Shopping: Blog Update #2

I actually have typed up two other posts prior to this about my Black Friday shopping this year but for some reason Blogger hasn't wanted to allow me to post any pictures so neither went up. Not that this is an extremely important topic but I got a couple of cool things and thought it would be a fun update.

First, I FINALLY got a Back on Track mesh sheet!

I've wanted one for quite awhile and finally the 25% off at Riding Warehouse convinced me. This was on my list for this year with the money I made from the most recent tack sale so being able to save at the Riding Warehouse Black Friday sale was awesome. When I first got it I cuddled with it and really feel like it was doing something with my bad shoulder.

I've used it on Katai a few times just for a little while but I'm looking forward to building up to keeping it on her for longer periods.

I also got this stable sheet from Horze!

I really love my liner system but the unfortunate thing is that I can't leave them on her without a turnout sheet or blanket over the top since they don't have surcingles or leg straps. I've wanted a stable sheet for awhile since it could work as a liner or be left on in the barn when it's a bit chilly.

As you all know, I love Horze especially when they have good deals and when I saw that this blanket was on clearance and was available in Katai's size I decided to go for it. I think I paid right around $50 which is pretty great for a nice stable blanket.

Finally I got a pair of burgundy Horze breeches that were on clearance at Riding Warehouse.

These only in burgundy

The jury is still out on these, for some reason the silicone makes the legs really tight and uncomfortable for the shape of my legs. I'm hoping that they stretch out a bit but if not I don't know if I'll wear them much.

Culprit(s)

My very first riding instructor always had her students hand walk their horses at least
5-6 times around the arena both before and after the ride.
That habit has stuck with me so I hand walk instead
of riding for part of my warm up and cool down.

I know that I don’t need to diagnose exactly what’s happened with Katai. However, I’d like to figure it out so that I can avoid it happening again and it’s just the way that my, slightly obsessive, brain works.

My first thought was ulcers she wasn’t showing any symptoms and she’s been showing textbook symptoms anytime that they’re bothering her. It stayed in the back of my mind but it didn’t seem to make sense to treat for them when she wasn’t showing any of the symptoms that she does normally.

My second thought was saddle fit. My concern was based on an observation from Jane when I first got my re-adjusted saddle back from the fitters. I thought it looked ok but Jane thought it might be slightly narrow. Katai is normally SO honest and didn’t react negatively to it at all so I went with it but it also was hanging out at the back of my mind. However, when she first started being impossible she also wasn’t reacting to her back being poked and prodded so I don’t think that initially caused it either.

 

So tough to get pictures of her without her following me around.
This one is a little weird but at least you can see her in her pretty quarter sheet :)

Instead I think what happened is that we pushed pretty hard for every ride for a week. It wasn’t that I wasn’t asking for stretchy/relaxed rides but Katai just wanted to run so I spent lots of time half halting and then pushing her forward. I was trying to make my decision but still help her use up some energy. I think that likely was coupled with the colder weather and the last bad heat cycle of the year.

Then she had a couple of rides where she was literally acting like a stone lama and was SO STIFF and hollow. I think that did cause her muscles to be sore. In addition I escalated more than I should have for one of those rides. That caused her to escalate and then shut down.

For the past week, since that lesson, I’ve been riding very gently and treating her like glass. I’ve been very focused on not escalating and making rides fairly short and easy so she feels like she’s got this and can gain some confidence again. It’s definitely a fine line though and in my lesson this week Jane helped me really finish putting the pieces back together and we started pushing her more again while still maintaining that patience and gentleness in my riding. I carried a whip again but only needed to tap her once and after that we moved on.

 

Right after I rode I was petting her neck and found a knot.
Her expression always clearly tells me when
I find one and she leans into me as I work on them

Not only did we push her to actually do the work but we also added a tough new exercise of half pass (from shoulder in) to the quarterline, a couple of straight steps, and then back to the wall in a leg yield. I won’t say it was pretty but we did get it done which certainly wouldn’t have happened earlier this year or last week haha. There were definitely sullen pony moments but overall she was really good and I was really pleased.

Our biggest homework is the canter. I used to have huge canter anxiety but thanks to Katai it’s been nearly 100% cured. However, the pony from last week was terrifying me at the canter a bit. She had a hump in her back but if I put leg on she’d just stop and stand there with her ears pinned back. She was also trying to bolt and didn’t want to be told no which is unusual for her. At my lesson this week we’d already asked for a lot so we didn’t do much canter but what we did was closer to lateral than it’s been for a while and just felt sort of weak and stiff. I think that mainly I just need to do more canter for the next week and hopefully we'll be right back to where we were. 

Blog Hop: Show Gear Goals

I've enjoyed reading the show gear blog posts that have been shared so far and since this is the first year that I really showed (if you can count one schooling show and two shows doing opportunity classes as "really" showing haha) so I thought it might be fun to post on what I have that's working or not working.

What I Have That I LOVE:

• Most of Katai's tack including;
• Saddle - Prestige Lucky
• Bridle - PS of Sweden Flying Change
• Girth - TSF StretchTec in black 22"
• Reins - Cheap flat Horze black leather reins
• Browband - for shows I use the plain black broadband that came with the bridle
• Stirrup Irons - plain medal irons that I bought cheap ($5!!) second hand

• Most of my outfit including;
• Breeches - Full seat white B Vertigo from Horze
• Show shirt - from EGO7 in grey
• Jacket - Equiline navy blue  bought second hand from Amanda at $900Facebook Pony)
• Stock Pin - gifted from a friend
• Stock Tie - from Etsy with little polka dots :)
• Helmet - OneK in black matte
• Gloves - Roeckl gloves in black with white binding

What I Have That Should Be Replaced:

• Brown stirrup leathers - not a big deal since they're really dark leather but I'd really like to get a black pair to match my saddle
• Neue Schule bit - I want the same exact one (4.5" Eggbutt pony performance bit), it just needs to be replaced since it's getting chewed up

Things I Plan to Upgrade or Upgraded Since The Last Show:

• Saddle Pad - I don't love the black saddle pad I have (especially with the little crown logo on it) and really didn't like the white one so I've got a grey Mattes pad on the way :)
• Hairnet/bun holder thing - I have a ton of hair and it went all over the place at my last show. I already ordered a net so that I can put it in a bun and keep it all in place.
• Boots - Big expensive item so I'm not sure when this will happen but I would like to get dress boots here at some point
• Gloves - At some point I'll upgrade to white gloves, still Roeckl since they're all I can stand to ride in

That's it for now! At some point I'll likely get another jacket since it's getting slightly loose on me and of course I'd like to pick up another show shirt and another pair of white breeches but with how seldom I showed this year it just seems unnecessary at this point. I'm going to guess that I'll also need spurs at some point but they certainly wouldn't be helpful right now.

Or I could get boring cheaper boots for
showing and fun boots for schooling!!!

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

Nope, not getting married but where most girls seem to dream about their weddings, I've dreamed  about doing my first rated show.

I've been slowly putting together a set (or two) of show clothes since I've known for awhile that I couldn't afford to invest in the things I wanted when I finally found out I'd be doing a rated show. I am SO GLAD I DID because I had no idea that I'd be doing a rated show on June 3rd this year until just over a month ago and there's no way I could have bought all this stuff at the beginning of this year. Without further ado, here is what I have so far!

Something Old:

The friend that I lived with and rented from when I first got Katai and I exchanged Christmas gifts a couple of years ago. She got me this incredibly pretty stock pin for Christmas in 2012 so it's not that old but I've never had a reason to use it until now :)

I also have this Horze show shirt that I bought early last year (so not that old but I haven't worn it yet) that I will be wearing this year likely.

Something New:

Most of my stuff could go into this category honestly but these are my newest.

This is the shirt I got at the World Cup! It just showed up yesterday and I LOVE it just as much as I did when I tried it on at the show. With my shape I always struggle with finding tops that look good but breeches are easier. Show shirts in particular have been tough for me and this is easily the nicest one I've found. The fabric is technical and light without being clingy and cut really nice! It was also under $100 which is tough to find in cute show shirts (for my body type) it seems.

There are quite a few things that I'm happy to invest money in from a riding outfit perspective however, a stock tie isn't one. If we start showing more and "earn" a cute one then I'd invest in a nice one but otherwise I didn't want to spend that much. The problem was that even the cheaper ones were expensive in my mind and they had poor reviews. Between spending $35 for something with bad reviews and $60 for something that's amazing I'd rather spend $60 but I just couldn't make myself actually buy the thing. So I went to Etsy and found this for $13! With shipping from Europe it was just over $20 but it's amazing. Really nice fabric and fluffy enough. I went with the pre-tied option because I just don't want to fuss with it but they have untied versions as well. I would definitely recommend them if you want a nice stock tie that isn't too expensive. They have lots of options at great prices and awesome reviews!

Something Borrowed:

Well not borrowed but I bought this from another blogger, Amanda, over at $900FacebookPony. When she listed it for sale and it happened to be dark blue and in my size, and an Equiline coat I messaged her right away. I was really excited about the amazing deal I found but now what I'm actually excited about is that this is an experienced show coat and hopefully it will help me and Katai have a great show experience ;) Oh, and it's GORGEOUS!

Something Blue:

I've got navy blue throughout my show clothes closet. Eventually I want to get Katai a grey saddle pad and then I'll wear something navy blue as a show shirt or jacket. I think it will be cute but not too different or shocking to anyone who's more traditional.

Or the seat of my breeches ;)

Modeling my outfits!:

So sorry for my murderous expression. I wasn't feeling that well on Friday morning but I knew I wouldn't have much time this weekend to do this so I went with it.

First two pictures: EGO7 Show Shirt and B Vertigo Rachel breeches

Third picture: Equiline show coat from Amanda and Horze Desiree breeches

Fourth picture: Back to the Equiline show coat, EGO7 shirt, and B Vertigo Rachel breeches

Fifth picture: Old Navy polo (this was $5 so if anyone is looking for a cheap but cute polo this is a good place to check) and Ovation breeches

I'm pretty happy with this! The fifth picture is what I'm going to wear to the schooling show and will probably go with the fourth picture for my first rated show. No pictures of me wearing the stock tie since it didn't get here until Tuesday and the lighting has been horrible for pictures. I'm sure I'll get some pictures from our upcoming show though!

Winter Favorites

Horze Quarter Sheet:

I haven't had much use for a quarter sheet recently but I've used this quite a bit in the past and really used it a lot this year. It's a nice simple quarter sheet and, of course, it's and adorable Rambo knock off and fits with my pony theme. I like that this quarter sheet is the type that I can put over my own lap (it was about -12* out this day) but it is tough to do much work in so I normally warm up at the walk and then remove it before I trot which sometimes makes for a spicy pony at the trot.

Dublin Boots:

These actually should have made it into my last review post about my most durable horse related items because I've had them for over 3 years now and they get a lot of abuse. I use these as my winter riding boots (as you can probably tell from my recent riding photos) and I also wear them to the barn most months out of the year and change into my riding boots as I'm getting tacked up. They are SOOO comfortable and since I bought one size too large I can wear winter socks and still not have them too tight.

Wahl Clippers:

I don't really use these that often but they've worked really well for me especially since they really aren't meant to be body clippers. Thankfully there isn't as much surface area since Katai is little and I haven't done a full body clip yet. I actually started using the new clipper blades this year so I got a good amount of use out of my last blades as well. I don't know that I would recommend using these for full body clips on a horse but they work very well for smaller body clip areas or for trimming bridle paths and legs.

Horseware Blanket Liners:

Yep, these things again. I'm not going to go into this too much since I just posted about them but they have been one of my favorite things this year. They just give me so much flexibility with blanketing and they seem to be comfortable to Katai.

Prestige Lucky Dressage Saddle:

Yeah, this isn't really seasonal but I've been using it since September(ish) and it's absolutely one of my favorite pieces of tack so I wanted to mention it. It fits both Katai and myself and puts me in a good position without forcing me there. The saddle fitter recently deemed that it was still a great fit and the leather quality is amazing especially for a saddle that was under $2000 new.

Horze Haul

This is what Katai thinks of being a model again

Yes I have a problem, I just love this store so much! European products without shipping from Europe and without having to deal with the exchange rate.

The story behind this shopping trip was that the Horze President Day sale was showing up all over my social media. Of course it was, they know I'm a sucker for their stuff. At any rate, they had REALLY good deals on breeches which I couldn't pass up. Since my breeches collection post I've had to make a few changes including tossing two pairs (the seat on one was faulty and nearly wore through on me at the barn and the others still smelled like chemicals after a few washes). That means that I've been rotating through four pairs and with the number of times I've been going to the barn it's just time to get another pair or two.

I'm still being careful with my budget though so even though I really wanted some of the B Vertigo breeches (normally $200 but on sale for $140!) I went with the cheaper pair ($89) because they get amazing reviews but I haven't tried this style yet so this was a great time. However, Horse always catches me with all of their random sale items.

A little background is that I've REALLY wanted one of these PS of Sweden quarter sheets for a long time now.

Photo courtesy of the $900 Facebook Pony

I've had multiple ISO posts on Facebook groups and have a normal search on Ebay for a cob size but haven't found anything yet. I'd had a random thought a few months ago that maybe Horze had something similar but didn't think I'd find anything that was very close. With this sale and since I was already shopping I remembered and decided to check and found this!!

Obviously missing the cool leather straps (easy enough to add those) and the very cool PS of Sweden branding but it was also only $49 and available!

On to the box opening :)

I was a little worried about the breeches because I've really been between sizes and I ordered the smaller size but they fit great!! I LOVE the color and they're so stretchy without the fabric being too thin. I will absolutely be buying more of this style of Horze breech especially since they've got a bunch of awesome colors :) I don't have a full length mirror at my current house but I'll try to get a picture soon!

I was also concerned about whether the quarter sheet would fit Katai. I got it in Pony since they only had pony and XL left and sometimes their pony size is more shetland sized but it fits Katai really well as well!

I was having a tough time getting picture but this sort of works

I'd pulled it up too far in this picture but it fits so cute!! My only issue with it is that there aren't darts at the back so it sort of has a peak and doesn't fit around her butt. It will be easy enough for me to add darts though so I may do that in the near future. Plus, the wool is really nice quality and thick so I think it will get better as it gets used and softens up.

It's almost past quarter sheet season but it's looking like I'll have another week at least so I'll be using it every ride.

Christmas Shopping List 2016

I've discovered/realized over the years that however amazing the intentions of my family are, they just don't like to get horse stuff for me (at least not any form of tack) and it's just better if I get that stuff for myself and let them get me things that they enjoy shopping for more.

With that being said, most years I get myself something for my birthday (December 11th) and something for Christmas, usually after Christmas with any money I got for Christmas.

This year though, thanks to aggressively paying off debt and putting some money in savings I've got a nice little chunk of money to spend so I'm having a great time shopping! There are so many options and since I don't have an limited budget I'm having fun picking out what I can put together that's fun and purely gifts for myself.

The Item(s) I'm Getting for Sure:

PS of Sweden Flying Change bridle - 

I've been talking about this one for a long time and I finally get to purchase it!! 

Broadband

Throat latch

Then, since I'm ordering the bridle and having it shipped I"m going to also get the throat latch so that I know I can show with it and of course I need a sparkly broadband. They're out of stock on the one I really want so I'm hoping it will be back in stock when it's time for me to get it.

My plan is to try to get it during their Black Friday sale so that maybe my money will go a little further!

The Tentative List:

Total Saddle Fit Girth:

I've already got a TSF girth but it's brown and it's always gapped at the front. Katai has never been girthy with it so I haven't worried much but now I'd like to fix that, plus to get a black girth that matches my saddle. Also, my current girth is a 24" because of how short the billets on my brown saddle were but my Prestige has normal dressage length billets so I want to get a shorter girth as well.

White Breeches:

I'm slowly putting together a show outfit. My goal is to do a rated show by the end of the year so I'm trying to pick up the things that I'll need as I go rather than waiting until I need it this summer. I'm planning to get a decent but not extremely expensive pair of white breeches I just have to figure out which ones!

Show Shirt:

I'd also like to get some sort of show shirt. The one in the picture is only $35 from Horze which is about what I'd like to spend on a show shirt at this point so I may just go with this one. I'm also going to pick up a couple more cheap ($10ish) polos from Old Navy for schooling shows but that's not what I'm getting myself for Christmas.

Other Stuff:

I'm also shopping for other non-horse stuff but most of that will probably end up on my christmas list for my family since they'll appreciate having some stuff to shop for.

My Breeches Collection

I thought it would be fun and possibly helpful for me to share my current breeches along with details and some pictures to show fit and what they look like on a non-model. I'm going to share these in order of cost just because I think it makes the most sense.

As a note, I'm currently in between a 24 and 26 but closer to a 26 and I'd rather have breeches a bit too loose rather than too tight. I'm also quite short, and have especially short legs (you can see how some of these wrinkle around my ankles), and these are all regular breeches so if you have long legs these would fit differently. If anyone has any questions about any of these please let me know!

Horse Active Full Seat
Price: Free!! (of course as long as I bought over a certain amount but since I was buying another pair of breeches and some other stuff I made it without trying)
Size: Small (looks like they're a 24)
Fit: As mentioned they're a size 24 and I normally get 26s. With that being said these do fit me quite well and since they're cotton they've got a good amount of stretch
Wear: Worn once and washed once - not sure how much more I'll wear them haha
Positives: The price and the color is great
Negatives: Pretty much everything. I love Horze's more premium brands but their cheaper stuff is just that, cheaper. These stink, I'm guessing from the dye? but even after being washed and worn once they still smell strongly of chemicals. The seat also doesn't stretch so you get that really uncomfortable feeling of being suspended above the saddle by the crotch of your breeches, and they're my only breeches with velcro bottoms and they rub on my ankle bone.

Horse Spirit Full Seat (no longer available)
Price: I believe these were around $45 on sale but were more like $89 new. I wouldn't pay $89 for them so I put them here.
Size: 26
Fit: loose and I probably should have sized down. They're also cotton so they've stretched a bit
Wear: Owned for about 1 year and worn a fair amount through that year. Washed multiple times.
Positives: These are very comfortable and have stood up well over the past year or so that I've owned them.
Negatives: I really hate the color, I was thinking they'd be brighter blue but this color is awful. I mostly just wear these when I don't feel like wearing nice, but less comfortable breeches or when I know that I'm going to get especially dirty like for pony bathing.

Riding Sport (Dover) Basic Full-Seat Breech
Price: $49.99
Size: 26 but after they've stretched now they're more like a 28
Fit: Comfortable!
Positives: Comfortable! Great color, nice pockets, awesome sock bottoms, price! Plus these have a comfortable stretchy full seat especially for the price.
Wear: I've owned these for about a year but I've worn them and washed them more than any other pair of breeches probably multiple days a week for awhile.
Negatives: These are cotton breeches so they will stretch out. However, I've worn these a TON and washed them a TON since they're my most comfortable breeches and they still look great. They're just starting to get pretty stretched out. For the price and comfort though they can't be beat and I plan to get at least one more pair in burgundy.

Ovation Slim Secret Full Seat
Price: $98.95 from RW, I think I paid just over $100 when I bought them
Size: 26
Fit: The fit is awesome and are really great heavier fabric that doesn't show imperfections but is also not that hot.
Wear: Owned for 3+ years and worn a LOT. For awhile I only had a few pairs so these were in constant rotation. Washed a ton.
Positives: These are the breeches I've had the longest (just over 3 years now) and they still look like new despite lots of wear and washing. They have really cute details like the suede trim on the pockets  and some embroidery on the back belt loop.
Negatives: VERY uncomfortable sock bottoms. I do have slightly large calves (I wear regular Ariat boots thought) but still, you can see from the picture how much these dig in. Despite that I've still kept them for 3+ years and have worn them a ton.

Horze Desiree Full Seat - Burgundy
Price: I got these for just under $100 on sale
Size: 26
Fit: AMAZING, all of Horze's premium brands (Crescendo and B Vertigo) fit me the best of any breeches I've tried)
Wear: I've worn these several times and washed at least twice
Positives: Everything! These might be a bit much for some people but this is for fun right. I love the wide waistband, the seat is nice and stretchy, the silicon makes it nicely grippy without being too much, they're really nice stretchy technical fabric that still doesn't show too much, and Horze (premium) breeches have the nicest, most comfortable sock bottoms that I've tried.
Negatives: The wide band comes nearly to my ribs when I'm riding but it didn't bother me much because I bought a second pair and I've got my eyes on the new fall 2016 color!

Horze Desiree Full Seat - Stone
Price: $150 from a vendor at the NDPC
Size: 24
Fit: These were sold out but the vendor still had a pair in 24. They do fit but I'm glad that I've been losing weight :)
Never worn to the barn, hoping they'll fit a bit better soon and sort of saving these to show in.
Positives: See above, the seat also feels a little more substantial so I'm hoping that they'll last longer than the thinner seat in the burgundy pair.
Negatives: See above

B Vertigo (Horze) Rachel Full Seat 
Price: I got these on sale for $175 but they're normally $199
Size: 26
Fit: They fit the best of any breeches I've ever owned
Wear: Worn three times and washed once
Positives: These are seriously the best breeches I own. They are as comfortable as the Dover breeches but are a technical fabric so they won't stretch out as quickly. The seat is substantial enough to last (I hope!) but is nicely stretchy and they have the amazing Horze sock bottoms. I also love the color and all of the amazing details.
Negatives: None other than the price. If I ever win the lottery though I'm going to go buy 10 more pairs. I am curious how they'll last though. The seat leather is fairly thin which makes them extremely comfortable but I'm just not sure if they'll last as long as some of my other breeches.

Lauria Garrelli (HKM) Golden Gait 3/4 Seat (basically what we consider a full seat)
Price: I got these from my local tack shop through a special order at $179.95. On the site they're $167.95 so not bad mark up for shipping to the US.
Size: 26
Fit: Good but they are looser at the waist and tighter through the hips. They also bind a bit on my knees I think because of where the leather from the full seat comes on my leg.
Wear: Worn twice and washed once
Positives: I really like these breaches. They're also a great technical fabric and the orange detailing is really cute. They are clearly very well made and I expect that they'll last a long time.
Negatives: Hmmm, so they're actually less new than the B Vertigo breeches but Horze has sales all the time and for this price point I like the previous breeches better. It's the little things like comfort, and some of the details like the three button closure on the B Vertigo breeches. I also managed (which happens to me on some other breeches as well) to bust out the stitching in multiple places on the seat. They aren't too tight, in fact I need to wear a belt with them, but the stitching is falling apart, it's good that I'm good with a needle. That didn't happen at all with the B Vertigo breeches and the B Vertigo breeches just fit better. I'm really curious to see how they both wear over time.

So I think by now everyone knows that I'm a Horze fangirl, I especially love their B Vertigo line,  and you can tell from how many breeches I have from them. I've got several more styles from them as well as other companies on my list so look forward to an update post at some point next year.

Also, I know that I haven't had some of these for very long so this isn't really meant to be a review post. I'm guessing that some of the newer breeches will show up in one of my "favorites" posts in the future!