Author: Amanda C

The February clearance sale was so successful, we decided to do it again! Get a jump on your Black Friday shopping with these exclusive offers from Luxe EQ. They’re clearing out the last of some Esperado inventory and last season Animo -this is the only place you’ll find the list!

Here’s how it works:

• For questions or orders, email megan@luxe-eq.com or message Luxe EQ on facebook.
• All items are on a first come, first served basis. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!  Items are not considered sold until payment is received.
• All sales are final.
• Please read descriptions carefully and thoroughly – not all photos are of the exact colors available.
• Animo breech sizes are as follows: 38IT=24US, 40IT=26US, 42IT=28US, 44IT=30US (coat size and breech size are usually the same)
• Esperado breech sizing as follows: 38 = 28US

Esperado

Esperado Aline show shirt – $49.50

• Navy – Small (1)
• White – Medium (1)
• Pink – Medium (1)
• Red – Large (1)
• Royal Blue – Medium (1)

 

Esperado Rachel Breech – $75.00

• knee patch Navy – 38/US28 (1)
• knee patch Black – 38/US28 (1)
• knee patch White – 38/US28 (1)
• knee patch Taupe – 38/US28 (1)
• full seat Navy – 38/US28 (1)

 

Esperado Grand Prix breech – $75.00

• silicone knee patch Navy – 38/US28 (1)
• silicone knee patch White – 38/US28 (1)

 

Esperado Parade show jacket

• Black – Medium (1)  $75.00
• Black with cream – Medium (1)  $75.00
• Navy – Kids Medium (1)  $50.00

 

Esperado Tracy Vest (women’s) – $75.00

• Navy – XL (2)
• Black – S (1), XL (2)
• Nougat Brown – XL (1)

 

PK vest (women’s) – $75.00

• Chocolate – L (1)

 

Esperado Trevor Vest (men’s) – $75.00

• Navy – S (1)
• Black – S (2), M (1)

Esperado Fly Bonnet – $25

• Wh/Br/DGr (3)

 

Esperado scarf – $25.00

• Green (1)

 

Esperado Socks

• pair Assorted colors  $5.00
• 3-pack Assorted colors  $10.00

 

Animo Italia

Animo Norche breech – $250

• Gray – IT38/US24, IT44/US30  

 

Animo Lilith show jacket – $400

• Navy – IT44

 

Animo Lorina show jacket- $400

• Black – IT38

 

Animo Labanda show jacket- $400

• Black – IT42  

 

Animo Larosa show jacket – $400

• Navy – IT42 (2), IT44  

Cathryn at That Red Mare posted this blog hop yesterday and it immediately grabbed my attention. Who doesn’t love a good transformation? Honestly though, I don’t think Henry is your typical super impressive “before and after”. He came to me in good health (albeit FAT and with no muscle from having sat in a pasture for over a year) and he’d already jumped a little bit, so his early education went by pretty quickly. His is not a particularly radical transformation, but it’s still kind of fun to look back.

This was Henry on Day 1 when he arrived in Texas in December 2013. So fat that his butt jiggled when he walked. He’s always been cute though – the long mane and shaggy coat couldn’t hide that.

He’s a bit more fit these days… looks more like a event horse than a pasture puff. I think he went from cute to handsome.

This is one of our very first jumps, also December 2013. He was a little bit more green and careful in those days, but his style has always been good.

Now he just jumps much bigger things.

Ah, but what about the DERP? Well, absolutely nothing has changed in that regard. On Day 1 he was 100% derp…

and almost 3 years later – still derping so hard.

I started with a pretty nice horse. Now I just have a more fit, more educated one.

Maybe Sadie is a a little bit more fun as a before and after, since… ya know… going from a baby to an adult is a lot more drastic?

Sadie at 2 weeks, when she was still cute and tiny.

Sadie at 2 years, still looking a little gangly. (Yes, I’m skipping over the yearling part. No one wants to re-live that, especially not me.)

Sadie at 3 years, at her first little schooling show.

Her first show over fences, at 4 years. Cantering over the Baby Green jumps like NBD, because teeny things have always been a joke to her.

At 5, when she decided she’d rather be a jumper and the sticks got bigger.

And then last year, finally mature at age 8, and with her first baby.

Still hard to believe that my tiny little fuzzball is now a giant mare!

Massage, chiropractic, aquatred, cold saltwater spa… Henry is no stranger to complementary therapies. Yet one thing he hasn’t tried, and in fact I’ve never tried on any of my horses, is acupuncture. No particular reason, really, I’ve just never had access to it or any personal experience with it.

My vet is a skeptic of “woo-woo” (his words) type things in general. Chiropractic, laser therapy, all that stuff tends to get an eyeroll from him. I appreciate the skepticism in a lot of ways, but I’ve seen enough “woo-woo” things work really well that I tend to be pretty open-minded about trying stuff. I’m all about finding ways to make the pony more comfortable.

I’ve read a lot about acupuncture, all the different types, and what it can supposedly help with. Take a spin around a few different horse forums and you’ll find opinions ranging from “total hogwash” to “miracle cure”. As with all things, I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in between and depends a lot on the particular horse and practitioner.

A couple years ago we had a vet move into our area that specializes in acupuncture and chiropractic. I put her on my radar as one to watch and see how she fared, and thus far it seems like she’s been pretty successful with it. I know a few people that have used her and seen good results.  I was thinking that maybe it’s time to make a chiropractic appointment for Henry anyway (I’m sure he’s probably a bit out of whack from the stall rest/gimping that has happened lately) so on a whim I emailed this vet for her rates.

It isn’t cheap for chiro plus acupuncture from a vet, but I’m thinking about trying it anyway. My curiosity is starting to get the best of me.

Has anyone else used acupuncture, either on yourself or your horse? If so – opinions? If not – would you, or wouldn’t you?

Remember how I freaked out there for a minute after Henry went to rehab and agreed to run a half marathon? Yeah… that happened.

It’s still two months away, and it’s probably a good thing that I entered it because otherwise I doubt I’d still be running much. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely needed the exercise. I’m stronger than I was before, and I’ve lost a little bit of weight (kind of. if you squint.). I’ve always had a huge mental block with running; I just don’t like it. Even when I was heavy duty into triathlons the running part was still like torture. Swimming, awesome. Cycling, even better. Running? Just effin’ kill me. So this time around I’ve tried a different approach – keeping it casual.

First: the schedule. I’ve been sticking mostly to a 3x per week schedule, trying to avoid running two days in a row. I need that day off in between so that it doesn’t start feeling like a job, and it helps keep my compartment syndrome in check. Sometimes I run 4 days a week, if I had to cut one short because of time or something, but 3 has been pretty standard. I do two weekday morning runs that are 3 miles (aka 2 cupcakes), and then I do a long run on a weekend morning. Right now the long run is at 6 miles (aka 5 cupcakes).

The second vital part: I don’t track my pace… I have a few set routes that I know the distance of (a couple different 3 mile loops, and a 6 mile loop), but I don’t turn on runkeeper or mapmyrun to track it. I just can’t. I’m so overly competitive (yes, even with myself) that I have the most amazing ability to take the fun out of literally everything. And there’s already basically no fun to be had in running. I know how long each run is taking me anyway, total minutes-wise, so it’s not rocket science to have a decent idea of what my pace is. I’m not worrying about negative splits or heartrate or any of that other overly analytical crap though… I just run however the hell I feel like running in the moment. It’s liberating.

And the last, but equally vital piece: I run alone, in private. I’m up early so that I can run in the dark, before dawn, just me and our big black dog. I don’t want people looking at me, I don’t want to be forced to make eye contact and say good morning to anyone, I don’t want to talk to anyone, and I sure as hell don’t want to run with anyone. Leave me alone to suffer in peace with Twenty One Pilots and Bastille, please. I need to pretend like I still have some damn dignity.

I burned myself out on all this stuff when I was doing triathlons, making myself crazy with my obsession with the numbers. Always trying to be faster and faster and faster. At the end of the day though, running isn’t my number one thing, I’m not that good at it, and I don’t particularly care that much. My new approach is a little bit unconventional but it seems to be working so far, since I’ve actually managed to keep up with it and don’t hate it yet.

I do think that it’s helped my riding though, especially while Henry has been recuperating. I’m still strong and reasonably fit, which has definitely helped. Will I actually keep running after the half is over? Who knows… we’ll see what happens in the next couple months…

Herrlerr!!!! Well… and Bobby too, I guess.

It rained a lot last week but the field at my barn dries exceptionally fast. The soil is a bit sandier than most areas around here, which seems to make all the difference. Because of all the rain, Halo hasn’t gotten to gallop for a while (he has this gross thing where he has to be able to clear his nose out really well all the time or he starts to reek of rotten food. Tie back surgery issues. Long story.) and Bobby said he was starting to get really stinky, so after clearing it with the barn owner I invited him over to ride. Henry can’t gallop yet, but he can supervise.

We trotted a few laps with Halo (Henry can’t keep up with him, even trotting), cantered a slow lap, and then hung back and watched him fly around the field. The footing really was perfect – just soft enough to be springy, but not so soft as to make any divots. Halo seemed thrilled. I’m not willing to say that I missed Bobby (gross… although I know for sure he’s missed me) but it was fun to have someone to ride with again. Henry and Halo slipped right back into their “wise older brother vs annoying younger brother” roles without missing a beat.

On Sunday I went out in the arena and set up two tiny jumps… some barrels, and a 2’6″ vertical with placing poles. Not much, but our first fences for like two months! I cantered him over both of them a few times (he basically started cantering in place when he realized we were jumping) and called it quits. At this point I live day by day with my fingers crossed, hoping that he stays sound.

Today he gets to go into his own normal sized paddock for the first time. The turnouts are totally dry now, and he’s been well-behaved in his round pen turnout, so everything is as ready as it’ll ever be. Hopefully he can keep his brain glued in and continue to behave himself.

But, you know… this IS Henny we’re talking about, so we’ll see. Please stay out of trouble, horse.