Yep, the saddle came yesterday!

I’m headed out this morning to try it on Henry and take it for a spin. Fingers crossed we both like it because it’s pretty and I don’t want to give it back. I also forgot how crazy lightweight these saddles are, I was holding it with two fingers.

Last week also brought a couple of other fun new things to my doorstep, namely:

Henry’s Eponia Outlaw bridle. So far I really like it, there are a couple of super smart design features and it looks good on him. It was a bit stiff out of the bag but took conditioner amazingly well (like for real, it was soaking up Belvoir through the backside of the leather like nobody’s business) and has softened up a ton already. I was hesitant to add sparkles to his head but the black and gray are quite subtle. So manly for Henny (who is basically a mare, ironically).

I also nabbed a pair of these bad boys when Millbrook caught me in a weak moment on Instagram and ruthlessly exploited my love for navy (ok maybe that’s not exactly how it went down).  Have to admit, I think they look good, and hopefully this will keep my spurs from denting or rubbing the Tucci’s, because I found a dent on them a couple weeks ago under my spur and was sad.

A couple more Lund things hit my mailbox yesterday too that I can’t wait to test out and share with you guys. I’ve gotten to oil/condition new leather 3 times in the past week, and that’s one of my favorite things in the world to do. These are fun times that we live in, people.

And if you haven’t checked out the 4th of July Sales post yet, get on it! I’ve seen a couple of really good deals, including those bright-ass TuffRider breeches for $20 (if you’re into that kind of thing). Buy yourself something nice, because ‘Merica.

Yep, it’s back, the annual sales list! I’m going to leave this up top for a few days and will keep updating with new sales as they pop up. Hope everyone has a happy holiday!

Teddy’s Tack Trunk – 15% off orders over $50 with coupon code FOURTH

Barn Dog Apparel – shop through the link for 10% off

The Herbal Horse – Spend $25 get 15% off with code USA15, spend $50 get 20% off with code USA20, spend $75 get 25% off with code USA75.

Gray & Co Designs – free shipping on orders over $50 with code FREESHIP50

Ellany Equestrian – 20% off with code FIREWORK

Swanky Saddle – 25% off with coupon code JULY4

Snaks 5th Avenchew – 15% off with code FIREWORKS

Dubarry – summer sale up to 50% off

Parlanti – 20% off from most retailers! Shop direct here with coupon code FOURTH or check your favorite shop.

knixwear – 25% off sitewide with an extra 10% for orders over $150 with code INDEPENDENCE150

Hunt Club – 25% off with code HappyFourth

Emily’s Equine Creations – 20% off orders over $10 with code FREEDOM

USEF – free shipping over $100 with code july4

Joules – extra 10% off sale items

Equestrian Collections – up to 75% off various brands

PS of Sweden – 25% off double bridles

Centerline Style – 25% off with code July4

Flexible Fit – various items in their mid-year sale

Huntley Equestrian – 40% off with code SWEET

Big Dees – 5% off $75 or more w 717, 10% off $175 or more w 718

Ride Heels Down – Free shipping on all apparel

Uckele – 25% off with code FOURTH25

Victory Canter – 15% off orders over $60 with coupon code america

horseloverz – various deals up to 90% off

Horze – up to 70% off

SmartPak – 15% off select brands plus free shipping over $75 with code July17

Dover – 20% off with coupon code CM17JULY4, but of course this seems to be limited to mostly Dover house brands (Riding Sport, Dover Pro, Dover, Circuit, Warendorf, Wellington, Suffolk, Dover Collection Sheets, Rider’s International, Upland, Hug, Cool Blast, Middleburg, NorthWind Blankets, Huntfield, Showmark, Cadence, Equi-Stretch, Crown)

7/3

Ruespari – 15% off with code JULY4TH

Annie’s – 20% off with code SUMMER2017

Ece Equestrian – up to 15% off all custom shirts and made to order Hunt coats.

7/4

Breeches.com – up to 70% off select items

Millbrook Leathers – 20% off with code july4

Drs Foster and Smith – 25% off with code HAPPY4TH and free shipping over $19

Dreamers and Schemers – 20% off with code LONGWEEKEND

Signature Spurs – 10% off with coupon code IHSQUAD

Style Equestrian – 20% off with coupon code FREEDOM

Welsh Wear – 40% off with code 40FORTHE4TH

Exquisite Equine Apparel – 10% off when you shop through the link 

In theory you would think this should be fairly simple. I know exactly what saddle I need, what specs fit me, and what specs fit Henry. That’s like 99% of the battle when saddle shopping, right there. Plus my budget is plenty reasonable for a used saddle, another factor working in my favor. The particular model I’m looking for is probably the most popular eventing saddle, so they aren’t exactly rare. And I’m 100% ready to buy, like, rightnowrightnow. How much more simple can it get? Yet I inquired about 8 different saddles and got responses on exactly 2 of them.

I got so far as making an offer on one of those 2 on Monday, but then never got a response back. I thought it was a pretty decent offer… 12.5% less than asking price, I’d pay shipping, and I would buy it outright with no trial. Alas, crickets. Not even a “no”. Sooo… alrighty then.

Selling the CWD was probably the quickest and easiest saddle transaction ever, so I guess I should have known there was frustration coming. I just didn’t think it would be so difficult to give away a pretty big chunk of money. I naively assumed that when people listed their saddles for sale, it was because they wanted to, ya know, sell them.

We’re not in the middle of show season or anything, so it’s not like being without a jump saddle is the end of the world right now. But I don’t want to flat Every Single Day, and hill work/hacking in the dressage saddle is not my favorite thing in the world.

On Tuesday (as I made the rounds through all 18 of my bookmarked saddle websites, because that’s normal) I saw that a particular site had dropped its prices on a couple of fairly identical saddles that fit my specs, putting them within my budget. The panel was ever so slightly different, but still sounded like it could work, and the rep was actually RESPONSIVE and HELPFUL when I inquired. Praise the lawd, someone that knows how to work their email! So after exchanging some pictures and a couple measurements, I ordered this one:

Which is currently on its way to me, expected to arrive on Monday. I get a 7 day trial, which is nice, and shipping was free. Can’t complain about that.

So fingers crossed that this one works for us, because trying to buy saddles is apparently much harder than I thought.

Heh, “magical”. Because it’s about Presto. Get it? Yeah I know, I’m a laugh a minute. Give me a break, it’s been a hard week and it’s not even halfway over yet.

While I’m super thrilled that Presto is back at Willow Tree, the only downside of this is that he’s really far away from me now. When he was at the breeding farm it was possible for me take a weekend day and go see him. Two hours there and two hours back isn’t bad, as far as Texas goes. But Willow Tree is more like 5 hours there and 5 hours back, which becomes a little more complicated. I haven’t seen him for a few weeks, and because my and Michelle’s July schedules don’t sync up very well, I won’t be able to make the drive out there to see him until the end of the month. That’s where technology really comes in handy.

I already raved about the amazing invention that is stall cameras… they are the only thing that kept me even remotely sane during the end of Sadie’s pregnancy and when Presto first came home from his long stay at the vet. Being able to pop those things open and check on the him is a lifesaver for someone like me (aka kind of crazy) and it keeps me bugging Michelle 24/7.

When Presto first came back from the vet I was watching him on those things A LOT, even waking up in the middle of the night to peek in on him. Nowadays I usually just go in once a day and see what he’s up to (usually nothing) and go back through some of the saved clips to admire how goshdarn cute he is or see if I can get a good glimpse at how his legs are looking. They’re out in the field all night, or sometimes during the day if it’s cool enough, so there’s not much excitement to be had on the cams.

Every once in a while when she has some time, Michelle will FaceTime me and show me what’s he up to out in the pasture. Usually it’s this:

Because all he really does is eat, sleep, and play with Liam.

Can we just take a minute to appreciate all the cool things we can do now, in 2017? I can literally video chat with my horse, even if most of the time he simply cannot be bothered to even get up and say hi. It definitely helps get me through these long stretches where I’m not able to see him in person.