Category: Uncategorized

If there’s one thing I’m passionate about, it’s supporting the people and programs that I really believe in. And, as you may have noticed, I’m a big fan of the Willow Tree Warmbloods breeding program. I mean, I’m part of it so I’m biased, and Presto bears the WTW suffix, but ya know. I’m proud of what Michelle has built so far and am very proud to rep the farm and happy to help put the name out there as much as possible. Therefore, I have a lot of WTW logo stuff.

As Presto begins to wind down his time in training, and the transition back over to me becomes more and more real, I find myself doing a weird equestrian version of nesting and prepping. I can’t really do anything right now except think about what we might do and where we might go next year. If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I have no problem being a walking advertisement for WTW. Plus, like, the logo that Britt made is pretty sweet, so why not show it off. I’ve slowly been adding bits and pieces to my WTW apparel and equipment.

When Presto was a wee baby mostly I had stuff like a grooming towel, and a scrim sheet, and a polo shirt… stuff I could use when he was showing in hand. Plus the decals on my truck and trailer. Now that he’s a bonafide Real Horse it’s time to start expanding a bit. He got his fancy bonnet back when he went to Megan, because ya know… gotta have a fancy hat. I love his bonnet and how professional it looks, and I think the logo turned out great (it came from Equine Bonnets and only took a week – highly recommend). Otherwise though he wears Megan’s logo stuff, since obviously it’s easier for her to use her own pads and whatnot, and fair enough for her to also rep her own program.

But now that he’s headed back to me soon, I figured it’s time to start expanding on both his and my stuff and add a few pieces at a time so that we’re fully locked and loaded and logo’d to death by the time we ever actually hit a horse show. That’s part of the point, right? Pretty sure.

I’ve been needing to buy him some saddle pads anyway – all I’ve got are Henry’s sheepskin-lined ones and Presto can’t wear those because he needs the shimmable half pad. Oddly out of all the things I collect, saddle pads are not one of them. I have very few. But seeing Megan’s Pro Choice saddle pads this year, I actually really liked them, so I got him one of their XC ones – white with navy trim. Which…. uh… I kinda forgot until this moment that he needs pads for stadium and dressage too so good job self. You can see what phase I care about most. Anyway, I did order him the XC pad already anyway, and I definitely plan on having the WTW logo put on it. I just can’t decide which way I prefer the logo.

On one hand, the top one sits nicely with the shape of the pad and the text is bigger/easier to read, but the bottom is the classic WTW logo format and is more recognizable. There’s also room beside it to pin my bridle number if I don’t want it on his head or breastplate. Pros and cons. I put it to an Instagram poll but the results were almost 50/50 so that didn’t help much. The only thing I’ve decided for sure is that it’ll have the logo on one side and his name on the other.

I also snagged a banner and a stall sign on super sale from Vistaprint, we’ll see how they turn out.

The whole world will definitely know about WTW if I have anything to say about it. Like people will be begging me to stop soon. No shame in my game.

What is y’alls favorite logo item?

I figured Mina gets one more update post, since she’s been here for I think 6 weeks now (?) and has settled in to farm dog life a bit.

Now that we know each other and she’s gotten used to the farm, things have come along pretty well. I know going from being an apartment dog to a farm dog was a big change for her, but for the most part she’s acclimated just fine. When she first came home I was fairly sure she hadn’t really spent much if any time off leash, she was very confused by the concept of freedom. Bit by bit she started earning more and more though, as she worked on paying attention to me and coming when she was called. Her recall is very good now, I never have to have her leashed or worry about her running off at all, she comes running just from a whistle and tends to not really want to lose me from her sight anyway. She’s definitely figured out that I’m her person.

As for the horses, she’s not really scared of them anymore, which is a good thing and a bad thing. She’s not as careful about staying out of their path or away from their feet so I have to watch her pretty closely when she’s near them. Quinnie and Henry really don’t pay her any mind but JB is deathly curious about her and really wants to chase her, which Mina has yet to realize.

We haven’t had too many encounters with wildlife or other animals, aside from bugs (this dog will run up to a spiderweb and shove her whole face in it to sniff the spider). She loves to chase birds but I don’t think she’d know what to do if she ever actually caught one. What does seem to concern her is if any of the livestock start singing the songs of their various people – like if the cows start mooing or the donkeys start heehawing or the horses start neighing. Mina goes on high alert, or if it’s the horses she wants to go running over to them. I dunno if she thinks there’s something going down or if she’s still just not figured out what the heck noise they’re making.

For the most part Mina only has two modes – 100% balls to the wall, or asleep. Like… there’s very little in between. She’s quite high-energy, I bet she wasn’t that great as an apartment dog honestly. Stewie was a JRT mix and even in his heyday he wasn’t as high energy as she is. She’s got that vibrating, ADHD quality to her sometimes. There are lots of zoomies. Lots.

To her credit though, she’s not destructive AT ALL. She doesn’t chew or dig or bark or anything like that. Her only real bad habit that I’m still trying to deal with is that she jumps up on people. She kind of gets overwhelmed with excitement because FRANDS and then just starts leaping like crazy. I’ve gotten her to stop doing it to me 95% of the time but all bets are off for new people. That’s a work in progress.

The other thing she really seems to hate is… leaving. She doesn’t want to get in the car AT ALL, and she’s high anxiety the whole time she’s in there and when she goes anywhere new. We’ve done about 5 little trips now, thinking she’d get better over time once she figured out she definitely wasn’t going back to the shelter. Not so much… if anything she’s gotten worse. If you go to the car she runs the other way and lays down in a ball, you basically have to drag her in. Not really worth it, IMO. I guess she’s happy enough here?

I’m glad that she likes the farm and isn’t overwhelmed by it, nor is she a flight risk. You just never know how they’ll handle it sometimes. For a shelter dog that came from who knows where, she’s a really good dog overall.

Sorry about the conspicuous absence of a Foal Friday post last week. Believe it or not sometimes Michelle has “other things to do” and “personal life commitments” that don’t always allow her to spend time taking and uploading foal photos every week. I know, I know, sounds like fake news to me too but I can only repeat what I’m told. We’ll have a good one for you this week to make up for it though, so… hopefully it’s forgiven?

It’s been hot AF down here for the most part anyway, we’re officially in summer’s armpit. We did get a little bit of rain one day last week, and that broke the heat cycle even if only briefly, so it’s not as bad as it could have been. There’ve been a couple of real Texas Summer days though, which mostly just reminded me of how much it really sucks when the air is so hot and humid it punches you in the face when you walk outside. Not a fan. It’s also the worst for Henry, who, on days like that, needs to be hosed off several times throughout the day. He’s pretty pro about it by now though, you don’t even need a halter and leadrope, he takes himself over the hose.

The only saving grace is that the mornings, while 100% humidity every friggin day, have been fairly cool. The humidity is workable when it’s only mid-70’s, I just have to be on Henry as early as I can. I’m a big fan of morning rides anyway, it’s my favorite time of day. The world is a little quieter and calmer and the sun feels benevolent instead of ruthless. Once it’s fully up, it’s just brutal. Plus like, there’s really no better way to kick off the day than on a good horse, am I right?

My weekend afternoons were completely consumed with Millstreet coverage. Once again another year has passed without us being able to attend (it was our planned trip for 2020 – ha. ha. hahaha. boooo.) but I’m really hoping that next year it’ll be possible. They’ve got FEI divisions up to 4*L, including ponies, plus young horse stuff. It’s like, all of our favorite things rolled into one. Plus the whole Ireland part… we’ve yet to peruse the stallions and young stock of Ireland in person, and it’s a definitely must-do thing on the list (along with finding me a dun Fusion filly).

One big thing I noticed though while watching the Millstreet coverage – and maybe this is because I spent last weekend watching Great Meadow thus it was still fresh on my mind – is just how different the commentary is between the live streams. These Irish guys knew the bloodlines of almost every single horse, mentioned the breeder, siblings of the horse, other horses the breeder had produced, the sires, the dams, etc. Like – extensively. They even went off a couple times on tangents about underused stallions, the impact that ICSI has had on genetic diversity, etc. Compared to the Great Meadow livestream where they only mentioned the sire of a few of the horses, had some blatantly wrong observations, and otherwise discussed things like colors or size or personal stories about the rider/owner…. the difference was stark. The Irish are horsemen, they know their stock, they know where and who they come from and how they’re made. It’s no wonder they’re so much better at it than we are. It once again left me with the distinct impression that we really have to step it up in a lot of regards.

BTW they had the livestream of Millstreet on their facebook page so you can still go back and watch the various divisions if you want. Highly recommend, it’s good stuff.

Speaking of livestreams, this week is going to be a busy one. We’ve got AECs starting tomorrow, streaming on the USEA website, and then Bicton 5* starting Friday, streaming on H&C. I’m pretty excited to see how Bicton goes, the course looks legit and there are a lot of good horses entered. And naturally I’m excited about AEC to be able to watch some of my friends go, as well as the Mighty Magic in the Advanced (Miks Master C) and Megan’s two horses in the Intermediate and Prelim.

Otherwise I was pretty busy around the farm last week, since the BO’s were off at Festival of Champions watching their super young horse show under Michelle Gibson. She ended up 2nd in the 6yo final, pretty exciting! They picked her out as a foal so I know how proud and rewarding that has to feel.

When they’re gone all the barn work falls to me, which I don’t mind at all. Taking care of the horses has never felt like much of a chore (okay, except for Blizzard Week where I hated everything. We try not to speak of that week). Plus, like, I averaged 12-14k steps every day last week… not bad. I wish there was a good way to tell how many gallons of sweat that amounted to.

Hope you guys had a good weekend and anyone in the path of Hurricane Ida is doing ok. And if you’re headed to AEC’s – best of luck!

At first the title was “let’s talk whites” and I realized at the very last possible second that it might not really attract the demographic I was looking for as it applies to non-horse people. Crisis averted, hopefully.

Anyway yes this is another breeches post, the second in a row, because look y’all trying to rebuild an entire breeches collection from the bottom up is a fucking task, OK? I think I’m good on schooling breeches now, but I haven’t yet tackled the show breeches side of things.

My old show breeches were all Horze Grand Prix, and I like them fine, so I could just go that route again. I haven’t really looked at or shopped for whites since like… 2017… so maybe there are a lot more/better options out there now that I need to know about. If I shat money I’d just go buy a few pair of Strucks, because I LOVE that the interior of them is tan, therefore you can’t see a damn thing through them, and they come in every size (26, 27, 28, 29, etc). However I really need like 2-3 pairs and $300 x 2 or 3 just is not happening. I also know that what is usually my favorite fabric for breeches – no cotton, thin, stretchy, breathable – tends to not be the best when it comes to whites unless you’re a fan of everyone also seeing your underwear.

SO – let’s discuss. What white breeches do you have)? How see-through are they? What’s their price point? How’s the fit (rise, length, true to size, straight fit or curvy fit)?

I can only speak for ones I’ve had recently:

Horze Grand Prix – not really see-through, $120, fit about one size large, slightly long, good for curvy fit.

Tell me what you like!

Who doesn’t love cheap breeches? Well ok usually I don’t, because most of the super cheap ones are that awful clingy fuzzy-looking cotton blend that makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit. But these are definitely NOT like that, so have no fear.

When I saw people in a facebook group talking about these $40 BALEAF breeches from Amazon, I was intrigued. Mostly because I saw that they aren’t cotton (85% Nylon, 15% Elastane), and also because I had some Amazon gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. They were also running a promotion (still are as of this moment!) where if you bought two or more pairs they were 10% off, making them $39 a pop. I ordered two pair, the black and the blue. I figured hey, worst case scenario I hate them and I’ll just return them. Not a big deal.

I did read in all of the discussion that they run big, which I’m glad I saw, because if I’d gone according to the size chart I would have ordered medium. Instead based on their advice I got the Smalls and they’re even a tiny bit on the looser side. They also are cut a bit more generous through the hip and thigh compared to the waist, which is great for me, but maybe not so much if you have a larger waist and smaller thighs. I laid them out comparatively with all of my breeches and fit/cut/sizing wise they’re most similar to my size 28 mid-rise Montar’s. Judging from what I’ve seen everyone else say, the sizing seems to go roughly something like XS – 26, S – 28, M – 30, L – 32, XL – 34, XXL – 36.

The fabric is on the thinner side, which makes them great for summer or for those of us who live in the south. This is the weight fabric I prefer for most of the year, it’s not hot or bulky or restrictive. I can’t quite figure out exactly what breeches the fabric reminds me of… it’s sorta similar to the Ovation Aqua-X or a couple models of the Kerrits or For Horses. It’s that slicker feeling fabric that dirt doesn’t stick to as well, if that makes sense?

These do have a silicone “full seat” which was a bit of a deterrent for me, but I’ve learned by now that as long as they aren’t super grippy I really don’t notice it. These didn’t look particularly grippy or siliconey from the photos, and I can attest to the fact that I don’t feel or notice the seat at all. A negative if you’re looking for a lot of grip, but a positive in my eyes since there’s nothing worse to me than breeches that make me feel stuck.

Overall they fit me pretty well. If I was being super picky I’d love it if the rise was maybe a half inch higher in the back and if they were all around like a half inch smaller, but really…. for $40 I can’t complain at all. I’ve had $200 breeches that weren’t this comfortable and didn’t fit this well. The general feel I get from them is that this is kind of the breech I would expect from closer to the $100 price point. Are they the best thing I’ve ever put on my butt? No. Are they really freaking impressive for the price point? Definitely. FORTY BUCKS? Show me other breeches that are this nice for $40. I’ll wait.

They have two pockets in the front and two zippered fully functional pockets in the back, and they’re big enough to where I can fit my iPhone in any of the pockets. There’s a stretchy mesh panel on the inside of the bottom of the leg so they’re nice and tapered and sit well under your boots. For me the length is pretty spot on perfect, but I’m also the most average size human in the world (5’6″) so I tend to not have issues with that usually anyway.

Their “blue” color is more of what I’d call a deep teal. It’s definitely NOT navy by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s still a pretty nice color. From what I’ve seen the whites are a bit see-through so I haven’t ordered any of those. I have yet to see anyone with the tan so I can’t attest to what that color looks like in person… their colors do seem a bit darker online though than they are in real life.

If you’re looking for more breeches, I think it’s definitely worth a try to see if these will fit you. I mean, you really can’t beat the price, and since it’s Amazon (for however evil that may be) at least it’s pretty simple and easy to return them if you don’t like them or they don’t fit. I have no real complaints, and I’d definitely buy more if they make them in more colors!