Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! After dressing up in multiple ridiculous outfits all last week, I had to tone it down this time. A pallet cleanse if you will... Eros modeled for us today, so let's start with what he wore.

I dunno guys, I think his dad bod is starting to look slightly more fit. The belly isn't hanging QUITE as low. He's handsome either way though. 

Bridle: Pinnacle
Browband: Boy O' Boy Bridleworks

Let's chat about these Pinnacle bridles shall we? I was always kind of meh about them. I have one that's a different model and thought it was fine, but nothing special. But these wide noseband ones? The longer I use them, the more I am liking them. For the price, they are REALLY nice. They are currently $89 and come with reins. If you're looking for a schooling bridle on a budget, definitely go grab one. I just recently discovered that this brand is also available in two different bitless bridle models. I'm seriously considering selling my La Cense side pulls and getting the Pinnacle one instead. 

Boots: Anky

I know, I've shared these a lot lately, but they are currently my favorite boots. They're on sale all over the place this weekend, so if you're in the market for a brushing boot, grab a pair! They come in black, green, navy, and burgundy. And possibly white, but I'm not positive on that.

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: The Hangry Mare

Half Pad: Mattes

I LOVE these pads from the Hangry Mare. I'm not sure if she's still making them though. I haven't used them in awhile because I had tucked them away and kind of forgot about them. But they're back in the rotation officially. 

That's E was wearing, and here's what I had on today:

It's starting to feel like fall (so sad) and my barn colors are very appropriate for that coming season. Maybe I should dress for the season I want not the season I'm getting?

Helmet: One K

I have the new tan colored front shield and rails installed with the green top today. I really do enjoy being able to swap parts around to match my outfits on these helmets!

Shirt: TKEQ

The majority of my seamless shirts come from Amazon, but I couldn't find this nice chocolate brown color on there, so I splurged on this one. Honestly, it's the same shirt as the Amazon version though. 

Belt: Ponylocks

I wore Jampy's belt today. Nice to have him with me for the day. Ponylocks really does an amazing job with these. 

Breeches: RJ Classics Gulf

These are a little tough to photograph properly. The color is called June bug and I expected them to look as they appear in this photo right above. But the actual color is more similar to my full outfit photo further up the page. I like both shades so no worries there! But was surprised when I saw them in person that they were more like hunter green than I expected.

Boots: Mountain Horse Sovereign Luxe

I'm debating making these my go to boots for most days. The black ones with the rhinestones really need to visit the boot doctor. I try to save my really fun boots for once a weekish so that they will last. My everyday, go to boots tend to die a pretty fast death lately, so I don't want to destroy something fancy so quickly. I think these may be the next tribute.

So that's it for today! Anything in particular you liked this week? Have you tried the Pinnacle bridles from Schneider's? Thoughts on those? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Another kind of boring week on the lesson front as I didn't have any. Al's still waiting on the farrier before we move forward with our workload. So he's just flatting lightly for now. Seems to be on the right track though, so that's positive! He's been relatively sane most days which is also a positive since he hasn't had a free lunge in weeks. And we all know Al really appreciates his free lunges. I'm sure he'll be a psycho tomorrow since I'm praising him now... But maybe not. He IS eight now after all. That's like full on grown up. 

I'm just kidding. Al will never be a grown up and I'm not sad about that. He's so full of fun, I hope he stays that way forever. But like... the spooking could simmer down.

Shiny's kiddo is going back to Florida soon, so they're getting in as many rides as they can before she leaves. They've been doing so great together, it's really fun to watch. But they did have a parting of ways last week. They didn't get down the line quite as well as they thought. Kiddo asked for the long one which Shiny actually obliged, but despite ASKING for the long one, kiddo didn't really believe in it, got left behind and then just popped off as Shiny landed. Oops. No tears were shed though, and she got right back on and tried again, like a true horse kid! So proud of both of them for not letting a little mistake rattle them. Shiny is a little naughty when she drops her kid though. It happened once last year, and then this time this year, and both times she's run away bucking. Like she's careful to make sure she's far away from her deposit before bucking... but still. She bucks! Naughty! Easy to catch though. So that's good. 

Eros has been his usual mostly perfect self. He's been a little lazy about really using himself, so we're working on that this week. I didn't end up jumping him last week because the weather hasn't cooperated with my schedule. But we did a lesson today, kind of... He was feeling himself today! He seemed quiet when I was warming up, but pretty spooky. Which didn't bode well for the jumping part... and well. He was pretty silly. He wasn't terrible AT the jumps, but was landing VERY bold. Which was fine. Despite being wild, he did let me reel him in and would consider my input at the jumps. So I'll call that an improvement over years past when he was feeling this sort of way. I'm not sure why he was so up today. Yesterday they were all cool as can be. Relaxed, not spooky. ALL OF THEM. Today? Everyone spooked. Even Shiny. Something in the air I guess. We had a very weird weather day, and I think that gets to them. But who knows? Horses, right?! We'll try again on Saturday... Until then we're going to get some work done on the flat, and maybe have a little free lunge. He also enjoys those from time to time. 

I mentioned last week on Thursday's Threads that we had spirit week last week at the boarding barn. If you've been around awhile, you know that I love a good theme. And spirit week is my time to shine! I wave that freak flag high and proud! So I feel the need to share all of my outfits with you guys! (Don't worry, it was only Tues through Fri.) 

Tuesday: Tacky Tourist

I rode Cuba for Tacky Tourist Tuesday and she was a very willing participant. My shirt, saddle pad, and her polos all had palm leaves on them. The bonnet had flamingos. And her fanny pack was a watermelon but it also had a koozy sleeve attached. It would be so perfect for trail riding!

Wednesday: Barn Day

I had Cuba again Wednesday and she liked dressing in the barn colors and logo too. But I think she liked Tacky Tourist day better. 

Thursday: Throw Back Day 

You guys already saw this one... but I really think you can't see it enough. That pink side pony is my favorite part. And Slim is so handsome too. 

Friday: Color Wars!

I'm not sure if you could tell, my team was yellow. I had Quebec for yellow day, which he's a SUPER fun ride. But he wasn't really into dressing up. Hence his half braided mane. I had planned jumper knots with big yellow pompoms. But then Quebec was like NOOOOO so I didn't get that done. He didn't seem to mind the yellow tail extensions though, so high for five for those! The yellow helmet mohawk was my favorite part of this outfit. I feel like maybe helmet hair accessories should be a regular thing. Nothing says fun like a side pony or a mohawk. 

In addition to all this fun, I actually had a lot of braiding work this weekend. Like a lot. 

By Sunday night my watch had logged this:

Nothing says finals weekend like a 23 hour day! Thankfully, I didn't have as much work as last year this time. That was insane. But over the three nights I did 14 manes and 12 tails. And THAT will pay for half my load of hay I need to order. So yay for that! 

Night 1:

Night 2:

Night 3:

The nights were long, not so much because of the amount of horses as there weren't that many, but none of them were at the show. So I had to travel to four different barns to get them all done. Thankfully they were all pretty close. 

My town's annul fair was this weekend too, and I hate to miss it! Even if two favorite food stands were gone. (Boo.) So after finishing my last mane Sunday, I headed straight to the fair! First stop was to look at the bunnies because I LOVE bunnies. I've never had one. But I think they are so cute. Then I walked through the cow barn because they're also adorable. Finally I ordered myself some food. I went with a grilled cheese. It was stuffed with bacon and tator tots. 10/10 highly recommend. Sat and watched the horse pulls while I ate that. Then got some ice cream and watched the horses for awhile longer. 

Eventually I had to head out to go ride my own horses. But not before getting a giant bag of kettle corn. Man, I love fair food! When Sunday finally ended, I slept for 12 hours and took Monday as a garbage day. Rita and I went for a walk, the horses got fed as normal, and otherwise I did absolutely nothing productive.

That was my week! Hope you all had a good one. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Heeeyyyyy Everyone!!!!! It's ME! Al! Mom said I had to come on here and tells you the truths about something I did. I don't think it's that bad... but she's a lil cranky about it. Something about this month being expensive and we horses need to stop breaking stuff. Mom's are so annoying sometimes. ANYWAY. Let me show you a photo.

Yeah. I ates the crosstie a lil bit. It still works though! I haven't eaten all the way through it (yet). So not sure why mom's all whiney about it. She keeps saying we have had those crossties for fifteen years. I don't even know what that means cause I'm only eight and 15 seems like REALLY old. So maybe it's not even my fault. Maybe they would have gotten a hole like that even if I didn't eats it? 

At first I tried to play pretend that Eros did it. But Mom had to pick some of the rope out of my teefs and then she knew it was me. Plus Eros is like perfect. He doesn't do troubles. Except he throws his drinking buckets sometimes. Which I think is reals funny btw. Mom does the whining about that too. Cause you know, moms are so annoying. 

Okay I did it! I tells the truths! Do your moms get cranky when you eat stuffs too?

Thursday's Threads: Throwback Edition

 

Outfit DAY!!!! Format will be a little bit different today because my model isn't my horse, so some of his tack doesn't relate to our outfit. But I felt it was way too much fun not to use for Thursday's threads this week. Also, I forgot to snap some individual photos of some parts, so some things will be grouped together. It will be fun, I promise! 

We're having spirit week at the other barn and today's theme was Throwback Thursday. We could choose any decade up through the 90's. Obviously I went with the 80's. I got to ride a very tall dude named Slim today and he was the perfect model for my crazy outfit. 

If you're thinking he looks huge, that's because he's 18 hands. Makes Al look like a wee pony. He's standing a bit awkwardly because he was not in fact standing. The bugs are having a real moment around here right now. 

We will look at Slim's outfit first. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Browband: Dark Jewel Designs (It's the spiked one)
Bonnet: Equine Couture that I embellished a bit
Saddle: CWD
Saddle Pad: I can't recall the brand, but she's not in business anymore so it doesn't matter
Fanny Pack: Tipsy Elves

I've had a fanny pack on my horse's neck a couple of times already this week, and I kinda think that should be a thing. My bonnet was a full size and my mount here is more oversize, so when it started coming off halfway through our ride, I just tucked it away in our fanny pack. Very convenient. I can see why they're making a comeback. 

That's what Slim wore (and yes he wore all of it the whole ride, with the exception of the previously discussed bonnet), and now for MY outfit. It's ridiculous. In all the best ways. I don't know brands for everything, much of it has been sitting around in my house. And well, some of it was no name stuff from Amazon. Okay here we go!

Sunnies, side pony, sweatband, and both tops: Amazon
Helmet: One K
Belt: Uknown brand, purchased long ago
Breeches: Tailored Sportsman in Avocado
Bracelets: Unknown brand
Boots: Unknown Brand, painted by ME!

So I discovered that they make pony tails you can suction cup to your helmet. Seriously. They come in all kinds of lengths, colors, and styles. They're supposed to have double sided tape to help it stick which mine didn't come with, so I had to use duct tape. But it stayed put the whole ride which impressed me. If I ever use it again for an 80's outfit, I'm definitely going to crimp it. That was a missed opportunity this time. 

And that's it for today! I mean, honestly, it's way more than needed really... Lol! What do you all think? Did I miss anything? I mean other than horse boots. I try not to mess with whatever someone else's horse normally uses. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Okay let's see... What all happened last week... Al was flatting lightly and awaiting a visit with the vet when we last left off. Of course, earlier on the day the vet was coming this happened:

And then a little bit later THIS happened:

Fortunately, the very kind man that put the fence up for me a couple of years ago was available the same day this happened to fix it back up for me. But boy am I flush out of money this month now! Sheesh. Of course, despite the good luck of being able to get it fixed right away, the timing was as you would imagine. My fence fixer arrived only moments before the vet pulled in. So needless today, we did the ridden part of the exam with a little chemical assistance. 

The bonus to that is whatever unsoundness I've been feeling would be exaggerated and speed up the exam. So that actually worked out pretty well. While I was convinced what I was feeling was up high and probably some kind of muscle strain, turns out, I was wrong. (I'll admit when I'm wrong! And buckle up because this issue will prove me wrong on more than one occasion.) 

Cute photo of Al to break up the text...

So despite my hypothesis on what I was feeling, turns out, he blocked sound right at the foot. What's interesting about this is that this has happened once before when he was feeling NQR. At that time, we were fighting with that dermatitis on that leg and I was 100% convinced that's what was hurting him. He's been known to go full on three legged lame for a tiny skin abrasion, so it wasn't ridiculous of me to assume this. However, at this point, we have the dermatitis cleared up (though there is a pesky line of scar tissue that I can't quite seem to get ride of entirely). So that's not longer a reasonable explanation. 
After blocking, the next step was to investigate. Now, we already know that Al has a very upright heel on the inside of this leg. When I got him, both legs had inside heels that were kind of squished upward. This is pretty common with stallions. Often once they're gelded their stance changes and their heels drop down to match their counterparts. Which did happen on the right side for the most part. But did not on this left leg. This is something my farrier and vet have been working on together, but we're going to have to get more aggressive in our collective efforts. Likely he'll be getting shoes back on. (He's been barefoot since last fall because of the quarter crack up front. Jury is out on if we'll shoe all the way around or maybe just behind, weird as that may seem.) So that was the starting point, he blocked sound to the foot and has the heel issue. But what else might we find? So next we did x-rays. The normal shots for balance all looked good, nothing extraordinary of note. But when doc x-rayed the coffin bone, we found a bit of an anomaly. Not likely the cause of his soreness or anything, but might explain a little of why the heel is the way it is. So, the coffin bone as viewed from above is sort of crescent shaped. The two ends should be more or less the same length and width. But on Al's foot, the side where his heel is compressed has a stubby end. It's shorter and wider. I'm calling it his Nemo fin. Other than it's odd shape, there's no issues though. It's not jagged or broken or anything terrible like that. So we moved on to ultrasound. This was also mostly unremarkable. There was a bit of fluid that is slightly irregular, but matches on the other side, so we're not worried about that. Overall, it's good news in that there's nothing major going on in there other. We are hopeful that getting the heel situation worked out should fix our issues. He's on some meds to help him get to feeling better and my vet and farrier are going to conference about next steps for our next farrier appointment. That should happen soon as he's coming due anyway. He had the weekend mostly off, we tack walked and hand walked. I hopped on Tuesday to see where we were at, and he felt about the same. So after a few laps each direction at the trot, we went back to walking. Today though, he actually did feel a lot better. Again, I just did a few laps each way. We'll ease back into things. But hopefully we're moving in the right direction. 

Shiny got to have a shockwave while the vet was out, which she really seems to benefit from. She's feeling good for the most part, but doc still thinks she's too fat. Not sure exactly what else to do, short of actually starving her... But I did chat with my morning helper about how much hay he's giving her in the morning. Hopefully that will have an impact? I dunno. You always hear about horses that are hard keepers, but no one prepares you for horses that are too easy to keep. They're just as difficult! 

Eros is perfect though! Okay well, yes, Eros is also fat. Apparently all my horses are fat. EVERYONE is on a diet. Should help with the hay bill though I guess? But otherwise he's doing just fine. He still comes out pretty stiff but once he's cantered he feels much better. He's also still very concerned about the woods, but he's not quite as jumpy as he was last week. I can't say I blame him really what with the bear sighting and all. But it would be nice if I could get some true inside bend once in awhile... Ha. Despite his inattention to me, he's been wonderful to jump. No torpedos and he's jumping pretty well. 

I haven't jumped anyone yet this week. I'm thinking maybe tomorrow, but we'll have to see how the timing works out. I finally have the guy coming to rebuild my fridge. I've been without a working refrigerator for almost a month now. I'm getting so tired of canned soup and gas station sandwiches... Very much looking forward to modern living again! (What a summer huh? First the truck, then the fridge, and the fence, and the Al foot...)

Thankfully, I had some braiding jobs last week, and I have many this weekend so I have some money coming in to help pay for all of these inconveniences. 

Wednesday night

Thursday Night

Friday Night

Last weekend was our state associations big medal finals. So that's what the above were done for. This coming weekend is a smaller associations finals which focuses on lower levels. It's super cute, and very well attended. Last year I nearly died having eleven horses to do each night. Thankfully I have a few less this year. But Friday will be a challenge because I have seven to do at FOUR separate locations. It's cool though. I've got all the good snacks and bought high octane soda to keep me going all night long. Plus you know... all the $$$. That's generally a good motivator. I'm toying with the idea of offering myself as tribute to the other braiders for New England Finals. Never hurts to pad the bank account, and it's only about an hour from me. We'll see. 

That's about it from here. I shall leave you with the cutest photo of Rita every taken:

Truthful Tuesday

 

Lolz... I've got a good one for you all today. Last week was busy. I had the vet coming out and some braiding jobs, plus the usual stuff. And then a fence debacle. Just a bunch of little stuff that kept me busy and a little distracted. So Saturday rolls around. I had taken the day off from riding at the other barn, so I just had my three to do. I thought I had the entire day and night all to myself so I was taking my sweet time getting the horses ridden. But when I got on Shiny just before four, my watch dinged with a calendar notification. I was supposed to be at a friend's party... in ten minutes. Oops. I sent off a quick text admitting that I would be not just late but like... two hours late. She said not to worry it will be a late night anyway. So I still was able to attend. I brought a large bottle of my brother's maple syrup as a peace offering. Did the trick. Ha. Ugh. I can't believe I forgot about this party. It was a taco party. I have been excited for it for WEEKS. And then I forgot. And that my friends, is how you know you're officially old.

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day!!! Another cloudy day so I went with earthy tones to add to the gloom. Ha. Al is our model this week, and he would like to apologize in advance that his mom put the wrong bridle on. She's just the worst. Anyway, here's what we wore today:

Look at that handsome chonk! I think Al's put on a few pounds with these couple of light weeks. Starting to look more like a hunter derby horse than a jumper... He sees doc tomorrow so hopefully we'll be back on track soon. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Browband: Dark Jewel Designs

I had planned to use the rose gold clincher bridle, but I forgot and just grabbed our everyday one. My bad. 

Saddle: Butet
Baby Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Mattes

The lighting was funny in this photo. The pad is a lovely shade of tan, but it looks very yellow here. The trim is chocolate brown. 

Boots: Imperial Riding

Okay. So I was very excited to find a lovely shade of tan boots for everyone. Unfortunately, when they arrived, they are SO BIG! I got two pairs of cob for the boys and a pair of pony for Shiny. Well. The pony size fits Eros perfectly. This is the cob on on Al, and while the boot itself isn't horribly big, the velcro is way too long. I'll probably end up selling all of then and finding something else. If anyone has a huge horse and is interested, hit me up!

That's what Al was wearing, and here's what I had on:

I actually thought this shirt was dark green when I put it on this morning. Turns out it's teal, so it really didn't match my saddle pad set up.... But it does look nice with the brown breeches at least. 

Helmet: IRH

Okay don't laugh. I have resisted wearing this helmet again because the first time I wore it was when Al spooked me off last fall. I was feeling very superstitious about it! But I finally pulled it out today, and all the horses were wonderful so the helmet is no longer jinxed. 

Top: Mathcat

I looked in my purchases to find the brand on this, and even though it's definitely a blue leaning teal... it was labeled as dark green. So my error this morning is warranted! 

Belt: Homemade by Me

I made this one I think last year? The year before? Who can remember. The years all blend together at this point. The buckle is Mane Jane.

Breeches: Dover

These haven't aged all that well. Structurally they're fine, but they have some weird fading happening. Still comfy though! And yes, I embellished the belt looks to match the belt. Obviously!

Boots: Dover

These are actually a little too big, but not terrible. They're very comfy. My only complaint about them, is the stretchy panel. That stretchy panel is like a faux stretchy leather rather than elastic. Which looks really nice! Except that it's already peeling. And I can probably count on one hand how many times I've worn them. So that's a little disappointing. 

And that's it for today! Anything favorites? Have you tried the Imperial Riding horse boots? Did they fit? I'm wondering if these were an anomaly or if they always run huge.