Bandage Liners Review

Well this is an old photo, this was the first time I put her dressage boots on

I love doing review posts but haven’t really bought much that’s new and interesting recently since I’m working to stick to my budget. However, I have been using a new set up to protect Katai’s legs for a while now and wanted to share some info and do a review on how it’s working for us. First though, some background.



Still using the boots but Katai wasn’t happy about it

I know that leg protection is a contentious topic and with that being said there are so many variables for each person and each horse that I would never seek to encourage anyone to do something different if they have something that’s working for them. I believe that everyone should seek out information, including the latest research, on the various options and make a decision for each horse about what’s best for them. With that being said, I’ve had multiple friends need to retire their horse or nurse it through a long recovery related to interference injuries so this is something that I may be a bit more picky about than others. I know that most horses shouldn’t NEED protection, however, as we’re building strength, learning the lateral work, figuring out our balance, and occasionally having tantrums I’m way more comfortable knowing that Katai has that extra protection.


Also still wearing the boots.
Side note: I can't believe how far we've come from this!
She was engaged here but not that up in front and now we're getting that much more.

In my area, Minneapolis, MN, the weather only reaches 90* and above for a month or two each year and even then we have very few days that are actually above the 80s. In addition, I don’t ride for that long, or do extensive conditioning work, especially when it’s that hot out since I do not handle the heat well and typically end up with heat stroke if I do any athletic activity when the temp is above the low 90s. Because of those factors I don’t worry much about heat retention and to reduce the risk further I typically skip the bandages if I do ride on those very hot days.


Here we were finally starting to use polos (without bandage liners) full time
Side note again: I love this picture so much! Now we just need to get back to this level of work :)

 

Finally, I think boots are great. They can be way cooler than wraps, are quicker and easier to put on, can stay cleaner, and limit the risk of wrapping injury for those who don’t have instruction on proper wrapping technique. However, Katai hates them with a passion. She will literally pin her ears and threaten to kick me if I put her gorgeous, fluffy, dressage boots on and I don’t even put them on that tight. I’ve tried various boots and she hates all of them. When I realized that it was the boots and not that she was anticipating work, or ulcery, I switched to using polo wrap but never felt comfortable about the lack of protection they offered. Then it seemed like bandage liners were becoming more popular so I did some research and decided to try them out. Over Black Friday I bought two sets of Lemieux bandage liners and then for Christmas I got a set of Eskadron liners.



See how poofy?

Lemieux Bandage Liners
Size: small

I got one black set and one white set of these from Riding Warehouse. They were way cheaper than the Eskadron’s and got really great reviews. Here’s where having a smallish equine might affect my choice a bit so YMMV. They’re rather thick and made out of memory foam that varies in stiffness. Two of the white liners are very soft and give well, the other two are way stiffer and all of the black set are stiffer, thicker foam. With that, because Katai has small legs, they’re really poofy and even with good wrapping pressure they made her look like she’s wearing casts on her legs or 80s style leg warmers. I’m not a fan of how poofy they are and how thick and the varying thickness of the foam makes me wonder about quality control.

I was also using these during the winter in an unheated barn and in that environment the memory foam was especially stiff. In order to get them snug I needed to pull the wraps pretty tight and then when they warmed up they became more pliable and were looser than would be ideal.

My Opinion?: Overall, I wouldn’t buy again for my purpose. On a larger horse or a warmer environment they would likely work well.

Much better

Eskadron Bandage Liners:
Size: small horse
I got a set of these in white from my mom for Christmas. Unfortunately she got me the small horse size vs. the small pony size but luckily this just makes Katai look very European and adds extra protection so I’m pretty ok with it.

I adore these bandage liners in every way and have been using them for almost every ride since I got them. These are very consistent and much more pliable than the Lemieux liners and seem to be cooler underneath than the Lemieux liners after a ride. They’re easy to wrap over and because they’re evenly pliable I’m confident that I’m able to keep the pressure even.

My Opinion?: I love that Katai has extra protection from interference during rides I will absolutely be buying more of these. I’ve got a black set in small horse size and a white set in small pony size on my list so that I can rotate and wash them more easily and have a smaller pair for when I want to be less obnoxiously DQesque.



And the polo wraps come in cute colors that complement our saddle pads!
Side note again: forgive the slightly messier wrapping job here.
I was still figuring out how to wrap the back ones so they don't go up as far as they should.

Polo Wraps:
With my bandage liners I’ve been using polo wraps rather than exercise bandages because they’re what I’m comfortable wrapping, and are more widely available. I did have to get some new polo wraps though because my very cut down polos that were the right length for a pony without liners were way too short for use with liners. I got two sets of Eskadron pony polos (one of the few brands who actually carries pony polos) and a set of PS of Sweden polos.

The Eskadron pony polos are narrower width rather than shorter length and are AMAZING to wrap. The narrower width means that the coverage when wrapping is easier to get consistent and it’s easier to maneuver them around smaller legs. They’re also nicely stretchy and the Velcro is set up to not have a bunch of extra velcro tab sticking out based on the smaller leg circumference (of course the liners also help with this).

The PS of Sweden polos work well also but are much wider so while I can still wrap them very safely they don’t look as neat and are tougher to get a good wrap around the fetlock with small pony legs. I do like the material they’re made out of though and they have an appropriate amount of stretch.

Katai’s Opinion?: I was curious if wrapping with the liners would make Katai mad since the only thing she’s liked so far were plain polos. However, as of today after using these consistently for almost 5 months she still doesn’t seem to care when I’m wrapping her legs. With that I’m giving them the pony mare stamp of approval.

I purchased all of these items with my own money or received them from family members as gifts. I am not being compensated for this review.

Pretty Things!!!

While I haven't been able to ride in way too long I do have some pretty new things that I'll be able to enjoy someday when the weather cooperates.

First, my PS of Sweden winter sale haul.

The pile, yes I went overboard...

Not a great picture but I got the grey broadband with the mirror like gems and I really like it!!

I got the really dark navy blue polos

and the pony sized dark navy saddle pad to match.
This is the same as the one I have from them in pink

and this brown one.  

I'm in love with everything and can't wait to get to use these pretty things!!!

My Eskadron bandage bag finally came in as well and I LOVE it. I was using a reusable bag and all of my bandages were tossed in it and often unrolled themselves. This has a bunch of pockets and clear little windows so I can tell if what I want is in there.

Also today my last two bandage liners came in from the Black Friday sale at RW. They had been awesome and called me to let met now how long it would take for them to come in and had said it may be as late as February so I'm pleased they arrived as quickly as they did. 

Now no more spending money for awhile :)

Christmas Presents!

As a break from all of the goal setting and goal recapping posts I thought that this might be a nice post plus, technically, this is a 2018 recap right?

First let's start with presents from other people.

Presents from my Parents:

In the past I've typically stuck to Amazon items for my mom and/or dad since it's easy and they have Prime so they save on shipping. This year though I sent items from The Collected Pony, Riding Warehouse, and PS of Sweden. My mom knocked it out of the park and even though I didn't let her know what my preferences were for my list she ended up giving me two of my favorite items!

I got the HKM pad that I'd previously posted about from the Collected Pony and I adore it! I've been really into floral patterns (especially with roses) this year. It's just as pretty in person as it is on the site and it's the perfect size for Katai. She also got me the Eskadron bandage liners that I asked for. She did get them a size too big (small horse instead of small pony) so Katai looks very European with them on, but they still work and are another awesome bandage liner option. Wait until I put both of these on her with her pink polos ;)

All the pretties

From Riding Warehouse she got me more low sugar horse treats and a pair of Dreamers & Schemers socks. It was a great horse related gift Christmas :)

From my dad I got an Amazon gift card and got a couple of necessities for Katai including more flax seeds and Vitamin E but I also picked up Jec Ballou's new book and some new stirrups. Jane had a thing about metal stirrup irons so I had swapped out my Composti's for some plain irons (and then sold the Composti's since I'm a minimalist). The rubber pads on my current stirrups has been falling apart though and when I went to look for replacements these came up. I've wanted to buy Composti stirrups again and thought that the wide beds might be worth a try. Of course I needed to get them in pink :) Also this Jec Ballou book is amazing so far and I'll be posting more about this soon.

From my bf's mom I got a pair of awesome unicorn socks and a bandage storage bag like this (that was on backorder so we're still waiting for) that she adorably refers to as "the pocket bag" :)

Dreamers & Schemers socks on the left from my mom
Middle unicorn socks from my bf's mom
My lucky unicorn pooping rainbow "show" socks that are much loved
I feel it's important to not take oneself too seriously when one is an adult who rides a pony 

Sort of horse related we did a secret Santa gift exchange with other members of my bf's family and I'd put picture frames as a hint since I want to print more pictures of me and Katai for our apartment and my office. The amazing person gifting these to me sneakily found out my favorite celebrity and found these awesome pictures of Charlotte and Carl which just made these pretty frames even more awesome.

Then there's the stuff that I got for myself. I'd previously mentioned that for black Friday I'd picked up a couple of things including the Lemieux bandage liners and Eskadron pony polos in black and pink. I also picked up an Asmar long sleeve shirt and a couple of other misc items. That was all I'd planned to do except for the couple of items bought with Christmas money above, however, then I saw the PS of Sweden after Christmas sale.

*headdesk*

I really hadn't planned to get anything, much less as much as I did, but I couldn't say no to such amazing things at 50% off and picked up two saddle pads (since they're currently my favorite pads), two sets of polos, a browband, and a jacket. I did need a second jacket since wearing my regular jacket to the barn causes people to stare and point when I'm out in public. Ok, maybe it's not that bad but it's pretty barn smelly. They shipped today and I'll share more pictures once they get here. I didn't really need the other items in any way but that sale totally got me and I can't wait to have all of my pretty new things. More on my 2019 goals for budget soon ;)

Past Year Changes

So many changes have happened over the past year or so that I wanted to sort of summarize where we are now especially since I haven’t been good about updating my blog this year!

My new, much more limited, shared
tack set up in one small corner of the tack room

Tack:
- Fleece TSF Stretchtec girth liner
I love this thing! I worked really well for the pale skinned princess this summer and kept away the skin funk/girth galls that she’s occasionally picked up the past with her leather liner. It’s nice and fluffy without adding too much bulk and despite my minor misgivings that it would make my saddle more unstable it actually was fine probably in part due to the shape of the TSF girth.


- PS of Sweden reins
I’m not totally sold on these yet. I like how slim they are with my tiny hands and appreciate how soft they are but they’re thinner than traditional leather reins and less “sticky” so without my gloves they would slip right through my hands and even with my gloves I feel like I need to use more energy to hold them. Because they’re so thin they also twist so even when I don’t have them twisted they’re not straight between the bit and my hands and that drives me a little batty. I’m still using them and overall I like them but for the cost I probably would have stuck with my cheapo ($20ish) Horze plain black pony reins.

- Bates “webber” style leathers
I totally love these! I was in the camp of not being able to feel the additional bulk from regular leathers, or at least not until I switched to these. Now I can clearly feel a difference and I’m happy to put up with the slight additional fussiness of running these up for that really close contact feeling. I’m also thrilled that my leathers finally are black to match my saddle.



I'm very glad that grass is now only available when hand grazing

Feed:
- CA Trace
As I was falling further down the barefoot rehab rabbit hole I found out a lot more about diet and with some help from FeedXL made some big changes to what Katai is eating. She’s now getting CA Trace pellets and since I can’t get those through Smartpak I’ve canceled my smartpaks. I am getting Magnesium 5000 through them still but I’m getting the bucket on auto ship vs. the smartpaks. She’s also getting whole flax seed and plain white salt. That’s it! Her coat and feet are looking really good so I’m pleased with everything right now.

- Treats
I found some great low sugar treats that don’t break the bank so I’ve gone from feeding peppermints (which she was getting a decent amount of over the summer) to these apple treats just to try to reduce the sugar content in her diet further



Luckily the arena is nicely well lit since
most of my rides take place after dark at this point

Routine:
With so many life changes my routine has changed quite a bit this year. First I completely fell out of any routine haha. However, now that she’s so much closer and everything is quieting down a bit in my personal life I’m finding my routine again and I’m really loving our new schedule!

- Weekday Commute

At this point I’ve transitioned to going to the barn directly from work. Not only is the barn closer to my workplace than home (by maybe 10 minutes or so) but by going straight there from work I save the worst commute I have which is from work home during rush hour. This easily saves me 45+ minutes in the car and because of that I’m getting home from the barn around 6:30 which means that my full day away from home is long but I now have the rest of the evening free. 



Katai's new paddock. I love that she has a buddy and shelter!


- Weekend Schedule
With that instead of going both weekend mornings and 3 evenings during the week I’ve transitioned to going 4 evenings and one weekend day typically in the morning. This is allowing my bf and myself more flexibility on the weekend plus because I’m getting home so much earlier when I go during the week we just have more flexibility in general.

- Lesson Schedule
This has been a tricky one. With everything going on it’s been oddly tough to have a weekly commitment on a specific day. Not only does it limit when and how we plan to do things at home or go out on dates, see friends, etc. but it locks in the rest of my riding schedule since I typically want to ride at least the day before and preferably two days before my lesson and normally I give her the day after off. In addition I’ve been trying to be better about sticking to a budget. Moving to a barn where I’m spending less and saving on gas have both been helpful but lessons are a huge expense that I’ve also been trying to reduce. With that at this point I’m taking e/o week lessons on Tuesday evenings. This, so far, has been the right combination of routine enough to help with my motivation to get to the barn while also allowing for flexibility. I’m good at working on riding homework and since we’re both lacking strength a lot of what I’m doing is basically bringing her back into work so the additional time between lessons right now is actually really helpful.

Looking so much better! Ignore the white paste,
we're using baby rash ointment as a moisture barrier

Feet:
-As mentioned previously I’ve taken over doing Katai’s feet and one of my goals in October was to have a mentor and friend stop by and check my work. She did and felt that Katai’s feet looked really good! She had some great suggestions for me and she’s going to do a re-check in 6 or so weeks and then likely I’ll have her out more ocassionally.

I really like this barn. It's nice and airy and open and kept extremely clean.

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!!!

Rhythm: Lesson Recap 6/18

My favorite view :)

First, as I was typing in the title to this I realized that we're nearly half way through the year. Where has it gone?!? It seems like just yesterday that it was December.

Anyway, back to the lesson recap. My lesson yesterday (which was rescheduled from last Tuesday because of the heat) was amazing! It was another one where all the hard work we've been doing paid off.

To start off we were unsure what Katai's mood would be like since apparently she'd been horrid for Jane that morning. Because of that we started off with an extended warmup with a few laps of the ring at the trot in either direction (after lots of walk) and then circles before we added in serpentines. It paid off and Katai's stride length was great and I was able to keep her really pushing from behind for the most part.

For this lesson Jane was talking about getting and keeping her "soft at the poll" rather than talking specifically about round or bend and it really helped me. I can feel when she get's tight but sometimes I don't do anything about it because everything else is going well. This lesson, by focusing on that feeling rather than some of the pieces that come from it I was able to keep her much softer and more through over her back. We even had some really nice transitions!

I think the tough thing is that I know it's leg before hand and that I need to always push her forward into the contact. The problem is that being a greenie myself when it comes to dressage means that sometimes I'm trying to do that when Katai is so tight through the poll that it doesn't do anything productive and that's when she starts to rush. Being tight through the poll is something that is so normal for Katai that I almost always need to get her to give first and then push her forward with MANY reminders to give along the way. It's not that I can't do that, it's that I didn't always know I was supposed to since to me that's hand/rein first and then pushing forward and that's certainly not what the books/clinicians/experts tell you. At least not in the black and white way that I was thinking about it :)

Next we worked on shoulder in again. It's been awhile since we tackled this (shows and back to basics) so I was pretty rusty. However, the skills I've gained in the meantime were extremely helpful and with some coaching from Jane I was able to much more effectively control the rhythm and be more correct with my rein aids. Well, at least to the right. To the left it was a hot mess that only got slightly better before we quit but we did identify some of what I was doing wrong which means that I know what to work on.

Hanging out with the Vegetable in the backyard
enjoying our now beautiful weather :)

Finally we went to canter. To the right Katai did fairly well and had a decently slow rhythm with long strides (this was her tougher side a month ago) but she was struggling to the left. In that direction it was all quick footfalls and rushing. She even got bolty on me once, then broke, and when I asked for canter again all I could get was a trot. Jane got really quiet and I thought I'd really messed up (typically she doesn't get quiet) but once we took a walk break (after I finally got some canter) we talked and apparently it was an AMAZING trot. Jane said that she couldn't believe that Katai could produce that with her tiny body and now if we could only get half that trot for her lengthenings :) At least we know it's in there somewhere!

It was great timing since one of my goals is to continue to practice the shoulder in (and other lateral work) and now I have more things to work on. It was also encouraging that Jane was really happy with my position (overall) and how effective I was with my seat. It wasn't that long ago that I would have been unable to control Katai's rhythm at the trot or canter and this lesson it felt easier and Jane said it looked much better and that she was happy with it. High praise coming from Jane!

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.

Fail

That's an adorable pony rolling in an arena. It's also an adorable pony rolling in my PS of Sweden bridle.

*Head-desk*

I'd pulled off the reins for lunging and she clearly wanted to roll so after I got rid of the rest of the lunging equipment I let her go. It was only after she rolled to the other side that I realized that allowing her to roll in a bridle (especially this one) probably wasn't a good idea. I was able to get the sand off and it didn't get scratched but I certainly won't be doing that again.

Review of 2016

I've been having so much fun reading everyone's review of 2016 so even though I'm way behind with blogging this year I wanted to make sure I get this one out before 2017 starts.

2016 has been a great year for me overall and while some tough things happened there has also been a lot of good. It's also been a year of less change, overall, than what I've experienced in past years so I think the stability has allowed me to really put my focus on riding and riding related things such as blogging. It shows since I've reached a new high of over 140 posts this year compared with my previous record of 90. I think it's also shown with the improvement that Katai and I have made both in our rides and our relationship.

Without further ado...

January

Started with a bang as I was invited to ride in my first ever clinic, a Dressage clinic with Susanne Winslade.  I also had a rough saddle fitting experience, posted an update on the tack locker I was (still am) working on with my dad, and reviewed my fall favorites.

February

Was a a tough month and was my lowest posting month until November. It started off with an unsound pony who needed a week off and then I spent some time reflecting while Katai was off work. February then progressed with a more unsound pony who needed additional time off. It ended with more reflection on my relationship with Katai and mindset when riding her.

March

Wasn't much better than February for me and the pony. I had a few great lessons and an amazing clinic with Susanne. Then I "broke up" with my trimmer (still one of the best things that happened this year but tough at the time) and had an interesting lesson when Katai was extremely reactive as I mounted. I posted my winter favorites  and then Katai was an unsound pony again.

April

Was a little better and I started off with a tough lesson where I learned some position things to work on. There were some great rides and then another tough lesson where L focused on my position. I also posted about my new farrier and went to the MN Horse Expo and audited a Janet Foy clinic.  

May

I mentioned that I was shopping for a new saddle and posted about a second clinic with Susanne. I posted my spring favorites and then had a great post about a trainer ride for Katai where I finally got some more pictures. Finally, after attending my first show with Katai I posted recaps here and here

June

I was still recovering from our interesting show experience and posted about getting Chiro done for Katai. Then Katai was unsound again  and I posted about lunging and riding L's baby horse. Finally I tried to ride outside more but was thwarted by horseflies. 

July

Tied for my highest posting month with 16 posts. I mainly posted about saddle trialing and going to the National Dressage Pony Cup. I wished I had taken more "bad" pictures of Katai as a baby. I gained more confidence in Katai, finally started looking for a more affordable barn, had my first trial lesson with Jane and decided to move Katai to Jane's barn.

August

Started off with a trailering adventure and then felt a bit odd as I "waited" to move to Jane's barn. I also had SO MUCH FUN at a Hunter Pace and got further in my saddle fitting adventures. I shared a post that really sort of recaps how I felt about the whole first half of the year from a riding perspective. Finally I got moved to my new barn!  

September

Felt like the first month where things really started to fall into place for me and Katai. It started with some fun with friends at an amazing eventing facility and then Katai tried to start the pony apocalypse with Bridget from Oh Gingersnap! I posted about my breeches collection  and I continued to improve by leaps and bounds with Jane as an instructor.

October

Started off with me and Katai's four year anniversary! Then I had a great lesson and a not so nice relationship thing.

November

In November my blogging, and other things, fell apart a bit with some seasonal depression and a tough change of season. In fact in November I only posted twice including this really cool improvement video of me and Katai.

Roommate and friends (from AZ) playing Croquet in the -10*
temps we had the weekend before Christmas

December

This is where things really started to fall into place for me riding wise. I'd been having great lessons throughout November (despite my seasonal depression and not posting much) plus some other personal things fell into place later in the month. To start off I posted this recap of what I'd been doing since I last posted and then I joined the blog hop that was all about location. I complained about the weather and then got into a car accident :( I ended the month with some reviews on my Christmas presents to myself, namely the Stretchtec Girth from TSF and the Flying Change Bridle from PS of Sweden!

I have enough to post about goals that I'm going to do that in a separate post and that will be up soon!

PS of Sweden Flying Change Bridle Review

I've been doing my seasonal "favorites" posts but haven't had much to review recently since I haven't been purchasing much. Thanks to saving up some money I was able to spend a bit more on presents (for everyone including myself) this Christmas and finally got the PS of Sweden bridle that's been on my list for over a year.

Based on the information I had I decided to order the pony sized bridle. I had messaged asking for the bridle size but never heard back. I really should have messaged again before ordering as you're about to see.

Unfortunately when the bridle arrived and I compared it with a bridle I had at home that fit Katai I was pretty sure it was going to be too small. I brought it out to the barn, tried it on her and sure enough it was way too small. Not even close enough to be able to punch extra holes. So, I brought it back home and got it packaged up to return.

In the meantime I spent a lot of time admiring the pretty sparkly broadband

After a couple of emails back and forth and many days later (I shipped it back on 12/5 and it didn't arrive until 12/19) I finally received confirmation that it had arrived and they would be sending me the exchange. They were incredibly helpful and kind throughout the whole thing and I completely take all responsibility for any issues since it's on me that I both ordered the wrong size and was trying to ship back during the Christmas season.

With everything else going on this really wasn't at the top of mind and I've been more worried about figuring out my car. Once I heard that the bridle arrived safely I put it out of mind. It was a bit of a rough week since my car went into the shop mid week last week and I spent a week without being able to get to the barn.

That made it that much more wonderful that through some Christmas gift from the universe the package was waiting for me when I got back from my parent's house on Christmas Day :)

It was more fun and less stressful to open up the package this time since I knew it would fit. I took my time checking every inch and I have to say that I'm completely in love. I should mention that I've only ever owned cheap bridles (under $100) so I don't exactly have much to compare this with but after some of the comments about the leather I was curious what it would be like. Although I may not have an educated opinion I will say that I'm really happy with it and feel like it's completely worth the price.

Perfect for my princess ladybug

I went back and forth on what to order but my total order from PS of Sweden was the Flying Change bridle in cob size, a sparkly broadband, and the throat latch. I was tempted by the reins but in the end I just couldn't justify getting them for $80 when my favorite reins (so far) from Horze were $23 for Black Friday. I may be a bit of a tack hoe but I'm also a cheap tack hoe for the most part ;)

I really like the shape on her face!

I was able to bring it with me to the barn on Tuesday for my lesson and get it fitted to her. As the leather softens and everything starts to mold to her I'll need to adjust again but for now it's, amazingly, right in the middle hole on both sides. So, yeah, my 13.2 hand pony has the same size head as some 16 hand thoroughbreds ;) The only thing that was way too big was the flash but that's easy enough to punch holes in. I haven't used the throatlatch yet as I really got that just so that I can legally show in this bridle. 

She's so tough to get pictures of because
she just wants to follow me around

Sorry for the wonky flash in these pictures. I took these after I rode and I always take the flash off right away. I had it in a loop on top of her nose, like a lot of people do, but she had a mini "Bobby" tantrum and kept running her nose into the walls of the arena so I adjusted it for the princess.

My only complaint is the crank noseband. I've never had a crank noseband before and while I love the extra padding for Katai's face I'm a huge believer in leaving everything really loose so I'll never use it as a crank. Plus, it's just so fiddly to get fastened up! It does make us look very official though so that's pretty cool.

I'm sure that this will end up on one of my seasonal favorites posts in the future after I've had more of a chance to use it!