Author: Amanda C

48 hours.

That was all it took.

On Thursday, Henry’s face looked like this:

I gave him Friday off, and showed up Saturday morning to this:

WHY THOUGH, HORSE?

It seems like every summer he tries a fun new thing. There was the time all the hair fell off his chest. Then the next summer was a bald spot on his shoulder. Which was the same summer he rubbed the top of his tail out. Oh and let’s not forget the randomly really swollen sheath that one time where I was like omg he’s never going to be able to pee again.

At least he’s consistently inconsistent in his delicate flower-ness? I have come to expect by now that every summer we’re going to have some kind of hair loss and/or skin disaster and/or allergy blowup. I just never really know where or when it will express itself.

But I’ve managed to halt any further progression (and it even looked a bit better this morning) with our favorite fungus products combined with 24/hr fly mask coverage and upping his allergy supplement. Let me tell you how thrilled he is about all THAT. He is so very itchy right now in general, just like every summer. I get that, but I would really appreciate it if he’d at least keep all of his hair where it’s supposed to be. Like… even coverage, at least. No bald spots. Especially not on his face. This mug is so not Instagram worthy right now.

Fairly certain he’s mad at me for riding him at 6am every day and this is his form of payback. Okay, maybe not.

And what was I doing in the 48 hours while he was trying to remove as much hair from his face as possible? Oh ya know… just dropping $$$ and spending hours upon hours (with literal blood, sweat, and near-homicide) to do some upgrades on his wheels. You’re welcome, Henny! But that’s a whine for another day.

 

Yep, the saddle came yesterday!

I’m headed out this morning to try it on Henry and take it for a spin. Fingers crossed we both like it because it’s pretty and I don’t want to give it back. I also forgot how crazy lightweight these saddles are, I was holding it with two fingers.

Last week also brought a couple of other fun new things to my doorstep, namely:

Henry’s Eponia Outlaw bridle. So far I really like it, there are a couple of super smart design features and it looks good on him. It was a bit stiff out of the bag but took conditioner amazingly well (like for real, it was soaking up Belvoir through the backside of the leather like nobody’s business) and has softened up a ton already. I was hesitant to add sparkles to his head but the black and gray are quite subtle. So manly for Henny (who is basically a mare, ironically).

I also nabbed a pair of these bad boys when Millbrook caught me in a weak moment on Instagram and ruthlessly exploited my love for navy (ok maybe that’s not exactly how it went down).  Have to admit, I think they look good, and hopefully this will keep my spurs from denting or rubbing the Tucci’s, because I found a dent on them a couple weeks ago under my spur and was sad.

A couple more Lund things hit my mailbox yesterday too that I can’t wait to test out and share with you guys. I’ve gotten to oil/condition new leather 3 times in the past week, and that’s one of my favorite things in the world to do. These are fun times that we live in, people.

And if you haven’t checked out the 4th of July Sales post yet, get on it! I’ve seen a couple of really good deals, including those bright-ass TuffRider breeches for $20 (if you’re into that kind of thing). Buy yourself something nice, because ‘Merica.

Yep, it’s back, the annual sales list! I’m going to leave this up top for a few days and will keep updating with new sales as they pop up. Hope everyone has a happy holiday!

Teddy’s Tack Trunk – 15% off orders over $50 with coupon code FOURTH

Barn Dog Apparel – shop through the link for 10% off

The Herbal Horse – Spend $25 get 15% off with code USA15, spend $50 get 20% off with code USA20, spend $75 get 25% off with code USA75.

Gray & Co Designs – free shipping on orders over $50 with code FREESHIP50

Ellany Equestrian – 20% off with code FIREWORK

Swanky Saddle – 25% off with coupon code JULY4

Snaks 5th Avenchew – 15% off with code FIREWORKS

Dubarry – summer sale up to 50% off

Parlanti – 20% off from most retailers! Shop direct here with coupon code FOURTH or check your favorite shop.

knixwear – 25% off sitewide with an extra 10% for orders over $150 with code INDEPENDENCE150

Hunt Club – 25% off with code HappyFourth

Emily’s Equine Creations – 20% off orders over $10 with code FREEDOM

USEF – free shipping over $100 with code july4

Joules – extra 10% off sale items

Equestrian Collections – up to 75% off various brands

PS of Sweden – 25% off double bridles

Centerline Style – 25% off with code July4

Flexible Fit – various items in their mid-year sale

Huntley Equestrian – 40% off with code SWEET

Big Dees – 5% off $75 or more w 717, 10% off $175 or more w 718

Ride Heels Down – Free shipping on all apparel

Uckele – 25% off with code FOURTH25

Victory Canter – 15% off orders over $60 with coupon code america

horseloverz – various deals up to 90% off

Horze – up to 70% off

SmartPak – 15% off select brands plus free shipping over $75 with code July17

Dover – 20% off with coupon code CM17JULY4, but of course this seems to be limited to mostly Dover house brands (Riding Sport, Dover Pro, Dover, Circuit, Warendorf, Wellington, Suffolk, Dover Collection Sheets, Rider’s International, Upland, Hug, Cool Blast, Middleburg, NorthWind Blankets, Huntfield, Showmark, Cadence, Equi-Stretch, Crown)

7/3

Ruespari – 15% off with code JULY4TH

Annie’s – 20% off with code SUMMER2017

Ece Equestrian – up to 15% off all custom shirts and made to order Hunt coats.

7/4

Breeches.com – up to 70% off select items

Millbrook Leathers – 20% off with code july4

Drs Foster and Smith – 25% off with code HAPPY4TH and free shipping over $19

Dreamers and Schemers – 20% off with code LONGWEEKEND

Signature Spurs – 10% off with coupon code IHSQUAD

Style Equestrian – 20% off with coupon code FREEDOM

Welsh Wear – 40% off with code 40FORTHE4TH

Exquisite Equine Apparel – 10% off when you shop through the link 

In theory you would think this should be fairly simple. I know exactly what saddle I need, what specs fit me, and what specs fit Henry. That’s like 99% of the battle when saddle shopping, right there. Plus my budget is plenty reasonable for a used saddle, another factor working in my favor. The particular model I’m looking for is probably the most popular eventing saddle, so they aren’t exactly rare. And I’m 100% ready to buy, like, rightnowrightnow. How much more simple can it get? Yet I inquired about 8 different saddles and got responses on exactly 2 of them.

I got so far as making an offer on one of those 2 on Monday, but then never got a response back. I thought it was a pretty decent offer… 12.5% less than asking price, I’d pay shipping, and I would buy it outright with no trial. Alas, crickets. Not even a “no”. Sooo… alrighty then.

Selling the CWD was probably the quickest and easiest saddle transaction ever, so I guess I should have known there was frustration coming. I just didn’t think it would be so difficult to give away a pretty big chunk of money. I naively assumed that when people listed their saddles for sale, it was because they wanted to, ya know, sell them.

We’re not in the middle of show season or anything, so it’s not like being without a jump saddle is the end of the world right now. But I don’t want to flat Every Single Day, and hill work/hacking in the dressage saddle is not my favorite thing in the world.

On Tuesday (as I made the rounds through all 18 of my bookmarked saddle websites, because that’s normal) I saw that a particular site had dropped its prices on a couple of fairly identical saddles that fit my specs, putting them within my budget. The panel was ever so slightly different, but still sounded like it could work, and the rep was actually RESPONSIVE and HELPFUL when I inquired. Praise the lawd, someone that knows how to work their email! So after exchanging some pictures and a couple measurements, I ordered this one:

Which is currently on its way to me, expected to arrive on Monday. I get a 7 day trial, which is nice, and shipping was free. Can’t complain about that.

So fingers crossed that this one works for us, because trying to buy saddles is apparently much harder than I thought.