Considering how rainy and cool the first half of the year was, it seemed like someone flipped a switch on July 1 because it’s been totally normal Texas summer weather since then. And by normal Texas summer weather I mean it didn’t rain all month (literally – no rain all month) and it’s over 100 degrees every day.

I’m definitely more of a hot weather person than a cold weather person, so I’m ok with the heat, but Henry is a little bit like

It’s cooler in the mornings, temperature wise, but it’s also way more humid, and it stays nears 100 until after dark so there’s really just not a great time to ride. Henry let me know this on Saturday by tapping pretty much every jump and taking down the purple vertical 4 times out of 5. I think that was his version of giving me the middle finger. On Sunday I did a dressage ride but when I had to basically implant my spur into his rib cage to get a leg yield I decided maybe this was a little fruitless, so I did just enough to accomplish something and let him be done. There’s just no point in pissing him off.

Otherwise, I’m barn sitting my favorite Trakehners right now so there’s little else going on. I didn’t buy anything online all weekend which seems newsworthy in itself considering all the helmet sales. I gotta say, I really do enjoy barnsitting. There are a lot of things I like about living in a big city, but there are also a lot of things I don’t like. Mostly all the people. Out there it’s quiet, I don’t have to listen to or worry about the neighbors, and everything just seems a lot more peaceful. I love the solitude. I even like the barn work. Something about the labor is just really good for the soul, especially when otherwise it seems like you waste your life away sitting at a desk.

I’m barnsitting through Thursday night, and given the distance from work to there and from there to the barn, I’m thinking Henry can just have the week off. In the mean time I’ll be cleaning stalls, taking care of the Traks, and sweating my balls off. I really don’t mind anyway.

My faves over at Riding Warehouse are offering 20% off all helmets today only for International Helmet Awareness Day with coupon code HAD20! They also have free shipping over $50 and free returns. You know you want a navy Samshield for only $336 or a matte One K for $165. Then everywhere you go people will be like:

and you’ll be like

Mind your melon.

 

 

Normally I don’t like to review things until I’ve had it long enough to know how a little more more about durability, but I’ve had a lot of people ask me about these boots since Dover has them on sale right now for $99. They’ve been on sale for a while but it seems like supplies are starting to dwindle, so I’ll do my best to give you my first impressions now and then come back around later and comment on how they hold up over time. Sizes at Dover are becoming limited… there are some on Amazon as well but starting at more like $130.

There’s a pretty long thread on COTH about these boots, and from reading through it I saw that most people recommended ordering a half size larger than normal. I’m glad I saw that, because normally I wear an 8, so for these I ordered an 8 1/2 and they’re barely big enough. I wouldn’t be able to wear thick socks, but they work with thin or regular thickness. I also think they’ll stretch out a little bit more in the foot (they have a little already) and give me a bit more room. But – I definitely recommend to order a half to full size larger than you normally wear.

The calf size is more true. Several people on COTH said they run huge, and while I do think they’re a bit generous, there’s also a lot of elastic on these (a front panel AND a back panel). So, sure you can get a smaller size and they will zip up just fine, but you’ll also be putting a lot more pressure on the elastic – which IMO is a bit thin and flimsy. For the sake of longevity, I personally wouldn’t want to do that. I measure spot on what the size chart says for Regular width, so that’s what I got, and it zips up perfectly with very little stress on the elastic. When I first got them they looked a bit big in the ankle but once I rode in them and they molded to my legs, that cankle look went away.

Some people really hate the look of the elastic running of the front… I personally don’t mind. If these were my show boots I might hate it (especially if I did the hunters) but for schooling I don’t think it makes any difference. It’s a unique feature that I haven’t seen before on other boots, and we all know how much I like innovation, so for that I give them props. I also really like the design around the instep – mine is a bit high so a lot of dress boots are uncomfortably tight across that area, but the design of these seems to really take the pressure off the top of the foot.

These boots have a few other features that make them a little different as well. The first one you notice, as you’re putting them on, is a padded tongue that goes between the back of your ankle and the zipper. This is a constant problem area for me so I really appreciate this feature, and so far it has worked great. These boots are extremely comfortable to wear. I even mucked stalls, fed, and did waters last night in them because they were the most comfortable shoes I had with me.

Another interesting feature, which is very useful albiet a bit of a PITA, is the zipper keeper. I really have no idea what it’s actually called, but that’s what I’m calling it. On the strap that runs across the back of the knee and snaps to the other side, there are two layers of strap. The bottom one has a little rectangular hole in the leather part to thread the zipper through so that it stays put while you’re riding. These boots are so thin and soft that if you don’t secure the zipper through it’s keeper, they tend to come unzipped as you’re riding. So to prevent that, you stick the zipper through it’s little rectangular hole…

Pull the bottom strap across and lay the zipper down flat…

Then snap the top strap over it to keep everything in place.
Yes, that’s an annoying step. No, it’s not quite as annoying as I thought it’d be at first. Once you do if a few times it gets pretty simple. Unless you forget to snap your boots up before you put your gloves on, then it is suddenly damn near impossible to stick the zipper in that little hole and you hate it. So… don’t do that.

Durability wise, like I said these are very thin and soft (think Parlanti thin) so I don’t expect to get many years of life out of them. Then again, they were $99. Overall a good buy for schooling boots, and I’m pleased with the purchase so far.

Cons:

– I hate the rounded toe. Really hate. A bit of a square would make such a big difference and give these a much more elegant look.

– There are no height options, so if you’re very short or very tall, these might not work. I’m pretty average size (5’5″) so they work well for me, although if I’m being picky I’d like another half inch of height.

– The slight annoyance factor of the zipper keeper. Granted, it’s a pretty smart way to solve a zipper problem, and it shows attention to detail in the design, but it’s still kind of annoying.

– The thin soft leather is going to make these less durable than other boots.

– The elastic is a bit flimsy. If you put a lot of stress on it, I wouldn’t expect it to last long. The quality of the materials in general isn’t high end (obviously, given the price point) but I don’t see any issues right off the bat, or obvious construction flaws.

Pros:

– The price. $99 for a pair of tall boots? Sign me up.

– While I said that being soft and thin is a con, I also think it’s a pro. That’s why these boots required absolutely zero break in time. The feel is fantastic.

– I really think these have a very well thought out design. That little padded tongue in the back of the ankle is pure genius. I want that in ALL my boots. Ditto how the instep is cut.

– Comfort. I could wear them all day every day. The fact that I chose to do barn chores in them instead of tennis shoes speaks volumes.

– They look nice. The fact that they mold to your leg makes them really flattering on just about anyone.

Basically, if you buy these looking for a nice-looking schooling boot that is very easy on the budget and comfortable to wear, you’ll be pleased. If you buy them thinking you’re getting a nice show boot, or something hard-knocking that will last forever, you’ll be disappointed. That said, if they changed to a square toe and upped the quality of the materials a bit, I’d buy another pair to show in and ditch the Monacos in a heartbeat.

Bobby is now preparing his second installment in his “Bobby Tells All” series, and since the first one was so popular, I thought y’all should get a little more insight into who Bobby really is. After all, I let him have free rein to say what he wants on my blog without even so much as a rebuttal, so it’s only fair to provide y’all with a little bit of insider info. And I figured… what better way to do that than to share snippets of some of our facebook messenger conversations. You need the real, nitty gritty, not-at-all-fit-for-public-consumption Bobby. I will admit, I couldn’t use 95% of the best material because it was so full of cuss words and inappropriate subject matter that it wasn’t even possible to censor it enough to put it here. That should give you some idea of this nutbag I have to deal with. Without further ado… things you need to know about Bobby:

1) He loves boob sweat

 

2. He has excellent sportsmanship

 

3. Don’t share a hotel room with him unless you’re prepared for some… unpleasantness…

 

4. No matter how many times he writes it on my car, he is NOT my hero

 

5. For real – obsessed with boob sweat

 

6. He might act like I need him, but really it’s the other way around

 

7. He’s basically the opposite of fabulous

 

8. He’s equally as distracted about such pressing life mysteries as “What Unicorns Eat”

 

9. He’s kind of just a bad person

 

10. No matter how much he says otherwise, he really does love me

 

11. And even though he’s a huge pain in the ass, he’s still my boo

So, Bobby fans, as you wait in what is undoubtedly eager anticipation for Bobby Tells All volume 2, think these things over. I cannot refute most of what he may say about me, but at least now you know a little more about the source.

Since we have so little going on right now,  I figured – let’s do a history post. I’ve only been blogging for a little over a year, so Henry and Sadie are the only horses y’all really know, aside from quick mentions of past horses here and there. And because I never really read a lot of blogs before I started blogging myself, I don’t know a lot about most of y’alls history either. So – whether you’ve had one or one hundred, lets see all the horses you’ve ever had.

I have a penchant for projects and therefore have had quite a few over the years. Starting with the oldest and working up to the most recent (some overlapped – at one point I had 4 at a time. Oops.)

Charlie – my first, and most expensive, horse. He was still cheap, mostly because he was older, thin, roared, weaved, and really liked to run away with people. But he never refused a fence, ever, and I can count on one hand the number of rails he ever had. He was a nut, but he had a lot of heart, and he’s the reason I fell in love with the thoroughbred.

Lexi – a little unbroke pony sized QH mare that a friend and I picked up for cheap. She was a really fun easy horse, perfect to be our first attempt at starting one under saddle by ourselves. She did some eventing and was sold to a Pony Clubber as a jumper. Pony had hops.

Imp – Surprise! Lexi was pregnant. This little one was my first foray into babyland.

Nova – This little mare was a summer project I picked up from LOPE. She did the hunters a little and then was sold to a friend.

Quinn – the quintessential OTTB hunter resale horse. He paid for all of my debt at the time, and most of my car. Thanks Quinn! He also made me kind of hate doing the hunters. Ultimately I thank him for that, too.

Irish – a friend (the same one who co-owned Lexi with me) and I bought this one from her picture on CANTER New Mexico to be a broodmare. She had a beautiful foal by Westporte for my friend and then went on to be an AQHA HUS broodmare.

Max – Max is what happened when I went to the scary ghetto horse auction. Poor guy seemed terrified, I couldn’t just leave him there. He eventually came around but you could tell he’d been treated really badly – it took a while just to get him to let me near his hind end, much less on him. Best guess is that he was either Welsh Cob or some kind of cross.

Gracie – When I got completely burnt out on h/j land I did a total 180 and bought a little QH mare off Craigslist. She belonged to a family with two little girls and completely had their number – she was very sour and rude at first. I had a lot of fun with her though, playing around with riding western, and bridleless, and going on lots of trail rides. She was just what I needed at the time to remind me that this is supposed to fun, and is still giving lessons and trail rides at the barn I used to board at.

Sadie – my first, and thusfar only, homebred. I leased the dam from a friend and bred her to Westporte… Sadie is the result.

Cruz – Because who can resist a 17.2h unbroke 4yo TB as a resale project? Certainly not me. He was a fun one though, also very easy to start and get going.

Henry – No introduction needed, right?

Jezebel – I really don’t know if this one counts or not. Technically she belongs to my friend Michelle, and Michelle keeps telling me that she’s mine. Hers, mine, hers, mine. Whatever. We’ll call it halfsies. I evented her in the early-mid 2000’s when she belonged to another friend, but now she’s a broodmare.

I will spare us all and not include the leased horses, lest we be here all damn day.

Ultimately I’ve been really lucky to stumble upon some nice ones along the way. Every single one taught me something, both about horses and about myself. And thank goodness I’m not rich enough to have a bunch of horses… looking at my history we all know I’d have a barn full of ragtag “projects”! Biggest sucker ever.

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