When it rains it pours, right?

Yesterday, the 25th of August, is generally what I think of as the shitty conclusion of what I’ve come to call my own personal annual “hell week”, bookended between the date of my mom’s passing and her birthday. The 25th is her birthday, which is not exactly the easiest day, as you can imagine. So then yesterday morning I get the call that my grandmother, my mom’s mom, has died from covid. That was a kick in the gut, universe. You can stop kicking me, I’m already down.

This is the first time covid has hit so close to home for me, even though I knew by the sheer rule of numbers that it would happen sooner or later. You know when’s an extra shitty time to have it happen? On my dead mother’s birthday. To her mother. Dying in a nursing home in Mississippi. A strong proud fiery woman who worked hard her entire life and certainly didn’t deserve an end like that. So let’s have a real talk, because I’ll be honest… I’m pissed off.

I know we’re all getting tired of this covid crap. Everyone is itching to return to normal, people are starting to get more lax and not take the guidelines so seriously. I see it every single day. People are tired of staying home, they wan’t to go out to eat and have a drink at a bar and go shopping and have parties (looking at you, neighbor behind us who has parties every damn weekend) and go back to school and go on vacation. Everyone’s patience is wearing thin, and I get it. I understand. I feel the same way. There is absolutely nothing fun about a global pandemic and I hate it too. The fact that this whole thing has been politicized from the beginning makes my blood absolutely boil. But this isn’t over just because we’re tired of it. It won’t be over for a long time.

So I ask you to please wear a damn mask (correctly). Please wash your damn hands. Please socially distance. Please avoid unnecessary gatherings and travel if at all possible, and if you truly must, please for the love of god be smart about it. Stop getting on airplanes because you found cheap tickets and need a weekend away. Please do everything within your power to avoid being the link in the chain that passes this disease on to someone vulnerable. Please don’t be the reason someone’s Mammaw dies of a brutal virus on her dead mother’s birthday.

I have had it up to my last millimeter with the “we’ve just got to get back to normal, we can’t keep doing this forever” and “but the death rate is so low” arguments. I just freaking cannot. Don’t even get me started on the people who won’t wear a mask. Which friends and family members are y’all willing to sacrifice to an end like this, you freaking sociopaths?

Horse show people, I’m peering extra hard over my theoretical glasses at you right now since y’all are the ones in my social circle. Please think long and hard about everything you do and why and how you do it. It’s easy for things to start feeling more normal again now, let your guard down, and start taking more chances or being less diligent. What we do is a luxury and superfluous, so if you’re going to do it, it’s up to you to 1) accept the very real that fact that you could be putting people in danger even if you do everything right 2) actually DO EVERYTHING RIGHT. All the time when you’re traveling or at the show. Every single thing in your power to be very diligent and minimize that risk as much as possible. So what if other people think you’re ridiculous. This isn’t a joke and it isn’t over and there are very serious repercussions.

Don’t be the idiot that kills someone’s family or friend.

I’m sure it will surprise literally no one to hear that my horses are not shaped similarly at all. Because of course, who would be that lucky (all of you people that have multiple horses that all fit perfectly into the same saddle: it’s possible that I hate you just a little bit). I know that I got incredibly lucky with Henry when it comes to saddle fit – he’s built like he was custom made for a standard Devoucoux D3D panel. A bit curvy and a bit wide, but not TOO curvy or TOO wide. I thanked my lucky stars for that when I bought his saddles, because I am a French saddle girl to my core and nothing pleases me more than sinking my butt down into some ultra-close contact buttery calfskin perfection. They’re the only saddles I’ve ever truly loved.

So naturally, Presto doesn’t come anywhere close to fitting in a curvy French tree.

It isn’t unusual for horses to start out with a bit of a straighter back when they’re young, before they finish growing and before their withers really pop, and before they start adding a lot of muscle. But Presto is definitely the straightest-backed horse I have ever had. His mother had a pretty straight back too when she was 3 and 4, and eventually curved up juuuuuust enough to fit the flattest possible french panel, so I haven’t lost all hope yet. But Presto’s profile from front to back, at least at the moment, is about as flat as a dang table. 

As it stands, Henry’s saddle is too wide and too curvy for Presto. I could help with the too wide part, with my shimmable half pad, but there’s only so much I could do about the curviness. I shimmed it 6 ways to Sunday and made it passable enough to get him started, but the reality is that this saddle would not work for him long term or once he starts getting ridden more often. I had kind of been waiting for his late spring/early summer growth spurt to finish up before I made a final decision (desperately clinging to the hope that he might magically get a little curvier I guess *cue sobbing*). Now it’s wrapping up and yeah… still flat as a pancake up there. The writing was on the wall and the truth was unavoidable: Presto needs his own saddle. 

Of course, he’s also 3.5 and will change A LOT over the next year or two. That means I’m not gonna go drop thousands of dollars on something fancy, nor is he yet eligible for anything custom. The real challenge was finding something that could fit him well enough and that I didn’t totally hate. Have I mentioned my intense love of French saddles and nothing else? It’s a real problem when your horse doesn’t fit in them. In reality I knew I was going to be looking more at the English-made brands, specifically one on a pretty straight tree with a straighter panel. It’s possible that I had a minor moderate internal temper tantrum about that. Once you go French it’s hard to go back. I’ve not particularly cared for 95% of the English-made saddles I’ve ever sat in. But Presto’s comfort is the most important thing, so I contacted a couple saddle fitter friends, got some ideas for brands, and started to hunt.

I didn’t get very far with my search in America.

Here’s where I’ll admit that I did back myself into a bit of a corner right out of the gate, because I was only considering monoflap jump saddles. The thing I hate most about a lot of the English-made saddles is how bulky they feel, and I’ve been sitting in only monoflaps for years now. If I’m gonna be forced to go English I’m at least gonna get a monoflap, okay? It’s the only thing that could slightly appease that inner temper tantrum. It was my only “must have” rider request, and I was sticking to it. But… it did greatly reduce the pool of saddles available. That and my budget, because you know who’s not spending more than 2k on a saddle that a baby horse will likely outgrow in a year?

I just cannot.

It didn’t take me long to shift my search focus overseas. I mean… I’ve bought a lot of saddles from Europe by now, and pretty much all of them have worked out. My current Devoucoux jump saddle came from England, sourced via facebook, and I’ve also bought saddles from France and Germany over the last decade. I think by now I’ve gotten fairly good at judging the shape from photos, plus I had my fitter friends to offer their opinions as well. I spent hours and hours scouring the internet looking at saddles. I’m relatively certain there isn’t single monoflap available for sale in the UK that I haven’t seen by now. Once I finally decide to embark on a task, I’m super obsessive about it, and this was no different. I left no stone unturned.

I was getting pretty distraught about it there for a while. There just weren’t many saddles that I liked the look of at all, most of them were written off pretty quickly because I hated the leather or the balance or the twist looked wide as an elephant (god I hate a wide twist). I did eventually narrow it down to 3 models, and then had to try to find one, in budget, in the right size. Not a small task. But I did finally find one, in the form of a Mark Todd Charisma.

As with literally all saddles, people on the internet either love it or hate it. But I have a pretty good idea of what I like by now, and the design looks right on par for my own preference. It’s definitely not French leather, but the general structure looks promising both for me and for Presto. About a dozen pictures and some videos and some fit debate later, it got the nod. The best part is that it was way under budget. Much easier to take a risk on something when it’s cheap, and much less painful later on when he inevitably outgrows it. I made an offer, we talked logistics, and the deal was done. Presto now has his very own saddle coming his way. Hopefully it a) makes it here with as little drama/delay as possible given the current world situation b) fits well enough to work for Presto for a while.

There is nothing worse than saddle shopping.

The only fittings I really need for it is stirrup leathers. My Free Jump irons are super easy to take on and off the leathers so I can swap those back and forth between saddles in a matter of seconds, but I don’t really want to be wrestling with swapping the leathers themselves. So I’m on the hunt for an inexpensive used calfskin pair, if anyone has seen some send them my way!

 

There was a bit less riding happening this weekend, due to a beautiful and much-needed rain storm that came through on Saturday morning. We got about an inch to inch and a half over a few hours, and it was MUCH needed, so I’ll happily give up a day of riding in return for a good (and rare) August rain. Plus it dropped the temps a little bit, which was an even more welcome reprieve. 

The farrier came last Thursday, and I was really nervous that we’d have to put shoes on Presto since he’s been destroying his feet on the hard, dry ground. The farrier did have to trim a bit more than usual to get everything cleaned up, but luckily Presto had grown so much foot in 5 weeks that even with all the chipping and cracking, he hadn’t done any major damage. For now we’re holding off on the shoes. I’d really like to keep him barefoot a bit longer. I ordered him a pair of Cavallo Simples to use when the ground is hard or if/when he chips his feet up again. They’re a little more streamlined than Henry’s glittery Cavallo ELB’s that I got for when shoes go missing, even if the black is a bit boring after the glitter ones. I now own 5 Cavallo boots. This is getting ridiculous. These new ones fit Presto well though, and I took him out for a lunge in both the grass ring and the dressage arena and they stayed put really well. 

I wasn’t reallllly planning on buying him another set of boots, because I was thinking they’d be more like $200 and Henry’s glittery ones were technically passable (albeit not ideal), but Corro had them for only $120 plus 10% off so I bit the bullet. I’m glad I did, these are definitely more secure on his feet for riding.

When the farrier was doing Henry’s feet I did stand Presto right next to him and the truck for a while though, so he could hear/see the forge and see all the smoke come off Henry’s foot as the farrier was fitting the shoes. He was slightly concerned that Henry was on fire. No one tell him that one day he’ll be on fire too.

On Friday when I came out both boys were sporting a purple ribbon – Henry on his halter and Presto braided into his mane. My mom’s favorite color was purple of course, so I knew what they were for. The barn owner had put them there knowing what a tough week it is for me, and it was quite possibly the best and kindest show of support ever (without looking me in the eye and making me talk about it, which I massively appreciate). Sometimes the most meaningful gestures are the silent ones. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

I love it, and the boys are keeping their ribbons through tomorrow, which would have been my mom’s 67th birthday. It also got me thinking again about how I always wanted to add some sort of discreet purple accent to my show ensemble and never did figure out exactly what. Maybe it’s as simple as a purple rubber band around a braid? I’m still thinking on it, but this makes me think I should definitely revisit the idea.

I also used the last of my Amazon gift card birthday money to buy a pressure washer, which a) officially makes me old and boring b) I’m stupid excited about. It’s supposed to get delivered today, and honestly nothing is safe. Everything that can be pressure washed shall be pressure washed. Especially saddle pads and boots. And I think I might try it on some of my dingier white breeches. And our deck. And our fence. And the house. And my truck. The possibilities are endless.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Even better if you got some rain.

This week was a little bit more sedate with the babies. Nobody got special toys or a lake or played dress-up. Summer is starting to feel long and tiresome to everyone I think. But they do continue to be their adorable selves and show off their personalities, which I think we’ve all come to know pretty well by now.

Like how Ollie can always be found at both ends of trouble.

Yet he also always continues to be quite pleased with himself, 24/7.

Remi is definitely still the more sedate older brother – calmer, less antagonistic, a bit of an Adonis, and getting blonder by the day.

Oakley has certainly calmed down a lot from her very early days where she was almost as bouncy as Ollie. Now she’s perhaps more into snuggles and naps, but does still enjoy a good romp and definitely doesn’t let anybody boss her around.

And there’s dear sweet gentle giant Ellie, who definitely inherited the big floppy ears and familial derp factor. She’s a bit of a momma’s girl (Sadie thinks it’s super convenient that she birthed something that can already reach high enough to give a good wither scratch) but she definitely has a silly, playful side to her too.

It’s fun to see how they’ve changed a little bit over time, but also how they’ve stayed the same. They’re definitely four very distinct personalities. I know everybody had their original favorite foal – has yours changed at all over time as their personalities have come out more and more? Despite my obvious bias towards Ellie, Ollie’s little devil personality (which is a bit like Presto on steroids, a thought that is both hilarious and terrifying) makes it hard to not love him. Mostly because I’m not the one having to clean up after his various antics or deal with him 24/7. There’s something really likable about all the babies though – Remi’s got an undeniable “it” factor, Oakley is really friendly and smart, Ollie is the most entertaining foal on the planet, and Ellie is super sweet and goofy – it’s hard for me to pick a clear favorite! What do you think?

Happy Friday, everyone!

Remember a couple weeks ago when I was talking about all the stuff Presto puts in his mouth on a daily basis and a few people were like “hope he never goes for your reins!” and I was like “that’s one thing he hasn’t really done!”.

Yeah, I should have known better than to say that.

Yesterday while I was riding he put them in his mouth three times. While I was riding. THREE TIMES. Pretty much every time we halted and stood for more than a few seconds he’d reach around, grab it, and just hold it between his front teeth. Great. Super. Cute new trick. I find myself really glad that I bought him some super cheap clearance reins a couple months ago…. I won’t be upset when he inevitably trashes these since they were only $25.

This is why he can’t have nice things, probably ever, since this particular brand of lifelong mouthiness seems to be genetic. I’ve definitely given up on the idea of him growing out of it. Was hoping he wouldn’t develop an affinity for reins like his sire though.

On the subject of things that Presto will likely destroy, his pre-order unicorn sheet finally came in. His monkey blanket came months ago, but I wanted a no fill sheet in the unicorn pattern, which didn’t exist in his size at that time, so I had to request one on their next order. And then I promptly forgot all about it until I got the email the other day saying that it had arrived in stock.

So now he has a unicorn sheet and a monkey blanket waiting for him this winter, and I’m going to absolutely strangle him with the remains after he kills them both, because I know he will.

I also realized the other day that I seem to have misplaced my neck strap. Which doesn’t really make me too sad, because I was thinking about getting a new one anyway, maybe something with a little color. I like the Clever with Leather one, which I could do in brown leather with navy padding, but by the time I add the saddle attachment and a plate and pay for tax/shipping it’s now a $90 neck strap. That’s a lot, I’m definitely not convinced I want to spend that much for what is essentially a belt.

I do kinda like the customizable biothane ones that SuperXCountry sells, they’re fully custom and you can get the saddle attachment as well. In a way biothane is a little more appealing to me for a neck strap, since it’s so easy to clean and Presto sweats a ton. Of course they’re in the UK so I’m looking at around $58 by the time all is said and done, which is definitely better than $90 but I’m still not totally convinced I want to spend that much on a neck strap. What else have you guys seen out there that a) has color (ok navy – navy is the only color) b) has the saddle attachment c) isn’t too expensive? Extra bonus points if you can have a name or saying printed on it or attached to it.