But like, y'all already know --- ruthless practicality is the name of my game! Doozy got hundreds of dollars of
immediately... but eh, any old halter will do for now! Ditto for all her tack.
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| confronting dooz with a barrage of saddles lol |
Ultimately, I'm prioritizing finances for care, wellness and training bc... To be 100% honest with you all, if Doozy falls short in any of those areas relating to my goals for her, she will return to the adoption facility. Like if she's not sufficiently sound for, or interested enough in the job I want for her... Ya know, she will be better prepared to find a better matching home.
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| charlie's monoflap l'apogee |
I honestly did not do a pre-purchase exam on this horse. For a variety of reasons, actually, which maybe could be a whole post/discussion in and of itself if there's interest??? But for the purposes of this post, we kinda just went for it, with the caveat that the horse can always go back if things end up not working.
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| 'tis a tad swoopy, ma'am! |
Major expenses like tack and equipment will have to wait until we're a bit more reasonably confident in her future. Not even mentioning that any big ticket purchases need to be qualified by the reality that the horse's body is expected to change significantly over the coming year.
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| tried 'n true adjustable + wool-flocked Bates -- old timers will remember |
A perfect fit today is cool and all while we're not really doing much, but a perfect fit later when we're hopefully doing bigger, faster, more complicated things... That matters more, ya know? And my investment choices should reflect this.
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| major fail tho, womp |
So. This all basically means that we can expect an evolving tack situation LOL. I obviously did not entertain any idea that Charlie's monoflap saddle would fit Mondeuse... But color me shocked when it somehow did better than my old faithful beater saddle, the Bates.
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| Pessoa borrowed from Royal |
We plopped a bunch of random saddles up there, and found that... Doozy's wither and shoulder are reasonably standard --- plenty of saddles looked good from the front. But... Her back is
very flat lol. Like, sure, it's peaked down from the spine -- not flat from side to side. But there's not a lot of curvature from front to back --- not a particularly swoopy back.
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| well that looks sittable to me! |
Luckily we happen to have a large number of narrowly framed, fine boned TBs on the farm. Including, our good friend Royal! Who, very sadly, is still in the throes of recovery from two soft tissue injuries in his foot. His Pessoa saddle is therefore generally available for use --- and, actually, a very sittable fit on Dooz!
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| not my geometry tho lol, stirrup bar legit miles in front of my seat lol |
It's very comfortable, too. Very easy to sit in, easy to ride in. Doesn't *look* like a great fit for me, and probably would prove to be limiting for more complicated stuff (like, I haven't even cantered yet lol), but feels jussssst fine. Including posting the trot, which you might guess would be hard given how far forward it puts my legs... But, eh, no complaints for now from horse or rider!!
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| one of my favorite bridles that doesn't get used often now that charlie's primarily in a hackamore |
When it comes to bridles... Guys I've been a strap-goods hoarder for so long, there was zero chance we couldn't figure out
something for Doozy. Luckily --- my first choice bridle looks workable!
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| probably still needs tweaks, but maybe nice? |
This is the nicest bridle I've ever purchased for Charlie, that now goes mostly unused except for dressage lessons and tests at shows. Bc #hackamore. So, eh, assuming Charlie gets sound again, he'll use his former jump bridle for dressage, and Mondeuse will inherit this lovely specimen -- paired with one of the many Sprenger KKs I always seem to have. Pretty sure I have a bradoon version of the same bit, just with smaller rings... One day I'll dig that out and maybe the fit will be better?
The nicest thing about Doozy so far, tho, is that.... Normal reins work on her! And I actually still had a very nice new set from the headstall I bought for
Charlie's new hackamore upgrade that work perfectly!
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| soooooo she's still bigger than i think she is lol |
The last set of important-to-fit accessories is... my
least favorite lol: Blankets,
ugh. I'm that special sort of somebody that "measures" horses by... just putting existing blankets on them lol. My plan is to buy used either from friends, connections, or local consignment. So, must know size, yes?
Stacie has a stockpile that I'd hoped to take advantage of, including a few in the 75" to 76" range.... But, turns out, yeaahhhhh I know she looks small relative to Charlie, but, eh, not
that small apparently!
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| definitely not Charlie big tho haha... hahahaha |
But maybe a 78" will work? Still definitely going to go used, tho, so if any of you out there have anything that size you're willing to part with for peanuts lol.... hmu!
For real, tho, it's so tempting to just go out and buy all this beautiful new stuff that's perfectly matching and beautifully fit and super nice, etc etc etc... But realistically, maybe that's next year's plan lol. This is my first time with two, and we're just gonna eeeease on into it. For now.
Unless, naturally, any of you all riders out there have anything that looks perfect based on what you've seen above, that you are desperate to unload!
Anybody else go about outfitting a new horse the same way, with piecemeal one-at-a-time acquisitions? Or do you like to go all out all at once --- splurge on all the things up front and then go from there? Or do you just already have so much stuff that any new horse is guaranteed to be covered, no matter what???
I would LOVE a PPE post. I go around in circles on them. Goggles has mostly been outfitted in hand me downs and JT's tack so far. Although I did snag a LARGE blanket on end of season sale since it was less than $100 and cute colors for him. The safety net of the rescue is really nice, Goggles has the same option which gives me peace of mind, since, y'know, horses.
ReplyDeletedude the safety net is HUGE, really such a major aspect of all of my decision making.... also yea i 100% have my eye out for any good blanket deals lol
DeleteI think a PPE post would be good. 😁 and look at you being all practical. All I bought Quaid was a rope halter and a rain sheet. Of corse I invested a lot in his feet (haha*cry). I think you’re being very practical.
ReplyDeleteyea i mean.... the investment in physical (and mental) wellness and training is basically unavoidable imo.... at some point, the horse is gonna need something BIG in that realm. just happened to come very VERY early with Quaid, ugh, but ya know, hopefully that's it for a while, at least? maybe? plz??
DeleteThe last two horses I've bought sight unseen but full PPE with tons of x-rays. Would love to hear what you think of it. I have had to buy new things for Dalton just because he is SO much bigger than mare. We're still waiting for him to finish growing before we invest in the saddle though - that'll be a big investment
ReplyDeletesee and my horse shopping history has been the opposite --- the in-person meeting has been extremely important, with the PPE less influential. tho ya know, tbd on the eventual wisdom of that approach LOL!
Deleteand yea the saddle thing is huge. my process in the past has been to kinda iteratively upgrade over time and as my budget evolved where we sorta slowly worked up to the absolute gem that is charlie's jump saddle. i'm hoping i learned a lot about the process and can maybe get burned a little less with Mondeuse than i did earlier on in my saddle shopping history.... but eh, in time!
Ooh I love that bridle on her so much! I always get asked how many horses I own with the amount of tack that I have haha
ReplyDeletehahahaha yepppp i have so many saddles and bridles and all sorts of accessories (not to mention the truck and trailer), that all actually predate charlie - my first personally owned horse..... lol
DeleteI feel that with the tack! Baby has a 300$ saddle shipping to us to see if we can make it work for the time being, especially as she turned her nose up at the expensive saddle. No point in spending $1300 on a saddle that might not fit in 6 months.
ReplyDeleteA PPE post would be lovely, I had it done on Dee after the failed one in Vermont out of pure fear of the OCD lesions, but I only got rads of two sets of joints. One woman I met told me she would never do a PPE on a horse under 8k which my eyebrows definitely touched my hairline with that comment.
Hmmm I do have a 78 winter blanket I might be inclined to part with. The longer I go with Dee, the more I wonder if she will ever hit a 78 in blanket sizing and that's the size of all handme-down blankets that I have from L and graciously donated from TC. I definitely have a fly sheet (sans neck) that was a bit long on L I would be happy to send your way.
yea i mean, that's definitely kinda a big piece right --- the proportional relationship between cost of the horse and need for a PPE. at least for me, that was a big part of my thought process. sounds like there's enough interest tho that i'll try to do a whole post on that soon.
Deletere: the blankets, def let me know after you've figured out your inventory about anything you might decide to sell. i'm probably just looking at turnout blankets + rain sheets vs fly sheets, but 78 is likely the sweet spot.
On the PPE price range, I'd have set it lower, like under maybe 4k but 8k was pretty high. Though I knew someone who bought a 12 yo for good money without a PPE.
DeleteI have to do my blanket inventory before October, our barn is notoriously warm all winter so hopefully I can stave off blanket shopping till Equine Affaire or Black Friday.
Olive was free. I didn't do a PPE and I wasn't sure she was going to stay, so I didn't buy anything for her at first except a saddle. I didn't want to do that even, but she is just so W I D E, I literally couldn't find a loaner that would work, and bareback was kind of scary. Two years later, she has pretty much a brand new wardrobe, the perks of belonging to someone who works at a tack shop.
ReplyDeleteHa oh man I can’t even imagine the stuff I would impulse buy if I worked at the tack shop…. But yea this is kinda my hope - to cadence each new big purchase with an actual need, shopping with confidence etc. we will see i guess !!!
DeleteI have a 78 weatherbeeta heavyweight turnout that needs a home lol
ReplyDeleteyou can always bring it along whenever you wanna come hang out and meet the new pony --- maybe if charlie wants to be sound for a day, we can all go for a hack??
DeleteI have 78s. I just have to figure out which ones I want to keep vs sell. Tell me what you need/want in terms of weight/liners/all that and I'll see what I will part with. I'll definitely keep my really nice ones for another horse down the line, but I'm sure I have some I don't need.
ReplyDeleteexcellent! everything from glorified tarps - zero fill + waterproof - to regular sheets, to about 250g, and any sort of liners along the way. zero fill necks are also nice!
DeleteI definitely have at least 1 sheet, maybe 3, a 200g liner, a 250g high neck, and maybe some others. We can figure out if you want to come out and go through them (and finally meet Nay Nay and James) or if we want to meet somewhere at some point. My brain can't figure too much out until after 9/7 when my dossier is due.
DeleteYep, this is me. I've had Sophie for...5? years now and she's still using Bridget's old halters, blankets and bridles. She did just get her own new-ish saddle this week though so I guess I have to keep her.
ReplyDeleteha yep that's exactly how i am --- why would i buy more when i have stuff i can use right now??
DeleteWith my very first horse, I got all new everything. And had so much fun doing it! With my last two horses, they each got new web halters. That was it. Everything else was left over from previous horses. Or bought used online or at local tack sales. My only new tack purchase this year was a new western saddle pad. And on another note, I also say "yes" to a PPE post!
ReplyDeletelol it is definitely fun to do all the big splurges on outfits and ensembles.... but yea now i have so much stuff it's like, ok let's use what i got and figure out the gaps later! and ok glad to hear there's so much interest in a discussion on PPEs, it's such a big topic that is so specific to individual circumstances, i'm curious to go there!
DeleteOmg fucking blankets. I sold all of Bobby's 81" clothes because opie was a scrawny 78" when I got him...and then grew to 81" and is now comfortably rocking the 84" 🤦🏼♀️ So much blanket buying!
ReplyDeleteLolllll yup that tracks haha …. Ugh. I’m not super inclined to buy anything huge at this point, but I’m also not super inclined to BUY anything period. Too bad this little red thang seems like kinda a pansy tho, guess I’ll have to get her SOMETHING lol
Deletelol yeahh, my kids are doing the hand-me-down-and-borrow-if-needed thing right now, because I refuse to buy new for a 3 year old and a 2 year old until they stop. freaking. growing.
ReplyDeleteReach back out when she gets to an 80/81! Lol! I love that bridle on her! Just the throat latch is a little loose, but otherwise it looks perfect.
ReplyDeleteAs for the question... I try to buy the same size horses all the time so I have clothes for them already. Joking! Kind of...
I think it's great that you are working with a reputable TB aftercare agency that will stand by its horses. It definitely takes a lot of the pressure off of "will this one work out". That would definitely change the PPE question for me. When you are a one (or two) horse owner that is looking at paying board on an animal for the rest of its life, that is a huge financial consideration.
ReplyDeleteBetween the yard and my own, I go into tack shops and buy whatever is on sale/well priced for the quality. It will fit SOMEBODY lol
ReplyDelete