My family was particularly generous this year for both Christmas and my birthday. My dad and stepmom sent me a very lovely gift from the Riding Warehouse, but it just didn't fit, no matter how hard I tried. It was a case of too big here and there and everywhere, and of course a smaller size wasn't available. I returned the item but expressed heartfelt thanks to my parents for their generosity. On Friday, this appeared on our doorstep.

I don't generally forget that I've ordered something, although it does occasionally happen. I first assumed it was something that my husband ordered, but when I saw the return address, Riding Warehouse, I knew it was for me. Woo hoo.

Once I realized it was indeed my package and not hubby's, I quickly made the leap that it was probably a replacement birthday gift from my parents. I was right!

I always have some items in my shopping cart at Riding Warehouse. Sometimes they're in there so that I won't forget about a recommended product, but usually they're sitting there as I finish putting together a pile worth shipping out. Like socks. I had socks in my my cart, but there's no way I am paying shipping on some socks, on sale or not.

I already have a pair of the Noble Outfitters Peddies Tall Boot Socks in a solid color that were given to me as a gift. I was surprised at how much I like them. When I saw the leopard print go on sale, I threw a couple in my cart and waited for my next order.

​I've mentioned a time or two that I have a thing for breeches. I can't help it; I am on a constant quest for the perfect pair. A perfect cheap pair. I am realizing that what I like in a pair of breeches (fit, bling, contrast stitching, colors) just doesn't come cheaply. Unfortunately, my frugal nature won't let me go out and buy the $175 pair that checks off all of my boxes. With gift card in hand, I decided to see what a $100 pair of breeches might look like.

After looking at every single pair of breeches that Riding Warehouse had in stock, I chose the Ovation DX Celebrity Slim Secret full seats. This pair of breeches meets most of my "likes," especially with the stylish side pocket. I don't know how they'll fit, but I am hoping the fabric is as described. My "cuter" breeches are simply too thick for our summer time heat, so I am hoping the Dry-Lex™ technology performs as advertised. 

Breeches and socks are due on Tuesday. I'll let you know what I think.

I am sure most employees give their supervisors some kind of regular progress reports. In my case, I don't give progress reports to my principal; I give them to my "customers."  Of course, in the computer age, all of our grades are online which means parents can look up their child's grades whenever they feel like. It sure makes my life easier.

We don't kennel our dogs very often, but when we do, even they get progress reports. The first time we got one for Tobias, we were like proud parents of an Honor Roll student.

Both horses are about due for progress reports. Izzy's is definitely marked "great progress shown" while Speedy's says "not working to potential." Better shape up, Mister!

Izzy: This deserves a post all of its own, but we are making incredible progress every time we work. We're still not getting the canter departures on cue every time, but man is that left lead really coming along. I have had some incredible AHA! moments this past week, but like I said, that deserves it own post.

Speedy: He had three weeks off, but he did get hand walked daily. The time off is really showing. This is the first time in all of the years that I've owned him that a break brought about a loss of skills. I am actually encouraged by that since it shows we've been tackling stuff that's much harder than just trotting around with a steady connection.

He's been back to work for a week now, and while he's too mature for bucking and bolting, he has been ridiculously heavy and stiff on the left rein. I have been running through every suppling exercise that I know, but the return to that more elastic connection we had been developing has been slow. Last night I finally got a bit of what I was searching for.

Heavy rain is predicted for tomorrow which means I should try and get both boys ridden today, but my husband took Tobias hunting and asked if I would be on puppy patrol today. He doesn't ask a lot so I of course agreed. It's not that I can't leave little Miss Brienne of Tarth by herself, but at only 10 weeks old, we don't want to leave her on own for more than an hour or two.

Today is actually Izzy's day to be worked, but since Speedy has a big "thing" next weekend, he's kind of my priority right now. I'll share the "thing" as it's more set in stone. So even though it was a tropical 69℉ yesterday with clear skies, I am worried the rain will hit earlier than expected precluding my rides.

Whatever the weather in your neck of the woods, enjoy your own rides or shows today!

You know I'm pretty partial to black and white tack. I like white leg boots, white pads, black pads, black leg boots, and of course a black saddle and bridle.

Black and white works really well on white horses. It also works on brown horses, but since I really haven't bought Izzy any new tack, aside from a Smartpak bridle, I decided to to be a little daring in his spring wardrobe.

I've been using the pad and boots for the last week or so, and I have to say, they look really sharp. The light has been pretty low in the afternoons, so I haven't been able to get a good photo to show Izzy wearing his new clothes, but I am super happy with the color combination and am now searching for other navy pads!

I am even thinking of ordering Ovation's Glitz helmet (the one I already own in black and silver) but this time in navy. I also want a new pair of Roeckl gloves, also in navy with white piping. I still have some of my gift card left, but Riding Warehouse doesn't carry that particular helmet nor those gloves in that color. Maybe I need to give them a call ...

Hello, Riding Warehouse?

I prefer to school and show in tall boots. I keep a pair of Ariat Maestros for showing; they're stored in my trailer. For the past two or three three years, I've been schooling in a pair of Ariat Volants. While I love the Volants, they haven't held up as well as I had hoped, especially for the price tag. 

I am not going to blame the boots; I am hard on them. I wear them seven days a week, and while I try not to muck stalls or use the wash rack while wearing them, I do trudge around the barn and arena even when it's wet and muddy.
​
After looking at a few small tears in the seams of each Volant and a sole that's starting to separate, I decided to take advantage of Riding Warehouse's post Christmas sale and ordered a new pair of tall boots. After looking over the reviews and comparing them to the price of each boot, I settled on the TuffRiders. 

Unlike many boots, I think the TuffRiders actually run a bit on the big size. I wear a 7.5 shoe, so I normally order up for boots. I had plenty of room in the 8 and think I would have been fine with my actual shoe size. I filled in some of the extra room with inserts. Even so, thick socks won't be a problem.

On TuffRider's sizing chart, my calf (with socks and breeches) was exactly 14.5 inches, which was a "regular" calf measurement. Knowing that so many boots are actually narrower than advertised, I ordered the wide. There is nothing worse than a boot you can't zip up. As it turned out, the wide is really wide at the boot's opening, but very comfortable on the calf.

Not only is the boot sized generously in the calf, but it also has a narrow, elastic panel alongside the zipper.

I wore them for the first time yesterday, but not for riding. I actually wore them to work (from 5:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). We had a special Giddy Up for Kindness event where the staff and students were encouraged to dress up in western clothes. I wore breeches and boots instead. These boots KICKED BUTT on the comfort scale. I never even once thought about taking them off. I even taught P.E. in them!

From the moment I slipped them on, they felt warm and broken in. The footbed (with inserts) was cushy, and the leather moved and flowed around my foot. The sloppiness that I worried about never entered my mind. No part of the boot pinched or rubbed. In fact, they were more comfortable than some of my everyday shoes and boots.

If you're on a tight budget, this boot is definitely budget friendly while being comfortable and attractive. For me, they will work great as an easily replaceable schooling boot. Even though they're a little "sloppy," especially when compared to my Volants, I loved the price and how comfortable they were right out of the box. 

The verdict: comfortable tall boots at a great price!

Speedy has been out of work for a solid three weeks. I was disappointed at the set back, but I think he's sound enough to get back at it. On Sunday, I hacked him around the neighborhood and then did a quick 15-minute schooling ride in the arena. He didn't feel 100%, but he didn't feel lame either. He felt ... stiff.

At nearly 12, Speedy's not old by anyone's standards. Arabs tend to mature slowly and they can live a long, long time. He didn't feel old-age stiff. Instead, he just felt less fluid than he has in the past few months. In some ways, that's great news as it tells me that the work we've been doing has been correct.

On Monday, we had a bit of a Come to Jesus meeting as he acted as though he had no idea how to let go of the left rein and bend his neck. After about 15 minutes, I forget to wonder if he was sound enough for work. I focused on getting him in front of my leg and giving to that left rein. He got mad; I love Speedy when he's mad as that's when he gives me his best work.

Once he was ticked off, his forward got a lot more energetic and he insisted we canter - well okay then! From there, we worked on our canter to walk which definitely suffered over the three weeks that he was recuperating. We'll get it back.

While he still had some energy, I worked on changing the bend at the canter and was quite pleased with how well that went. A good change of bend at the canter helps with the change of lead through trot which ultimately leads to flying lead changes. The day before, during our quick school, I asked for a 20-meter counter canter circle with zero preparation and was delighted to get it both directions.

It might take us a week or two to get back in the groove, but I think Speedy's up to the challenge. I have an afternoon meeting today, but if it doesn't run long, I'll be on Speedy again today. I'm really hoping he feels sounder today. If not, we keep waiting.

And this too, shall pass.

At one time, I wished my husband was into horses. I was okay that he didn't want to ride, but I was envious of the wives whose husbands willingly came to shows to schlepp buckets and to video rides. I am over that now. I've discovered that it's far better to have a spouse who says yes. All the time. Every time. No questions asked.

There are no arguments about which shows I attend or how long I'll be gone. And actually, there are times when he looks at my small suitcase and asks where I am going. He gets it; riding is a very big part of who I am, and he's okay with that. And while I cover all of the expenses for the horses, he probably covers more than his fair share of our household expenses which is a form of support that I appreciate more than getting a video now and then.

He's definitely a keeper.

Late last week, several large boxes appeared in my dining room. My husband is into cars and trucks and frequents an online Raptor forum; it's sort of like COTH, same level of crazy, just a different topic. You've probably never seen a Raptor, but they're built by Ford; he's on his second one. Anyway, he's into accessorizing his truck, and since he seems to have run out of stuff to change on his own vehicle, he's moved onto my new car.

I don't mind!

The big boxes were filled with floor liners custom made for Juke. These are a barn girl's dream come true! The liners for the front of the cab are made like a drip pan - the sides come up to prevent mud or water from running into the carpet.

To clean the liners, all I need to do is vacuum and wipe with a damp cloth. The liners also lift out easily, so if they're particularly gunky, I can haul them out and hose them off. In the past, I've laid a beach towel on the floor to protect the carpet, but that method does not work. At all. 

When the first box arrived, I was delighted by the thoughtful gift, but then I found out he had also ordered a cargo liner. What's a girl to do?!?! As soon as it was installed, I exclaimed, "now I can buy feed without messing up my car!" My husband's response: "I know, that's why I bought it."

​Said by a true horse husband ...

​Thank you, honey (says a very grateful wife!).

My last lesson with Chemaine was all about getting and maintaining a bend. As I get better about helping Izzy maintain the bend, it won't be as easy for him to use his neck as an escape vehicle. His current method of avoiding work is to fling his head in the air, and then run off. He usually jogs away now instead of bolting, but it's still not an appropriate response to work.

Over the past two weeks, I've been repeating the spiral in exercise, and I am getting definite improvement each day. Spiral in is pretty much the same no matter what your focus. In this particular version of the exercise, I am keeping the outside rein pretty solidly locked down as I ask for inside bend and softening on the inside rein. To achieve this, I am "bouncing" the inside rein and then letting it go, but not so much that he becomes counter flexed.

To the left, this is all relatively easy as he already wants to bend left and carry his haunches left. Tracking right is much more difficult for him because his body doesn't want to bend to the right. He avoids stretching through his ribcage by carrying his haunches to the outside.

I've been chipping away at this issue steadily over the past ten days. I started off by just insisting he carry his haunches to the inside by opening my outside rein and bringing it back toward my hip. Oh, boy did he ever throw a fit the first day I schooled this. From there, I slowly started to ask for inside bend as we spiraled in. The smallness of the circle actually helps establish some bend.

With Izzy, the spiral in to the right started to feel like half passe because it took so much outside leg to keep his haunches to the inside. And as I slowly increased the bend, I had to also really ride the shoulders to keep them from pivoting to the outside. When I got it in my mind that it was almost like a half passe, it got easier to ride because I just thought about pushing his body to the right.

Once he can make a 10-meter circle and keep the inside rein soft, we spiral back out. Since his haunches and shoulders want to fly all over the place, I have to really focus on a steady outside rein to keep the shoulders and haunches aligned so that he has to truly leg yield out on the circle. I think we were both caught by surprise when I really got his inside hind to actually step forward and over.

This spiral in and leg yield out exercise is also helping the canter departures. The more control I have over the inside bend and the placement of his haunches, the more I can control the canter. On Sunday, I had to remind him a few times that he doesn't get to run through my aids, but after that, we got the best left lead canter departure we've had to date.

He has a lovely canter, we've all seen it, but keeping it to a steady rhythm has been difficult for me. At our last lesson, Chemaine got after me to get really strong through my core and INSIST on a half halt. To help me get the feeling of the aid that she was looking for, she had me think about cantering in place for several strides. If I did that with Speedy, he'd fly in reverse, but Izzy is so forward that I really need to capture that energy so that it doesn't just shoot forward and escape.

I've been using that idea this week, and it is really helping. I've been able to half halt more rhythmically which prevents him from galloping away on his forehand. I also got a really nice right lead canter, but of course, tracking right requires a whole different set of aids.

To the right, it's not about getting him to half halt, but rather keeping him bent to the right from nose to tail. What I felt on Sunday afternoon's ride was the need to get him soft on my inside rein so that he had room for the canter. I know that doesn't make any sense, but when he leans or grabs that inside rein, it forces me to hold him which means he can't push up and into the contact.

I worked with him for several long minutes at the trot insisting that he stay bent and soft. All the while, I kept quietly asking for a canter. I could feel him shifting, trying to find that moment of balance. He finally picked up the right lead, and while it was a bit wild and wooly to start, he ultimately let go of the tension and allowed himself a right bend. All of a sudden the right lead canter was balanced and easy for him. He even stretched down while he was cantering and did it with the lightest contact. 

Step by step, this horse is really starting to impress me. He's not easy exactly, but he is very talented and likes to be successful. I can't wait to see where he is a year from now. Just one year ago, he was in the midst of a traumatic leg injury, was on his third living arrangement in a month, and was being trailered regularly for the first time in his life. He's come a long way since last January!

Way back in 2012 I made a New Year's resolution to keep better track of how much I was spending on my horses. It wasn't that I was being cavalier with my money, but I had discovered that dressage was far more expensive than competing in the endurance world.

In order to show and take lessons, I needed to revise my personal budget to allow for the increase in equine expenses. To keep myself truly accountable, I launched the Horses Are Expensive series of posts. Each month I tracked my equine expenses to the penny, and then I publicly shared it.

While it was tedious and time consuming to accurately track each expenditure, it was so worth it. I learned a lot about need versus want during that year, and as a consequence, I was able to develop better financial discipline.

​I felt the effects in the rest of my life as well. I found that I was more patient while waiting for the non-material things that I wanted, like getting a good canter departure, earning an award, or qualifying for a championship. That resolve probably helped me last year as I waited for Izzy's leg to heal.

I am finding that today, in 2016, I might have learned the lesson too well. Sometimes I show too much restraint. That's why I allowed myself to buy a new car. I've been trying to teach myself that it's okay to indulge a little here and there. After all, I don't want to be a miser, unhappily sitting on a pile of gold. 

​With that, I've decided to revise the Horses Are Expensive series and am hard at work on Season 2. Like before, I'll share every expense related to the maintenance and upkeep of my two horses, including the bills I accumulate for showing and training.

Look for Episode 1 at the beginning of February.

Who's tall and blond, wields a sword better than most men, and is as honorable as they come?

If you recognized Brienne, you're probably a fan of Game of Thrones. The newest addition to our family comes to us from the house of Spartacus the Valiant. Really. That's her dad's name. He's a purebred black Labrador Retriever. She's a blond with a bold and fearless attitude.

I'd like to introduce you to our very own Brienne of Tarth, just Brienne around the house, and maybe "Bri" for short, but her tag bears the entire moniker (it's been ordered, but hasn't yet arrived). We're still getting around such a big name for a little puddle of blondness.

We met her this past Wednesday, but we had agreed to take her before we even saw her. My best friend had picked out one of her littermates for her brother-in-law and had shared some photos with me. We'd been talking about getting another dog for the past few months, so this litter came up at just the right time. After we went and met her, my best friend decided to take another one of the black pups to keep for herself. She and her husband already have two yellow labs.

Brienne came from a litter of eleven: three blacks, seven yellows of varying shades, and a very unusual black and tan. LV, the breeder, told us that it is a rare coat color that comes from the perfect pairing of recessive genes. She told us to check out Guiding Eyes for the Blind's website as they have some good information about this coat color, which is very unusual in labs.

I picked her up on Friday afternoon and drove straight to the vet. She had had her first round of vaccinations but was due for the second. It seemed best to get her checked out before we even brought her home. Travis Thurman, our canine vet, gave her a clean bill of health and thought she was a very nice looking puppy. I think he says that to everyone though. Dr. Thurman is the vet who helped us nurse Tobias through parvo. 

My husband bought Brienne a ginormous memory foam bed to park alongside Tobi's equally ginormous and fluffy bed. They take take up half the bedroom. Of course, she wouldn't sleep in the thing until I dragged it to my side of the bedroom and snuggled her to sleep. Every three hours. It was a long night, but having done this for three other labs, I know she'll learn the routine in no time.

We're quite smitten with her already. Tobias seems to like her, but he needs her to get a bit bigger before she'll be much fun. It won't take her long.

I know ... I just couldn't resist. I paid for half of the first one with a gift certificate, so it didn't feel like I was spending that much. I paid full price for this one, but oh, it's sooooo pretty. So between the two, I've only spent $60.

The truth is that the orange C4 was me just needing to go a little out of my comfort zone, step out of my box, be a little daring. It's a fun belt, but it probably won't go with very much. It did look super nice with my peach and orange Kastel sun shirt though.

This belt is much more my style. It is quite tasteful in person, and the black buckle looks much more human-sized than does the super hero white one. If you end up purchasing a C4 Belt of your own that is not a solid color, just know that the pattern appears on the street side of the strap only, not the inside.  

The black buckle is the "combo is of the week" which means a belt and black buckle pair are only $33.39 (plus shipping). The combo of the week changes each Monday, so if you like the black buckle pairing, get it this weekend.

​C4 sent me a 20% off coupon with this belt, and that Bear Flag belt is still calling my name, but the more I look at the combos, the navy plaid also has my name all over it. Maybe next month?!?!?!