Winter Favorites

Just a heads up that this stuff isn't specifically winter related, they're just things that I've used enough to be able to give an accurate review now.

Brush Therapy

Magical stuff

This stuff is amazing!! Yes, it's a little expensive at about $5 per package but since I only use it a few times a year it's not bad. It seriously gets the brushes clean and makes them smell like new.

 

Pre-brush therapy brushes

Proof that even princess ponies can be grubby

I have a thing about clean brushes after seeing a little worm like thing crawl out of my horse's brushes when I was in my teens. For awhile I was bleaching my brushes but then I got some nice wooden ones and that wasn't a good idea anymore so I started using a natural shampoo and scrubbing them. I found Brush Therapy at a tack store a year or so ago and decided to try it out and now this is what I've been using to clean my brushes.

In the Brush Therapy

It's easy to use also, just dump it in a gallon of warm water, add the brushes, and let them sit for about 8 minutes. Once you pull them out you just rinse them and they're just like new.

Much cleaner

Roeckl Chester gloves

I've had these since this last summer and I'm little surprised that I haven't reviewed them already.

Honestly I hate gloves, I've always disliked wearing them. I felt like they were always clunky and decreased my feel plus often they seemed to give me blisters worse than the reins on my bare skin ever did. Part of it is probably that Katai has a butter mouth and even though she (sometimes ;-) ) takes a nice balanced contact she's small enough that compared to a normal sized horse that just isn't enough to cause blisters.

Mine are the ones on the right. I do love the Navy ones though!

However, I love these gloves. I knew that I should get used to wearing them so that I can manage them when I show so I got these at the recommendation of a friend. Now I actually am starting to miss them when I occasionally forget to put them on. They have, like people have said they would, improved my feel on the reins and they help me remember to not fuss as much as I tended to with bare hands. So far they aren't showing much, if any, wear but I'm fairly easy on them so they really shouldn't be. With how they look I'm pretty sure that they'll last me over a year but hopefully closer to two.

OneK Helmet

 

This one I haven’t had (or used) as long as some of the other things I reviewed but I have been using it since January so I think I can give a pretty fair review.

 

 

I LOVE the way this helmet looks. I had been wearing a Tipperary which was really comfortable and fit my head really well but I thought was very ugly. Unfortunately the OneK helmet isn’t quite oval enough for my head and creates a pretty bad pressure point on my forehead. I’ve also started to get a headache by the end of my ride especially when I’m working harder. I didn’t think it was bad when I tried it on in the store, and it is certainly better than some (Charles Owens for example) but I’m really concerned about trying to wear it at summer shows. I already struggle with headaches especially when it’s hot out so wearing a helmet that I know will give me one on a hot day is already making me anxious.

 

I’m going to do some shopping and see if I can find another extremely oval helmet and in the meantime use my Tipperary once it gets warmer out. I’m sad to not have a better review for this one because I really love this helmet. I just wish it worked for my strangely oval head.

 

Riding Sport (DOVER) full seat Breeches

 

I LOVE these! They are both comfortable and flattering and they're around $50 new at Dover. They come in four colors and I think I'll get a couple more of them. For the price they're really good quality and very flattering at least to my body shape.

 

 

They've also got some great features like real pockets, and the upgraded sock bottoms that I love. They do run a little short, and I'm short so that's saying something, but otherwise they're perfect. These are actually the breeches I'm wearing in the clinic photos and I think they look great.