Truthful Tuesday

 

Okay... Well. It seems... that maybe someone who lives in my house and rides my horses has a wee something embarrassing to show you guys. (It's me, I'm the one who lives here and rides my horses.) 

Top to bottom: Romfh in Maple, TS in Saddle, TS in Canyon, Dover Wellesley in Sepia

I like nearly all variations of tan breeches (not you though Rust). So much so that I have this many pairs! My favorite is the second from the bottom though, the TS Canyon. So yeah. If anyone sees or hears me say anything about buying tan breeches that are not show pants, please stop me. Also, I don't need show tan either. Honestly, I don't need any breeches. DON'T LET ME BUY ANY BREECHES! 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Okay, well... I guess I should own up to it... I did buy myself some presents for Black Friday/Cyber weekend. I mean. We all know it happens. But this year, I really shouldn't have. My credit cards are not in a great place, and I have to get gifts for the family still too. But well, I'm just not alway a very responsible person. What can I say? I didn't get too crazy, and I close out several wishful thinking carts I had filled. So what did I end up getting? I'm glad you asked. Because who doesn't love reading about a bargain?! 

First, I hit up Second Round Equestrian. I wanted the snowman pins from Pinsnickety, and I knew they had them. They also had the hind boots that match Al's show Equifits so I got those for him. They don't count as bad though. Because they're for AL not for ME. Duh. 

Next I found myself over at The Tack Hack. They really have some great deals throughout the year, and I cave fairly often over there. I've been lusting over the Monterrey coat from RJ Classics for a long while. But they're pretty expensive. Like $550 expensive and since I barely show, that seemed beyond silly to invest in. The Tack Hack didn't have the gray one that I REALLY want, but they had the navy herringbone which is also really pretty. And with their sale I paid $173. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Should I have even spent that? Probably not. But what's done is done. 

I stocked up on a bunch of treats for the horses from a few places too, but those don't count as illegal purchases since those are their holiday gifts. But I did have one more stop that I shouldn't have made but also have no regrets... And that was to Sprucewood Tack in Canada. They're my go-to for in stock Ogilvy baby pads, because even with the shipping fees, they're much cheaper than anyplace else. Well. For Black Friday they had them for $35 US. Couldn't pass that up! So I got two all navy pads and two hunter green with navy trim. 

So that's my confession. I bought some presents for me. But I saved SO MUCH MONEY! Kind of. I'd have saved a lot more if I'd bought nothing. But what's the fun in that?  

Truthful Tuesday

 

Thankfully, I have nothing overly embarrassing to admit today. Instead I'll confess to buying some things when I keep telling myself no presents for myself until after the summer... This is why I don't have children. I'm terrible at enforcing rules. 

So, I've been trying very hard to stop buying stuff I don't need because I want to finish paying some things off and have some extra cash to go to some horse shows. I've been doing fairly well. Really! I have! But. I've made a few slips this past week. 

I got a text from Equus Now that they had saddle pads on sale. I definitely don't need more saddle pads, but I do have a few more Ogilvy baby pads on my wish list. I've been waiting for Sprucewood Tack to get some new colorways since they sell them so much cheaper than anywhere else. But with the sale at Equus Now, they were the same price, plus I could get free shipping. AND they had hunter with tan trim in stock! So naturally, I couldn't pass that up. 

I've also wanted some purple TS breeches for a long while. They had a color called Grape awhile back that I was never able to find on consignment nor clearance. Eventually I just figured they weren't meant to be for me. But recently they came out with a color called Gothic that is basically the same as my coveted Grape. Again, no where had them on sale nor consignment (I really can't bring myself to pay retail for breeches). Plus, I now have purple Equilines so I don't really need the TS. But I like TS better. Anyway, this story is getting very long, so let's get to the conclusion. Someone on Facebook Marketplace had Gothic in my size in SOCK BOTTOM for a great price new with tags. So I bought those too. Oops. 

So now, I have to really buckle down and stop with the buying stuff I don't need. Seriously. STOP IT, STACIE! 

Have you guys made any unnecessary purchases lately? Anything super fun? What did you get?!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Heh... well. The good news, and maybe more of a brag than a confession, is that I am COMPLETELY done holiday shopping! Not wrapping. That still needs to happen. And I have a few more things to Cricut (my blade went dull halfway through my projects), but everything is at least purchased. Yay!

But uh... the confession is that as I was accumulating gifts for my family and friends, I also accumulated quite a few for myself and the horses. Oops. I just couldn't pass up Equiline breeches for under $125. Couldn't. I tried. It was not successful. They are en route. And Shiny and Eros both really did need new barn approved blankets. Eros has more holes in the lining of his than I can even count. And Shiny's was a pretty old hand me down to begin with. She is literally bursting out of the seams on it. I think perhaps it shrunk in the dryer. Did I buy a silly number of new baby pads too? Maybe... But in my defense, I did sell a ton of stuff to pay for all these indiscretions. Hopefully it all evens out in the end.

Truthful Tuesday

 

Now that I'm a certified stay at home horse mom (SAHHM) I know it's time to rein in on my shopping habits. The hard part is that since I'm home and have all this new found time, I've been doing some organizing out in the barn and have found all the things I need to replace. So I guess I can't quit shopping cold turkey. 

My show pads won't fit my new saddles since they barely fit my old one which was tiny. And I DO plan to show this year, even if it's just some local one days. Also, my shipping wraps are all at minimum 20 years old. So Wilkers got all my money. They make hunter pads specifically for different saddle brands, so I know they will fit my saddles perfectly. For the wraps, I opted for tan pillow wraps for two reasons. First, they'll hide the poo stains better than white. And second is the obvious one... My farm colors are hunter and tan! I like that Wilker's has color options besides the normal navy, black, or white. 

And the last big purchase... it's a doozy. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a used saddle exactly like Pammon's but in Eros' width and of course the same day I lose my job, the saddles pops up. They will take one of my current ones in trade, which makes the money exchange on my end pretty minimal, so it's not as irresponsible as it sounds. It's coming Thursday for a trial, so hopefully it fits us both. It has almost the same specs as Pammon's except for the wider tree, but also, the seat is a bit more narrow. I'm not sure if I'll notice, but hopefully it's fine. Time will tell. I guess worst case, it's not fine and I don't have to buy it? If it does work though, I'll officially be DONE looking at saddles until the day I get a new horse. Which I have zero plans for the foreseeable future. Three is plenty!

I had hoped to get a fun new pair of Celeris this spring, but with the saddle and the job situation, that will have to wait a bit. I have a ton of stuff I've weeded through and need to sell though... so maybe if that all goes I can bump that up to sooner. I already know what I want... so um... once I list it, please buy my stuff! 

Truthful Tuesday: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday edition...

 

Oh man. You guys. I was being SO GOOD about Black Friday shopping. SO GOOD. I was all, "I'm just buying gifts for others, no presents for me!" Really. I was! And I did so well. But. Alas. I fell victim at the last minute. It started off innocently. I just wanted to grab the blue pieces for my helmet...

And then it spiraled into me buying a second helmet. To be fair, it makes sense to have one at each barn. So now I will. (And it's from a small business! I'm doing my part.)

But then it got worse. This same shop had the Mountain Horse Sovereign Lux boots on sale for even cheaper than any of the European shops. Well, that's misleading. The same price, but with free shipping so it worked out to be cheaper. I've been kind of drooling at them for a long while, but they wouldn't have fit me before. Now that I've dropped a few LBS and my other Mt Horse boots fit great, I just couldn't resist the temptation. I grabbed the brown ones.

I mean, I still have a black pair of boots with croc accents, but not brown! I was toying with my next pair of Celeris being brown, but this is cheaper. So I feel it's justified as I'm saving money. Right? Right. (Shut up.)

So I thought, okay self, that's enough. You just dropped a lot of money here. And I didn't buy anything for me on Sunday! Nothing at all! But oh man. Cyber Monday took an additional turn. I'm not even sure how I stumbled across these... but when I did, I needed them. 

I'm sure you understand. Warm weather clothes that are essentially my barn colors. It would be irresponsible not to get them. Besides, it's getting cold out.

I really thought I was done. But Big Dee's kept emailing me about their great deals. And finally I accidentally clicked through. And you know what was on sale? The Equiband system! I've heard such great things about it, and I think it will be GREAT for Miss Shiny who likes to not use her bum... So yeah. I own that now.

Obviously there was also a fair amount of treat buying, but those are like essentials, so they don't really count. On the bright side, I am 90% done with gifts for the family. So, that's good? Oh man. Someone take away my internet.

So... what did you all buy? And don't pretend you didn't. I know that's lies.

Truthful Tuesday... the one where marketing gets the best of me. And some other shopping indiscretions.

 

I did an awful lot of online shopping when lockdown first started because I was working on improving my home while I was stuck inside. So I had to put my foot down and rein it back for awhile so I could pay my taxes. (I pay a LOT in taxes every year, like I could buy a couple Shiny ponies for it...) Now that I've gotten that squared away for the year, I maybe fell off the wagon a little lot. I had planned to stay with my limited shopping rule. Saving money is never a bad idea. But... well... a few things happened.

First, Kentucky Horsewear came out with pine green blankets. In the weight I've been hunting for! AND it's a limited edition color. So I kind of felt like I had to order. But then it spiraled. So I got the 100 gram I needed. They arrived already and are BEAUTIFUL. Will be kind of a shame to put them on the horses and dirty them up...

Here's where it takes a turn... They also made them in heavy. AND they have quarter sheets... So I had to have all of it. 

This is the heavy one. Same features as the other, but with more fill.

The quarter sheets I almost didn't get. I mean, I have the fancy ones from Mattes that I got last year. But these are a nicer material. They're still fleece, but it's a heavy fleece and actually feels like wool. I'm not sure how they did that. I'll be curious to see if static is still an issue with the way this material is made. Time will tell.

They're also my favorite type that attaches behind the saddle.

I asked if they'll make sheets to match, and unfortunately they have no plans to. If any of you green lovers wanted to reach out, maybe they'd change their minds? 

I really wanted to get two of each blanket for each horse so we had a set for home and a set for shows, but my money tree isn't blooming. Maybe later in the season I can get another set if there are any green left. But really, it's not like I show anyway, so probably don't even really need the second set.

So the whole "Limited Edition" thing got me. I felt like I HAD to have them right away because FOMO. Oh well. I'm a marketer's dream I guess.

But um... well. That's not all I bought. I bought two other things... One not so expensive and one that was really unnecessary. 

The not so bad? QHP made some open front boots that are basically identical to the ones from Premier. But they made them in green! I got a full size and a Shiny size. They tried them out this weekend and we all like them very much.

And now. The really bad one. Helmet awareness weekend got the better of me. But I didn't do the mature, responsible thing and get a MIPS helmet. (Though, in my defense, I do have the One K MIPS helmet on back order, so I am getting one...) Nope. What did I get? Well. I got a helmet to match my awesome unicorn boots. 

I know. I'd say I'm ashamed, and that it's risky behavior. But it's no more risky than wearing any of my other helmets at the moment. And it's pretty and holographic and I'm gonna love it. So no shame here my friends. Of course waiting the 6 to 8 weeks for it is like torture... Which led me to nearly buy another in stock pretty helmet, but I managed to control myself there at least. For now.

So yeah. I've spent all my money again. Oops. At least my horse kids will be beautifully outfitted. Have you guys done any shopping lately? What did you get?!

What's Up Wednesday! (And my day at the Equine Affair)

I really miss having actual riding related things to talk about on What's Up Wednesday. While I am still riding, it's mostly in the dark on a very small portion of the ring because I don't have the energy for the spooking and running that occurs when I venture toward the dark side... The literal dark side. I only have lights on one end of my ring at the moment. But let's try and talk ponies anyway despite my doing zero actual REAL work with them.

 Jampy:
Jampy is currently being ridden 4-6 times per week. We work on not being a giraffe and trying not to run away from every little noise he doesn't actually hear but thinks he does. Riding him is a total chore, because he's just so worried the entire time. I can see why they took winters off with him when he lived in Europe. To loosely quote Anna Nalick, winter just isn't his season. But riding aside he's gotten really affectionate lately. Last night he literally kissed my face. With his lips. It was odd, but adorable. We haven't jumped anything in weeks and I'm starting to really miss it. I'm thinking about maybe taking a lesson once a week some place on a school horse just to try and keep going this winter. We'll see if I follow through on that.

Romey:
I've been REALLY inconsistent with Romey. He's being an absolute turd but I'm really not sure if it's because he's uncomfortable or he actually just needs a little tough love. I need to pick my vet's brain about him again and figure out a plan. I did have a nice ride on him Monday though. He only complained for a few strides about picking up the trot and then he actually KEPT TROTTING until I told him to walk. So that was a small miracle. It's really disheartening when your goal has become trot a circle. Literally. That's it. Just trot a damn circle. UGH. No more green horses for me. Lesson learned.

Rio:
Once I remembered how cold backed Rio gets when it's not summer, I decided we wouldn't ride any more until spring. We've been hand walking and doing some VERY LIGHT lunging instead. (He gets turned out everyday too of course.) He's pretty happy about all the extra time for grooming that makes for him.

I headed up to Equine Affair on Saturday. I had several things I wanted to research and had thought about catching some of Guy McLeans's clinic. Spoiler alert: I was so busy shopping and researching I missed that. Oops.
 I have been thinking for a long while about upgrading my trailer. I have a Sundowner two horse, straighload gooseneck with a tack room. I absolutely love it, but because of the needy children I have, I always need to have someone come along with me to help with loading and unloading. This gets expensive because no one wants to give up their day to hang out at a horse show for free. Or at least not anyone that I know. I've been contemplating the 2+1 size for awhile, but honestly it's much too big for me. I don't want to haul around a huge trailer. And I'm not a fan of slant loads. (Just my opinion, not judging them or anyone who loves them.) There is an option of a two horse trailer, gooseneck, straight load, with tack room that has a side ramp, but is smaller than the 2 plus 1. I have seen a few configurations from different companies, but I really couldn't get a sense of space from photos. I was hoping to see some in person over the weekend.

And I did! I got to see a few different versions, though none were exactly what I wanted. Which is good because I just bought a truck and therefore cannot also buy a trailer right this minute. But now I know exactly what I DO want, and I also found out that I can have it built for about the same price as an in stock model. So all good things. What did I see, and what do I want you ask? Most brands that had the side ramp along with a tack room, had a slanted wall between the horse area and the tack room area. I hated this. It gave a lot less room to the horse on the side not next to the ramp. Kingston however, had a nice roomy square area for the horses to walk through. So that's definitely what I would want. It does give less room to the tack room, but it's still absolutely big enough. I think it's still the same size as my current tack room. But I didn't like the Kingston trailer in general. The style was really dated on the inside, and it just lacked a lot of finishing touches I saw from other brands. I think when the time comes I'm going to go custom through 4 Star. There's a dealer within a reasonable driving distance from where I live, and they take trade-ins. I'm already getting itchy to place the order... Settle down Stacie.

I also wanted to pay a visit to Blue Saddles. They're a used saddle dealer specializing mostly in higher end saddles. While I'm really not excited to buy another saddle just for Romey, I do want him to be comfortable. And I also want me to be comfortable. The Del Grange I'm using on him now still doesn't fit him very well, despite his being happier in it than in the Hermes. It also doesn't fit me at all. Again, I didn't go up planning to purchase, just to research. And I behaved and did just that. (I know I'm shocked too.) I sat in a bunch of saddles and really didn't love any of them. I still think my choice for a saddle should I decide to get something would be the Voltaire Stuttgart. But they are expensive and kind of tough to find used. The Palm Beach model is the most popular, but I don't really like that one. I'm also not doing anything until I figure out what's going on with Romey's back. If heaven forbid he can't be ridden anymore, then it's silly to buy him a saddle.
Obviously I didn't walk away from Equine Affair empty handed of course. I still managed to spend my money. I got some new brushes for the boys (they each got their own because we don't like to share grooming tools). The Diva brush from Haas is pretty awesome. I'll probably do a review on it if I can get some good before and after photos using it. I also got a gold glitter crop because everyone needs one of those.

Diva brush, beastie brush, glitter stick. No need to photograph all the brushes since the others are the same.

The pugs even got some Himalayan chews which was nice because I hate to do for one set of kids and not the other, ya know? That was pretty much all I brought home with me. I would have been proud of me except that I did buy something else. But I'm not ready to admit it yet, so you'll have to wait until February to find out about my guilty purchase upon its arrival.
Waiting on my door step when I got home was my order from EC Equestrian.

Look how pretty! (And it all matches my green helmet!) The baby pads are awesome, and I will probably order some to keep in the trailer at some point if I ever start showing again. I like the half pad too, though I do wish the foam was little more dense. The horses seem to like it though, so what do I know? The polos I don't love. They're cute, but the fleece isn't my favorite. I won't order more of those. Customer service was fabulous and turn around time was really quick too! Especially since she ordered special velcro just for me for the wraps.

The pups have been really busy loafing around, but on Saturday morning my dad dropped off Juno for the week. My dad and step mom are at a trade show in Germany so Juno is hanging with the puggers.

The three of them having been causing all sorts of chaos, but only the best kind. And also little Juno rules the roost. P tried ONE TIME to get at Juno's food... let's just say that didn't happen a second time. Pia needs that once in awhile, she totally takes advantage of Artie.

That's what's up this Wednesday! What's up with you? Tell me about your week in the comments!