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.

Fall Favorites

There may be a theme here...

Horze Saddle Pads:

Honestly I don’t know why I look at saddle pads from any other brand anymore! I ADORE European style dressage saddle pads and while Horze doesn’t have many that are quite as cute as some of the European pads, HKM pads for example, they do have more European styling plus most of them come in pony sizes. While Katai isn’t an itty bitty pony she is on the smaller range of what most adults ride and because of that even some of the suggestions for smaller pads just don’t work for her. I have 2-3 pads for her that are as small as I can find in "normal" dressage saddle pads and they are still just too big. One of them (around 20 spine x 22 drop which is REALLY small for most horse pads) even caused L to comment that it was no wonder she wasn’t listening to my leg since my pad was too big!

I have eight saddle pads from Horze, all in pony size, and they are wonderful! Even the ones on the larger end of the scale are close to 20 x 20 and the smaller ones just perfectly fit under my saddle. I can go pretty small for my saddle since it has a 17" seat and a 15" flap so I try to keep them as close to the size needed for my saddle as possible so that she doesn’t look like she’s wearing her mommy’s saddle pad.

My favorite is this one.

It is a little blingy but not too bad for a schooling pad and the brown works really well with Katai’s colors since then you’re only seeing two colors rather than three. It has this cool flag detailing along the spine and it fits perfectly under my saddle. Plus, I bought it when it was on sale for $22!! Pretty tough to beat that!

My second favorite is the one.

The color on this actually said Navy on the site and since Katai looks great in Navy I ordered it in that color. It actually turned out to be closer to black which I normally wouldn’t have ordered since I wasn’t sure if it would look ok on her. I actually don’t think it looks bad and it was a great experiment since I will likely end up showing her in a black pad rather than white based on her color.

Again this pad has some subtle detail but just on one side. It doesn’t have the fun little flag detailing but it is the PERFECT size for my saddle and I think I got this one for $21 on sale at Horze (plus another 20% off with a coupon I had as a frequent customer haha) which again is really tough to beat.

Sheepskin Pad:

Seeing the theme now?

I actually purchased this saddle pad on Amazon. I’m the queen of bargain hunting especially for things that I need but don’t want to pay full price for. Frankly spending over $200 on a mattes pad without even the option to shim it seemed silly so I went looking for a different option and found this pad. For $124 I got a nice, plush, sheepskin pad that has four shimable pockets plus it came with three sets of shims in different thicknesses! I also have Amazon prime so I got it with free shipping as well.

I didn’t know that I would need a shimable pad but since I was using the front shims for awhile I’m really, really pleased that I went ahead and bought this option rather than the cheaper $99 option in the same pad that didn’t have pockets. I really like this pad! It has nice plush sheepskin and the quality seems to be really good. The sheepskin isn’t as plush and soft as a Fleeceworks but it does seem to have more loft which is nice and it fits my saddle well. I think for a saddle that’s bigger than a 17" seat it may be a little short though since it fits my saddle perfectly!

Nifty Hair Remover Brush:

I had seen someone at the barn with one of these things and was amazed at how it magically seemed to remove hair from saddle pads, blankets, clothing etc. They had bought it from a tack store but once again I bargain hunted on Amazon and found this great, cheaper, no name version. It is truly amazing at removing hair and works better than anything else I’ve tried for this task.

HGBH: Every Day Tack Setup

Annnnnd sneaking in right at the end...

It can be tough to find appropriate tack for an equine that is between pony and cob size. Most is either made for little kids on tiny ponies or for small horses. However I enjoy the challenge and for me it takes the place of a hobby like antiques shopping or something haha. As it happens this is a very exciting time for my everyday tack setup because as most of you know my setup has gone through some major changes recently. Because of that I think this is a perfect time to go through it again.

 Previously I was riding in;

Bridle - Pink lined FSS bridle that I bought on EBay in cob size. I LOVED this bridle and the leather was amazing.

Reins - Horze, pony sized plain leather reins. I miss these but they are black so don't match my current set up. I'll be holding on to them for a back up pair. I love plain leather reins but they are tough to find.

Saddle - Passier Vector dressage saddle with 17" seat. I honestly have no idea how wide it is but will need to figure it out as I will be listing it for sale now. This saddle actually fit Katai decently but I hated it. It put me in a horrible chair seat since it was meant for a much taller person and the overwhelmingly long flaps made it tough to put my leg on my pony. 

Girth - Total Saddle Fit girth, 18",Havana. I ADORE this girth! Unfortunately this one is too short for my new saddle which has shorter flaps and thus shorter billets. I will be ordering a longer one from the same company.

Bit - Neue Schule 4.5" pony sized Eggbutt bit. Another piece of tack I adore. The best things about this bit is that it's smaller diameter as well as smaller width. Katai's got a low palette and previous bits actually made it so she couldn't close her mouth all the way.  It was pricy but totally worth it and if I ever need to try anything else I'll buy another Neue Schule.

Saddle Pads - Mostly I use Horze dressage pads in pony size. These are the best pony sized saddle pads I've found. They've got multiple styles in pony size and all different types of colors. I have the style in the picture in two different colors, grey and lime green, as well as a new one in brown that I like even more which will show up later. I also have a Mattes, Euos, Baker Plaid baby pad, and a couple no name pads I picked up at tack swaps.

Boots - Normally I use my People on Horses pink sheepskin dressage boots that I'm sure all of you have seen by now but in this picture she's wearing grey fleece polo wraps from Horze. She's also wearing her Davis pink bellboots that I bought in XS from Just for Ponies.

New Setup;

Saddle - Custom by Heritage Custom Saddlery. I'm already completely, head over heels, in love with this saddle! Be sharing more pictures soon :-)

Bridle -  Micklem bridle in brown. Both Katai and I really love this bridle. The leather isn't amazing but it has softened up really well and it actually fits her well.

Reins - Horze pony sized brown reins. The only way I could order these is with stops so if I can find another reasonable pair of pony sized brown leather plain reins I'll trade them out.

Everything else is about the same!

Viva Carlos’ Magical Blog Hop: Our Commercial Moment

After, unfortunately, having to sit out for the last few blog hops due to my impending but again delayed move (a topic for the next post) I was really excited to see another VCMBH that I could participate in!

What are you buying next? Not your "Wish I could" list but your actual practical pony shopping list. And if it’s a high ticket item you are saving for what is it and when do you expect to order/get it?

1. Sponges: Yay right!?! Well I do need them both for tack cleaning and for pony cleaning which leads me right into the next item on my list…

2. Grooming Products: All of the grooming products, all of them. I have seriously never even owned a bottle of Show Sheen that’s how sad my grooming product supply is. In fact, other than the copious amounts of Cowboy Magic I needed for Sora’s long mane, I’ve never bought much other than fly spray and maybe some fly lotion. I can count the number of times that I’ve bathed a horse that I’ve owned (over that last 16 years even) on my fingers. I seriously have some catching up to do and it’s not so much that I need to IMEDIETLY start putting products on my pony, it’s more like both of us should get used to it because of the shows I hope to do and the fact that there are actually people who know how to use grooming products at the new barn. Specifically I’ve got Cowboy Magic Green Spot Remover in my SmartPak cart and I’m looking for a good mane and tail conditioner. Does anyone have any good grooming product suggestions for a mostly white pony?

3. Brown Paddock Boots: I had a really cute and extremely comfortable pair that I found used for $5 but unfortunately after two summers of abuse the zipper in the back of one died. I’m still wearing them since they stay shut with my adorable matching $8 brown leather half chaps on but the zipper digs into the back of my heel so it’s time to find a new pair. Yes, I’m cheap.

4. Show Clothing: I will seriously be hitting up as many local thrift shops (we have lots of riders in the area), used tack swaps, and sales as possible because I need everything. I do have a couple of pairs of breeches that would work for schooling shows but that’s about it. I’m sure I won’t do anything other than schooling shows this year, and that’s if I show at all, but I’d rather not wait until the last minute to find what I need since that means I’ll spend more than I want.

5. The painful one, I may need a saddle :( I HATE saddle shopping and find it to be a miserable experience. If I had all of the money in the world and could get an adorable, custom dressage saddle in contrasting leather colors from Custom Saddlery it would be fun but saddle shopping on a budget for a tough-to-fit pony is not an enjoyable experience and it always makes me hurt in my brain and my credit card.

Luckily I don’t have any other high ticket items that I want/need right now and although I’m sure I’ll find something to spend my money on at the upcoming MN Horse Expo but I’m going to try to stick to the stuff listed above.

Road Tripping 2: In Which The Shopping Happens

Ok, so really, when you go on vacation in a new place why wouldn't you visit every tack shop possible? 

I had the opportunity to visit three between yesterday before seeing my sister play in her recital and today. I did some googling and found a few likely paces.

First, the Schneiders.

I honestly didn't realize they had any retail locations and when I asked I was told that this is the only one. 

It was large and lovely inside and was split pretty evenly between English and Western tack with lots of horse care supplies. I bought healthy horse treats and whitening shampoo, it is mud season :(

Second was Chagrin Saddlery.

This one was smaller and recommended by my sister's horse owning friend. If anyone reading this is ever in the Cleveland area I HIGHLY recommend that you visit them. It was small but the people were extremely friendly and helpful without being at all pushy. Plus, they had Asmar products!!!! I've been wanting to try on their clothing for a long time now because while they look really excellent on models I wasn't sure if they would look good on someone with curves. Even better, one of the jackets that I had my eyes on was 40% off 0-0 I totally lucked out and really couldn't leave without it. I will probably even do a review since it is one of the best purpose made riding jackets that I've ever tried. I also bought a pair of Asmar socks to add to my sock collection :)

Last but not least I went to Clippity Clop.

 It was the most western of all of the shops and I picked out a pink nylon halter since I no longer have a spare that fits Katai and since my main halter is leather and breakable it would be good to have a spare.

So as you can see it was a fun productive day :)

If you want more information about Asmar or haven't heard of them I highly suggest you check them out here -> http://asmarequestrian.com

Christmas List

Well, its getting to be that time. I am working on my Christmas shopping which mostly consists of my mom, dad and siblings this year as well as the three woman in the HR department at work. They are all tough to shop for, except maybe my sisters because we think very much alike, and I feel like I should be so easy to buy things for since absolutely anything for a horse would make me happy. Things like horse treats, brushes, or medical supplies don't have to be a specific color or style or size and would be great gifts but whether its just tough for non horse people to know what to buy or if they are still trying to quell my horse crazy habits but I never seem to get horse gifts.

I always adore what they get me of course :-)

but if I could just ask for what I REALLY want (from someone with unlimited funds cause its fun to dream) it would go something like this;

These treats because they are made from reasonably health ingredients and are small and hard so they would fit in a pocket well.

One of these bridles because I've heard some horses love them and I would love to see if Katai would. Plus, I LOVE the way they look.

One of these blankets in lightweight. Katai has a heavy/medium blanket and a sheet but I would love something in between and these last forever and just fit right.

Some of these awesome, warm breeches because it would nice to not freeze at the barn this winter :-)

A nice, quiet clippers since at some point I'd like to be able to at least trim up my pony's summer coat.

One of these cool European style saddle pads, bonus that this one is navy and pink :-)

So, to anyone reading this, what would you ask for?

Material Girl

Sometimes I feel materialistic when it comes to my pony and I feel the need to explain even though I know I don't need to.

I do love my pony for my pony and even if I had the same worn English saddle with a towel under it as a saddle pad and a mismatched bridle like when I was growing up I would love her just the same and would enjoy riding just as much. I am not into horses because of products or as a shopping opportunity they are simply a part of my soul.

However, I don't buy much for myself and when I do its normally practical. I love name brands but I can rarely afford them so I almost never buy them and while I do have a weakness for Victoria Secret I rarely buy myself anything fun as far as clothes or shoes go.

I also don't have any other expensive hobbies and even my computer was a good deal and relatively "cheap", in fact the only thing I have that is really nice is my iPhone.

When it comes to Katai though things are different. I save my money so that I can buy her nice things. Mainly its because her comfort and health actually depend to some extent on my ability to buy and use things that fit her and are comfortable and well made. I'll be fine if I wear work clothes from Target but my pony's back won't be ok if I buy her a cheap saddle.

Its also because its fun. Not only is it fun to shop for cute, nicely made, adorable things for her but it is so nice to see her in nice things and to feel proud about how she looks. Probably this isn't so different than parents buying their kids nice things but since I don't have any my pony gets to be nicely outfitted.

I bring this up partially because I did some shopping on Cyber Monday and bought another weight of blanket, finally I think I have the different weights that I need, a new girth and a pair of socks for myself. Partially though its because reading through posts it seems I have a lot of things I want for her. Most of them are things I need for example the girth I just bought was because neither of the ones I have right now really fit her. One is too short so she keeps hitting the buckles with her elbow (ouch) and the other is too slippery and doesn't have enough elastic so I slip all over the place. Having a unique sized and shaped horse means that I'm constantly searching for things that fit and work for her small frame.

And there is the fact that I can finally afford some of this stuff.

Growing up, as I said before, I had almost nothing that I wanted and very little that I needed to actually be able to outfit a horse properly and comfortably. Much of it was a quick fix or was borrowed from a friend and I always felt like I needed something or wanted something. It is so nice to finally have a good job and to be able to afford the things that we both need to be able to function together as a good horse and rider team :-)