Black Friday Shopping

This Black Friday was pretty boring for me. I got the fantastic grooming bag that I mentioned in my previous post but otherwise I didn't get much that was especially fun.

I did finally get a couple of Eskadron pony polo wraps in black and light pink. I already love the length, softness, width, and velcro set up but I'll do a review after I've used them for a while. I now have polo wraps in all of the colors of saddle pads that I use regularly so I can match #dressagequeen.

I also finally got a couple of sets of LeMieux bandage pads one set of four in black and one in white. Since Katai can't stand boots and polo wraps alone don't offer that much protection I decided that it made sense to upgrade and see what I think of these. I got each set of four for only $24 plus some change when normally on most websites they would have cost me $50. Not bad at all really!

Like these

We'll see what I think once I've had a chance to use these more as well.

I also picked up a set of, what I thought were, winter breeches but turned out to be summer breeches. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that assumes the word thermal means winter gear. Oh well, I'll just exchange them for the same Horze pair that I have and love.

I also got a planner specifically so that I can plan out my rides better. I feel like at this point in our training it's taking more planning to actually accomplish what I want to between lessons and I'm hoping that having it laid out at least in a framework in a planner will help. It should also help me plan out when I'm going to ride better since I can make sure I don't run into conflicts like I have been a lot this past couple of months.

In pink of course

I also got a package of Lexol tack wipes. They aren't my preference for tack cleaning but for in between wipe downs of my saddle and bridle they'll work great. I've been using a damp cloth but I don't have a good place to put it now with the unheated barn where it won't freeze.

Last but not least I picked up another Asmar long sleeve tee. Awhile ago I snagged a bright orange one while I was checking out tack stores in WA or OR (I can't remember which) that was on clearance. I love it but also wanted one that was, you know, a more normal color. These were on sale at RW so I got the heather grey one and I'm already looking forward to wearing it more. At some point I want the black one and the navy blue one but this is a good start!

Overall I'm really excited about my purchases (other than those darn breeches) and will share more pictures and maybe a review or two soon!

Shopping

This may sound silly but I knew I was feeling better mentally and motivation wise with horse stuff when I wanted to do some shopping again.

Yes, I’m pretty sure I’m officially a tack whore.

I had picked up a few things since I last posted much but nothing too exciting. I got a couple pairs of summer appropriate breeches and a couple of warm weather shirts. I also got some fly gear and other assorted summer items all from Riding Warehouse. I had also picked up a rope halter and lead rope since the main thing I was working on with S2 was natural horsemanship techniques and I didn’t have appropriate gear for that.

Honestly, whenever I move barns I feel like I need to get at least one or two things in order to have what I need with the new set up. At this barn I needed to reassess my winter gear and pick up another blanket for Katai, namely one with a neck cover. I’m not quite sure what this winter will bring but I’m pretty sure that I’ll be riding enough that I’ll need to clip. I’m going to go pretty conservative at first since I’m not sure how Katai handle the lack of heated barn and heated arena but I want to make sure I’m prepared so I picked up this pretty blanket so that I’d have one with a neck.

I spent the additional money on this name brand since I have two of the liners for this system and they also sell various, different weight neck covers. Hopefully that will give me some flexibility to make sure she stays warm and dry. This time I didn’t need much more than that. I may pick up a blanket bag for the front of Katai’s stall but with the move I’m really needing to stick to my budget so I’m going to make what I have now work, and store stuff in my car for the time being, and will just figure it out as I go. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t do some shopping just for fun. The items I have on my list for potential future splurge purchases (maybe Christmas and birthday money?) are:

Now Katai can finally be a proper pony ;)

HKM Flower Power pony dressage pad

Eskadron bandage liners

Eskadron polos in pink (can you believe I don’t have any pink polo wraps?!?)

PS of Sweden grooming bag (totally over the top but the space to store my phone and separate brushes sold me on this one)