My Five (Broken) Things

This post is really for my good friend, Jill, who has a few broken things of her own. Good thing her brother is an orthopedic surgeon. And yes, a horse did it. Her toes have been straightened, and she's now sporting a pretty hefty cast, but she'll be good as new in no time (or, I am fine to ride right now! if you ask any couch bound equestrian).

My broken things are much easier to fix than Jill's toes, so I've been asking myself why they are still broken. Specimen number one has been missing a tine for years. I refuse to replace it because I'd just break the new one, and it would probably be in the same spot!

Sort of like toes.

The next broken item, my dressage whip, did get replaced, but then it wore out, too. The only reason I bought a new one to replace it was because I was too embarrassed to take either one of those crappy things to the Hilda Gurney Clinic that I did in May. The one on the right is Izzy's. Speedy got the new one. I keep the one on the left in case I am ever in need of a crop.

Broken whip and a second broken/wore out whip.

I need to find a new style of dressage boots for Izzy. While not exactly broken, these boots have certainly seen better days. I need a pair that can be hosed off daily, but I want them to still look like dressage boots, not endurance boots. Anyone have a suggestion?

The other three look just as funky.

As much as it pained me, I did replace my Roeckls. In fact, they're sitting on my desk right next to me as I type. Did they just arrive last night? Why no, they did not. So why are they still sitting on my desk instead of being shoved into my helmet ready to be worn? They're just so pretty and clean that I hate to get them dirty. I am waiting for at least one more hole to appear in my old pair. It would be even better if I could get a finger blow out. 

Now these, I did replace!

And finally, I present my fifth and last broken thing (not that I don't have more used up stuff crammed into bins and totes in my tack room, but these are the five that I use most often). It's silly, but I just can't part with this blue hoof pick. It has been my favorite for a very long time. Years and years.

It was only recently that I started pondering it's inefficiency. I was puzzled as to why it wouldn't dig down into the frog groove very well. I finally stopped and looked at it and realized that I've had it for so long that I have literally worn it down to a nub! I dug out a new one that I've had stored, but I don't like how the brush rubs me while I use it. I am now on the hunt for more like the blue one.

It's the blue one. Pictured with a hoof pick I hate to show the difference in the blade length.

It's funny how I'll pay almost any amount of money to keep my horses in good health, but I balk at replacing stuff that is still serviceable. I am pretty sure I'm not the only one that hangs on to stuff that has seen better days. My trainer, Chemaine Hurtado, shared this over the weekend. 

That's a bit awkward!

She was at a show, too. She held them together with her spur strap and the snap at the top. Since Jill has already had her broken things fixed, maybe some of us need to have a Replace Our Broken Stuff Day!