Thursday, March 17, 2016

Review: Roma miracle brush

I got mine from a local tack store but you can find them online here.


I love grooming supplies of all types and was pretty skeptical the first time I saw one of these plastic "magic/miracle" brushes, but for only about 2 bucks I figured I would give them a try. Here is what I found: 

Great for:
Removing crusted-on mud from winter coats
Cleaning muddy legs when horses come in from the field
Quick grooming touch ups-fits nicely in your pocket
Brushing off sweaty saddle marks after riding
Removing dried mud/sweat from saddle pads and blankets
Scrubbing buckets/water troughs in a pinch

Not the best for: 
Very thin skinned horses-my thin skinned TB actually does not mind if for getting mud off his legs, but he is not a fan on more ticklish spots  
Heavy shedding (the hair gets stuck in bristles really easily-I prefer a shedding blade)

Overall I really like this brush and have been using it all winter for quick grooming and removing mud (which we have had an abundance of this year). I will probably use it as a bathing scrubber this summer as well. As you can see in the picture after a winter of constant use some of the bristles along the edges have bent but that doesn't really seem to effect use and hey, it was $2!




Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Horses as characters: Frosty as Anna

I've seen this on a few blogs, one of my favorites is here where Marissa from Tucker the Wunderkind compares Tucker to Melman the giraffe.

The character I chose for Frosty is Anna from Frozen.

They obviously look alike because Frosty has white streaks in her hair (bay roan).


Similarly, both Frosty and Anna's hair has a mind of its own sometimes


They both hate bad weather


...and love the outdoors and freedom to run


Most of all they are both always up for adventure! 



Tuesday, March 8, 2016

The natives are restless

I'm not sure if it is from lack of riding or because Spring decided to bust loose seemingly overnight this week but my horses have been slightly more...batshit?...than usual.
Also John's horses have been on a reign of general destruction and have done in two blankets and one hay feeder in the last month.
I went out to feed before work yesterday morning and found Frosty leaping around the field like an antelope. When I turned Chester out he started playing up as well, bouncing up and down in one place and squealing...whatever dude.
Accurate depiction of current horse behavior
When I got home from work and went to start evening feeding I saw this:
Dinosaur murder birds
Probably the  biggest flock of wild turkeys I have seen on the property to date! They then decided to fly up into the trees behind my horse pasture...the horses are big fans of this, except not really. It seemed to get dark faster than usual last night and was pitch black out by the time I finished feeding and chores...cue freaky fox/coyote sounds from the woods. At this point I was freaked out enough and went and hid in the house until John got home...only to be woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of more freaky coyotes/foxes that were right outside the bedroom window.



Horses have their check ups/vaccines today...hoping this all settles down a bit...but the Spring like weather can stick around :)




Thursday, March 3, 2016

Review: Stickyseat winter riding pants

Find them here

I hate winter and I hate being cold so needless to say I have owned my share of winter riding pants from various manufacturers. I have found them to be warm but not windproof (at all) and usually more slippery than jeans or regular riding pants (not the best when your horse is feeling good!).
Enter the Stickyseat windpro tights. The product description on their website fulfilled the 2 things I was looking for 1) windproof 2) better grip. I figured I would give them a try when I had a coupon code to buy them on Riding Warehouse.

Magic pants

Holy cow these pants are magical. When I look at photos from my (few and far between) winter rides this year I am wearing these in almost all of them. Even during the windiest field trial and trail rides I did not feel the wind at all and the gripper pattern is sticky without being TOO sticky or uncomfortable/restrictive like full seats. I also wore these during the epic January blizzard during which I spent an entire day in snow up to my thighs and my legs were not cold at all, a truly amazing feat! They also wash extremely well, dry almost instantly, and hold up to the rigors of barn chores. Added bonus? they are made in the USA!

February field trial (freezing/windy)

Trail riding in January


I would highly recommend these pants to anyone who: 1) doesn't like to freeze 2) has a horse that acts like a doofus in the winter and appreciates extra grip 3) wears riding pants for things other than riding and needs them to hold up. I love the stickyseats so much I am hoping to get a boot cut pair and some of their summer tights for warm weather...if the warm weather ever returns.


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The mothership has landed!

The mothership v. 2.0 
Last weekend John went to Indiana to pick up his new Wilson trailer. This trailer is replacing his former big horse trailer which was sold a few months ago. 
The mothership v. 1.0-now sold  
The old trailer was a Sundowner 5 horse head-to-head with a side ramp and it was a monstrosity to drive with the axles being set back as far as they were. The head-to-head format also did not allow much flexibility and it had a ramp (I hate ramps). We were both drawn to the Wilson because it allowed us to pick the exact options we wanted for our horses. Here are the options we picked:
  • Black sides
  • 2 rolling center gates-easy to adjust size of sections for hauling different sized horses or even cattle
  • Interior tie rail
  • 3 exterior tie rings on each side 
  • Regular stock doors-no more load ramp!!
  • Mirrored side ramp
  • Alcoa aluminum wheels
Interior showing 2 rolling cut/center gates
Wilson was great to work with and they have a huge variety of options, we are so happy with the trailer!