99 problems & they're all cats

Guys I'm suffering from extreme first world problems right now. First off my chubby tubby kitty cats sat on my aging laptop and killed it. Wtf cats, really? So now I have the pleasure of procuring a new one... (thank god my saddle was well within budget!)

'we has no respect fer yer internet machine' - OG & Martini

'RIP Dell!!!' - me

Naturally the weather also continues to be unfavorable for even hauling out (what with questionable road conditions and all that fun stuff). Therefore I have no riding updates... 

picture is appropriately gloomy, tho it doesn't reflect the current snowy landscape.. 

(but check out that cute mare face!)

BUT!! Continuing the trend of getting unreasonably excited about very unremarkable things, I have alllll kinds of new hardware!!! So um, if you're into that kind of thing keep on reading! 

The ad for my new-to-me Bates saddle indicated that it was missing the left side head nail. I talked with our local saddle repair guy and he said it's not really a huge deal as far as damaging the integrity of the saddle, and is an easy fix. 

I emailed the folks at Bates too just to be sure - and they responded much along the same lines. The rep said it wasn't at all a serious defect but that he'd be happy to send along new nails anyway. Score! Also, it turns out that the Bates Saddle Company falls under the Weatherbeeta umbrella - which I was not aware of. Interesting. 

In any case, the saddle arrived and turned out to only be missing the decorative nail head rather than the actual nail shaft. So I haven't done the replacement yet as there's no pressing need, but am very happy to have the nails on hand all the same. 

And obviously now that I have a saddle of my very own I want a name plate for it. 

Fun side story: I bought my first saddle in college off a barn mate who bought it off eBay and didn't like it. Being quite poor at the time (college student problems) I could only make payments on it. And since even that was a stretch, extras like name plates were out of the question. That saddle (an HDR that I loved very much but sold as it was a laughable fit for Isabel) happened to already have a name plate - for someone named 'Bevin.' Not sure why I got such a kick out of that... but I did so I never changed the name plate. (also, a quick google search suggests that this Bevin still rides, which is cool too). 

Anyways, it's finally time to have my OWN name on my own saddle - and it's super exciting :). I also got a few other tags too - bc lesson kids know the lock combinations for all the tack rooms and things 'walk away' with alarming frequency. So there's a 1" 'dog tag' for my leather halter, and 3/4" tag for my new girth, and narrower name plates for my bridle and martingale. 

Part of me feels a little silly putting name plates on such cheap tack (my bridle is quite the Frankenstein's monster of different parts, the martingale is of the no-name variety bought off amazon, of all places) - but I don't plan to upgrade any time soon so... why not, right? 

isabel models my monogrammed cooler - never mind that it's not my monogram lol

I ordered the name plates from Smartpak, and am so far pleased with how they look (and the million little bits of hardware that came with them). But if anyone is interested I can report back later on how easy they are to attach to the tack, and how they hold up over time. 

TOABH: A Rose

I missed the last iteration of TOABH's hop on idiosyncrasies, but for those interested in Isabel's little quirks, they're all documented here haha.

Meanwhile, for this week's question, we get to dive into the world of pet names - both good and bad lol.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Every horse seems to have at least three names: the “real” one, the barn one, and that special one. What are some of your pony’s names?

First off, the most common appellations are Isabel and Izzy (and even just Iz).

Then her show name is Isabel's Charm, which I wrote about here (and included baby pictures!!!).

Then there are all the other names she gets called. In no particular order:

Princess
Ms Thing
Izamonster
Mare
Ms Iz (aka Missus)
Hey Girl (not really a nickname, but she gets called this pretty often anyway lol)
Snizzle or Snizzy

Surely there are more (and her owner likely has her own set too), but this'll do for now :)

attaining winter wardrobe nirvana

Last Sunday's high temp was 15, with a wind chill of -18. Complete with wind gusts up to 55 mph. It was, uh, a little chilly for a morning and afternoon full of chores in an unheated barn. 

But my layering game was on point. Not once was I cold (even in my fingers and toes), nor did I have to peel off any layers. It was the nirvana of winter wardrobes. 

picture from eBay, but a google search returned a whole host of sellers

I started with a base layer of thin-but-fleecy Mopas leggings underneath my Kerrits winter riding pants (the best, for serious). My aunt snagged these leggings for our whole family from a street vendor in NYC and I LIVE in them now. Seriously comfy and cozy! They are one-size (and stay in place perfectly!), tho amazon also carries a plus-size variety. 

Last fall I hit up Marshalls (same parent company as T.J. Maxx, Home Goods, and Sierra Trading Post) to grab a bunch of seriously discounted technical running or yoga type shirts. These make excellent base layers (esp when combined!) and are usually long enough to tuck in easily.

why pay $42 to buy from Jockey when you can find it at Marshalls for $12??

pink running shirt w/thumb holes (can't remember the brand) is my go-to base layer

These are great bc they wick away sweat and insulate my core. After seeing Sunday's forecast I went back to get an extra layer - still from the active wear section, but thicker and more sweatshirt-y (while still being that technical type material) with a high neck, quarter zip, and fleece lining. Also with the thumb holes bc those things are perfect under gloves. 

Toss on a regular hooded jacket and a carhart on top of that, and the upper body is set. Fleece cap under the jacket hood, thin infinity scarf to protect my face, and thin fleece gloves under leather work gloves and my head and hands were cozy and DRY all day. (Noticing a trend here? There's a layer of fleece for pretty much everything haha).

Then for the feet: regular old knee high socks as a base (and to hold down the leggings), then these crazy fuzzy socks my stepmom gave me for christmas. 

according to google, Dick's Sporting Goods sold these, but might be out of stock

They are SUPER thick and fuzzy, and probably won't last for more than a season or two... 

look at that fuzz!

But they are super warm! Top those off with some insulating SmartWool socks under my Blundstones and we're all good!

Definitely a lot of layers - but none of them are particularly bulky (except the carhart and fuzzy socks), so I didn't feel like I was slogging through mud all day. Hopefully this will be the last time I'll have to combine all these elements together for the year, tho each individual piece will probably stay in rotation through spring. 

What about you? Now that it's mid-Feb many of you have had a chance to really test out your winter layers - anything that stands out as a wardrobe staple for future years? 

lesson on foot awareness

We jetted off for our lesson last weekend knowing that it'd probably be our only ride for a few days, given the imminent nose dive in temperatures. Postponing the fix-a-test clinic was disappointing - esp when trainer P noted how well we're doing on the flat (relatively) and deemed us ready... But next week will suit just fine too. 

Isabel was kinda testing her boundaries tho, and actually dumped my saddle (yes, the new leather one...) in the driveway in protestation of the girth. Never mind that she was visibly puffed up as wide as she can get... Grr (this is why we can't have nice things Isabel!)

It occurred to me that I'd been asking her to STAND since bringing her in from the field, with limited success. So fine mare. You want to move your feet?? Let's move your feet. Yup yup, lunge around me, trot trot, idc that it's a small circle just keep going... 

Needless to say Isabel was not pleased with that turn of events and wanted to be quite offended - that is, until she realized I was serious. Then she paid attention and stopped on a dime when I asked. And commenced acting like the world's quietest mare for the rest of the day. 

no joke - she waited loose in the lesson shed and never moved a foot. 

Meanwhile, back to the lesson: our flat work was pretty good!! Even at the canter in BOTH directions (gasp!). It took a lot of work, and I really really really need to pay attention to what Isabel is doing with her hind end when we're tracking right, since she wants to poke her nose out and her butt in. I'm getting better about correcting it tho, and controlling my own upper body and seat to help with straightness. 

she only made faces when it started snowing

Now that we're getting better about actual steadiness in the contact, P wants me to work more on getting Isabel to stretch out and *reach* for it. That happens in moments here and there - but not consistently. Just one more thing to work on!

panorama of ground pole exercise

We didn't really jump in the lesson, per se. Rather, we focused on footwork. There were 8 ground poles set up the center line (spread 4' apart to accommodate ponies and horses alike), and ten on a bending line from E to B. Some poles along each line were slightly raised. 

There was also a very low bounce at the far end of the arena at A (the doors in the pic above, tho you can't really see the standards bc they're brown).

We went up the center line a few times until the horses had more or less figured it out and could get through it correctly. The idea here was to let the horse adjust itself, while only providing minimal guidance on pace or track. Then we added in the curved line. 

tired yet of variations of this same pic? lol

The final exercise looked like: turn up center line from C through poles, turn right for bending line from E to B, cut across arena to canter right at E, canter around to bounce at A, trot, turn up center line from C through the poles, turn left for bending from B to E, cut across arena to canter left at B, canter bounce at A, then walk.

no action shots of Isabel, so instead enjoy this gif of B teaching Wick to bounce

Isabel handled it all really well. The curved line tracking right was more difficult for us, unsurprisingly, tho, the bounce on the left lead (so our second time through) was much more jilted and required a second trip to fix it. All said tho, I think Isabel understood the lesson and was able to make most of the necessary adjustments on her own.

So it was a good lesson. I do really enjoy the more technical aspects of ground pole exercises - and believe we're making good progress through the winter... But I will be SO happy to get back to coursework in earnest once we're back outdoors again! 

In the meantime, I'm slowly kitting out the trailer for our planned adventures this summer. The latest addition? This basic little rack for the trailer door. Right now it's hung from baling twine, tho it can hang directly from the door when I eventually take the plexiglass off the window. 

In a silly kind of way, it's almost like one of my new favorite things (except for the saddle obvi). We have collapsible saddle racks, and sure there are bridle hooks inside the trailer, but I want a place to hang our stuff when we're outside the trailer. And even better - we can still shut and lock the door with this stuff hanging there when we're away from the trailer. Yay for outdoor tack rooms!!!

What else am I missing to make our little trailer getup complete for a full day spent at a show???

curious about: spurs

Much like the SprinklerBandit's Teach Me Tuesday series or Chasing the Dream's What Do Wednesdays, I have a question and figured what better forum than this lovely little blogging community to answer it?

Question: Why spurs?

I've collected a few pairs over the years, but have only ever worn them for lesson horses that 'always go' in spurs (as in, it's part of the notes - like, carry stick with this horse, stuff ears for that horse, etc etc). Never tried 'em with Isabel. 

long shanks with pointy ends (and adorable peanut charms)

So I want to know: when do you introduce spurs? And for what reasons? How do you choose what type of spur to use? 

tiny, blunt little nubs

Do you use them primarily in dressage, or over fences, or both? Different spurs for each phase, or do you use the same every time?

roller balls

My understanding is that spurs are for refining the aids and reinforcement, and I'm wondering whether they would help with my efforts to introduce more lateral work into our sessions. Or perhaps they'd be good to have on hand given the recent rash of refusals I've seen over fences? 

But really - enlighten me, do you use spurs? What kind and why?

-OR - 

Do you purposefully NOT use spurs? Why?

postponed show + Blog Hop(s)

So the high temp for today is 15*.... Meaning today's dressage fix-a-test clinic is postponed for next week. Hopefully the weather improves by then! 

brr

***

In the meantime, here's my take on a couple recent blog hops: 

First up: "Three Little Words" from Jenn at Stories from the Saddle:

I want to know: what three words would you use to describe your horse? They can be any words, but you're limited to three words and three words only.

Game

jumping in the rain in a soupy muddy arena - mare don't care

Game

jumping in the dark? nbd

 Game

she's a trail riding queen

And also - here's the "Day in the Life" blog hop from Tracy at Fly on Over. I'm just focusing on my current weekday riding schedule, but things are a little easier in the summer (when I go to the barn after work/gym around 6:30 and there are actual places to ride). 

7:15 - alarm goes off and I hit snooze once or twice a few times

8:00 - drag my butt out of bed (and the cats sing hallelujah)... don't know how some of you manage to get up so early!! haha

'yes we r hungry.' - OG

8:30 - start chugging coffee at work (yes my morning routine and commute are both very short)
-
-
10:30 - ugh is it really still this early?? time for moar coffee...
-
-
12:30 - leave work early using vacation time (thanks to my very understanding boss!!!) and run home to change into riding gear

1:15 - stop by my sister's cafe to grab some lunch

2:15 - arrive at the barn, hook up and pack trailer with B's & my tack, hay for the horses, etc

3:00 - B gets to the barn and we bring in the horses to get them ready

3:30 - hit the road for FV with horses in tow

4:00 - arrive at FV, saddle up the horses and ride. we practice flat work for all our upcoming dressage shows and finish up with some jumping 

5:00 - cool horses off and pack everything back up again

5:30 - head home with horses -- in rush hour traffic on a nasty twisty dark road, fun!

6:00 - get horses tucked in to their dinner, unpack trailer and clean up Wick's messy messy mess (the horse is a veritable fountain of... well, you know)...

6:15 - park trailer

crowded parking lot is crowded

6:25 - still parking trailer.... (it's hard in the dark!!! lol)

6:30 - turn horses out and retreat to the heated tack room to condition our new saddles (squee!) and maybe have a glass of wine

7:30 - get home and throw some dinner together and feed the kitties

'we are clearly starving'

8:00 - relax and read and/or catch up on blogs for a couple hours before calling it a night

saddle shopping summary

I really want to thank you all so very very much for helping me through this process. This probably feels like the never-ending story - but it IS over now. Phew!

'finally' - isabel

Since I wrote about it extensively, tho, I'm tying the whole process up into one neat and tidy summary for my own future reference - and perhaps for anyone else looking for help.

But again - your insights and comments have been invaluable. Thank you!!

To find posts related to saddle shopping, click here. (be sure to check out the comment threads too for insights from other bloggers)

Resources
-General Info
Beval Saddle Fitting Guide
Google is your friend - google literally every single thing. Forums discussing that exact thing abound!! 

-Sales Sites
All the Best Used Saddles
CWD Sellier
eBay (I only considered options where a trial was available. also good for price comparisons)
Equine Now
Farmhouse Tack
Fine Used Saddles
I Sell Tack
MD Saddlery Butler**
MD Saddlery Crofton
MD Saddlery Hockessin
MD Tack Exchange
Middleburg Tack**
Pelham Saddlery** (ultimately purchased from this shop)
Redwood Tack
Rick's Heritage Saddle Source
The Horse of Course
VTO Saddlery**
Your Saddles

**denotes shops where I spoke with a representative. Without exception, everyone I spoke to was incredibly helpful and friendly - and I would recommend these businesses.

Expenses

This is some real talk here. Because this is essentially a very important piece of equipment and there are a few auxiliary costs along the way to finding the perfect fit. 

To start, my planned budget maxed out around $1,800. That's a lot of $$$. But I *hoped* to spend about half that (and my saddle fitter seemed confident that I would find something nice in the $800-$1,200 range). I looked exclusively at used saddles.

That brings me to the fitter, who gave us a free consultation with some trial saddles we picked up. The expectation was that we'd bring her back for a true fitting/reflocking once we found our saddles - for a cost of $150. This amount was therefore included in all further calculations.

Trial Saddles

My criteria was: 17" seat, narrow tree, wool flocked, and minimal gusseting. True narrow trees seemed surprisingly elusive, and many saddle makers (including most french companies... le sigh) were excluded right off the bat bc they don't use wool flocking. 

#1 - Bates Caprilli

Shipping/Trial Cost: Free from a local consignment shop
Sticker Price: $905 (negotiable)
Auxiliary Costs: 
-$150 reflock (included for all trial saddles - but definitely needed for this one)
-$75-$150 for front/rear blocks
-many hours dedicated to the improvement of this long-neglected saddle's leather
Likes:
-adjustable gullet
-fit on horse (expected to improve after reflock)
-improvement in rider position
Dislikes:
-saddle condition
-wasn't very inspiring to sit in

#2 - Stubben Edelweiss CS

Shipping/Trial Cost: $25 flat rate + $15 return (using a friend's Fed Ex business account)
Sticker Price: $700 (negotiable)
Auxiliary Costs: 
-$150 reflock (included for all trial saddles)
Likes:
-leather quality - which promised to only improve with care
-comfortable
-saddle was in excellent condition
Dislikes:
-didn't fit Isabel; there was movement over fences
-billet straps were sooooo short
-the saddle geometry was reminiscent of the wintec that doesn't do my eq any favors

 #3 - Bates Caprilli (the winner)

Shipping/Trial Cost: $49.95 flat rate 
Sticker Price: $795
Auxiliary Costs: 
-$150 reflock x2 bc the newly converted wool flocked panels will need follow-up attention
-$40-45 for left side head nail replacement (optional but likely to happen)
Likes:
-adjustable gullet
-OMG so comfortable - angels sing when I sit in this saddle
-I feel incredibly secure over fences 
Dislikes:
-N/A :)
-(if we're nitpicking - the saddle length is pushing the acceptable boundaries for Izzy's back)


So there ya have it. My saddle shopping experience! It was kind of fun in some respects - and is SUPER exciting to have found something I love... but I'll also be ok if I don't have to repeat the process for a while :)