Thursday's Threads: The one where Eros and I do not actually match

 

Happy Outfit day friends! I was feeling the need for spring, so I decided to wear some spring color, but I wasn't so motivated as to dress Eros for spring too. So we don't match today. Here's what Eros is wearing:

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: SmartPak
Half Pad: Kavalkade

Smartpak had these saddle pads on sale around the holidays for super cheap and were offering free monogramming. So I bought them for my stepmom for each of her horses for Chanukah, and well... I treated myself too. They came in only two colorways, these two tone blue ones which are the boarding barn's colors, and hunter with tan binding... MY farm colors! What are the odds? Shiny wears her special pads, so I just got them for the boys. 

Boots: HKM

I love the metallic color on these boots, but they really haven't held up very well. I think they'll be retiring soon.

Bridle: Camelot RCS Gold

Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

Bit: Sweet Billy's Bits

For a cheaper bridle that I generally don't take care of, it still looks pretty good! Pammon's has lost a keeper, but Eros' and Shiny's are still going strong.

So Eros stuck with the farm colors this week, but I did not. Here's what I wore:

Trying to push the spring time with a little mint green... It's kind of working. But apparently going to be back in the 20's tomorrow. Boo.

Helmet: One K MIPS

I remembered a new helmet pic this week! Eros wanted to be in it too. I decided to the blue since the green clashed pretty terribly with the rest of my outfit. The blue mostly matches my coat anyway.

Sweater: Black Horse Clothing
Base Layer: Black Horse Clothing

Black Horse Clothing had a great sale on winter clothes, so I grabbed these two items. I had been drooling at this sweater for awhile. The base layer has thumb holes too which I find exciting.

Belt: Noble Outfitters

I have this belt in a few colorways. The green and tan one I bought immediately when it came out for obvious reasons. I have a purple one that was a gift with purchase at Dover awhile back. And then I found this one secondhand. They're not the highest quality but I like the colors and I think they're cute.

Breeches: Dover

Yeah. Still the cords. Hopefully something more fun soon!

Socks: Noble Outfitters

They don't really match my outfit at all. But they have Unicorns on them. So that makes them match everything.

Boots: Tredstep

Yeah. Same. Come one better weather so I can wear fun boots again!!!

And that's it for today! Any favorites? What are you wearing to ride in these days?

What's Up Wednesday

 

I was so excited to get to write all about my first jumping lesson with Pammon since his injury! But alas... it didn't exactly happen. The last several rides he's been feeling a bit back sore, and I think it's due to the cold weather. Things are starting to warm up around here though (above freezing yesterday and mid forties expected today!) so hopefully that will resolve with the better weather. That wasn't the only issue though. Oh no...

See all that snow hanging off the side of the roof? SEE IT?! Yeah. That was falling off all weekend long. If you've never experienced snow coming off an indoor, you suck I will tell you, it's terrifying. It clunks and bangs all the way down. On most indoors you just have the sound which is scary enough for a horse. (Especially since it's happening overhead.) But we have all these great windows around the ring. Generally I love having them as it allows for lots of light. BUT when the snow is falling, the horses not only hear it, they also can see it. To add to that chaos, you don't really know when it will decide to move, nor where it will be moving. Someone said it's like Russian Roulette for horses. Accurate.
I'm the type of rider that likes to set herself AND her horse up for success. And snow falling off the roof combined with his stiffness did not feel like a successful set up to me. So I DID have a lesson, but we stuck to flatwork and some raised cavalletti. He really was a good boy, but I am disappointed we didn't get to the fun stuff just yet. Hopefully this week!

You know who got a big gold star with the roof chaos? EROS! I know. I didn't expect it either. I was legit dreading getting on him. He can be so spooky and he spins so fast... I really wasn't wanting to get lawn darted again. I decided to stuff his ears for a little added measure, and you guys! He was perfect. He barely even jumped when the snow clunked. I apologized to him for assuming the worst. He's just such a good guy. 

That time he wore a tiny hat...

Eros is going well. Nothing too crazy to report with him. We've been hopping over lots of poles on the ground and even did some raised cavalletti in our lesson last night. It was tricky, there was a line set up of a raised pole, one on the ground, and then another raised one. They were set about 4 strides apart. We had to canter the first, trot the middle, and canter the last. It was SUPER easy off the left lead which is his easy way. But going right it was a big struggle for us. It's amazing to me how extremely different he is from one side to the other. My goal is to someday even that out... Might take a lifetime.

You know who else has been a better pony? Shinypants! Our canter transitions are still a problem, but we're actually making transitions so I'll take it. She's cantering both directions every day, and I'm even starting to get her back into some contact at the trot. None of it is consistent, but I'm happy with whatever baby steps I can get. I've been keeping the rides short. If she tries (TRIES) everything I ask for, she can be done. I don't have any expectations for holding anything very long, but she has to make an effort. Slowly. as things go better and better (ideally) we will add time to our rides. 

Friday evening had a super weird vibe in the ring. Both Eros and Shiny were really snorty by one side of the ring and I found out later that several other horses were too. Shiny is not a spooky pony, so when she acts like that I know something is up. My only guess is that there was an animal outside or something like that. Everyone was over it by the next day, so whatever it was, it's gone now. Anyway, back to Friday. Shiny was being quite snorty and acting like she needed a free lunge. So I let her have one instead of riding. Between the scary long side and the snow on the roof coming down, it just seemed like a battle I wasn't interested in getting into on a Friday night. So I hopped off, stripped her tack and let her have a gallop. Pony can buck you guys! I'm so glad she saves that nonsense for free time and doesn't show me under saddle. (She's the most sensible animal I think I've ever owned. Even if she is super belligerent.) The little kids were hanging around and they had so much fun watching Shiny run around. Then they fawned all over her and lead her over a raised cavalletti at the walk. It was adorable. With the littlest kiddo Shiny very carefully walked over. But with the bigger girls, she actually jumped (also carefully) over it. So cute. I love this pony. Despite her challenges.

That's about all from here for the most part. I've started the yearly closet purge, so hopefully I'll get that completed over the next few weekends. I know that seems like a long time to clean out the closet, but you guys can guess how much clothing I have I'm sure... 

I've also been making some fun prints for saddle pads. I've been using free clip art from the interwebs, and a few apps to create them. I found a company in Pakistan that will print pretty much anything on to matchy sets. It's not overly cheap, so I'm spreading out the ordering. And I'm not getting bonnets done for most of them to save some money. But I'm excited to share them with you guys! I did my logo already, but now I want to have them redone with the revamped artwork. So I'll share the first edition with you:

Cute right?! They seem pretty flexible as far as sizing and changing things around. I asked for baby pads with more shape at the withers instead of regular pads (these have a pretty straight spine too) for the next order, so we'll see how those come out. 

How was your week/weekend? Horses good? I know a lot of you were in the path of that awful weather clusterf(*& in TX, so I hope you're all okay and on the road to recovery from that!

Truthful Tuesday

 

 So... this one might surprise you. But I actually like tofu. Not so much as it's own entity, but it is an amazing vessel for delicious sauces. I feel the same way about broccoli. They both just absorb whatever tastiness they're cooked in. 

Confession number two is that I've been playing the stupidest game on my phone and I can't stop. It's called Project Makeover. The point is to make over a character and their room, but in order to do that you have to play levels of a game that's similar to candy crush. Talk about a waste of my life and time... But it's very addictive. 

That's all I have for you guys today. Kind of a boring week for confessions. Do you have anything you need to get off your back? Thoughts on tofu? Any life wasting games you like to play?

Thursday's Threads

 

So... I have logos again. But this time they're boarding barn logos cause I would hate to be redundant. 

I know. I'm ridiculous. But I think we can all agree it's entertaining?

Helmet: One K MIPS

I remembered to take a new helmet photo! Also, I got some of these gaiters from Tommie Copper after seeing them on tv... They have a facemask built into them complete with a nose wire. And have an adjustable bungee so it stays put. I did find it a little harder to breath through than the mask I normally wear, but that probably means it's doing a better job of protecting me? Maybe?

Sweatshirt: Artscow

Someone needs to take away my internet so I stop getting things printed with logos. Seriously. I'm out of hand.

Belt: Rebecca Ray

I'm a fan of these Rebecca Ray belts. They're really high quality and the fancy stitching is just so classic to me.

Breeches: Dover

Yep, still wearing corduroy. It's still in the 20's here, what can I say? I am excited for spring and fun breeches again though.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

Okay, in my defense, I did not have these made. The barn did and I just purchased through them.

Boots: Tredstep

Yep. Still these. Honestly, I'm tired of wearing them too. But I'm not willing to have frozen toes, so they're staying!

Shiny has an outfit to share too!

She's wearing her Camelot RCS Gold bridle with her Boy O'Boy browband. She's also sporting a new martingale, which I can't remember what brand it is. It's not new to me... just to her! Her saddle pad is from Premier Equine, saddle is Buete, girth is Ovation, and quarter sheet is by Horze. And lastly, she's donning her navy glitter boots from Punk Ponies! Isn't she the cutest naughty nugget in all the land?!

That's it for today! Any favorites?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Not too much to report this week. Horses are all good for the most part. Shiny is still being a bit difficult, but I did have a decent ride on her last night. I am starting to think the cold weather bothers her, but I guess I'll have to wait a bit to really pursue that theory. We had a beautifully warm day yesterday, but we're back in the 20's today. Brrr. 

 

Barn owner is in Florida for the month so our previous assistant trainer is back filling in for her. It's been great because she's a lot more flexible. I did Eros in our flat lesson last night, and have a jumping(!!!) lesson scheduled for this weekend with Pammon. I have been dragging my feet doing that with him, because we really didn't fit in with any of the regular lessons. I just want to start very slow with him, popping over a few low jumps on straight lines. Since AT is more easy going and adjustable, this should be exactly what we're looking for. I'm pretty excited! I may even see if I can schedule something with Shinypants. Clearly, we could use any help we might find...

That's really about it on the horse front. In other news, P had a good checkup this weekend. She turns 15 this year in April, so good checkups are definitely something to be excited about!

I made myself some heart shaped waffles for Valentine's day. Being an old spinster, I still like hearts and food. So TREAT YO'SELF!

Speaking of treating myself... My jacket and new socks arrived!

The jacket is amazing you guys. It's everything I've wanted, but somehow even better. I'm so excited about it! I like how the revamped logo looks on the socks too. 

And that's really all I have to share today. How was your week? Horses good?

Truthful Tuesday

 

I don't really have much to confess today. Just plugging along. Waiting for spring... It's warmed up some here. Saturday was 30 degrees which felt downright balmy after the last couple of weeks. And Sunday we even got above freezing! Unfortunately, with that comes the dreaded snow crashing off the indoor roof. My full size horses and I all have ptsd about it. Every little noise we think is the snow coming. It makes for some interesting rides. Fortunately, yesterday the barn was closed and it was around 40 so most of the snow came off while no one was in there. Today is freakishly warm for February (might hit 50!) and is pouring rain. So that should get the rest off. Just in time for it to snow again Thursday... Lol. Mother Nature has a terrible sense of humor. 

Poor Pammon was beside himself this morning when I got on. Luckily though, another rider joined us and that helped him considerably. They haven't heard rain on the roof in awhile and he was just so worried about it. Poor dude. We survived though! 

So I guess today's confession is that I'm just as spooky as the horses with the snow on the roof. Do your horses get worried about that? Shiny doesn't care too much. Pammon tends to bolt when he hears it, but Eros turns himself into a helicopter. 

I hope all of you in Texas are staying warm and safe. We're used to that weather up here (but believe me, we don't like it any more than you do) and we're set up for it. It's a totally different story down there. I'm thinking of you guys and sending warm juju your way!

Also, a separate little plug for a budding artist. One of my coworkers has the cutest daughter. I think she's 9 or 10, and she is making digital horse drawings on Etsy. Her shop is Horse Art by Maddie. For $10 you can send her a photo and she'll turn it into a digital drawing for you. She did the one above of Pammon and me. Check out her shop here and support her new business!

Thursday's Threads: Singles Awareness Edition (with a cameo by lots of Pug hair)

 

Happy Outfit Day! It's still stupid cold here. And it keeps spitting white crap out of the sky. Gross. I got a note in my mailbox yesterday that I should dig out 30' of road so the mail lady doesn't have to get out of her car... But like, the snow is flush with my mailbox, so I don't know what they're expecting from me? Definitely no need for her to exit the vehicle. I'm guessing the whole road got the same note cause we're all in the same boat! Anyway, you're not here to talk about mail. Let's look at my dog hair covered outfit from yesterday!

Since Valentine's Day is Sunday, I wore my favorite singles awareness sweatshirt. 'Tis the season!

Helmet: One K MIPS

Yep, still recycling this photo... I really did meant to snap a new one. But I didn't. 

Hoodie: Rue 21

I'm not really sure how I managed to get completely covered in dog hair... but I did. 

Belt: C4

I thought this Champion belt paired well with the hoodie, because I'm the Champion of being Single AF! 

Breeches: Dover

These are a nice dark navy, not sure why they photographed so bright. Since they're corduroy, the pug hair really stuck to these too!

Socks: Noble Outfitters

What? You don't match your socks to your belt? Really?

Boots:

Still loving these. Haven't worn anything but them in a very long time... If only the snow would melt and temps would get above freezing... sigh. Some day.

Nails:

Back in the spring time I cleaned out all the cabinets in the bathroom and I found these nail stickers. I've had them for YEARS and never remembered to use them for Valentine's day. So this is the year! I did a real crap job applying them, but whatever. They're cute anyway.

I finally remembered to bring clean saddle pads out to the barn, so Eros has an outfit to share too!

Saddle: Butet

Baby Pad: Smartpak

Half Pad: Mattes

Quarter sheet: Kentucky

My very good friend had these baby pads monogrammed for me for Chanukah this year, and I just love them! She did two black and two white so we have a couple outfits to swap between. So thoughtful of her!

Boots: Equestroom

I really love these green sparkle boots. I'm also still really sad I couldn't get a pair in Shiny's size. 

And that's it for today! Any favorites? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

It's been kinda cold and snowy here. Not enough to interfere with horsing thankfully, but enough to be cold and annoying. 

Barn Owner headed off to Florida early Sunday morning, so things are calm and quiet. We had a substitute teach our flat lesson last night, but only I showed up for it, so I got to have a private. Poor Pammon worked so hard, all he wanted to do this morning was stretchy trot. Literally. That's all he wanted. Canter? "Ugh, do I HAVE to???" I mean, he did canter, he's not Shiny, but the majority of this morning's (VERY COLD) ride was stretchy trot with his cute little nose down near his feet. Since we were on the cusp of too cold to ride, I agreed with him that it was a good plan for the day. We can work harder tomorrow. 

Shiny is kind of stuck in her ways right now, but we keep plugging along. I let her have a walk only ride on Sunday to see if that would help. I know in the summertime she enjoys her bareback Sundays, so I was hoping a walk only day might work the same way. I'm not sure if it helped or not for sure yet, but she did canter both directions yesterday. Since Pammon does the evening lesson Tuesday, I usually do Eros in the morning that day, but I chose Shiny instead yesterday. She seemed really confused as to why I was riding her so early. And then was even more confused in the evening when I didn't take her out. Apparently she likes routine as much as I do! 

Nothing really to report on with Eros. He's is usual perfect self. He's been getting worked twice a week in the lunge rig (like the pessoa system) and while it seems to lighten him up a bit, I don't think it's really doing what it's supposed to behind. After he rigs, I feel like his back end is trailing out behind us. Odd. I really should get myself organized and bring the equiband out to the barn. I think he'd benefit from it. Shiny sure would if she would get moving forward!

I was pretty unproductive on the house cleaning front this weekend, but I did do some other stuff instead. Namely: I made Super Bowl snacks and labeled some stuff with my Cricut.

How about that Pug teapot though?

For snacks, I made strawberry cupcakes (from a mix, I'm not that motivated!) and the slow cooker contained buffalo chicken dip. I halved the recipe because it was just me enjoying it, and I think next time I'll do a touch less buffalo sauce and and a bit more ranch. It was my first time making it though, so that's how you learn!

How great is that tote bag that came in my barn colors?! I found them on Walmart.com and they also had the boarding barn's colors. Unfortunately, I was out of blue vinyl, so I didn't get to decorate that one this weekend. Next week maybe. The hoodie says Ponies Rule on the pocket and has my logo on the back. Possibly one of my new favorite things.

And that's really about it from here this week. How are things by you? Cold? Snowy? Rainy? Have any delicious Super Bowl snacks?