate for the Gator. Hopefully her nephew can straighten it back out, or there goes another $200. Adulting is expensive you guys!
But finally, I had time to get Jampy out. He had a nice lunge and was only mildly nutty. I expected him to be a total turn nugget due to aforementioned shed building happening next door. But he was pretty good. I didn't get any media since I hoped to jump on Saturday. Jumping media is more exciting that flat work media, no? Since I rode on the later side, I let him air dry outside instead of hosing him off. He liked that plan just fine.

 Rio also had a nice graze. He was so excited to go eat grass, he (very politely) kind of jogged next to me on the way there. I didn't get after him because he never passed me, and was totally adorable about it.

I don't like how ribby he is right now. I'm not sure he's getting enough hay in him since he spits out so much of it. I've increased the amount of chopped hay he gets everyday, so hopefully we'll see some weight gain in the next couple of weeks. I have the vet coming out next Monday too so hopefully he'll have some good ideas.

I spent Saturday night doing some crafts. I had seen a tutorial for a cute bracelet that I wanted to make and had ordered the supplies for already. I just hadn't had time to try it! I was pretty pooped Saturday, so it was the perfect evening to try it out.

They're leather with memory wire through them. The tutorial was for the palm tree bracelet you see in the middle on top, but I figured I could absolutely make a few others to go with various ridiculous theme outfits I have. They're pretty quick and easy to make, and I'm hoping to do a few more. The toughest part is finding leather with a hole in the middle for the wire.

And then it was Sunday already. Seriously, how does that happen so quickly? I didn't want to waste too much of the day as it was BEAUTIFUL out! I had a few things I had/wanted to get done. Rather than rush around like a crazy person though, I took myself into town for a quick breakfast before heading off to run errands. Oh! And I also finally put my new door mat out. I got it last year from a fundraiser for a Pug Rescue, but didn't want to put it out until the snow was done for the year.

Adorable right?! I know. I don't even want to step on it. Anyway, after breakfast I had to do some adulting and get things like toilet paper and dog food. And also some storage tubs so I could finally organize the chaos that is my saddle pad/horse boot collection properly. And that's what I spent the rest of the morning doing!

Ta da! All done! I'm storing them in the corn crib next to the ring. Everything is organized by color to make them easy to find. Though there is one multi color tub for seasonal items like the Chanukah outfits and the buffalo plaid. My tack room is MUCH neater now! I still need to order the cabinet I want for the feed room. Once I get that, I can actually keep my riding boots and helmets out in the barn too instead of my dining room.

I figured I had wasted enough time that the neighbor would be done with the shed, but alas, he was not. I decided not to jump while that was going on. Jamp was really trying to be a trooper about the whole thing, and I didn't want to ruin it.

 Instead, I tried to really work on getting his attention and getting him to move off my leg. I had mixed results. What's been frustrating with him is that he only gives me about 85% of his attention at best. Yet he does still aim to please. So when I put my leg on, he reacts very quickly, but not necessarily correctly. For example, I put a little more inside leg on to get him to bend more, and he gives me a lovely lateral movement to the rail... Not what I was going for Jamp... Also, for any upwards transitions, he wiggles around left and right rather than just go forward. It's pretty annoying, but I'm also pretty sure it's mostly something I'm either doing wrong now or have been in the past. We're working on it though.

And he really was a good boy about all the noise right next to the arena. I was so frustrated with him last week with the spooking I sent my trainer a text begging for advice before I either murdered him or quit riding... So I was SUPER grateful that he more or less behaved himself this weekend. Granted, I stuffed his ears AND used the noise cancelling bonnet, but I'm sure he could still hear it. That animal has incredible hearing.

The pugs had a lovely walk that beautiful evening too!

Monday was a big day at the farm as you already know. Rio's 22nd Birthday!

Obviously I had to go to work during the day, but I let him be the first one out when I got home. Hope you're ready for a photo dump...
I curried him head to toe and then finished him off with a layer of fly spray and a buffing with the Diva brush. Then I dressed him up in his birthday outfit:

Unicorn Tiara and a unicorn sash that says "Birthday Unicorn"

Next I let him have some of his cake:

Followed by some grazing and a photo shoot.

Jampy had a very light hack afterwards (it was already getting dark) and then we capped the night off with some Unicorn cookies with dinner.

I finally got to jump Jampy a little on Tuesday, but it was overcast, so all my media is blurry. Hopefully next week we'll have some better opportunities to jump and get photos! In the meantime, I guess you can can enjoy these terrible screen shots:

So that's what's up this Wednesday! What's up with you? Are you finally having spring? Do anything fun with your ponies this weekend? Do you celebrate your horse's birthday?

Truthful Tuesday

Today's confession is that sometimes I let my guard down and stupid things happen. I think we all do this from time to time. We get so comfortable and used to being around our giant 1300 lb animals, that we forget they can still hurt us...
Saturday evening after letting Rio graze for awhile outside, I let him nose up to his brother while I put his blanket on. Of course, that meant I was throwing the blanket over from his right side instead of the left. I'm completely NOT good at doing things from the wrong side. So the first attempt left the blanket barely over him. I stepped closer to throw it the rest of the way over him at the exact same moment he stepped out toward me with his hind end. Right square on top of my big toe/ball of my foot. Ouch.

Not only is my toe ugly, but I also need a pedicure! Gross. Sorry for the foot picture. I know feet are disgusting. But if I have to see the fat toe, I feel I must share the ick with all of you.
Thankfully, Rio is barefoot behind, and my rubber floor offer some cushion as compared to say, a concrete floor. Nothing seems to be broken or anything. But it is sore! So much for getting back to running this weekend. Bummer.
How could I have avoided this you ask? By properly attaching my horse to the crossties and blanketing from the correct side. Just a friendly reminder from the equine universe to always pay attention and not take short cuts when it comes to safely handling our pony friends. Thanks universe. Sheesh.
Have you ever found yourself in a similar predicament? Did you learn from it, or no? I probably haven't.