Thursday's Threads

 

It's OUTFIT DAY! Currently, my favorite team is the best team in baseball, and so I felt the need to celebrate them with today's outfit. Go Yankees!!!

Obviously, Al will be our model today. Here's what he had on:

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Browband: Homemade

Discovering how easy it is make fun browbands was a real game changer for me. This is an early model, but I'm happy with it.

Boots: Equine Star

This is one of my favorite sets I had made. I think the boots look especially cute.

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Equine Star

Half Pad: Ippico

I stumbled upon this half pad when compiling that saddle pad mountain the other day. I knew I had it, but couldn't remember where I had put it... Now I know!

And here's what I wore:

I had a real hard time choosing boots for this outfit you guys. I currently do not have navy boots. Which is problematic, clearly. I best be getting my blue boots to the cobbler for new zippers! Anyway, I decided on these gray ones since the Yankees wear gray uniforms when they play away games. See? There's always logic behind my outfits! (ha! Maybe.) Also, happy to report that after wearing this tank top all day, the farmer's tan seen above has evened itself out.

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS

I know, you saw this one allllll winter. But listen, it's been awhile, so I think it's acceptable to share it again now.

Tank Top: MLB Shop

I don't ride in tanks a lot. I don't really like how it looks, and it's not the safest item of apparel to ride in. But it was high 80's and very high humidity so I did it. I have zero regrets. Well. Minimal. I have minimal regrets. Due to a mild sunburn. Oops.

Belt: Vineyard Vines

No outfit is complete without a matching belt. Duh.

Breeches: Dover

I'm not really sure which model these breeches are. They fit great and are really comfy. The only negative is how worn they look. I don't think they're that old, maybe a couple years? They're in fine shape otherwise though, so no real complaints. 

Boots: Celeris UK

This was the second pair of boots I got from Celeris and they are holding up wonderfully. I think they're about four years old now. They have some scuffs on the shiny part on the foot, but nothing major to report as far as wear goes. They're a little big now, but definitely still wearable. 

And that's it for today! Sorry if you're not a Yankee fan. But like, not really sorry. Haha! Kidding! (Kinda.) 

Thursday's Threads

 

    You Northern New Englanders may not like today's outfit... BUT I DO! Go Yankees! (Though they do kind of suck this year...) For the horses' outfit, I'm not revealing who made the pads and boots for me because, well... we aren't officially licensed ya know? So mums the word on that. You can probably figure it out based on other things I've had done in the past.  Normally I try to play by the rules with stuff like that, but the Yankees don't make horse stuff for me to buy so I had to do what I had to do... Alright, let's see what we all wore!

Now that I know Shiny has a good fitting saddle, I could probably try using some regular pads on her. But I have all these built in half pad ones for her, so I probably won't. 

Bridles: Joseph Sterling
Browbands: ME! I made those!

Okay, so the browbands are definitely "schooling quality", but I was pretty happy with them for occasional use. Here they are not on a bridle:

I just got leather strap the same width of this ribbon I found. Glued on the ribbon with flexible fabric glue, trimmed the ends, and used Chicago screw rivets with balls on the end for easy removal.  I did have snaps which I could have used, but these look nicer and are just as easy to use. I used the same bridles that my spike browbands are usually on. And well... now that I know how easy these are to do, maybe I'll make some others in the future. I think they came out cute!

Saddles: Shiny-Custom Saddlery, Eros-Butet
Saddle Pads: Shiny-Mattes, Eros I'm not telling and the half pad is Ippico

Cute right? I found baseball images/logos online and made a little pattern that I had printed on Eros' pad and the boots you'll see shortly. I have a few other designs on my list to get made. I have to spread them out as the budget allows. But I have a few I'm really excited to get done!

Boots:

I really wish I could make this stuff myself. But how fun are these boots?! 

And here's what I wore:

I didn't really how washed out this photo was when I took it, sorry! But you can get the idea.

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS Wide Brim

So this is actually the navy with rose gold helmet, but I replaced the rose gold rail and navy front shield with this lighter blue color. I really bought it for the other barn, but for now it's home with me. 

Tee: MLB Shop

This tee was from Derek Jeter's final season before retiring. The last of the Core Four. I got to meet him briefly when we were vacationing in the same place many years ago!

Belt: Vineyard Vines

Prior to Vineyard Vines making this perfect Yankees belt, I was wearing one with an enormous western style buckle when I went to games. I like this one much better.

Breeches: Halter Ego

Admittedly, I bought these in the wrong size and they're a little big, though a trip through the dryer has helped a little. If you get a pair, size down! These are my normal size, but they run big. I love the marble look to them, and the bright blue accents are super fun. 

Boots: De Niro Salentino

These are the pair I found on sale at Equiport in stock and in my size! Fate boots. I'm a big fan of them. The only reason I don't wear them more is that they have a thinner sole than my Celeris boots, and I have to shorten my stirrups when I wear them. And I'm painfully lazy. So yeah. The fit is perfect on these though, just as good as my customs! Actually, they're better since my customs are all a little too loose these days. 

That's it for today! Any favorites? 

What's Up Wednesday: Fasting edition

Oh man. I am THIRSTY! I'm (semi) observing Yom Kippur today which means I've been fasting since dinner last night. No food, no drink. Which also means no COFFEE. So if this post makes no sense, this is why!
Anyway, you're not here to read about fasting. So let's look back at the last week. On Friday it was a full week without Rio. And it's been weird. Certainly not easier yet, but I've been keeping quite busy, so that helps distract at least.

Pammon was helping to keep me busy by covering himself in actual shit. Thanks?

 Rio's ashes came home on Thursday, and I've been planning what to do with them (and Jampy's since he's still sitting on the bench in the barn too). I think I'm going to make a shelf up high in the barn for them, and underneath the shelf will be photos of them. Or maybe a painting of each of their beautiful faces. We'll have to see what I come up with!
In other horse news, I had a fantastic lesson on Eros Sunday morning. It was kind of split up as the farrier arrived just as we started jumping to tighten up his front shoes. Eros has a really tough time with his feet in the fall and we're trying hard to stay ahead of that this year. We don't want what happened last year to repeat!
Anyway, got the feeties fixed up, and went back out to re-join my group. I'm not sure if you remember but prior to getting his hocks and stifles injected we were really struggling in our lessons. I couldn't get down the lines, which was super weird for him. All last year it was everything I could do to not take out strides. So adding was bizarre. Now that he's all caught up on maintenance though, I have my horse back! He just walked down the lines, easy peasy! And only once did he yank me out of the tack on landing... I guess I have my whole horse back, pulling and all! Lol! Honestly though, I think he does that when I get to pulling too much without leg to back it up. The answer, my friends, is ALWAYS more leg.

Seriously though, just keep the leg, ok? -Eros, probably

Not much to report at home. Shiny's been good, though LAZY and Pammon is handling his stall rest mostly well. I don't really feel like that leg is healing, it's still puffy when I change his wraps. But it's only been a few weeks, so I'm trying not to fret about it.
It's been cold at night, dropping down into the lower 50's, so the kids finally wore their new sheets. I bought these months ago, and so far really like them. They're from Blue Ribbon Blankets.

Speaking of cold... Last Friday my friends and I managed to snag some tickets to the first game of the playoffs!

 Yankee stadium was electric! The atmosphere was definitely different than a normal game, and you could feel it the moment you got through the gates. But it was also freaking COLD!

Fortunately, I was prepared with lots of layers. And they had hot cocoa. I would totally go again should the opportunity ever arise. The stadium was sold out, and it looked like every seat was filled, at least for the middle of the game. Our seats were pretty high up, but no complaints. I mean, it was the playoffs! The game was exciting. Not too many home runs, but great plays. At one point, the Yankees stole two bases AT THE SAME TIME! Nuts. And they won, so icing on the cake, right?

Not much else to report on really. I got to ride Shiny Monday, but last night I had a family dinner to kick off Yom Kippur, so they had the day off. Now it's raining, and isn't supposed to stop until the weekend. We have our annual end of season weekend on Nantucket then, so looks like Shiny and Pammon are going to be REALLY bored for a few days. I'm hoping maybe there will be a break in the storm this evening so maybe we can dodge some raindrops and get them out. But it's not looking good!

How was your past week/weekend? Do anything fun? Lessons, horse shows... SHOPPING? Tell me about it in the comments!

What's up Wednesday

This week was a little more social centric than horse centric, which isn't necessarily my favorite... But it was all fun things. Just not enough riding in my life! And/or hours... it might be a time crunch issue. Either way, it was still a fun week! Let's look back...
Pammon has been a good boy with his hand walks. We're going to start tack walks on the weekends and continue with hand walks during the week. We've had the ok for tack walking all along, but I prefer not to do that in the dark since we are aided by some ace tabs... I want to make sure he can see where he's putting his feet with me up there! But he's been a pretty good boy. I got him some toys for his stall to try and keep him entertained.

Rope giraffe!

I also got him an enormous dog rope that's loose in the stall, but last night he peed and pooed it to the point of no return, so I think that's getting tossed and not replaced. All of the kids got the boredom buster from Likit. I really thought it would provide days of entertainment for everyone. I was wrong. It holds two small likits and one big one, but they all had them mostly devoured after a single day. Pammon managed to break his too. Rio still has the small lickits left in his since he's not real clear on how to actually lick them... (He's so special that one.) So long story not very short, he just has the giraffe now. It's pretty dirty so I think he does enjoy it.

Shiny girl hasn't decided how much she likes being the sole riding horse in the barn. She thinks it might be way more work than she signed up for.

So in an effort to get out of all that work, yesterday she had The Slobbers. She was turned out in the back paddock yesterday and must have found some moldy clover back there. So gross. Definitely do not recommend letting your horse have the slobbers.

Seriously, there was just drool everywhere. I thought she had peed in the doorway it was that wet. I texted the vet, but he wasn't too worried. She seems better today, thankfully. I gave her the night off last night but hopefully we can ride tonight.

Rio seems to be much more comfortable barefoot, so that's pretty exciting. Also cheaper!

I still didn't get to have a lesson on Eros. I was thinking of doing one Saturday as Sunday I had to ride at dark thirty, but I totally forgot to sign up. So alas, we had two flat days. But he is feeling GREAT! Between the injections and the body work, he's like a brand new horse! And we're treating for ulcers too. I'm hopeful that will make him a little more willing to come forward on the flat... but not too much over fences! Time will tell I suppose.

Eros isn't super excited about 5 am rides.

In other non-horsey news, I got to do stuff outside of work and the barn this weekend! All kinds of stuff!
One of the boarders at Eros' barn is an author, and she hosted a really fun book launch party at a local gallery for her newest book "Drive". I've known her practically forever. She was a big kid when I was a little kid at the barn I learned to ride at. So yeah, we go waaaayyyy back. It was a really fun party, at which I took zero pictures because I'm a terrible blogger. But some of us did get a group selfie at the bar afterwards... Author not included. #fail

Anyway, that was super fun, but I got home way too late because I was headed back to Yankee Stadium on Sunday. I wanted to get my ride in on Eros since I don't get to see him everyday. So it was another EARLY morning. I was up at 4:30 to get done in time. Worth it though. I love that horse!
The game was great! Home run after home run for the home team and a win!

Plus I got nachos in a helmet.

And that's about it from here! How was your past week/weekend? Do anything fun? All horses or some social stuff too? Tell me all about it in the comments!

What's Up Wednesday!

The weeks are somehow flying by and also really long somehow. Time is a funny thing, isn't it? I'm pretty sad that summer is ending though. Boo. That said, it was still nice to have a three day weekend. And it was BUSY!

So Eros felt... not great when I rode him last Thursday. His feet get kind of brittle this time of year, so my farrier lets his toe get a little long to give him someplace to nail. But when his toe gets long that ankle of his gets sore and it's kind of a vicious cycle. He's on the list to see the vet anyway though, as I think he needs some maintenance. Body worker is coming soon too, yay! Hopefully we'll get him all patched up and ready to roll in the next few weeks.
Friday turned out to be one of those days where nothing goes how you thought it would. I was supposed to have a 6:15 lesson after work, but trainer forgot. So I wasted a lot of time waiting for her, before I finally sent a text. It wasn't a big deal, but the day got late by the time I finally got on. I wound up just riding Pammon and giving Shiny and Rio quick grooms and extra cookies.

Saturday some friends and I had tickets to see the Yankees play an afternoon game. I had figured we'd leave around 10 am giving plenty of time to flat Eros before we left. I wanted to see how he felt so I could decide about my lesson on Sunday. But you all know how best laid plans go, yes?
My friends wanted to be on the 7:20 AM train to the stadium. It was a giveaway day, but only to the first 20,000 people. Last time we missed out. So they wanted to arrive early. UGH. I couldn't not ride in the morning though. Firstly because I wanted to see if he was sound. But also, if he WAS sound, he needed to get ridden the day before he jumps, and stepmom was out of town for the weekend. So I asked if it would be okay if I came out stupid early to ride. That is one of the super nice things about the boarding barn. They seem to be pretty flexible about stuff like that. I got the okay, so Saturday morning I was up at 3:30 am to go ride.
Know how early that is?

It's so early I rode and put him away before the sun was up. He's been spending his nights outside, so I had to go find him via iphone flashlight in the paddock. Lol. Good thing they go out individually and I didn't have to herd him away from any buddies! I knew they'd be getting there to bring in and feed soon after I left, so I tucked him back in his stall when I was done riding.
Anyway, he felt better for this ride, so I decided to keep the lesson. I had tried to video some with my phone so I could see what he looked like, but I turned it the wrong way and you really couldn't see much. Oops. It was a good thought anyway.
The sun finally started coming up when I was leaving, and it was a really beautiful sunrise. There are benefits to early mornings!

Next I headed home to grab a shower and let the dogs out. Did that, fed the horses and got their meals ready for the rest of the day for the horse sitter. And I was ready to leave by 6:30 am! Seriously, someone should have rewarded me for that. I was impressed with me!

We were there super early (as planned I guess) and had to stand in line forever. But we got our free shirts (seriously, not so sure they were worth a 3:15 am wake up, but I hate to be the stick in the mud) and we walked around for a bit before having some lunch. Loved these giant bobble heads:

The game was really fun! It was a close one the whole way through, and the Yankees pulled off a win in extra innings. (Yep, it was a LONG game!)

I was pretty excited when I finally got home to snuggle the pugs for awhile and get to bed early. Even though most of the day was spent sitting on my butt eating snacks and watching baseball, I was exhausted!

Sunday morning I was somewhat refreshed since I had gone to bed early. I was at the barn by 9 for my 9:30 lesson. Unfortunately, as we were warming up, I could tell Eros was feeling sore again, so I wound up just spectating. I was disappointed to miss out on jumping after last weeks lesson had gone so well. But that's horses! It was still fun to watch my friends jump around.

Eros was happy to vacuum the aisle

 I got to ride my buddy Vino on Sunday too. Last time I rode him was that stupid hot weekend when we hid in the indoor to stay cooler. So this time it was nice to get outside with him. He was less lazy than indoors which was lovely.

I forgot to take any photos when he was out of his stall... but here he begging for cookies!

And then it was home for more riding and some hand grazing. I had some interesting rides... Pammon was a little fresh. And the people on the other side of the woods from us must have been doing some yard work. At one point a branch or something fell and I got a little run away with. I decided when he continued to spook at nothing that I should throw him on a lunge line. Glad I did! He was WILD. Galloping and bucking for a full twenty minutes. I eventually got back on and tried to end on a good note, but he never fully settled. I could tell he was physically tired, but the hamsters must have still been spinning that wheel. Sometimes you just have to know when to finish and come back and try again.
He still got to have some snacks in the yard. He was never truly bad (he's not a bad guy, ever) but he just was angsty and unfocused. We all have those days.

Pretty focused here though...

Shiny has been a little cranky lately. I'm guessing she's in season? I don't know. Mares! She hasn't been terrible by any means, just has lots of opinions she enjoys sharing with me. She got snacks too though.

Rio skipped right to the snacks after a good grooming.

I love his chewing face <3

I got done just in time to make it to the lake for the last concert of the season (waaahhhhh)!

Fortunately, they will be open a few more weeks so I still have some more lobster rolls to consume.

Thank goodness. I'm not ready to give these up.

Monday was another early morning since my helper had the day off. I had to be done with chores by 12:30 ish because my lesson was rescheduled for around that time. The kids all enjoyed their turnouts and took turns between the walkouts and the ring.

Rio strolling

Rio begging

Rio eating...

Shiny eating

Pammon playing with the treat ball (he LOVES it!)

Pammon begging

Shiny begging

It was a lovely morning! And my lesson went well too for the most part. I wrote about it yesterday already, so just flip back a page to catch up! In summary, I still suffer from #ammyangst (maybe I just made some shirts with that on them over at tee spring) but we're working through it!
Shiny's ride was delayed a few minutes as we waited for a rain shower to pass, but once we got out there she was pretty good. Not as grumpy as she has been, but still just a bit. Once she warmed up though, she was more willing to do some work. Maybe the weather changes are hard on her. I dunno. Ponies...
I got done with everyone just in time to feed dinner and then hunt some down for myself (grocery store subs for the win!). I honestly don't know where the hours go. The barn vortex is a real thing you guys!
Next thing I knew, I was back in the office. Sheesh. Work has settled down for now as they decided to postpone some of these awful changes that are coming. So it will get awful again come the first of the year, but for now life is more or less back to normal. I'm not sure if delaying the inevitable is really better, but I'll take it for the time being.
The horses have been good so far this week. It's supposed to storm pretty hard this evening, so I'll probably go sit on Eros and see how he feels. My luck he'll be perfectly fine by Friday for the vet... Lol. Hopefully not. I mean, I want him sound, but I want to fix what's wrong too!
That's about it from here... The only other thing I did last week was fix the broken fence post with Gorilla Glue and duct tape. So far it's holding!

How was your week/weekend? Do anything fun for the holiday? Go to some shows or lessons? Tell me about it in the comments!