Having an injured horse is kind of like the Universe’s double Eff You. Not only is your horse hurt and you can’t ride him, you’re also probably so tapped out from vet bills and/or rehab that you can’t even treat your feelings with some proper retail therapy. It’s annoying when you’re forced to just have the feelings instead of buying lots of pretty things to bury them under.
I think they’d love to be buried under these, personally…I’m incapable of going very long without acquiring something though, even if it’s a low budget item. I might have gone a tad crazy on Thriftbooks, buying some more breeding books. Yes I already have a bunch of similar books already in my collection, which may or may not include a Holsteiner book and a Hanoverian book written entirely in German. Don’t judge me.
I do some sort of massive Thriftbooks purchase at least once a year… last time it was about a dozen eventing and dressage books, everything from Charles de Kunffy to Mark Todd. They’re pretty much all under $5 a pop, who can resist that? I’m turning into a random-equestrian-books library, and I’m ok with it.
about half of the horse books collectionI think the Universe tried to pay me back a little bit last week though, by letting me win not just one but TWO giveaways for a Triple Crown Custom cooler. Yeah, I have no idea how I pulled that off either… two totally separate giveaways for the exact same item. When I won the second one I reluctantly emailed them and let them know that I had already won one, and they should draw another winner. It was slightly tempting to not say anything and take two, but that just seems wrong and I don’t need that kind of bad karma in my life. Nor do I really need two wool coolers. Pretty excited about it though, the TCC coolers are awesome. It should end up looking something like this:
There’s also a Mrs Tutton’s shirt on it’s way to me, the one I was drooling over so much. Too bad I won’t really get to wear it until next show season. Unless I wear it to work. Which… might happen.
I’ve been teetering on the brink of ordering an Ogilvy Eventer pad… some days I’m stronger than others. I’ve gone so far as to add it to the cart, but managed to talk myself down from the ledge before I actually paid for it. We’ll see how long I last. We’ll also see how much damage I do at Fair Hill this weekend… we hit one consignment tack shop yesterday and I didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without.
At least Henny seems to be having a good time swimming my money away?
I guess it’s a good thing I’m used to getting up early, since I’m currently sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Baltimore. Super excited for our little mini horse vacation to Fair Hill! I even packed appropriate reading material.
I’ll still be posting here the next couple days as usual… sorry, you don’t get a break from me.
If anyone wants to meet up at FH, send me a message and let’s coordinate! I’m ready for 3 days of ponies and shopping and nice weather (or so my weather app is promising).
Oh and BTW, we officially crossed day 180 of Sadie’s pregnancy (not that I’m literally counting the days or anything), so baby Presto is now about the size of a beagle.
ear size probably accurateNext stop, day 240, when he’ll be the size of a lamb!
Yeah yeah, I know, it’s not even Halloween, calm down with Christmas already.
I’m not really ready to hear about it yet either, but all the best things are custom, and custom stuff has longer lead times (especially around the holidays) so really – now is the time to start thinking about gifts and getting stuff ordered. Plus I come bearing coupon codes and order cutoff dates, therefore this post is totally valid. Hang in there.
Without further ado, my top 5 picks for affordable custom Christmas gifts (in no particular order because that’s just impossible)…
Hamer & Clay custom ornaments
Hamer & Clay‘s custom ornaments/magnets are always incredibly popular and once her list is full, that’s it, so definitely order these soon if you’re gonna. Everybody knows that her stuff is one of my favorite things to give, and the prices are super reasonable (they start at only $22!). Plus, she was so kind as to offer my readers 15% off with coupon code Gohennygo. Knock yourselves out, order a dozen, and have fun with them.
Boy-O-Boy Bridleworks custom accessories
My love for Boy-O-Boy Bridleworks is also no secret, and their stuff makes a great Christmas gift as well. They offer belts, dog collars, leashes, browbands, and a few other things in whatever colors/pattern you choose, plus embroidery options to make it even more personalized. The deadline to guarantee Christmas delivery on custom orders is 11/25, or for items in stock colors (assuming they still have the size you need) is 12/10. They also offer a discount when you order 4 or more identical custom items (matching belts and/or browbands in barn colors, anyone?). I get tons of compliments on my Boy-O-Boy belt, the workmanship is amazing.
Deco Pony custom stall guards
I ordered a Deco Pony stall guard for Trainer last year and it was a huge hit. They look great as part of the stabling set up at shows, plus they’re easy to pack and wipe clean. It’s truly the perfect gift for someone that shows a lot. The cutoff date for Christmas delivery is December 1, and you want to make sure to give yourself time to pick a good design, get logos together, make sure everything is exactly how you want it, etc. Earlier is better! Bonus – mention this blog and get $5 off your order!
Valentine Equine custom pinney
Know an eventer that already has everything? They probably don’t have a custom pinney from Valentine Equine. These are super affordable at only $60-65 AUD, or right under $50 USD. They offer a single color or a two color option, in literally whatever colors you want… if they don’t have it, they will dye a batch for you. Words that make an eventer’s heart go pitter patter. Of course, keep in mind that they’re an Australian company so aside from the normal lead times for a custom item, you should also allow extra time for shipping.
It’s a Haggerty’s custom sunshirts
We might be headed into winter now, but the sun will be back before you know it… unless you’re in the South, where it’s basically summer all year. It’s a Haggerty’s offers custom sunshirts in any color combo you want, plus FREE embroidery. You can get one in your barn colors, your XC colors, or just whatever colors you damn well please, with any logo or monogram. They even have patterned fabrics or collar/cuff accents if you’re into something more bold. The prices are great too, only $50-55 (plus a discount on orders larger than 10)!
So much pony time these past few days! On Thursday I went to work super early so I could fit in a half day of work and still get to Trainer’s by noon for a dressage lesson.
I know I already said I love Red, but for real… I love Red. He really makes it possible for me to work on myself, and boy is there a lot of work to do.
Plus he makes faces like this, which in my world is a real bonus
This lesson was definitely better than the first one, but still… damn… I constantly see so many things I want to fix. Dressage is so freaking hard. Riding a fun little horse like Red sure helps though.
Saturday morning I drove a couple hours to meet a friend at Pine Hill for some XC schooling. She brought her giant (no joke, 18h+) baby warmblood along for me to ride. He’d never been out XC schooling before and I’d never ridden him before, but aside from some general glee (“wheeeeee this fun!”) and typical easily distracted baby brain, he was great. He’s super brave about the jumps and had no problem with anything I pointed him at.
He wasn’t totally sure he wanted to get in the water at first but after a few patient minutes he waded in, realized it was kinda fun, and then had no problems coming back through after that.
He even conquered the big mound
and loped very nonchalantly over the Novice trakehner.
Up/down banks were no problem either. This guy could be a pretty cool eventer for someone, he thinks Novice jumps are a total snooze fest. Even though he’s giant he rides like a pretty normal sized horse (aside from the fact that you’re like 50 feet off the ground) and doesn’t have a heavy way of going.
It was also cool to get to ride him because he’s by Valentino Z, my favorite stallion ever. Although I’ve ridden V several times, this was my first time riding one of his kids!
I literally went from 13h pony last weekend to 18h warmblood this weekend. And yes, no doubt the pony was harder.
On Sunday afternoon I made the trek out to the rehab place to see Henny. As I was standing there watching him graze I just couldn’t help myself and hopped aboard. I needed to just sit on my boy.
feels like home
Once he got tired of grazing he made a beeline for the trail behind the barn and took me on a powerwalk all around the property. He seemed happy to be out and about, and after 2 weeks of mostly being cooped up in a stall, I don’t blame him. I indulged him and let him meander around wherever he wanted until he got his fill.
I sure do miss seeing my boy and riding him all the time. It’s been so awesome to get to ride all these nice horses and really work on my riding, but for me there’s only one Henny. Nothing else is quite the same.
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I’ve spent the past few months testing out a few items from Lund Saddlery, a new tack brand. The owner of Lund contacted me a while back and was very clear in his mission for the brand: to produce quality tack at reasonable prices.
He had an obvious vision, for sure, and his enthusiasm about his products is undeniable. But we’ve all heard schpeils like that before, haven’t we? I was skeptical and decided to reserve judgment until I could get my hands on the items myself. He asked me to review some things, and I agreed, but warned him that I would be 100% honest in my reviews. He (and his team of riders that have helped develop the line) seemed undeterred.
fresh out of the box
The main leather Lund uses is Sedgwick, with Italian leather padding and backing. The hardware is stainless steel, and everything is made in the same factories as some other well known brands. I’ve had some Sedgwick tack before… for those who haven’t: it’s good quality, rugged, strong English leather. It takes a little longer to really get it nicely broken in and soft, but that’s because it lasts FOREVER. It’s the kind of stuff that seems to just get better with age and use. It’s not as thin and butter soft as French leather, but it’s obviously a lot more hardy. So if you’re looking for something durable (like something you could use for everyday and for showing), Sedgwick is a good choice. You definitely do not have to baby it.
One of the first items I received was the Lund 5 point breastplate. The retail price on this is $210 Canadian, or around $158 USD. My first impressions out of the box were 1) navy elastic, hell yeah. (#teamnavy) 2) the details were very well done. Maybe it’s my h/j background but I’m a sucker for fancy stitching and padding, they make things look so much, well… fancier. I immediately inspected the edges, the backing, the stitching, and the seams, looking for quality issues. Just because it’s relatively inexpensive doesn’t mean it should look cheap – I don’t want to see any loose, crooked, or uneven stitching, rough edges, leaking glue, uneven straps, fake sheepskin, thin elastic, or cheap hardware. Luckily I found none. Nary a stitch was out of place, the sheepskin was gorgeous, and the elastic was thick and multi-layered. So far, so good.
SO FLUFFY
The Lund breastplates come with dee savers, which are really nice to have since I don’t like clipping things directly to my saddle dees. It also came with a clip on running martingale attachment, another nice “extra”, and gives you the feeling that they didn’t cut corners to save a few bucks in production. It drives me nuts when I get a breastplate (or any tack item) and it doesn’t have all the snaps or attachments that I want. Extra points for Lund for providing appropriate snaps and accessories.
Despite the popularity of the 5 point design among eventers, I’ve never actually used this style of breastplate before. It took a little bit of finagling to get it adjusted exactly how I wanted it, but once it was done, it was done, and I haven’t messed with the fit since then.
In application, the breastplate does it’s job admirably. As one would expect, it’s quite stable, and gives a nice feeling of security. I can see why people like this design for cross country… your saddle isn’t going anywhere, and even if something happened and one strap broke mid-round, you’d still have several more to keep things steady. The only thing I didn’t like was that for the first few rides (until it broke in and softened a bit) I could feel the leather strap under my boot. Mildly annoying, so I attacked it for a few days with Belvoir and that seemed to do the trick.
5 point in action
My only minor whine is the color of the leather – I am not Australian Nut’s #1 fan. I prefer a darker Havana, but I know that most of the h/j world (and probably many eventers as well) prefer the slightly lighter, redder tone. I’ve had a little luck darkening it so far, and having owned a Sedgwick bridle in this exact color before, I know that it will darken more with age. The color is fine as-is, I’m just a bigger fan of darker tack. Personal choice.
it does look pretty smashing on Red
Overall I think this breastplate is a great piece of tack in it’s own right, and especially at the well below $200 price point. It’s light years better quality than the HDR 5 point, and I like it more than the Ovation, Nunn Finer, or Prestige 5 points (which are all more expensive) that I have seen, too. In the end it comes down to the details, and Lund really nails it in that respect. The fancy stitching, padding, and quality workmanship on the Lund put it solidly ahead of it’s competition.
Lund Saddlery is also doing a monthly giveaway to go with their brand launch, and October’s item is the 5 point! Go here to enter, and follow Lund on Instagram here.
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