Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I nearly evicted Pammon after his first full day at home... I forgot what a neurotic mess he can be. I remember now. Sheesh. 

Everything was fine Sunday when I brought Al and Pammon home to the farm. They both seemed to settle right in. Eating, drinking, peeing, and pooing. All was calm. Even at night check. It wasn't until Monday morning when he came unhinged. My plan was to turn out Shiny and Eros first as they are used to, and then Al and Pammon in the second group. Well. Pammon thought that was the worst idea EVER. He was screaming his head off, weaving in his stall, running in circles. I was afraid he would hurt himself all over again. And what made it even worse was that he was upsetting everyone else. Even Eros was worked up. And so much yelling. 

I enlisted a little chemical help for Pammon so he wouldn't injure himself and eventually he calmed down. He was for sure still anxious, but he wasn't spinning circles nor weaving in his stall anymore. He played some when it was his turn to go out, and eventually mostly settled down and hung out at the end by Shiny in her paddock. (After all the chaos, I opted to rotate all the boys in the ring and just leave Shiny in the back paddock all day since she was the only one not being ridiculous.)

Al surprised me (in a good way) by not feeding too much off of Pammon's neuroses. Al gave a few whinnies, but he wasn't at all frantic the way his older brother was feeling. When it was his turn outside he sauntered around checking out his new surroundings, had a good roll, and then went to play games with Shiny at the other end of the ring. He would call to her come over and then she'd spook him and they would both canter a circle in their respective play areas. It really seemed like they were both entertained. No one was frantic or running. Just a lil' pony game!

So anyway, back to the confession. I was thisclose to calling the lady who helped me sell Badger to come get Pammon. I can handle an angsty horse and all, but what was most stressful was the way everyone else fed into it. Fortunately, things went considerably better today. Pammon still managed to break the fence on his walkout (because of course he did) but he wasn't as worried as the day before. I let him go out first today, which I think is just how we'll have to do things. The others are more patient, so it should work fine. Hopefully.

Thursday's Threads

 

Happy Outfit day friends! We had some fun but didn't take it too far today... that's coming though. Summer's just getting started! Anyway... Here's what we wore today:

Also, both horses had their manes shortened and are looking slightly less feral.

Bridles: 

Eros-Royal Equine, Shiny- I *think* this is a Nunn Finer.

Browbands:

Eros-Evoequine, Shiny- Dark Jewel Designs

Reins: Pink Noses Studio (Etsy)

Bits: Sweet Billy's Bits

These aren't their best quality bridles, but they do the job for occasional use. And they look pretty darn adorable in them!

Saddles:
Shiny- Custom Saddlery, Eros- Butet
Saddle Pads: 
Shiny- Premier Equine, Eros- Smartpak embellished by me with an Ippico half pad, and an unbranded riser cover for a little lift. 

I've always felt like Eros could use some rear shims as I ride a bit up hill on him. But I was always reluctant because I was afraid it would change the fit over his withers. After chatting with the Butet fitter when she came out for Al, I figured I'd see how a tiny lift might go. I found this old lollipop cover which gave me just the little lift I needed (it's empty!) and didn't alter the fit on his withers at all. He has a shimmable Mattes pad ordered so we can look a little more modern in the future.

Boots: Punk Ponies

It was a bit overcast for Eros' photo so it's hard to see, but these boots shift color depending on how you look at them. I was stupid excited when Punk Ponies debuted them and ordered immediately. Good thing I did as they have nearly sold out of them!

That's what the kiddos had on, and here's what I wore:

I love all the unicorn colors in this photo... 

Helmet: Samshield

While I still wish Samshield cared enough to use MIPS, I very much love this helmet. The holo shield and rails is so, SO fun!

Shirt: Ariat

I really like the Ariat shirts for this in between weather we're having. It's comfortable out (high 60's) but too cool for a thin sun shirt. And definitely not warm enough for a tee shirt. It's hoodie weather if you're just hanging around, but a hoodie is WAY too hot if you're actually doing stuff. So these shirts are the perfect solution. 

Belt: Made by ME!

Back during the height of the Pandemic, we were working off two week allotments at work. Which meant that we'd have one week of being insanely busy, and then have barely anything at all to do the second week. During one of those slow weeks I made this belt. You can tell my boss if you want, they already let me go ;) This belt has almost the same material as the horses' boots. This leans more purple/green though, and the boots are more purple/blue.  Close enough though!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

This color is called Dark Teal, and I really love them. I love them so much, I actually bought them NEW and paid retail. They have the sock bottoms, so you know I really loved them. So expensive. But I had sold a bunch of other breeches and thus, I felt I could validate the purchase. 

Boots: Celeris UK

They're still gorgeous, aren't they?! I love these boots. I am VERY sad that they are considerably too loose in the legs now though. I'm going to see if I can get these and a few of the other pairs taken in at some point. I think that would be more cost effective than selling and replacing them. Plus, who knows if I'd have any luck selling them. And who wants to break in more new boots? Not me. In the meantime though, I'm just going to keep wearing them too big. 

Other: Crop

I got this stick YEARS ago from the harness track tack store in Saratoga. I had forgotten all about it until recently. It matches quite nicely with all the unicorn stuff!

And that's it for today! Any favorites? Anything you're waiting to see? Any guesses as to what I might have up my sleeve for a crazy outfit? (Amanda, you can't answer that!)

What's Up Wednesday

 

I dunno where the time goes... I nearly forgot to write this post today! Things are going well with all the four leggeds over here. The weekend was a little hot and humid, but no complaints here! I love summer weather! Just waiting on the pool guy to come open the pool and we'll officially be in the best time of the year in New England! Anyway... You're not here for a weather report. Let's talk ponies!

Al really seems to be enjoying his new (loaner) saddle! I wasn't loving the flap initially, and would definitely still prefer the slightly more forward one that I ordered, but the loaner saddle is breaking in beautifully and it's much more comfortable after a week's worth of rides. I had a couple more lessons with the new instructor this week, and they both went well. Every time I jump this horse I like him even more. He's just so game! (And forgiving...) I have two more lessons this week, I think with the barn owner, and then he'll be home and I'll have to figure things out unsupervised! Well... not really. My old trainer should be back from Florida the same week, and she said she's happy to come over for some lessons. So I'm SUPER excited for that!

Unfortunately for Eros, his vet appointment last Friday had to be rescheduled due to a sick vet. So he's still waiting on those hock injections I promised him. The new date is June 3rd. Eros is very much looking forward to that! In the meantime, I've shortened his unruly mane. We've also been riding regularly and popping over some little fences. He's been absolutely perfect. I really think he's just a lot more relaxed here at home. That and I don't make him flat for too long before we jump. He really seems to be offended by having to do real flat work before jumping. He has so many opinions. He IS a chestnut! He was VERY happy for the return of Sunday Funday though!

I mean, who doesn't love a quick bareback ride followed by fresh spring snackies in the back yard?

Pammon is doing great these days! We're riding outside regularly without too much drama. He even stayed working when the other horses we were riding with went back inside! That's hard for him. He hates when his buddies leave. He's fine alone if he starts alone, but he doesn't like being left. I don't blame him. We're up to about 20 minutes of full trot work and about five minutes of cantering. We're still just cantering round and round on the rail, but once we get to ten minutes we'll have a check and then proceed with circles and lead changes. Maybe we'll even get to start jumping one of these days! And if all that goes well, he'll be ready to find himself a lease kid. Hopefully. Fingers crossed. Much as as I absolutely LOVE having four horses to ride everyday, it's really expensive. Especially these days. So it would be super if one of them could earn his own way. At least for a year or two. But that's still a bit in the future. First we have to get through the rest of rehab. For now, I just get to enjoy him! He's such a character. All the kids love him at the barn. One of the teenagers brought her family out the other day, and her brother had a friend with him. They were all taking selfies with Pammon because he was being so personable, despite the fact that the teen herself has a LOVELY horse of her own. Everyone loves Pammon! 

I'm looking forward to having home too. Nothing better than some Pammon snuggles at bed time!

Shiny's still about the same as far as her leg goes. Today after our ride it looked the closest to normal that it has in a long time though. So hopefully we're on the right path. As for her mental state... Sunday Funday made her SO HAPPY! I forgot how much she enjoys a play day. When I got on her Tuesday (after she warmed up with the Shiny shuffle of course) she was ready to work. She picked up canter both ways without kicking out! And while I haven't been insisting on her framing up and lifting her back, she willingly was doing that on her own the last two days. It's interesting how a day off doesn't do that same thing for her emotionally as a bareback ride and snackies in the yard. Hey, girl knows what she likes! 

And what she likes is bareback snackies. Understood Shiny. 

In other news, the doggos are loving the nice weather!

It's nearly impossible to get photos of them together though. They're rarely facing the same way and Rita is a little whirling dervish out there! Silly doggo. 

And the last bit of semi exciting news... Remember my mint and gold boots that arrived basically white?

These ones!

Well, I finally found some boot cream that seemed like the color I was after. It's not EXACTLY what I wanted, but they're looking SO much better! And I'd definitely call them mint green now.

The left one is the after. Right is before.
I'll debut them for outfit day soon, and 
will have better lit photos then. 

That's about it from here. I've got Pivo back up and running so hopefully will have more fun media in the weeks ahead. Did you all have a good week/weekend?

Truthful Tuesday

 

You all know that I can braid a hunter mane fairly well. I'm not as good as the real pro braiders out there, but I can hold my own, and your horses won't feel embarrassed by my twisting skills. But I never actually learned how to do jumper braids. A photographer friend of mine asked if I could do them to help her out on a project, and so I had some motivation to finally learn. And I'm here to tell you... I'm not very good yet. I've only tried once so far, and it wasn't AWFUL. But it wasn't good. Here they are:

I tried the rolling method and used bands for this attempt. I'm going to try again soon but with yarn this time. I think I'll have better control sewing them in than I did trying to use the rubber bands. I broke so many! I know a lot of you eventing and dressage riding friends do these types of braids, so if you have any advice, please throw it my way! Do you use bands? Yarn? Something else? 

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit DAY! I'm still having lots of fun with outfits over here... There's plenty of ridiculous in process too. I'm so weird. But I enjoy my weirdness so here we are. Anyway, here's what we wore this week:

My childhood self would be so proud! Though my childhood self would never have dreamed of lavender boots. 

Bridles: Winner Special

I decided to match to the rose gold on the boots with the bridles today. I was torn between these bridles and the unicorn ones to match the purple, but since these were out in the tack room already I opted for the rose gold. Plus they both look so cute in them!

Boots: Horze

These are inexpensive fun boots from Horze aka Equinavia. Nothing overly special about them, but they match my boots almost perfectly!

Saddles: 
Eros- Butet, Shiny- Custom Saddlery

Saddle Pads:

Eros- Equestri Lifestyle baby pad, Ippico half pad, Shiny- Lettia

I'm pretty sure Equestri Lifestyle is now defunct, but I love this tie dye baby pad from them! Mint and lavender is one of my favorite combos. I rode Shiny with no half pad and while my saddle felt very secure on her back that way, she seemed pretty annoyed with me for this ride. So I'm not sure if it was the change in pads or if she was just in a mood that day. Hard to tell with her! But I'll probably go back to our lined pads for most rides. 

That's what the kids wore, and here's what I had on:

So much pastel in one photo. SO MUCH.

Helmet: IRH

I don't love my pastel helmet anymore, so I decided to wear this one with the rose gold instead. I have to tell you, for an inexpensive helmet, this is probably the best fitting one that I own. 

Shirt: Sport Horse Lifestyle

I've had this shirt for years but just recently rediscovered it. I love this color, and it's a perfect match with the mint in Eros' saddle pad!

Belt: C4

You have NO idea how many different shades of lavender exist in this world. I only know because none of my belts actually match these breeches nor the boots. So I went with the rose belt, because that seemed like a good compromise. I think it works!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

So in my house I thought these Berry breeches would match the boots. I was incorrect. In retrospect I think my lavender RJ's will match better, but they were in the laundry and not an option this time. I do like these breeches with the top though!

Boots: Celeris UK

Soooo... I said I wasn't going to ride in these anymore because they seem to bleed on my saddle. But I also have been frustrated with all of my too big boots and these actually fit me. So I rode in them. And they bled on my saddle. But not as badly as before. So maybe we're getting to the end of that? Hopefully? I gave the insides a good scrubbing after and didn't see much on the sponge. So I'm hopeful they'll stop doing that. It did clean right off the saddles anyway. These fit so perfectly though! Fortunately, my new show boots are the same measurements, so they are also pretty perfect.

Crop:

I used my glitter crown crop for both horses. I had regrets though as Shiny has a lot more respect for the dressage whip. But this thing is so cute!

And that's what we wore this week! Any favorites?

What's Up Wednesday

 

It's been pretty busy around here lately.  The week was a total roller coaster of random stressful things. Some more minor than others. To start, Al tripped while turned out and gave himself a good cut on his leg. But it seemed like just a good scrape and he was sound when I rode him the same day. 

Said booboo

He can be a bit dramatic about bumps and bruises so I wasn't surprised when it was swollen (see above photo) the next day. What did surprise me was that he was hobbling lame on it that day. I was pretty confident the trouble was with that booboo though, so I cleaned it up really well and wrapped it up for the night. The next day, thankfully, he was good as new. I was waffling on whether or not to lesson on Friday though. I wasn't sure if I wanted him landing off jumps on that leg while it was bugging him. 

I wound up not having to make the decision myself though. Friday morning I woke up early to do my PT exercises before trying to ride the other horses before Al's lesson (that I still was on the fence about). I was up for a bit before Pia woke up, but when she did finally, she was having a real struggle. I thought this might be THE THING. She's 16 now, and I'm fully aware that THE THING is coming eventually. She couldn't stand up and her eyes were twitching in her head. Definitely not a good sign. I ran her up to the doggy ER right away. They brought her in pretty quickly, and awhile later they let me know that she was experiencing vertigo. Which was a huge relief because I was pretty convinced she was having a stroke. Turns out, she just had a bad ear infection. Which I feel terrible about, but that's pretty easy to fix, and it meant she came back home with me. That excursion took almost four hours, so at that point I had already texted to let them know I was skipping the lesson with Al. It was the right call as I didn't have the mental energy for that anyway that day. 

I did hack Al and Pammon later that same day, but Eros and Shiny wound up having the day off. Some days you just can't get everything done. I have no recollection of Saturday, so I'm assuming it was a normal day with no emergencies... Hopefully anyway! Ha! 

I did lesson with Al on Sunday though. He came out WILD but held his feelings together and was actually quite good. We didn't do too much jumping. The lesson was with the new instructor and she's really focused on position and somewhat on biomechanics. So we spent a lot of time flatting. Once we did get to jumping, it took awhile to get through warm up and the first course as there were six of us in the lesson. By the time I'd jumped the first course, I had been on Al for almost an hour and a half, so I said I needed to be done there. I felt like that was a long time for him to have me sitting on him, and I also had three more horses to ride. PLUS I had an old friend coming to the house for a braiding lesson at 3. 

We used Shiny for braiding practice and I think she actually enjoyed it. She stood so nicely the entire time! I'm pretty sure she's never been braided so that was a nice discovery. 

The most exciting thing that happened this week though? The Butet rep finally made it out to the barn! I had reached out to a different rep because the first I had contacted wasn't able to make a Monday work. The barn owner said I could only have a non CWD rep there on a Monday. When the first one stopped responding to my emails, I reached out to this other woman. And she responded immediately, and I had an appointment set up quickly. 

She brought I think six saddles to try. Three of them fit Al reasonably well so I could try some different flaps. I was pretty confident I knew which flap I needed, but based on my height the rep was convinced I wasn't right. I'm not particularly educated in saddle fitting, but I knew I was comfortable in what I had been using. And low and behold, once she saw me in the saddles she was like, well how about that! You DO need the forward flap! Unfortunately, she didn't have a saddle with her that was exactly what we needed, but she did have the right tree/panels for Al. That saddle doesn't have the flap I need, but it's pretty close. So she left that one for me to use in the meantime. She's going to see if she has any loaners coming back soon that would be closer to what we need. If she does, she'll swap out for me, and I can try that loaner and buy it, or place my custom order. And then I'll be paying off said saddle for forever. But Al will be happy and that's most important! I can already feel the difference in how he moves with the better fitting saddle. So it's worth the expense. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

In other horse news, Eros has been great this week. I let him have a little free lunge yesterday and he let out some great big bucks which I'm glad he saved for when I wasn't on him... And he's been an angel ever since. He'll get his hocks done Friday (finally!) so he'll get this weekend off. I'm sure he'll enjoy that!

Pammon seems to be doing well too! We're cantering four laps of the indoor (or two laps outside) each direction, and I think he's feeling pretty good. The vet was out Friday for some other horses so he happened to be in the ring while I was working Pammon. Doc thought he was looking great, so that's reassuring! I've ridden him outside a handful of times and he's been really good. But he still gets lonely if there's a horse out there with him and then it leaves. I think he'll always be that way. He's generally find alone as long as he starts that way. He just doesn't like when friends leave. Stage 5 clinger that one.

Shiny is mildly stuck in a rut. She doesn't seem to really want to work, and I honestly think she's a little bored. She hasn't jumped in many months (since she was off back in the fall!) and I think she's just over the same old stuff everyday. I'm not sure if Doc has time for her on Friday, but I'm hoping he will. (I replied to their text about the appointment, but no one replied back. And then I keep forgetting to call. I'm the worst!) I don't think anything is terribly wrong physically. She still has some fill in that one leg, but I don't think it bothers her. It would be nice to have his thoughts on her though. We'll see!

I think that catches us all up! Did you all have a good week/weekend? Anything exciting on your end?

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession? I haven't really found my "routine" yet with having horses in two places. But the surprising part is that I'm not all that bothered by not having a real routine yet. Maybe because I know this is a temporary situation? Or maybe I'm learning to be less rigid in my old age? Hard to say for sure. 

Having horses in two places is a little bit of a time waster. Mostly because I'm so easily distracted. Most days, I head over to the boarding barn in the morning and ride those two horses, then come home for the other two. But here's where I get a little irresponsible. I always seem to get distracted by my social media when I get back home for the second pair of horses. I generally throw them their lunch hay and want them to have a few minutes to eat before we get to riding. And I find myself mindlessly scrolling social media or placing a grocery order or whatever. Before I know it, forty minutes have gone by and I will then be in the barn forever... Lol. There are certainly worse places to be all day! 

Does this happen to anyone else? Or are you all very productive all the time?

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! The second one back at home. Obviously, I had to do a logo outfit. It's been so long! Here's what we wore today:

So fun to be back in the land of green and tan!

Bridles: Pinnacle

Browbands: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

Bits: Sweet Billy's

For the price, these bridles are pretty nice. They soften up nicely with oil and they fit well too. These are the chestnut color that I snagged awhile back when they were on sale, but when Al comes home, his is the darker havana color. He doesn't look good in this lighter shade, but I really like it on these two!

Saddles:

Eros- Butet, Shiny- Custom Saddlery

Saddle pads: The Hangry Mare

Eros' half pad is Mattes

I really love these pads from The Hangry Mare. If ever I come into a wad of cash I may get a few more made. Maybe even future show pads!

Boots: Equine Star

The Equine Star boots aren't the highest quality by any means, but they can print literally anything at all which makes them super fun. They seem to hold up decently well despite my putting them through the washer AND dryer. Plus, look how cute these are!

That's what the tall kids wore, and here's my outfit:

Logos everywhere! But like... not TOO many.

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS

I wish they had regular gold rails available... but the rose gold look nice too.

Shirt: It's a Haggerty's

Last year when It's a Haggerty's had their annual sale, I had a few custom shirts made, and this is one of them. I like their tops a lot, they fit well and wash well too. Plus you can fully customize them which is always fun,

Belt: Zazzle

Zazzle is fun because you have almost anything made with whatever you want... I just wish they had horse stuff! I thought this belt turned out cute. 

Breeches: RJ Classic Gulf

I used to not like the RJ breeches much, but now that I have them in the correct size, I'm actually a big fan. Plus stores are allowed to put them on sale which makes them more accessible and affordable than TS. Which, they're less money even when they're not on sale so that's also nice.

Boots: Fama 4 All

So sad story... These boots do not fit me anymore at all. They're way too big in the leg. But obviously they're amazing so I'll continue to wear them anyway. 

And that's it for today! Any favorite parts? Have you customized any apparel of your own?