While I was getting all caught up on the Shelley Browning controversy over the weekend, I totally got sucked into the live feed from Del Mar. I am not a DQ, I don’t go to dressage shows, I don’t often watch much of it (love y’all but I’m an eventer, you cannot thrill me), and I definitely don’t know what’s “fashionable” in that world. Every discipline has it’s things, and I’m pretty familiar with the h/j world, very familiar with the eventing world, but admittedly 100% out of touch with DQ’s. Except for the stuff I see on Instagram and now what I saw during the less than an hour that I spent watching the Del Mar live feed. But that little bit of exposure has left me with some questions.

First off: patent. Explain. Surely that stuff gets scratched easily, right? Yet there’s patent on bridles, patent on boots, patent on saddles… I know I’ve even seen it on horse boots and saddle pads before too. Does it just stay shiny forever? Do you have to care for it with kid gloves? What does it look like as it ages? BURNING QUESTIONS. Prior to this trend I thought patent was always something that looked super cheap, like a pair of platform Sketchers from 1998. Is it the shininess factor that we’re going for here or am I missing something important? I need to know these things.

Kind of related to patent but not necessarily – those stiff, fat-ankle tall boots that makes it look like everybody’s got cankles. Can you walk in those? Does it feel like your leg is in a cast? Why the cankle look, don’t we spend the rest of our lives trying to prove to the world that we don’t have cankles (ie skinny jeans)? H/J people go the extreme opposite direction and cover their lower legs with the tightest-fitting, thinnest calfskin possible, so everyone knows exactly how skinny their legs are. I personally lean that direction too, because my legs are thick enough without putting a big ol’ cankle boot at the bottom. Are dressage boots less fitted for a reason? Explain.

According to Instagram, matchy sets are The Thing. Especially Le Mieux and PS of Sweden. The bonnet, the saddle pad, the polos… all the cool kids (I think?) are doing it. Usually with exercise bandages underneath and some skeepskin lined bell boots. I can barely manage the one schooling pad and one half pad per saddle situation that I’ve got going on, and they’re all white. Same with my one set of polos – white. Because white goes with everything and I don’t have to worry about it matching. I can match for shows, but that’s about the extent of my devotion. These are all schooling outfits that y’all are doing though. By my count there are well over a dozen different color sets just from Le Mieux alone, so do you just pick one and stick with it or do you have multiple color coordinated outfits? Where do you store all this stuff? Do you have to always plan your own outfit so that it doesn’t clash with the horse’s? What happens if you mis-match things, are you automatically DQ-d from DQ-land? Y’all realize that extreme matchiness is tip-toeing dangerously close to eventer territory right? Just checking.

Ok, dressage folk, educate me! Tell me the reasons behind your ways. What’s cool, what’s trendy? Clearly I will never be, but I still want to know.

Surely I’m not the only person that loves perusing the “New Items” page on tack shop websites? I love seeing new season stuff, or new brands that a store is carrying. Some websites don’t have that page, of course, and others don’t update it very often. But Riding Warehouse… I’m there at least a couple times a month to see what’s new. And this month in particular, they have really delivered. I totally got sucked in over the weekend.

First and foremost, I don’t even like purple nearly as much as most of you people, but did y’all know that Kerrit’s has a new PURPLE show coat? And it’s only $130? Ok eventers, I expect to start seeing these pop up all over the place (Michele, I’m looking at you). I know y’all are into that, I see your cross country colors. A purple coat would be kind of badass. DO IT.

RW has greatly stepped up their stirrup iron game in the past few months too, now carrying everything from the Acavello Opera, the MDC line, a very Jin-looking Kavalkade iron, and a full range of Tech Stirrups. The ones above are the Tech Stirrups magnetic safety irons, which have a release mechanism at the top in case you ever get hung up.

They’ve also got the Tech Stirrups 3-in-1 exchangeable spurs, where you can just change the tips as needed instead of swapping spurs. These are as close to “techie” as spurs can possibly get, and y’all know I love all things techie.

Mere weeks after I bought that cute Kavalkade bridle from Europe for Presto, guess what popped up on RW?

Clearly great minds think alike. High five to whoever it was in purchasing that decided to pick up Kavalkade, especially this Ivy bridle. I really like the styling of it, it’s different without being too “out there”, and super affordable at only $113 (hence perfect to be Presto’s first bridle). Totally would have bought it from them if I’d known it was coming. They have other bridles from the Kavalkade line too, including a patent dressage bridle, if you’re into that kind of thing. Which… we need to talk about that, dressage people, but that’s a subject for another day.

Also worth pointing out that the Kavalkade mesh bonnets are only $23. Just saying.

I’ve also got this kind of weird fascination with the TSF Stretchtec girths. I’d love to try one with my monoflap jump saddle, I just balk at the price. I really like the idea behind it though, so I remain intrigued.

There have been a lot of cool brands popping up on their website in general… Arctic Horse, Grand Prix, GPA, Kask, Pikeur. Makes it pretty fun to wander through and click on that New Items page every once in a while.

I find myself doing the same thing on the Divoza site (because they always have the weirdest european stuff and I love looking at it) and Luxe EQ (because they always have the PRETTIEST stuff) too.

Like the new Ego7 breeches. I must check these out. I love my Ego7 boots, so the brand has definitely piqued my interest.

The belt selection is so dangerous though. Especially when they’re Duftler spur belts and come in navy stingray.

There’s also non-riding related stuff like cute pillows with very true sayings

and cashmere. Delicious delicious cashmere.

I’ll be working in the Luxe Eq mobile later this week so I hope y’all are ready to see all the new pretty things that I find while I’m there. New pretty things are my favorite. Just not my wallet’s.

 

 

I’ve got a serious case of the randoms today, but I have a bunch of little things that I’ve been waiting to mention that don’t really warrant a whole post on their own. Pardon this weirdness that you’re about to experience.

First, hinging off of yesterday’s post, I had a few people message me and ask for suggestions on what kind of breeches to try in place of Tailored Sportsman. It’s been a while since I’ve worn any TS, so I’m not a huge help here. I know some friends that have switched to Pikeur Ciara’s, RJ Classics Gulf, or Equiline, but that’s about it. I figured it was better to pose this question to everyone and see what kind of suggestions you have. So, TS-wearers, what other brands of breeches are you finding that are similar?

Second, I totally forgot to announce the winner of my little contest a few weeks ago. Whoops. Congrats to Rhiannon, she won the Presto calendar, ombre lead rope, and Riding Warehouse gift card. Watch this space, because sometime in February I’ll be launching the annual Guess the Foal contest and I’m currently working on putting together the prize package (which should be pretty awesome)! We’re less than two months away from the first foal. OMG.

Speaking of foals, it’s possible that I’m ordering a bonnet for Presto. No it won’t fit him for a while, but when I saw that If the Bonnet Fits can now do logo patches, I might have had a bout of temporary insanity. She’s managed to make a patch out of the Willow Tree logo, so clearly Presto NEEDS a bonnet to rep his birthplace. Henry might wear it a little bit until Presto grows into it. Yes I have a bonnet problem. But… logo patch?

Last week while I was scrolling through my blog reader feed, I came across a post about a recipe for easy horse treats. It seemed super simple, and I had to go to the grocery store anyway, so I grabbed the ingredients I needed ($5 investment) and went to town on Sunday afternoon. I did modify the recipe a bit, first by doubling it, but I also decided to use a little bit less applesauce and a little bit more molasses. It seems like the recipe is pretty hard to mess up, and easy to add or take away and still end up with something a horse would happily eat. I thought the cookies were still quite soft after the 15 minute baking time so I let them go for another 10 minutes. Like I said, it’s pretty foolproof. Doubling the recipe made 63 cookies and Henry absolutely loves them. Will definitely do this again… for $5 worth of ingredients and 30 minutes of work, it was worth it. We go through a lot of treats.

Last but not least, Ovation is giving away one of their new Comfortflex body protectors! It’s very easy to enter, just go here and put in your name and email address.  They are pretty much always running a giveaway on something, so I definitely suggest following them on facebook if you aren’t already. Everybody likes free stuff.

Me on social media this week, watching the whole Tailored Sportsman Debacle unravel:

Mostly because a few years ago I had the fortune (misfortune?) of seeing this kind of behavior from them up close and in person. Before that day I had always liked supporting the company, since they’re made in the US, but what I witnessed caused them to lose my business forever. Haven’t bought a single thing from their brand since. Granted, they’re the most popular h/j breech brand on the market, so I don’t think they’re hurting from losing my business in particular. Might be a little different now that a lot of other people are feeling the same way. I have to admit, I was a little bit delighted to see their craziness broadcast loud and clear all over the internet for everyone to see.

As consumers, we do at least have the power to vote with our feet, speak with our wallets, and take our business elsewhere. These days there’s plenty of competition across just about any market, so it’s rare that you have to settle for buying products from a brand you’ve had a bad experience with.

Of course, having a bad experience with a company doesn’t always mean that someone else has or will experience the same. Sometimes mistakes just happen. Being a blogger, my opinions and preferences are readily known, and I’ve had people message or email me about a bad experience they’ve had with companies that I like. I appreciate knowing, but at the same time it doesn’t really lessen the fact that my personal experience was positive, nor can I do anything about your issue, nor am I privy to the details of what actually happened (let’s be honest, there are often two sides to everything). The opposite is also true: there are a few companies I’ve had terrible experiences with that most other people love. Tis what it tis. Luckily for all of us, there are plenty of other choices out there that we are free to utilize.

I will admit that I am fairly forgiving, as a customer. I know that mistakes can happen, so what really makes or breaks the situation for me is how the company handles it. I also try to be realistic… if I wash something incorrectly, or if I don’t communicate effectively/timely, or if my horse did something stupid and broke something because that’s what horses do, I don’t feel like it’s someone else’s fault or like someone owes me something. Some of the complaints you see from people can border on downright ludicrous. I’ve worked in enough retail situations to know that some people are just impossible to please, or out to get something for free. The customer definitely is not always right, but in this day and age companies almost have to go along with that line of thinking.

On the flip side of the coin, when you spend a lot of money on something there is an expectation of quality, and it’s nice to see a company that stands behind it’s products. This situation can be such a fine line though, and a slippery slope. Having been both a consumer and a retail associate, I can see a lot of situations both ways. Hence why I don’t want to get involved in other people’s transactions.

What’s a lot more black and white is customer service. Rudeness is never okay – from EITHER side. I strive to always be polite when things go wrong, and I expect the same in return. Any hint of rudeness and I’m out. I also expect a company to fix their mistakes immediately, if and when they happen. The same is expected of me at work, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect it from others.

For as long as I’ve been involved in the horse world, only a few companies have made it onto my “never buy from” list. For the most part I think this industry does a really good job of trying to make sure that they have satisfied customers, and I’ve enjoyed really great relationships with many different companies. That’s what makes it so easy to speak with my wallet in regard to companies like TS… there are plenty more out there with similar products and no attitude.

What kind of expectations do you have when it comes to customer service, or basic interactions with equestrian companies? What type of behavior will automatically lose your business? And, maybe more interestingly… are you a good customer?

If there’s one thing Texans are really bad at, it’s winter. That’s because generally we have a couple of truly cold days a year (as in high’s near or slightly below freezing), during which everyone stays inside and complains, and then it’s over. None of us know how to dress for it either… why would you, when it’s so rare and fleeting? This winter has been super weird, with a lot of really cold days – weeks, even. When it stretches on for that long, you have to just buck up and go about your business, and that includes riding. Boy did I NOT have winter-appropriate riding clothes, though. Again, see above about things you typically don’t require when you live in an oven Texas (seriously trying to move away from this place, someone hire me).

I heard about the netequestrian.com liquidation sale at just the right/wrong time. Right time, if you’re me, and were freezing TO DEATH. Wrong time if you’re my bank account. Granted, there’s never really a good time to be my bank account. But when things are 75% off does it even count as a purchase? I vote no.

What I learned on those particularly cold and windy days is that the vents on my schooling helmet, a GPA Speed Air, work really well. That’s the reason I bought it. Because see above about how Texas = oven. The downside of those giant vents is that when it’s 25 degrees with a howling wind, your scalp feels every bit of it. I could have just bought one of those helmet cover thingies, but I also wanted a helmet that was more suitable for foxhunting anyway. So when netequestrian had their Charles Owen JR8’s for $43 (normally $170) and there was one left in my size, it went in the cart.

I wasn’t prepared to like it that much, but it actually fits me well and is comfortable. I definitely prefer it in 50’s or below weather, because otherwise I have a sweat-uation, but it’s way warmer on those cold days. $43 well spent, because I cannot afford to freeze any more of my brain cells. The only thing I don’t like is the super cheesy strappy nylon harness. I might bust it out for some schooling shows though, where I’m not as committed to my navy and yellow scheme.

The other thing I grabbed in that sale was a pair of winter breeches. I love my Aqua X breeches, they are great for 9 months of the year, but holy god I was quite literally freezing my ass off. It’s the wind here that makes it feel so awful, so I opted for a pair of black Irideon Wind Pro breeches. Normally $108, into the cart for $26. I was a little skeptical when they got here, because a) they’re tights, b) they look a little cheap, but those things are WARM and super comfy.

The fleecy lining is nice and they really do a good job of stopping the wind. Again, if it’s 50 or below I’m much happier in these than regular breeches. Granted, they’re thick in the leg so I can’t fit my Ego7 boots over them, I have to bust out the show Tucci’s. #horsepeopleproblems

Those two things alone made a huge difference in my comfort while riding during the coldest (for Texas) weather. I’ve always been able to layer, because I may or may not own like 7 vests omg I LOVE VESTS, but I didn’t have the stuff I needed for actual cold weather. If it ever got below mid-20’s I would need additional pieces, but for this weird super-cold-for-Texas-but-not-that-cold-for-everyone-else winter, keeping my ass and my head warm made all the difference in the world.

Completely unrelated to that sale, I did allow myself one little splurge item from my bonus check. And it was 100% driven by how friggin lazy I am.

I’ve been eyeballing this Valentine Equine shirt since they first rolled it out. I hate stock ties. I hate keeping up with them, I hate tying them, and honestly I don’t even like how they look. Who wants a friggin poof on their chest? But sometimes I do actually HAVE to wear one, so why not have one that’s already built in to the shirt? It is sheer laziness but it is sheer genius at the same time. The only thing I didn’t like was the short sleeves (I spent too long in hunterland to not have some cuff at the bottom of my jacket sleeve) so I asked about getting a long sleeve version and VE said it was no problem. All of their shirts are made to order by their tailor, so getting custom tweaks like sizing or sleeves aren’t a big deal, and they didn’t charge me any extra for it. I also really like the fact that the shirt is made from recycled materials. Eco-friendly clothing, FTW. Can’t wait to get it so I can try it out and review it!

Here’s to never tying a g-d stock tie ever again, and having a warm ass.