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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Saddle Box

11/12/2019

 
I am a Stitch Fix girl, although you would never guess it. I hate to shop. I hate to try clothes on. And I used to hate most everything in my closet. Riding clothes excepted. I love shopping for those. It's sad when your selection of breeches and riding tops are the most expensive and nicest things in your closet.

When I found Stitch Fix on Facebook a year and a half ago, I gave it a try and have been looking forward to my monthly fixes ever since. I LOVE getting my box full of new stuff, and I almost always keep everything. So when Phil Van Treuren, owner of SaddleBox, reached out to me to ask if I would be interested in giving SaddleBox a try, I jumped at the chance!
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SaddleBox
If you haven't heard of SaddleBox, it works like this: You sign up for a monthly shipment for just under $35 a month. Each month, you get a box full of mystery horsey items like gourmet horse treats, grooming tools and tack, and gifts for the horse owner.
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My box.
I have to say, the "Christmasy" element of the box is really one of the coolest things about it. When my husband brought the box in with a quizzical look on his face, I rubbed my hands together in glee and tore it open on the spot. It was really fun digging through the contents to see what I had received.
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Raise your hand if you want one!
My box contained 8 items:
  1. 1 pound bag of Buckeye brand Peppermint bits
  2. Tough 1 curry blade
  3. Tough 1 8' Poly Lead Rope
  4. Co-Flex Cohesive bandage
  5. Carat Cake horse treat
  6. Decker face brush
  7. If My Horse Doesn't Like You I Probably Won't Either sticker
  8. Hoofpick 
SaddleBox is a great idea. Is it for me? Well, I would love to say YES, who wouldn't want to get a box of goodies every month? But the reality is that I am on a pretty tight budget, and Newt's not helping with that. 

​I LOVED some of the items ...
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The sticker is already stuck to my trailer.
You can never have too many rolls of elastic bandages or hoof picks. That Carat Cake looks good enough to eat myself, and while I have tons of soft brushes, I hoard them so another one is always welcome. And that sticker needs no explanation. It's my favorite thing in the box.
​
But some of the items just weren't in my wheelhouse.
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Hard pass on the curry blade.
Speedy used to LOVE peppermints, but since stuffing his Pergolide in various treats, he's grown suspicious of anything that I can actually afford. Izzy might like them though. Speedy would also kick the crap out of me if I tried to use a metal blade on any part of his body. Izzy's not much of a fan of metal either. I only use long clinician style lead ropes since my boys can get a bit (cough cough) fractious at times, so the 8-foot rope is too short for my needs.

However. I definitely would consider sending a SaddleBox as a gift. No horse person that I know would say thanks, no thanks to a gift like that. How many gifts are easy to pick out while still being fun and creative? Not many.

If my budget had just a tiny bit more padding, I'd be all over a monthly SaddleBox. I love NOT having to shop. I LOVE having things delivered to my house. I LOVE horse stuff. 

Please sign up for one, and if you do, let me know. I am happy to live vicariously through your monthly box of joy. And if you get something that doesn't float your boat, I'll take it!
Nat D link
11/12/2019 01:24:28 pm

I have seen these saddle boxes on other blogs, and I must admit that I am not a fan. Perhaps when I was a starting teenager with more needs and less money. Now, if I need something I will buy it. And I definitely don't want to accumulate any more stuff in my basement or tack locker.

Thanks for the review. I echo the sentiment.

Bakersfield Dressage link
11/23/2019 06:43:07 am

"Accumulate more stuff" - seriously. I need to start a Saddle Box of my own to get rid of some stuff. It was fun to open though. :0)

AareneX link
11/12/2019 02:34:12 pm

As much as I love shopping for horse stuff, I've realized that I don't actually NEED anything anymore. If I break a thing, I replace it, and I do keep extras of stuff that is likely to break or tricky to replace in a hurry. So, yeah: a couple extra leadropes. a couple extra hoofpicks, that kind of stuff. I already have duplicates of stuff I use all the time. It would be fun to have even more duplicates? No.

Such a change from my younger days!!!

Bakersfield Dressage link
11/23/2019 06:44:20 am

Yep. Agreed. With age comes accumulation of stuff. I would love a box each month of consumable items. Something like that might entice me more.

lytha
11/13/2019 02:44:05 am

You know what would make this work even better? If you got together with 1 or 2 other barn mates and shared the box, each taking turns picking items (and taking turns who picks first). There will always be that metal curry comb that no one wants, but less unwanted items overall, and less money lost buying unwanted items.

Bakersfield Dressage
11/23/2019 06:45:20 am

OMG, yes! That's a brilliant idea! I wish I had a barn full of friends to ask. Alas, I am all alone at the ranch, but that would really be fun!


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
    ​Welcome to my dressage journey.
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    Photo by Lori Ovanessian

    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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    July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)

    About Izzy

    Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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    March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)

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Site Designed and Managed by: Karen Sweaney

Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Local
    • Shopping List
  • Home