Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! And it's not green! We switched back to blue. Shiny is our model today so we'll start with what she wore. 

She looks good in every color I swear. What a nugget.

Bridle: Pinnacle
Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

Her previous bridle that donned this brow band was the Camelot one. At some point last year I started phasing those out and sold most of them. I switched the boys over before Shiny because I sold both of those first. I kept using hers until we moved home when I finally got around to getting her one of these Pinnacle bridles for the blue brow band. This one seems to run a little small though. The noseband fits well, but the cheek pieces are only on the second hole. They do line up with her eye nicely though, so obviously it will get the job done. For the price of these, you can't expect perfection. 

Boots: Eskadron

I know, these LOOK just like the boots we've been using the last few weeks. But those are green, and these are navy. So they are different! I really like these boots for winter. They're a little too hot for summer, but perfect for the rest of the year.

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Mattes

I'm still pretty sad you can't get these pads from Hufglocken anymore at super duper sale prices. But I still love the pads. 10/10 highly recommend.

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

It was pretty warm out yesterday when I took outfit pics so I got to wear less layers than we're used to! I still wore a vest over top, but didn't also need a coat. So that was nice! Today was back to 30's though. Yuck.

Helmet: Samshield

I really need to clean this thing off. It's quite dusty at the moment. I can't get over how purple it is now! Reminiscent of the old velvet helmets that faded over the years. I kinda like it.

Sweater: Ariat

I've always loved these Ariat sweaters. They are a wool blend so are warm but light weight. Unfortunately, I think this one is getting toward the end of its life span. It's really losing its shape suddenly and the bottom hem is all lumpy. No holes yet though, so I'll probably keep wearing it to the barn. Good enough for horsing around in!

Belt: Unsure of brand

I've been enjoying wearing all my retro stuff lately, so I pulled this belt out to put back in rotation. These were super popular in the late 90's and early 00's. I got this one the summer after my freshman year of college, which would have been '99 for those keeping track of my advanced age. It's still in perfect shape and it's completely adjustable so will fit forever.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

Nothing too exciting about these. Just a gray pair of TS. I still find TS to be my best fitting breeches. 

Boots: DeNiro

You guys haven't seen these in awhile! It's been too cold to wear them, but yesterday was lovely so I busted them out. I gotta say, I don't love these boots. I was always pretty happy with my De Niro boots, but this pair... not as much. They're wearing out on the inside, and now one of the zippers is starting to stick. They were a really good deal, so no regrets. But I think I should stick with Celeris and maybe Romitelli for future boots. 

That's it for today! Any favorites? How's the weather where you are? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

I don't have a ton to report this week. I also failed to snap any photos of my horses. I need to be better about that! I'm definitely better with media when the horses are home. A couple of years ago I contributed to Pivo's crowdfunding campaign for the redesigned Pivo pod. It kept getting delayed and I had honestly forgotten all about it. But it arrived last week, so I'm excited to try it out this summer when the horses get home. Hopefully I'll have lots of fun media from that this summer. 

I THINK Eros and Shiny will get to see the vet on Friday, but I haven't actually gotten confirmation on that. I'm not sure if I put them on the list early enough or not. Our barn manager assistant trainer has been back and forth to Florida, and she's the one that is supposed to relay these things to us. It's... interesting boarding in the winter when the people in charge aren't around, and there's not a consistent liaison on the premises. But HOPEFULLY we will get some vet time. 

I finally put Eros on Benadryl and his hives are much better. Not completely gone, but significantly better. He'll stay on it until they are completely gone though. He's been a perfect boy for his hand walks. Yesterday was really nice here, in the 50's and there was sun! So we walked outside. We both really enjoyed it. I'm hoping we'll get cleared to start tack walking. Fingers crossed!

Shiny was pretty funny this week. She definitely is coming due for some maintenance so hopefully we'll get that done Friday. When she needs vet work she tends to kick out when I ask for canter. Every time. So she's been doing that. But she can't be feeling that badly because she was SASSY in our weekend lesson. She started out kind of sulky and behind my leg, but then after popping over a few fences she changed her mind about that and was kind of feral. But like... in a fun way. At one point, we landed off a diagonal fence and there was a horse standing (not at all in our way) that we would be cantering past. Well, she was terribly offended by that horse's presence apparently, because she did a leap and a buck. A BIG LEAP and a medium buck. Nothing that unseated me (there's a lot of real estate on that pony's back) but it was a good effort. She also nearly got the horse strides in the outside line which is especially impressive since the jumps were like 2'. It's not easy for a pony to gallop down in the horse strides over small jumps like that. But we almost did. Not on purpose. So much sass. I love that pony. She's perfect. 

Al's been pretty good of late. We had two good lessons in which we managed to jump nearly every fence in the ring. They're still tiny jumps, and we're still staying a bit off the end of the ring, but he's a lot more relaxed now. He's also starting to give me some nice work and accept some pressure from me. We achieved a nice forward trot ON THE BIT several days in a row now. I don't ask for it for too long, but I get a little more each ride. I'm happy with him. He still spooks at things, but he's starting to think before he reacts, which is what I'm looking for. Does he still break from canter? Yes. Sometimes when he's worried. But he keeps trotting at least. And truthfully, I'd rather he break when he's scared, than whirl around and run away. 

I feel like horses are so hard. Just when you think you know how to do ride them, one like Al comes along that makes you rethink everything you ever knew. The past two months with him have been hard emotionally for me. I'm in an environment where there's only one way of thinking and it doesn't work for this horse. And while I've never cared much what other people think as long as my horses are healthy, happy, and performing at their best, there's still a part of me that feels... I don't know exactly what it is. But I feel like I'll be judged for stepping back so far with this horse. Deep down, I really, TRULY think I'm doing the right thing for him, but I also know that others do not think that. And for some reason that's been hard for me. But that's definitely a me problem, and my plan is to just keep on doing what we're doing. Spring is coming so hopefully we'll be outdoors soon enough. 

So that's about it from here this week! Sorry for the really boring wall of text. If you made it this far without any pretty photos, you're the real MVP. Hope your horses are all doing great!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Okay I have a real confessions today. A REAL CONFESSION. 

I'm sure you are aware that it is Girl Scout Cookie season. I have several dealers. I had hoped the number of dealers in my circle would have decreased by now, but alas... they have not. So I have MANY boxes of cookies en route. Some arrived yesterday. Which brings me to my confession. Last night I sat down with a box of Tag-alongs (Peanut Butter Patties if you're in the area of the less good cookies) and just ate the whole thing. THE WHOLE ENTIRE BOX. I just popped those cookies like they were potato chips. Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom. I have almost no regrets. My only minor regret is that a few of the cookies seemed to be missing the peanut butter. Not the entire box, just a few of them. Some kind of problem at the plant I guess. They were still tasty, those dud cookies, but not AS tasty as the rest of the box. 

So that's today's confession. I hope to not repeat that action tonight, but we shall see... Haha. Kidding. I cannot eat full boxes of cookies all the time. I have a dress I need to fit into at the end of March.

Anyone else have anything they need to confess this week? 

Thursday's Threads: Throwing it back a little further...

 

I know what you're thinking... Stacie, what could you possibly still be riding in that's older than your chaps? But guys, I'm OLD. So I have lots of old stuff! And you know, in the old days, when you bought quality things, they LASTED. Today's vintage item is Al's saddle pad. Which admittedly you've seen before. But this time I paired it with my full chaps which is a whole different, ULTRA VINTAGE experience. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone around to snap a pic of everything together from afar. So you'll have to use your imagination a little. All that said. We'll start with Al's outfit so as not to leave you hanging too long.

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Brow band: Dark Jewel Designs

See that stretched out nose? It was on its way over to accost me. He loves me like that.

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Personalized Products
Half Pad: Mattes

There it is! Isn't it beautiful? I love these pads. I have two, this one and one that's a few years newer that says Moo-moo. The underside is similar to the white pads we show hunters in, but is a natural color like sheepskin. This pad here I got at Harrisburg when I was showing Bud in the juniors. I'm not 100% sure which year, but I think it was probably '95. Which would make this pad 29 years old. You can see a little wear on the piping at the back, but like, that's pretty good for its age. I actually want to reach out to Personalized Products and see about getting a few of these made in solid colors. You know... bring them into this century. Ha!

Boots: Eskadron

Yeah, we're still using these. They match our outfit!

That's what Al wore this week, and here's what I had on:

The inner layers:

And the outer layers:

Winter, am I right? When you can wear an outfit that no one even sees. Also though, these breeches were a poor choice to wear with chaps... It kinda looks like I have no pants on. Not my best choice. 

Helmet: Samshield

This is a very unflattering selfie I took whilst on Al. Like why is my helmet so high?

Sweater: Old Navy

I picked this sweater up in this color and a camel color because they were crazy cheap and washable. I like them, they're warm, and super soft. I'm not sure they'll have a long life though. The quality is about what you expect for the price point. 

Belt: Noble Outfitters

This belt was pretty much an exact match to green of the sweater AND the shade of tan to the breeches. You almost can't see the piping it's so close. Which is impressive because these breeches are kind of a weird shade. Weird in a good way. But still weird. 

Breeches: Romfh 

The camera really wants to wash the color out on these. The actual color is most similar to the photo of the belt. I'd call it a cognac color. Whatever the shade, I like the pants a lot. They're really comfortable and the length is just right.

Chaps: Journeyman
Paddock Boots: Celeris UK

Yes, same as last week. I've been living in my chaps lately. I'm SO happy I resurrected them. They're really starting to soften back up to their former glory and are also smelling better. They were pretty musty when I first rescued them from my mom's garage. 

Here are the chaps and pad together. Can you believe I've stuck with the same barn colors for all of these years?! Also, how vintage and amazing are they together? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

The weeks are kind of flying by lately! But it's still cold out. Haha. The snow is taking its sweet time coming off the roof at the barn. Normally there's a bad day and then it's all done. But it's been coming off a little at a time since Sunday. It's a real treat. But I will say, my horses have been quite good about it. Even Al. Sunday was particularly rough, and while I was on Al, there was on of those HUGE crashes that starts at the top of the roof and then slides down crashing all the way... One lady fell off, and most of the other horses in the ring bolted towards the other end of the ring where Al and I had been standing. And you know what Al did? Absolutely nothing. He turned to watch everyone running at him and just stood there. He got extra cookies for that. I will never understand how this horse's brain works though. 

Al was a little edgy the past week for his lessons, but I still feel like we're moving in a positive direction. He's starting to turn his focus back on me and what we're doing rather than being hyperfocused on things that might potentially scare him. So far this week though, he's been very relaxed and even moving off my leg when I ask him to. We've been doing a lot of transitions which I'm finding very helpful in getting him to respect my leg more. You never really know what you're going to get from him on a given day, but I feel like we're having more good days than bad so hopefully we'll continue that pattern!

Shiny's been a good pony this week. I do feel like she's due for some maintenance, but I'm trying to put it off just a little bit to align with Eros' recheck in a few weeks. What I love about this pony is that she won't do anything she thinks is too hard. So I just try to listen to her each day and see what she feels like doing. If she's particularly sulky in a lesson, we stick to cross rails. On the days she's feeling more bold, I let her jump a little bigger. At least for now, until we get some vet work done. Once I know things are lubed up and ready to go, I can ask a little more from her. We borrowed our friends' Spectra Laser neck wrap on Friday. We put it on the fat busting mode in hopes that we get her cresty neck a little smaller... I'm not sure if it actually works for that, but she felt a lot better on Saturday. I think we might see if Grandpa wants to get her one for her birthday... And by grandpa, I mean my dad. And by Shiny's birthday, I mean MY birthday... We'll see if he goes for it. I don't know if these things actually work, but I've borrowed it a few times for different things and the horses seem to feel better after using it. Could be placebo effect. I dunno. But if there's a perceived difference, I'm all for it!

I finally started Eros on Benadryl last week, and it's definitely helping. The hives aren't gone completely yet, but they are significantly improved, so I'll take it. I gotta say though, the drowsiness is real with Benadryl... If you've ever taken it, you know what I mean! He's walking SO SLOWLY for our walks since he's been on it. I'm talking 28 minute miles. Which... is pretty slow. On the plus side, there's very little chance of him acting silly while he's recovering from this injury. 

That's about all that's happening here. Nothing very exciting to report, but I think that's a good thing this time of year. How are things with you all? Doing anything fun with your horses?

Truthful Tuesday

 

Heh... So this isn't horse related but I have to share it. My family and I are planning a weekend trip to DC toward the end of March for a wedding. And I nearly forgot that I need a dog sitter! I'm so used to leaving my dogs with my mom that I didn't consider the fact that mom is coming with me. Sheesh. 

Ever since becoming a hermit during the dark days (this is how I now refer to the Covid quarantine days) I swear, I'm less capable of being organized. I seem to lost the part of me that was able to just arrange things for going away especially. Like I used to travel a fair amount to horse shows and what not, so I had a good process for making sure everything fell into place. But I've severely lost that part of my brain. I guess I'll just need to start doing more so I can re-grow those brain cells. 

Anyone else run into this? Maybe it's just old age? I am getting up there.

Thursday's Threads: Valentine's Day Edition

 

Outfit Day! I feel like it's been awhile since we had a ridiculous and fun outfit. But today's the day! If you follow me on my new TikTok account, you've seen spoilers. But I have very few followers. Lol. Old people probably shouldn't have TikTok. Haha! Anyway... Shiny is our model today, so let's start with her outfit.

Palomino ponies were made for Valentine's Day outfits. You cannot change my mind on that.

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Brow band: Home Made

This brow band used to be a dog leash. But now it is four brow bands. Eros used his as a noseband on his halter yesterday though. He wanted to dress up but since he's just walking I had nothing to dress him in. So we figured that out. He was satisfied.

Boots: Equine Star

I think these came out SO cute! And yes, we did wear all of this last year. But this stuff isn't cheap, so expect to see it all again next year!

Saddle Pad: Equine Star
Saddle: Custom Saddlery

This saddle pad is adorable too. I have to say, I don't love the pads themselves. They're kind of slippery and don't stay put all that well. But for a single ride here and there they're fine. I think the more they get washed the more they'll soften up and maybe some of that slipperiness will go away. Hopefully anyway. 

That's what Shiny wore, and here's my outfit:

So much pink. But also green! Still though... mostly pink. It could have been MORE pink if I'd thought to bring the pink helmet. Fortunately for all of us, I did not. (I don't mention the vest below, it's Old Navy if you're looking for one!)

Helmet: Samshield

I'm still wearing this. But here's a new angle of half of this old helmet for you!

Sweatshirt: Zazzle

It's possible this did not come from Zazzle... I've forgotten to be honest. But I'm pretty sure that's where I got it. My outfit is mostly snarky conversation hearts (except the belt, it's more positive). Shiny's had all sweet messages. Because ponies are sweet, and I'm a crotchety old spinster. 

Belt: Buckle Down

Rita actually has a collar and leash that matches this belt. Because it's important to match your horses AND your dog on Valentine's Day.

Breeches: Pikeur

I snagged these second hand likely from Facebook (it was a few years ago) and I LOVE them. I think someone needs to come out with new tie dye breeches so I can have more. These may or may not be trying to split in the butt... So I'm not sure how much longer they'll survive. So like TS or RJ, maybe ROMFH, if you're listening... MORE TIE DYE PLEASE! 

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

Of COURSE they had snarky socks. D&S would never let me down.

Half Chaps and Paddock Boots: Celeris UK

These are the wonderful sheepskin lined chaps and boots. I'm not sure yet which is warmer, these or the full chaps. I think if they could figure out how to do sheepskin lined full chaps I'd be the coziest rider on the planet. Though I feel like fully lined full chaps might be impossible to move in. Probably why they don't exist. 

That's it for this holiday! It was fun having a silly outfit again. I think the next one will be for St Patty's day if I remember. The last few years I've somehow forgotten all about that holiday. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

I need to start taking notes throughout my week, because I barely remember what went on... We're kind of in that point of winter where every week feels mostly the same. So there's not a ton to report on (or remember). Anyway... 

Eros' hives have gotten REALLY bad, so I just recently started him on some Benadryl which should hopefully help. Also, the new shavings came, so hopefully that will just fix the problem. Otherwise, he's still living his best life. We had a few beautiful days where the weather was sunny and in the 50's. Felt like spring! So E got to do his walks outside, and we both really enjoyed them. We walk for 30 minutes and usually cover about 1.1 miles. But outside E had some pep in his step and we managed just under 1.5 miles in the same amount of time. We even got to see Al during our walk since he was having his outside time while E and I were strolling.

Speaking of Al, he had a decent week. Not the best we've had but not bad either. Thursday we had a pretty great lesson, but then our Saturday lesson wasn't as great. He was more distracted and not moving off my aids very well. We rode a little earlier than normal though, and it was pretty chilly still at that point in the day, so I'm not getting worked up about it. This week it's cold again, and tomorrow's lesson will be in the low 20 degree range so I have no expectations for that either. Hopefully it's at least less windy than today. The indoor was rattling it was blowing so hard! And the snow is still up on the roof... These are wild times my friends. Wild times. Thankfully the goat's been wandering free lately to keep Al company with his thoughts...

The goat lives with Al's half brother CD (who we lesson with!) but is allowed to roam in the mornings. When he was a baby goat he was raised by all the barn dogs, so he's not really sure what species he is. He wags his tail like a dog. Doesn't eat tack or carrots, but does like donuts. He also especially likes to pull the jump flowers out of the boxes and drop them on the ground. He's a pretty good goat as goats go. And Al really seems to enjoy his company. 

Shiny was SASSY this week! She was kind of sticky all week, not wanting to get to work at all. I was thinking she may be coming due for some maintenance, but I don't actually think so. I'm pretty sure she should't be due for a bit longer. Our Thursday lesson she was cranky about picking up canter, but once she got going she was great. Jumped around willingly albeit maybe a little short on pace. Saturday though? So many opinions. ALL THE OPINIONS. And she was not at all interested in moving up to the jumps. At one point, I asked her to lengthen to get to a nice forward spot at a little vertical. She made faces and sucked back until we were about a stride and a half away. And you know what she did then?? She let out a HUGE buck. Which there wasn't space for. Next thing I know, we're about one inch away from the fence and I'm thinking... Huh. Wonder what's going to happen now... I was hoping she'd stop. But Shiny doesn't stop. Shiny is the most honest animal on the planet (unless the fence has square rails, she hates those). So she pings herself right over. I was just up there like a rag doll with sticky legs. Fortunately, no one died, and we came back and tried again without the acrobatics. We compromised the rest of the lesson, I picked the slow distances and she agreed not to try and kill us. 

Sunday Funday she was fine for but we barely did anything... I rode Al early that day, then went to brunch and came back for Shiny. So I was suffering a food and mimosa coma and let Shiny have an extra easy ride. We both enjoyed it. But then Tuesday? She was SPOOKY. Shiny! She only spooks maybe twice a year. I wasn't thinking she could possibly be wild already. She just free lunged the week before last. Those normally take for at least a month with Shiny. But then I got on her today and when we were done with the warm up shuffle, I asked for canter and she just wanted to kick out and bounce up and down. At first I worried that she was hurting, but then I decided you know what? I think she's wild. So I hopped off, tied up the reins and stirrups and let her have herself a free lunge. She was nuts. Galloped around, threw some bucks, had a grand old time. When I got back on she was much happier, and moving forward nicely. I frequently forget that when Shiny gets especially backwards, it means she's wild. It's counterintuitive, but that's a pony mare for you. 

I had actually hoped to ride her outside during the nice days last week, but our lessons didn't give us the opportunity. I did take walk her out outside on Friday though, and it was lovely. She was definitely happy to get out of the indoor. 

That's about it from here this week. Hope you all had a good one! Is the weather all sorts of up and down where you are too?

Truthful Tuesday

 

This week's confession is that I'm feeling a little mid winter slump. We had fake spring this past weekend which had me feeling super motivated and looking forward to spring/summer and being back home with the horses. Hopefully by that time Eros will be back in work too. Lots to look forward to! But then, winter came back with a full on snowstorm today. Gross. It brought the cold with it too. Double gross. So now I'm back to feeling very unmotivated. Fortunately, Al isn't the kind of horse to let me slack off, so we're still plugging along. But still. It's not as fun as it is when it's actually warm out. 

I figure tomorrow and or the next day will be its own special torture when the snow comes off the roof of the indoor while I'm riding. I regularly question why I love living in New England when this time of year rolls around. I for sure need to start playing the lottery so I can be a proper snowbird someday. 

Thursday's Threads: Throwback Edition

 

Soooo.... I maybe forgot to take fresh horse photos for today's Thursday's Threads. But my plan was for Al to be our model today, and he's wearing exactly what Shiny wore two weeks ago. Do you remember? It was this:

I switched Al over to this pad to help with his winter rubs from the saddle. Hopefully it helps. But what I'm really excited to share this week is MY outfit. If you follow me on Instagram you might have already seen that I managed to get myself back into the full chaps I got when I was 16. That makes them... 28 years old. TWENTY-EIGHT! YEARS! That's really old. And um... also makes me really old. Anyway...! Here's what I had on this week:

Outfit

Full Outfit

Helmet is still the Samshield so we'll just skip right over that. Vest is from Macy's. I'm not sure of the brand, I think it's one of their own. 

Sweater: Vineyard Vines

I feel like I may have worn this recently for Thursday's Threads? But not positive. I recently rediscovered it when I went through a bin of sweaters I had stored away. It was a good find this time, but also when I first got it. It's wool and by a fancy pants brand, so it was originally very expensive. But I had found it at TJ Maxx on clearance for like $30 or something around there. It's perfect for winter riding!

Belt strap: Found on Ebay, no brand
Belt Buckle: Vintage Gucci

I found both of these on Ebay years ago. The belt is a little dry and might not be around much longer, but for now it's holding up! The buckle you can see has some slight damage to the enamel up at the start of the G, but otherwise is in great shape. I just think it feels horsey with the buckle in the middle like that. Heh... a buckle ON a buckle. How Meta.

Breeches: Equiline

You've seen these a bunch by now. This is the pair that I think is mis-sized because they are two sizes bigger than I normally wear but fit great. Equiline is weird. 

Paddock Boots: Celeris UK
Chaps: Journeyman

Listen. I have no idea how these are fitting me. I'm easily 15 lbs heavier than when I got them. Maybe more. But here we are! I'm not asking questions. I did have to let the buckle out quite a bit though. I'm all for honesty around here. I've paired them with my sheepskin lined Celeris paddock boots and it's a ridiculously warm set up for winter riding. 10/10 highly recommend. 

But can we chat more about the chaps? They were a Chanukah gift from my mom, but I got measured early because the company was at Washington when I was showing there and it made sense to have them do the measurements. Plus they take awhile and that way they should arrive around holiday time. Which I think they did, who can remember that long ago? I was SO excited. I grew up riding at a barn that had its own tack shop. And also, it was the only tack store anywhere near where we lived. And the owner really hated when we bought stuff anywhere else, so we were kind of stuck with whatever brands they carried there. Journeyman was not one of them. They did have a custom chap brand, but it wasn't one of the nicer ones, and they had very few options. So it was a really big deal when my mom agreed to let me get these. And even the barn/store owner admitted these were really nice quality when they arrived. CLEARLY, they are good quality since they are THIS old. To be fair, they sat in storage for probably 20 years... But that almost makes it more impressive because they came out of storage STIFF. Like I could barely get them unfolded. It took a lot of conditioning and eventually a few rides to get them back to their former glory. But here they are! And I'm once again very excited. 

Here are the chaps back in the day. I was probably 17 at this point. And that amazing steed is Just Humour Me, Bud in the barn. Bud-Bud to his friends. My junior hunter. Best horse there ever was. An appendix quarter horse that held his own against the warmbloods. Ribboned at Devon and Indoors. (With the pros... I never managed a ribbon at those venues. I was famous for finding seven out of eight jumps, and the 8th was usually a spectacular miss, but hey, at least I got there.)

These are the only photos I could find with the chaps. On the one hand I am VERY GLAD that cell phone cameras weren't a thing when I was growing up, but on the other, I really wish I would have had more photos from the old days. 

Do you have anything old you used to love to use for riding that you've brought back or maybe bought again? Did you have a pair of Journeymans?