Author Archives: Karen M

Botori Riding Pants Review

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I don’t wear riding tights or leggings — I never have, even as a kid. It’s always been jeans or breeches. (French saddles pretty much got everyone out of jeans and into breeches.)

Maybe that’s still true since these are called “pants“?

My friend convinced me I needed these pants! P.S. How cute is her pony???

I picked up on the Botori equestrian brand via Instagram, like many people. I liked the styling of these pants but wasn’t sure I’d really need a winter-weight pair and that was what came out first. But then Botori released new designs for summer. I couldn’t get them out of my mind. A friend said she had ordered a pair and I told her to tell me if she liked them or not. The next time I saw her, she was wearing them and I KNEW I needed a pair.

These are the most comfortable pair of pants I own. I have a pair of Patagonia yoga pants that I love, and up until now had been my most comfortable pair of pants, but not any more. I wore these pants in the heat and humidity all day on Sunday and every time a slight breeze picked up, it felt like these pants were made of the icefil material of sun shirts.

They even have mesh cuffs at the bottom … genius

They are also extremely comfortable to ride in. I wondered how it would feel in the saddle, but I didn’t feel any less secure. The pants’ wide waistband kept them in place during my ride in them. It was easy to keep my smartphone on me during my ride in one of the mesh thigh pockets.

Barn kitty approved

Really, I am just so impressed with these pants! I could sleep in them, they are so soft and cool and comfortable. When I first opened the package with them (which shipped within an hour of me placing my order — how is that for customer service!) I held them up and was like … whoa … these are tiny.

Botoris double as excellent dog walking pants

Are these the right size? They were, and they have so much stretch in them. They fit beautifully once I pulled them on and I knew I had ordered and received the right size.

Work outside all day in complete comfort

I definitely need another pair. Maybe two more pairs … these will see a ton of use this summer!

Correctable Mistakes

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I did not jump Eli during the week, so he had a little extra sass for our Saturday lesson but no major fits of angst. Except one, but it was hilarious, honestly …

Near face plant from patentlybay on Vimeo.

The rest of the video of the lesson is not high quality (because technology is not always so smart). But, thanks to Alyssa for filming! I can still see pace and approach and leads and all that, so it’s worth it. The trickiest thing to get right was the 1-to-1 combo — Eli is not a fan of one strides, so for two in a row I really had to stay quiet and keep my shoulders up. We got a little better each time, but trying to do that elegantly is challenging.

Lesson 6/16 5 from patentlybay on Vimeo.

I poulticed all four legs after the lesson and gave him Sunday off — I wasn’t sure if I’d have the energy Sunday evening to ride and I figured Eli wouldn’t mind a day of rest.

Pretty much every frame of that almost face plant video is too funny …

Rides This Week

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Eli’s dinged LH didn’t seem to bother him and he showed no signs of being off, so he’s been doing flat work this week. After our less than calm flat classes, we need to work on trotting after cantering. In a not frantic way. So that’s what we’ve been working on, with a few poles thrown in here and there.

Eli’s stall chains went up, and I know he enjoyed day one because he could reach the next morning’s hay in the wheelbarrow parked by his stall. Day two, and the wheelbarrow was parked out of reach. I am still closing his stall door at night, at least for a few more days, so that if he does get into trouble with the stall chains, it’s during the day when people are around.

He has gone from a land shark to a sweetheart. I never would have thought stall chains would be an option for him, but he is so much more easy going around people now.

Last, I rode in the Botori riding pants on Thursday evening. Um. I might need more pairs. And I never thought I’d be saying that about riding tights. I am planning a full review for next week!

GHM Add Back Breeches Review

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I got a few pairs of the GHM Add Back breeches for my birthday back in May, and I am loving them for summer riding.

I love the wine color. Possibly because I love wine …

Style:
First, the styling of these breeches is in keeping with current trends in breeches design — things we’ve come to expect now such as smooth sock bottoms, a wide waist, and sticky silicone knee patches. An added detail about the Add Backs that really caught my eye is the suede piping at the slant pockets. It’s a nice, luxurious touch that makes these breeches a good candidate for showing as well as schooling. They have the ever-popular and flattering Euro seat style, but even better? The color options. Safari is the show-appropriate color, but I also have the graphite and wine and the colors are very rich, with a slight sheen giving a jewel-toned effect. The wide waist means I can pair them with my beloved Duftler spur belts.

You can see a peek of the suede detail and pocket embroidery here.

Fit:
The fit of the GHM Add Back breeches seems to run slim. For me, that’s a good thing. The waist is snug enough that I don’t have a problem with the breeches sinking lower and lower as I wear a pair throughout the day. Additionally, I have slim calves, and sometimes it’s a struggle to find breeches that aren’t baggy in the calf–these breeches are not baggy around my calf at all. These breeches also have a longer inseam that most of my other breeches, and almost cover my ankle bone. This all being said, the material is pretty stretchy. I measured the inseam on one of my pairs, and it runs 27″ long. For reference, I wear a 28 and the size chart runs pretty true-to-size — the size chart indicates the inseam is 26 1/2″ so that’s pretty close.

Safari color pictured.

Function:
A really popular feature right now on breeches is a silicone knee patch or seat. When riding, the silicone offers a more secure, grippy feeling in the saddle. These breeches have that extra grip for sure! That’s just one functional feature on these breeches out of many. The material is also very thin and lightweight without being see-through. It’s a great material for summer — I was able to wear a pair all day at a show in the heat (got up to like 102F at the show!) and the material kept me cool (relatively speaking), dry, and comfortable. You might think thin material would be flimsy or too stretchy and would lose it’s shape, but these breeches held their shape very well in such hot and humid conditions. They wash up well and like many other breeches, I line dry these. A dryer is not a good thing for athletic material or silicone.

2″ wide belt accommodated

I am so pleasantly surprised by just how much I love these breeches — finding a pair of breeches for under $100 that look great and actually perform well when I’ve thrown heat and horses and dust and water at them has been difficult, but these breeches live up to all of that and more, offering an affordable option without sacrificing athletic details that are must-haves on modern breeches.

You can find this style and others from the George H Morris Collection at Breeches.com. And during Breeches.com Father’s Day sale, use code FDS18 now through 6/17 for 15% off your order, or get 15% off your first order any time with code SAS15P.

Weenie Wednesday: Aussie Pet Mobile Grooming

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Conrad had an appointment last Wednesday with Aussie Pet Mobile North Austin for a bath and nail trim. I decided to try this, to see if it would be less stressful for Conrad than either me trying to trim his nails or taking him to Petsmart for a nail trim (both of which are also stressful for me).

He was a bit miffed but look at that cute little green bandanna!

We met his groomer outside in the driveway, and walked up to the mobile grooming van, which looked very clean and was air conditioned. Conrad was not enthusiastic about getting in the van, but he was all done with his appointment within thirty minutes. He came back to the house smelling so nice and with a little green bandanna on, which was completely adorable but he decided he did not want to wear it all day. His nails looked incredible, much better than they have in a long time. I booked another appointment for July. His groomer was so nice and she did such a great job, I am glad that I could book with her again.

Shiny coat, short nails, mildly disgruntled dachshund

For dogs that hate car travel or chaotic environments, this is an excellent option. It is, of course, more expensive than just having a nail trim at Petsmart or even an appointment with a brick-and-mortar groomer. Conrad weighs 17lbs and the cost was $80. But I get to pick the time, and Conrad is only inconvenienced for about a half hour. I also tipped the groomer on top of the fee because I appreciated the level of service that Conrad received. (I don’t know what dog groomers make when working for a franchise, but my guess is that tips are most welcome). I definitely prefer this to a brick-and-mortar groomer because typically I’d just have to leave Conrad there and pick him up later and he’d be stuck in a cage or kennel, possibly for hours. I have a hard enough time doing that for Conrad’s dental appointments.

Conrad’s nails still looking good after a week

Another great thing about Aussie is they don’t use kennels or cages, and they hand dry without heat. I told Conrad’s groomer that she could even skip the hand drying and just towel dry if Conrad seemed miffed at a hand-held dryer.

Yes. I know. My dog is spoiled.

Cold Therapy

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The variety of therapies available for horses with minor to catastrophic injuries can make anyone’s head spin: electronic, magnetic, pharmaceutical, procedural/surgical, vibrational, cold, hot, etc., etc., etc. … At least some cold therapy is pretty easy and accessible to most equestrians. Or rather, their horses.

Hydrotherapy from patentlybay on Vimeo.

Guess who dinged his left hind at some point on Sunday? Small nick, localized swelling … I can’t really tell if there’s much heat or not because everything in Texas is hot right now. I have cold-hosed and iced Eli’s left hind. Cold hosing is boring, but icing is easy enough — I just threw an ice boot on and took him out for a graze.

Depending on how the leg looks tonight, I will use Eli’s BoT polos behind and take him for a long walk under saddle. I haven’t checked whether he’s sound, but he does this often enough that my guess is that he is. And now that I’ve said that, watch him be three-legged lame this evening … After walking, I’ll trot him a bit both ways to see if I can feel anything off. If no, great. If yes, I’ll have to make some phone calls.

Weekend Project: Cleaning out the Storage

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The weekend kicked off with Italian food at a local chain, Mandola’s. I hadn’t realized it was a similar set up to La Madeleine, where you wait in line to order and get a number. The restaurant was very family-oriented, too. I can recommend the food, but not the atmosphere if you prefer a more adult-friendly environment. The gelato was worth the effort, though.

Eli standing there all pathetic while awesome forelock horse is like, where is my person?

I also had a good lesson on Saturday morning (dare I say I am finally getting the hang of the hunter ride?). And I rode another horse for a working student who is out of town. He has quite the personality under saddle, and I think he should totally donate some of his forelock to Eli.

This is after removal of a dozen or so boxes

But on to the focus of the weekend: cleaning out the storage unit. De-stuffing. I have more kitchen stuff than I know what to do with in storage, although a lot of it will replace some older kitchen stuff and that stuff will be given to another family member or Goodwill. I also have a ton of office stuff and horse stuff that I will have to go through. My plan with the horse stuff is to take it to the barn and let the trainers and boarders pick through it, sell whatever’s left over, and keep a few items tucked away at my house somewhere. I also might try to sell my old Bruno Delgrange saddle in AS-IS condition for next to nothing, as I doubt I will ever get around to replacing the seat and panels. The tree is sound, at least.

I know I have a ton of strap goods in storage, some saddle pads … petal bell boots, a few blankets … halters with nameplates I might keep, lead ropes, tack hooks, stretchy cross-ties … I also found some 1″ POW spurs that I can’t imagine I’d ever need for Eli. I won some Millbrook spur covers in an IG contest though! Had to call in reinforcements (I.e., Amanda) trying to figure out how to get them on …

In storage, I have an actual stereo with actual speakers, too, and I have no idea what to do with that, other than give it away. Do people even have stereo systems any more?