Skip to main content

Satiating the Tack Ho

Its been at least 3 weeks since I've been on my horse. At least. Like 2.5 of those weeks, I couldn't even get him out to groom him because so much ice. So how do I cope? I unleash the inner tack ho, and buy tack. Lots and lots of tack.

So due to some various family generosity around Christmas, and good little chunk of saving/planning, I was able to have the cash to really upgrade like 75% of Charmer's wardrobe. The other 25% is all still fairly pretty and entirely functional, so I didn't NEED to replace it. Yet. Don't worry, there are things still on my list of pretties for him.


This was the big ticket item. New saddle. Monoflap. Gorgeous. Brand new. Worth every penny. Plus the stirrup leathers and stirrups are also new. The stirrup leathers are made by Millbrook Equestrian, and they're supposed to help with leg stability by increasing friction. I am intrigued, so I had to try them. Then with the stirrups, well, I just always love/need wide track stirrups because they take a lot of pressure off of my joints, and I finally found some color ones, so clearly they needed to come home to me and complete my gorgeous saddle look.


Well and then this little beauty had to come home. A friend tagged me in it on Facebook, and it perfectly matches my Ogilvy half pad, so say hello to my very first Ogilvy saddle pad. Based on the quality and feel, I'm confident in saying I do not think this will be my last one of these pads.


And of course, when getting a new saddle, you're going to need a girth. Well with monoflaps, you need a short girth. The only short girth I have is black. Not gonna fly. So therefore I went on the search for a nice brown short girth for my monoflap. Everything came up at like $100+, which was technically doable, but would've prevented other things on this list, so I didn't really fancy spending that if I didn't have to. Then I found this beauty. $43 bought and shipped, brand new from the manufacturer. SOLD. Oh, and bonus, it's also a shoulder relief girth (like TSF) but $100 cheaper. I think yes.


Also, Charmer's boots have been slowly dying since probably about last winter. They deserve retirement. So I went ahead and caved on some Majyk Equipe sport/dressage boots, in turquoise. Still haven't been able to try them on, but man I am so excited for when I finally get to use them! The quality is impeccable, and the hard shell gives me hope for the back boots holding up to my interfering horse for longer than a day (I kid you not, that is how fast he tore a hole in the old dressage boots). Plus I couldn't resist getting an adorable pair of matching turquoise bell boots when I saw those either. He needs bell boots 24/7 while a rider is on him, because he tracks up so much, so I actually justified this purchase pretty well.


Last (for this post) but definitely not least, would be the new jump boots that I snagged. Also brand new, shipped and bought straight from the manufacturer. $52 a set. Um, what? This has got to be a joke. But the quality is great (especially for the price) and they have nice airflow in them, plus hook and stud closure (fancy!) and at that price, I am definitely willing to replace them if (when) Charmer destroys them.

This is my first admission of tack ho status on this blog, but I fully admit to it, and can guarantee that this will definitely not be my last complete tack ho post on this blog.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Saddle Woes & Jumping Ponies

I'm definitely still in a bit of a weird headspace, and obviously still not getting back to real consistency on the blog just yet, but hey, some posts are better than none, right? I'm not exaggerating when I say this canter is an actual dream to ride. All 3 ponies got chiropractic work from my vet a week and a half ago, and she confirmed a fear for me regarding Banner - his lovely Devoucoux saddle doesn't fit. Awesome. Its hitting his scapula, and even with quite a few weeks out of the saddle recently, he still had a lot of residual soreness along his scapula. Luckily I haven't been able to ride 3 ponies lately anyways, so he was on the backburner regardless so it doesn't change much in our immediate plans, but its never fun to know you have to sell a saddle/change plans.  My CWD on V (usually using a half pad, but was testing the fit without) I've got a few different ideas on what I plan to do with selling his current saddle/what I plan to replace it with. I

The Best Horse in All the Lands

Here's the post about my main man, Charmer, from the weekend with my trainer!! I'll go ahead and spoil the ending right now - he is perfect and I don't deserve him.  After where I left off with V (end of yesterday's post) I felt really disheartened when I climbed into the tack on Charmer. He's not exactly known for being the easiest  ride on XC and I sort of mentally was beating myself into a pulp for no good reason. After a good number of comments regarding my leg/balance on V, I was just really feeling like I sucked and had no business being out there. It didn't help that this year has been a complete crapshoot for me and XC and this was only my third time out on Charmer all year.  I halfheartedly warmed him up while thinking we might just not even jump anything. He came out his good ol' dragon self and I was thinking "I don't even have the energy to manage him right now, and I don't deserve to be here anyways". It wasn't a great head

Organization

So, as most of you know (the 3 of you that probably even read this blog haha), I keep my horses at home. Which is amazing ! But it has also opened up a world of changes. For the first time, I am 100% in charge of my horse's care. Only about 6 weeks after Charmer moved home, I rethought his entire diet and we took practically a 180* turn. His hay got switched. Grain got switched. I changed a few supplements for short term use that I have now cut out. I think the result is him looking and feeling better than ever.  Old picture. Cutest expression ever. But along with being 100% in charge of my horse's care, means I am also 100% in charge of giving everything a place, making sure everything stays organized, and being always vigilant about making sure my horse has enough of everything he needs. Which honestly, I quite enjoy! But it is a lot of organizing. I make kind of DIY Smartpaks in baggies for both of my horses (although I'm really intrigued to try  this i