Month: November 2015

There aren’t many things I love more than looking through new collections of riding clothes and tack. Some of it I love, some of it I hate, but still… it’s really fun to look. I’ve been throwing things into a drafted post as I’ve come across them and now that we’re solidly into A/W I figured it was time to post. For the most part a lot of what I saw for A/W didn’t really grab me. It seemed like last year there was a little more color, whereas this year there are more prints. I’m not as into prints. Just can’t jump onboard the leopard print/camo/sailboat/crown/flower train…

Of course, Animo rarely disappoints me and this collection was no exception. The Lakita coat might be my favorite “sparkly” coat I’ve seen so far. I like the seam and crystals on the shoulder area.

and pockets.

The other interesting thing that stood out in Animo’s coat collection was the use of a textured fabric. I still haven’t decided if I like it or not, but it’s interesting none the less.

The only kinda cool thing I saw at Equiline was these breeches with some tone on tone blocking down the leg. I can’t decide if these would be subtly flattering or just kind of distracting. In my mind’s eye they work.

One Horse always has awesome new designs every season, this time with lots of sweatshirts.

GhoDho’s soon to be released Victoria breech in Rouge is enough to make me wish my chunky thighs could fit into this brand without being grotesque. That color is perfect. I want ADE to make a breech this color!

ADE did come out with a nice purple called Aubergine, though. Sadly I’m not really into purple unless it’s really dark, so my money is safe on this one.

They have a tone on tone snakeskin too, similar to the black tone on tone houndstooth (Probably my favorite breeches that I own… which I guess are technically a print. Which I guess makes my earlier statement hypocritical. Does tone on tone really count as a print?). Not into snakeskin in general, but if you’re going to do a print, these are a pretty classy way of doing it.

Asmar is one of my favorites, and they didn’t disappoint with their fall collection. They love an elbow patch just as much as I do, and have them on just about everything. Elbow patches are always the answer.

I’ve had my eye out for this Horseware Marietta sweater ever since I saw it in the AW catalog early this year at AETA. Because if there’s anyone in the world who needs a big ol’ H-is-for-Henry sweater, it’s me.

Welsh Wear is a corgi-centric brand, which is all I really have to say, right? They just came out with sweaters that have a corgi embroidered on the chest. A corgi. In a bow tie. On the chest. Put that on my Christmas list.

I’ve already talked about Kastel’s merino 1/4 zips (review coming next week!) but they also released some new sunshirt colors, including that awesome forest green, a purple, and deeper shade of blue.

On the tack side of things, PS of Sweden released all of it’s “nose plates” for the Get Set bridle that they released in the summer. Now you can swap the noseband out between padded croc with flash, plain croc with no flash, fancy stitched, and a patent one with two colors of interchangeable padding. I do not need another bridle… I do not need another bridle…

My latest trial saddle arrived last Tuesday night, just late enough for me to not be able to immediately run to the barn and sit in it. Those among us with serious lack of patience issues will understand how deflating this is, and just how long it makes the subsequent 7 hour sleep and 9 hour work day seem.

When I opened the box I wasn’t quite as optimistic about the saddle as I’d been from photos. She was stiff and squeaky and had dirt caked into all of her crevices (poor Childeric, that’s exactly how I feel at the end of a horse show weekend so I can empathize). The nail heads were covered in enough green varnish to where you could barely read the brand name. She looked like she had obviously been a little neglected. The leather also looked a bit slick, which has been my complaint with almost every dressage saddle I’ve sat in except the Devoucouxs and CWD, so I was a bit worried right off the bat. Beyond the superficial things though, it’s in good shape. The tree is solid, there are no tears or significant rubs, the stitching is all intact, and the panels and billets are good.

I got to the barn on Wednesday and plopped the Childeric on Henry.  He did not immediately try to kick my knee caps off or pin his fuzzy little drama queen ears, so we were off to a good start. I slid it back until it settled behind his shoulder, stepped back and looked at the balance, made sure it wasn’t rocking or bridging, checked the evenness from the back and shoulder clearance from the front. It’s not 100% perfect like custom, but it’s pretty darn good. Certainly significantly better than my Makila was.

Since I was concerned about it feeling slick and no longer own any full seat breeches I sprayed it with a little bit of stick tight before I got on. I shouldn’t have done that. I spent the first 5 minutes trying to unstick myself enough to post properly. Lesson learned. Don’t spray the Childeric – she only looks slick.

As soon as I got on I was encouraged right off the bat. It fit well in the seat and I immediately felt comfortable in it. A lot of dressage saddles I’ve sat in have made it feel like my hips are being wrenched from their sockets, but not this one. How come the French seem to be the only ones capable of making saddles that don’t hurt me (well, not physically at least, the financial pain is another story)? My only minor criticism was that i could feel the buckles on the stirrup leathers a bit under my thigh (but this gave me the perfect excuse to buy Trainer’s old leather webber style leathers off of her and sell the stupid TSF leathers that I hate). We picked up the trot and immediately Henry felt like he was moving pretty well through his shoulder – his other telltale sign of whether he likes a saddle or not. Trotting like a foundered shetland pony = bad. Trotting like a normal “6.5 mover” Henry = good.

The real test for me with dressage saddles has been the canter. It either really works or it really doesn’t. We picked up the canter (a decent trot-canter transition for once, I might add) and I immediately knew it would work for me. My leg hung well, I didn’t have to fight the saddle to sit correctly, and I felt like the balance was very good. It wasn’t as sunshine-and-rainbows as my trainer’s Devoucoux Loreak, but it’s also not anywhere near the same price range. No dramatics from Henry either, just a normal canter. When I asked him to collect a little more he easily did it without complaint. I think we have a winner all around, ladies and gentleman.

While I’m not over the moon thrilled about the price, it was still a fair deal and one of the cheapest of this model that I’ve been able to find. I’ve already scrubbed her clean (it took a toothbrush and two differently shaped sponges) and conditioned her a few thousand times and she feels and looks tremendously better. She was so thirsty I used 1/4 of a container of conditioner… I kept globbing it on and she kept soaking it up. I think my winter project will be a re-dye so that the seat looks less faded and green. Dying the saddle black, painting the trailer white…

Oh, Henry.

The farrier came out on Wednesday to re-shoe Henry. Coincidentally, Wednesday was also Day 1 of my 5 day trial period on the Childeric dressage saddle. It then makes sense, of course, that when I showed up after work on Wednesday, mere hours after the farrier had left, Henry had already removed a front shoe. How he does these things, I don’t even know, but it’s a real talent.

I was able to do a short w/t/c ride on Wednesday, since he hadn’t had time to make himself sore on that foot yet. Then it rained (yes, again) and the turnouts were too muddy for them to go out anyway, so it kind of worked out for the sake of his foot. By Saturday Henry was sore on that foot despite being inside, but he was also looking stocked up and stir-crazy, so I wrapped it, threw an Easy Boot on, and did a very short walk down the road. Even just walking on a smooth surface he managed to pull the Easy Boot off twice, so I gave up on riding at that point. At least the stocking up went away, even if the half-crazed look remained.

The farrier is supposed to be out today to replace the shoe. If it’s not on when I go out after work then this might be my last blog post, because I’ll be in prison for strangling the farrier with princess, tie-dye, flying pig, bacon and egg, or mac & cheese duct tape. Maybe all of them.

The rest of the weekend was decidedly non-horsey. On Saturday night we met my dad for Indian food to celebrate the SO’s new promotion/raise. Then we went back to my dad’s house and went through some stuff he’s uncovered as he’s been going through my mom’s stuff, including one of my old Girl Scout uniforms. New mission: figure out what all of these patches were for! The only one I remember is the second one from the left on the bottom row. Guess why? That badge marks the beginning of my entire riding career, believe it or not. Who new what an innocent trail ride with my Girl Scout troop would end up leading to.

On Sunday SO and I went for brunch for the first time in forever, to a place we hadn’t tried before. They had a “Build your own Mimosa” thing where you got a bottle of champagne and then your choice of 3 juices. It was just as delicious as you would imagine.

Oh and I had creme brulee french toast that looked like a piece of cake as big as my head. So much win.
Things are starting to dry out, so hopefully if Henry gets his shoe put back on today we can at least get a few rides in before the Hawley Bennett clinic this weekend. It’d be nice to not show up with a wild mustang…