In the Absence of a Bit

I am going to be completely honest here—a friend of mine who half-leased Ax a few years ago used a Micklem on him and I was disgusted. Don’t ask me why, but something about putting my precious horse into a bitless bridle brought up a giant red X in my brain. I’m pretty sure I gave her a nasty sneer and rudely said, “Ew, why would you do that?” to which she probably should have slapped me. I’m sure you can imagine the satisfaction in her voice and the sheepishness in mine when I suddenly changed my tune a year later and asked her what size she had bought for his puny head.Continue reading “In the Absence of a Bit”

Movers and Shakers

While everyone else was stuffing their faces with chocolate bunnies and hunting for little plastic eggs this past weekend, I was stuffing all my things into an already-full tack trunk and celebrating the end of the hunt for a new barn.Continue reading “Movers and Shakers”

Tailored Sportsman Taste on a Piper Budget

It’s no secret that horses and everything that goes along with them is expensive. I’ve always known that I’ve had a champagne taste on a beer budget since back when I was drinking juice and since the prices of everything equestrian is far from cheap, I’ve had to become the ultimate bargain hunter. Why spend $180 on breeches when you can find them $70? So many riders fork up the cash or rack up their credit card when they could have saved some money and their credit score.Continue reading “Tailored Sportsman Taste on a Piper Budget”

What’s In My Tack Trunk?

A few months ago, before moving to a new barn, I decided that I wanted to upgrade from my Horseman’s Pride plastic trunk to something more secure and durable. There was nothing wrong with the plastic trunk, but I had had it for a while and it was pretty warped and banged up from use (my dad broke the lock on it almost right after we bought it). I decided on the Husky Job Box for three reasons: it’s super durable, it has heavy duty locks, and it has a handle and wheels. My trusty boyfriend—who happens to work at Home Depot—brought one home for me and it then was my job to downsize my stuff into the smaller trunk.

Now, months later, I find myself struggling to close the thing because I have it packed to the brim like a crazy game of Tetris. If you thought that I stuffed a bunch of things into my grooming tote, wait until you see all of the nonsense in my tack trunk.Continue reading “What’s In My Tack Trunk?”

Saddle Searching and Buffalo Humps

“You need a new saddle,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said. Lies—it is all lies.

I was never blessed with an easy-to-fit horse and I had my fair share of saddle fit woes even before I bought Ax. When I bought him I completely ignored his conformation (i.e. GIGANTIC withers) and soon realized that the saddle that fit my mutton-withered Morgan was not going to fit over his buffalo hump. After selling said saddle, I stumbled upon the ancient Dover Circuit that I purchased a little over a year ago. As Ax progressed and developed more of a topline the fit went downhill. Chiropractors, massage therapists, and saddle fitters told me what I already knew—it was pinching his shoulders causing the whole thing to slide back and pressure points on his back.Continue reading “Saddle Searching and Buffalo Humps”