Omeprazole for Everyone!

Omeprazole: I’ve taken it myself. Eli just finished up a course of it. And now Conrad gets some for a few days.

Yep, this little man, who was quite himself on Tuesday — had a good walk, ate his meals, snuggled in his blankets — was just not right on Wednesday. This not-rightness went on all day and I finally decided he need to go to the emergency vet as he was refusing any and all food and treats. He had some other symptoms, too, and generally looked like he had a bad tummy ache.

Fortunately, the ER vet called with his blood work around 9:30pm on Wednesday night and said everything looked good other than that he was very dehydrated. He got IV fluids and antibiotics (because he had signs of some GI inflammation) and small bites of food and drank well overnight. Conrad felt much better Thursday morning. I got to pick him up and he was sent home with the antibiotics and omeprazole. He was also vvveeerrrrrryyy tired. The ER vet experience was interesting but very organized and seemed to work well. While it was upsetting that I couldn’t go in with Conrad due to COVID-19 restrictions, the vet and office were very helpful and communicative and everything was done through phone calls and emails. I’d use this ER vet clinic again if I had to! For anyone in the Austin area, it’s the Central Texas Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital in Round Rock. There is also a south location. There is a third location in northwest Austin, but that location is temporarily closed.

Conrad fussed a bit until he got comfortable on his sofa in my “home office” …

I’m going to split up his meals into three a day instead of two as the vet recommended this. And he can keep having his boiled white meat chicken toppings, so he’ll be happy about that! He has been eating and drinking well since he has been at home, too, so dear dachshund gods, please do not let my dog forget to drink water anymore!

In Eli news, in addition to the Incrediwear Circulation Wraps, Eli gets to wear wet Incrediwear Hoof Socks after a ride. His front feet need AAAALLLLLLLL of the help they can get. Don’t worry, his farrier is wonderful and I stand ready with Sole Pack paddies at all times, but I figure a little cooling down, especially in the coronet band region, can’t hurt, either!

The hoof socks are really interesting — they are super stretchy so not difficult to get on. You just gotta be careful about snagging them on nails but I have avoided that so far. They can be worn basically all the time when dry. I don’t think Eli needs that kind of use, but I do love using them after a ride.

I hose off Eli, put these on, and hose them off. He stands in front of fans to dry, so after all of that his fetlocks and hooves are nice and cool. The hoof socks seems almost foolproof to use, so if therapeutic polo wraps aren’t your thing, these would be a good alternative.

Debating with myself whether I can get him to wear a pair on his hind legs with no drama …

Eli is a very lucky pony because he’s got some Incrediwear standing wraps to try now, too. I see some goofy rooster walking in his future. I am even tempted to try the standing bandages on his front legs in hopes of a little extra padding to keep his right hoof/shoe from rubbing his right elbow when he lays down. I think it is just TOO HOT here for any kind of overnight wrap, but maybe in a few weeks the weather oven will no longer be on broil.

And one last thing — a few have commented on Conrad’s fuzzy blankets and I wanted you to know they are inexpensive and easy to get and come in a variety of colors. Strangely enough if you search “game of thrones blanket” they come up.

These blankets are fleecy on the inside and furry on the outside. They wash well, they don’t pill up, and they don’t shed in the wash or on furniture. Conrad might have three… the Rose Dust color is tempting me …

Incrediwear Circulation Exercise Bandages Review

I still have not figured out why it feels like I have less time instead of more time while this working-from-home lifestyle continues. I have neglected blogland as a result.

The pony and the puppy still get a lot of my free time, though, and those are the priority components of my lifestyle, so I can’t say I am too bothered by not blogging. I try to keep up on Instagram, at least. Eli has had his Gastrogard and seems to love the Purina Outlast and he has been doing well under saddle. As you can see in the above picture, he is wearing some grey polo wraps that are the Incrediwear Circulation Exercise Bandages (the mouthful of a name comes from the Incrediwear Equine website ).

I wound up buying these partly because the big top-lid freezer at the barn ate it, so I brought my ice boots home. I was looking for alternatives to hauling ice boots in ice in an ice chest to the barn every day in case I felt like Eli needed icing that day. Although, the freezer in the barn refrigerator still works, so my ice boots may end up in there. But too late for my wallet, the search for icing alternatives was on, and I had seen these Incrediwear products a few times on Instagram and was curious about them.

The Incrediwear bandages can be used for exercise similarly to polo wraps, but then can also be hosed down after exercise for an icing effect (yes, it says this on the website, these are the actual instructions). Can I just tell you right now how unbelievably weird and difficult and cognitively dissonant it was to leave these things on and hose them down while rinsing off Eli after a ride? Wet polo wraps? My brain was breaking a little. However, it is important to remember two things: these wraps were designed specifically for this, and these wraps are not regular polo wraps. The material handles water differently than regular polo wrap material. So there is (I keep reminding myself) no danger of bowing a tendon, or causing some other injury like chafing or something, if these wraps are used as directed and applied properly. There is a TON of information on the Incrediwear Equine website, and if you are at all interested in these, I encourage you to read it and judge for yourself what you think and how you feel about the science behind them. (But don’t forget to recognize generally that science is true whether you believe in it or not.)

I have been using the Incrediwear wraps for about a month now, and have left them on to get wet for “icing” on Eli maybe 3 or 4 times. First, I’ll talk about using them during exercise, and then I will go over using them while wet for icing.

For exercise, color me impressed. These simply do not compare to other wraps I have tried, including regular polo wraps, Eskadron combo bandages, and Back on Track polo wraps (still love you, BoT). Be warned, however, that these things are hard to get used to at first as far as being able to wrap competently with them. The material is stretchy and I had a hard time with how snugly I should wrap them. I didn’t do it tight enough the first few times and one of those times the wraps almost slid off. So maybe pull them a little tighter than you are comfortable with? Or not? I don’t know how tight y’all wrap, sooo … anyway, I am pretty confident in my wrapping skills and these things took me a few times to really get them on in a way that felt right to me. I am STILL (after a month of use) occasionally wrapping, hating, and redoing the wrap while tacking up Eli. The fabric can bunch and fold on top of itself while wrapping around the fetlock so get comfortable redoing wraps until you figure these out. Like I said, I still redo them sometimes before I am satisfied they are on Eli’s legs safely. If you aren’t confident in your wrapping skills, these may not be for you or you may want to ask someone who can wrap well to help you.

It’s not a German muffin so he isn’t too excited

Okay, so once they are on, Eli-of-the-rooster-walk tolerates them well. I know this because he walks normally in them (I mean, thanks for the big clue, buddy), even when I have wrapped his hind legs. (Yes. I know. My horse spooks at wearing hind leg wraps sometimes. He has unique sensory processing abilities. Just let it go.) Once I figured out how snugly to wrap them, they do not shift around while we ride. Eli has been feeling good under saddle lately, so I don’t have much to add related to use during our ride.

But after the ride? First, I have observed that his legs don’t get very hot and sweaty under these wraps. He sweats some, of course, because it’s like 94 degrees here until 8 o’clock at night and too humid in the mornings for me to tolerate. The wraps seem to wick moisture to a certain extent. But more importantly I can directly observe that these seem to regulate surface temperature extremely well. Like I am shocked at how not-hot his legs feel after a ride when I pull these off. It makes me want another pair so I can just wrap all four legs. Caveat: Eli and I don’t work too hard when we work. It’s a light ride of about 20-25 minutes with maybe a canter pole or two and a cross rail or two but that’s where we’re at right now. I certainly would not hesitate to jump in these, though. And it really is in the 90s when I am able to ride. It’s interesting. The wraps themselves feel super warm on the outside after a ride, but Eli’s legs feel normal. Based on personal experience, this would not be a result after using BoT polos or regular polos. So that ion transfer thing does seem to do its job.

And then there’s leaving them on after a ride and hosing them down for that icing effect. I have done this 3 or 4 times and left them on for just about 15 minutes or so, although the claim is they can be left on for 45 minutes while wet. Does this actually ice the legs? Not exactly. These wraps reportedly do not cause vasoconstriction, the way true icing would and the benefit of that is that blood flow is not slowed. And we all know how important blood flow is in the horse’s lower extremities. The wraps do seem to draw heat away from the leg even more quickly when wet than when dry. I am wondering whether this could be a good substitute for icing in all cases? What about after harder or longer work? And again, upon removing the wraps, the wraps themselves feel very warm but Eli’s legs feel very cool. Not really cold like icing with actual ice, but completely cooled down and a bit beyond that. I have some skepticism, but the product does seem to work very much like the product information claims. And they make stuff for people that works the same way (and I am tempted by the elbow sleeve …). Eli’s hind legs look and feel great, though. Very tight after using the wraps, holding up that tightness day after day now with continued use. He does experience some fill/windpuffiness/minor stocking up in his hind legs if he ends up stuck in his stall for a day due to weather but by all appearances these Incrediwear wraps have helped him enough for me to keep using them. And buy the hoof socks (review forthcoming, only used them once so far), and want a second pair of the wraps.

The price seems exorbitant for polo wraps. But consider they have multiple uses. I purchased these via FarmVet and used a 10% off coupon code, which helped a little. However, FarmVet seems to be out of stock and is not taking back orders. These can, however, be ordered directly from the Incrediwear Equine website. I have noticed that these and the hoof socks seem to sell out quickly. I bought the hoof socks right when they had been restocked in early July and they are also sold out on FarmVet, but appear to be available on the Incrediwear website.

Once I have used the hoof socks more, I will review them, too. But tomorrow, look for a kind of ode to bell boots:

Oh, OF COURSE you take the right one out, Eli. Anyway. Final word on the Incrediwear circulation wraps? 10/10 would buy again.

Anique Signature Sunshirt Review

Okay, y’all. I have tried a variety of sunshirts: EIS, Ariat, Kastel, Tailored Sportsman … I LOVE the look of the Anique shirts, but honestly their price made me balk. I had seen them for around $120 in some tack shops, but I won’t even spend that on a show shirt so I hoped at some point the Anique shirts might go on sale somewhere.

Luckily, Riding Warehouse had just such a sale, and had the white and northern sky Anique colors on sale for around $75. I picked up a medium.

Once I got the shirt, the first thing I noticed was the excellent construction and attention to detail. From the pictures online, I was a little concerned the collar would not work for me, but it is actually tall enough to protect the back of my neck from the sun. Now would be a good time to mention — these shirts are made HERE in the USA. That could account for the retail price. I feel much better about buying a shirt that is made here than one that is made somewhere else, like China (*cough* Ariat *cough*). And not that this next thing is the most important factor, but I really like the zipper. It has a bit of weight to it, making it feel pretty durable.

The next thing I love about the Anique shirts? The sleeves are long enough for my long arms. The sleeves are longer than every other brand sunshirt that I have tried. My entire wrist is covered. No wrist sticking out between sleeve and glove to get sunburned when I’m riding.

But let’s go back to the details and construction.

The Anique shirts do not have the mesh sleeve panels like Kastel or EIS or Tailored Sportsman. However, there are panels of a tighter weave mesh-like material along the sleeves and sides. I don’t think UV anything could get through it. And while we are comparing to the other well-known brands, the Anique material is 100% nylon but it is thicker and seems to hold its shape better than the other nylon/icefil shirts. Thicker is not always better in Texas, though–more on that in a sec. It is, however, by far the softest sunshirt I have ever worn.

At this point, I was convinced that I liked this shirt a lot, and then Riding Warehouse had a sale on top of a sale, and had two larges left in the Northern Sky color for around $56. So OBVIOUSLY I bought a large. This is the one pictured here. Don’t worry, the sleeves on the medium are just as long. I like to wear the medium with breeches and a belt because it tucks in well, and I like the large for wearing with my Botori riding pants untucked. I also REALLY put the Anique shirt to the cool comfort all day test and wore it while paddocking at a local show (the first of the year finally!) ALL DAY. In HEAT. Real heat. 95F and humid heat by the end of the day. The fact that the material is thicker than other sunshirts did not seem to make me any hotter than I would have been otherwise. I didn’t even feel real sweaty or anything.

After that experience, I am ALL IN on Anique sunshirts. The quality, the tailoring, the actual usefulness in heat … this is a four-season shirt in Texas, as far as I am concerned. While Riding Warehouse is sold out, you can find these shirts directly through the Anique website or if you are feeling super generous and want to kick a little affiliate money my way, you can get Anique shirts, currently from $80-$99 on Amazon. (That Peacock Blue is $80 and I am sorely tempted. Oh, AND these are eligible for an Amazon Smile donation.). Anique is the third-party seller, and Amazon does the fulfillment, so it’s not some random foreign third-party seller selling knock-offs. And if the shirt doesn’t work for you, Amazon’s return process is easy.

THE PEPPERMINT, THOUGH. I need it. I might just have to suck it up and pay the $99. And honestly, these shirts do seem to be well-worth it!

Another Great $20 Shirt

You may have noticed that I really like mesh. I like a motif on this blog and on my instagram. I also like long sleeve shirts that protect me from the sun but are made of stretchy, athletic material that encourages evaporation. So this means I like the Tailored Sportsman sunshirts, Asmar shirts, and some of Kastel’s shirts (although not so much lately). But what do these shirts all have in common? At $65, the Tailored Sportsman shirts are the least expensive out of those. My plastic says “ouch.” I could use a less expensive alternative, couldn’t you?

Enter Amazon late-night shopping on my phone. Talk about a habit I need to break … but every once in a while something good comes of it. And hey, right now? Amazon is open for business. At least today, ha. While browsing through athletic tops for women that don’t break the bank, are made well, and fit normally, Amazon suggested an Aurique shirt (an Amazon brand) with a fishnet-type mesh at the upper chest and forearms. And it has thumb holes! And the arms are long enough for me to actually use the thumb holes!

The top is surprisingly well-made for the price I paid — it was one of those “Today’s Deals” deals and I paid around $14, but they seem to go for about $22 when not on sale. The lower hem is sturdy and looks good not tucked in, but isn’t too thick to tuck in, either. So I can wear this top with breeches or Botoris. The fabric is an athletic mid-weight — probably best for spring and fall in Texas. I think it might be too heavy for summers here, but might be okay for summers up north.

It comes in black … and no other colors. I’d love it if it came in other colors, like a fir green or a pale pink. Maybe dove grey and deep indigo, too? K, thanks, Amazon.

Mesh Obsession on a Budget

Show shirts have come a long way in a few decades. Even day-to-day riding tops have stepped up, too. And one of the features of some of these shirts is mesh. Anyone wearing a “sunshirt” is wearing mesh, even if only the underside of the sleeves. And then high-end equestrian brands (looking at Cavalleria Toscana and Designs by Dalia especially) have taken mesh to whole new sheer heights. Their shirts are gorgeous and even some are almost awkwardly over-the-top, which is my favorite kind of shirt. But … I ain’t got $200 to spend on one shirt.

I found a $10-$15 option, though. I rode in the black one last night. The top is actually super lightweight and kind of a sporty material. I kind of wish I had a few of these earlier in the summer. And if the mesh snags on something it’s not like I just ruined a $200 shirt. As far as the sizing goes, the shirt is very stretchy. I’m like a 6-ish right now and I ordered a medium. And the mesh means a little extra vitamin D for me before the time change turns all rides into night rides.

SaddleBox Subscription Review

I have always balked at subscription boxes of any kind — canine, equestrian, make-up, jewelry, clothing … you name it, there’s a subscription box for it that I don’t actually want, mainly because of reasons such as I have sensitive skin so don’t like trying new things on my skin, or because my dog has a sensitive stomach and can only have extremely low fat treats. So when given the opportunity to review SaddleBox, a subscription box for equestrians, I thought it was maybe a message from the universe to keep an open mind. And Eli will eat almost any treat ever … (just not the barn grain right now). The SaddleBox website actually has a lot of information on it, including what all goes into their subscription boxes and how the company has relationships with equine charities, so that every subscription benefits a rescue horse.

So when I got the box, first I was surprised by how heavy it was. And then I opened it … and here is an awkward unboxing video with no narration because I hate the sound of my voice recorded:

Unboxing from patentlybay on Vimeo.

Um. The video just keeps going … that was a ton of stuff in one box! Plus how perfect is that sticker at the end. I thought the picture and description of a rescue horse was a very nice touch that makes it seem more personal to me.

Honestly, I noticed something about this box that kind of differentiates it from subscription boxes filled with sample size make-up, dog treats from China made of mystery meat, or accessories that fall apart. This box had stuff that I actually use! From well-known brands! AND A BOOK.

I genuinely like the treat selection. They are peppermint flavored and have no sugar added, so they would be a good treat for many horses. I am always interested to try new grooming tools, too, so getting a shedding blade (hi, winter, do you plan to come to Texas at all, though?), a hoof pick, a grooming mitt, and a face brush all in one box makes me pretty happy. But it doesn’t stop there — vet wrap and saddle soap were also in the box. And the saddle soap is Fiebing’s, a brand I am very familiar with and have used for years. The grooming mitt from Epona was the one thing I wasn’t too sure about Eli would take it. But more on that later.

I brought the box to the barn to show to Eli. He immediately found the treats. And loves the treats! Not that there was really a question. He also LOVES the face brush. Even more than his super fancy Leistner face brush! Of course he does. I haven’t dove into the book yet, but it looks like it has a lot of good tips for making this wacky horsey lifestyle more manageable.

And y’all. This box is not that expensive, especially for the amount of stuff you get in it. Plus there is a discount code on the SaddleBox website right now, too. Even better? SaddleBox offers gift subscription plans for any budget. And since it’s basically October it’s time to start holiday shopping. If I got a SaddleBox subscription as a holiday present, I’d be pretty stoked. But think about it … think about kid you, just starting to ride, maybe talking your parents in to half-leasing a pony … how cool would it be to get boxes like this in the mail? With stuff you need! Stuff you can use at the barn on a regular basis. 12-year-old me would have loved this as much as now-year-old me does.

Back to the Epona grooming mitt. Once Eli got over his initial WHAT-BLUE-THING-IS-EATING-YOUR-HAND-MOTHER phase, I think he likes it?

He’s not a fan of scratchy things, so a soft rubber curry is about as abrasive as I can get with him.

The grooming mitt is a bit scratchy in texture, but also really flexible and more like scratchy sweater material, not like steel wool soap sponges or anything that bad. The elastic wrist also keep dust from getting up in the mitt, which is nice. I think this will come in pretty handy this winter when it’s too cold to bathe.

DeNiro Salento Field Boot Review

It’s no secret that I love DeNiro boots. I wasn’t even boot shopping, I swear, but I stumbled upon a vendor on eBay that had a number of new-in-box stock DeNiros for WAY under retail. I paid $300 for these, and they go for around $850. How do I pass that up? These are *mostly* my size …. taller than usual, and a wider calf than I normally take, but in the process of breaking them in I haven’t had one blister. The leather is supple without the near-sock-like feel of Parlantis. I have no concerns about whether I’ll wear holes in the calves of these boots after one season–that ain’t happening.

Yes, they do hit in the middle of my knee cap. Ask me if that bothers me: it doesn’t. They have actually dropped enough already that I can zip them up all the way and snap the closure tabs. Since the calf is a regular calf instead of a slim calf, I may be wearing these a lot this winter because there will be room to layer a bit under them.

There is also an elastic gusset the whole length of the boot so there is some wiggle room on calf sizing if you may be thinking of ordering. I have loved every pair of DeNiros that I have owned, and these are no exception! I will definitely be riding in these a lot, and maybe by next year showing in them a bit? We’ll see how Eli is doing, of course. He’s the one determining our show schedule or lack of one. He is doing well for now, at least, and that’s the most important thing to me.

Weenie Wednesday: Voyager Dog Harness Review

I know a lot of times on Weenie Wednesday, you see Conrad in a Ruffwear harness. It’s a great harness! But it’s also a $40 dog harness, so not the most economical option. I had been looking around for a good blue harness for Conrad and ran across the Voyager Dog Harness on Amazon. At first I failed to measure Conrad’s girth, thinking it was 17″ and I ordered a medium in this gorgeous blue color. It was too small! I actually measured Conrad and his girth is now 20″. Chonk. I exchanged it for a large, which is super easy to do on Amazon and I got the large basically the next day.

As you can see, the large fits. It’s really a great harness for the price. It’s a step-in harness, which might be a more appropriate choice for nervous dogs that don’t like thinks going over their heads the way the Ruffwear ones do. A step-in harness is easy for everyone involved. It has a velcro closure but on top of that, it has a snap closure with two loops, one on each side of the snap, to hook the leash up to.

So it is a very secure step-in harness. It seems pretty soft, too, and it doesn’t impair Conrad’s movement in any way. For $12.99, this Voyager harness is a great value, and comes in a ton of other colors! I really like the gray or the black with orange binding for Conrad.

You can see the harness has reflective strips, too, for visibility at night. I don’t walk Conrad at night, so no problem there, but it’s a nice feature for those who do walk their furry creatures at night.

AND I just discovered Voyager makes a plush step-in harness. There is a black corduroy one that Conrad obviously needs!

Odds & Ends I Could Live Without … But Why Would I?

If you live under a rock, you may not realize Amazon’s Prime Day is happening across two days and this is day one. I am not sure how many deals are going to appeal me, but I guess I’m going to find out while window shopping online. In the meantime, I have found a handful of things via Amazon that I didn’t realize I needed until I had them and now I’m like, whoa. Glad I bought that. Maybe some will be Prime Day deals?

Who needs easy-care, comfortable work pants? Since my breeches are not work pants (well, okay, maybe sometimes they are) I have been digging through the internet for affordable, work-appropriate pants with a tailored look and reasonable price tag. I searched “betabrand” on Amazon. Amazon showed me Rekucci instead. (I am not going to pay $80 for work pants that fit like yoga pants, betabrand.)

Rekucci offers a lot of styles of pants that are all pull-on type pants that sort of feel like yoga pants but look much, much more tailored. My favorites have been the boot cut pants. They work for work. Pay attention to the size chart, for sure! And the length. In the regular length pants, I have to wear heels or the pants drag on the ground. (I’m 5’6″.) The short ones are good for me for wearing flats or kitten heel shoes. And they actually look like work pants.

This is the Indigo color. And I cannot live without Worishofers.

If you are super curvy, I am not sure how these would work — they are pull on and while they do have some stretch, they are not super stretchy in the waist. I can get them over my hips easily, but I am not sure how they would work on someone with wider hips and a trimmer waist. I also wash them inside out in cold water and hang to dry. Some reviewers have noticed fabric wear after only a few washes, but I have not run into that problem yet.

Since the Amazon oracle (or search bar, whatever) showed me reasonably-priced work pants, I wondered what it would show me for boot trees. That are not actually boot trees. And also not inflatable boot trees. Would such a thing even exist? I have mentioned them once before, and yes they do indeed exist: boot shapers.

They are basically flat plastic inserts that conform to your boots’ shape. I liked the first set I bought so much that I bought more for all my tall riding boots. I am kind of thinking I should get some for my wear-to-work boots, too.

If you have not figured out by now that I am susceptible to online advertising, you must be a new reader. Scrolling through Instagram can be dangerous when it’s not actually kind of boring. I see all kinds of ads, one of which was for amazing hair towels that speed drying and minimize frizz! How can this beeeee! Okay, well, let me just see what Amazon has … and yep, they have the advertised towels. You don’t have to get them via Amazon, but I have found the Amazon price to be slightly lower than other vendors. The product is Aquis towels, and they do indeed speed drying and minimize frizz. Do I end up with completely dry hair and zero frizz? No, don’t be daft. My hair is fried from years of dyeing it. But I am in the midst of a hair renaissance and have stopped dyeing it. The 4-5 inches of growth that has not been traditionally dyed is actually pretty healthy looking, thanks to Olaplex, oVertone, and these towels.

The dyed hair is a lost cause, but the Aquis towels do seem to keep my frizz from getting out of control. They have towels for fine hair, towels for curly hair, towels for long hair, turbans … They are also WAY easier on my neck than big heavy bath towels. 10/10 recommend. (Also got hooked by Sand & Sky from Instagram ads …)

Don’t think my animals don’t benefit from my window shopping. First, Conrad: he is REALLY sensitive to fat content. For a while there, he was doing okay with treats under 10% crude fat and I was giving him the single ingredient duck liver treats, which he loved. And they are like 9% fat. His digestive system eventually rebelled, so I sought out lower-fat options. I found single ingredient chicken breast treats from the same brand.

They are freeze-dried, made in the USA, and are 3% crude fat. And luckily, Conrad loves these, too. I am now sticking with treats for him that are under 5% crude fat. You know what other treat — that Conrad loves — has just 5% crude fat and is made in the USA? Milkbones. Classic! He gets one after each of his meals to chomp on.

So Eli is no stranger to me stuffing his face with all kinds of treats. But I needed something that wouldn’t crumble in my pocket or get all sticky or melty when it’s hot because it is really hot here right now. Like … so, so hot. I found these Ginger Ridge Meadow Mints, and the brand also offers a Vanilla Flax flavor if you are looking to add a little more flax to your horse’s diet.

These stay in tact in my breeches’ pocket, they aren’t gooey, and they aren’t in a plastic wrapper. Eli may not go nuts over them quite like he does for Stud Muffins or German Horse Muffins or Gala apples, but he likes these and these keep his mouth occupied while I am doing up his girth.

He also might get one to chomp on during a ride as a reward for not killing me. What? Our bar is low right now.

I discovered a few other interesting things offered via Amazon that deserve a mention. The first is a newer version of the Polaroid Cube. I have a Polaroid Cube+ and it has been a handy little camera for filming rides. I ran across a Polaroid Cube Act II for an interesting price — much less than what I paid for the Cube+. Does anyone have experience with this one? Do I need it?

I was surprised to find that you can get a 23andMe DNA test kit through Amazon, too. Honestly, I was looking for a doggy DNA test kit and saw that 23andMe could be purchased via Amazon. This is something I have experience with — and the genetic reports keep coming. When you test with 23andMe, you get initial results, but the company keeps your DNA and keeps studying it. On one hand … creepy. But on the other, it’s a wealth of health knowledge. No, you can’t be diagnosed with anything through your DNA, but the company notes what genetic predispositions you might have. That information you can use over a lifetime. If you don’t mind strangers mapping your DNA. If you can’t get past the potential privacy issues, this probably isn’t for you. Because 23andMe will know if you are more or less likely to have wet or dry ear wax. Nope, I am serious. The latest Trait report I got was about Ice Cream Flavor Preference …

Ultimately, I think the best deals are going to be on Amazon devices. I am not in the market for any today, but that Ring doorbell/home security stuff is super tempting!

Summer-Ready Tack

We left the arena. There was much rejoicing.

It’s about time to get back to truly horsey things up in here. Eli may not be in full work, but I wanted to get him an open front boot with more ventilation compared to his Veredus, which have none. I also wanted to pick up another nylon girth for him, as his oldest one is getting a bit too stretched out in the elastic area. I was able to find both at breeches.com which I had a 30% code for, so I got a really good deal on both the boots and the girth.

Starting with the boots … did you know breeches.com carries Majyk Equipe boots? That was certainly a nice surprise. And they have the Boyd Martin show jumping series, which have both ventilation and a non-neoprene lining. Plus they have my favorite hook/stud closures for easy on and off.

They are on sale for $60 right now, and I got the 30% off on top of that! I don’t know if anywhere else can beat that price. Of course, at the time of this writing, they only had 1 pair left in full … and 3 pairs left of the matching hind boots.

Breeches.com also has a good selection of girths. They have my favorite, the Lettia Clik Coolmax nylon/fleece girth. I wasn’t ready to commit to that price again when Eli has one already that is in good shape, but breeches.com also have a Henri de Rivel Equicool fleece girth that met my expectations in price and features.

I ordered the 52. Eli typically wears a 50 or 52 in the Lettia girths, so knowing he’s a bit fat (for once in his life) I thought a 52 would be the way to go.

I actually probably could have got a 54 — the Henri de Rivel Equicool girth seems to run a bit small, so I would recommend sizing up. But of course, a lot depends on the billets of your saddle, too. I would say this 52 fits like a Lettia 50. I also LOVE the dark navy elastic.

And right now you can get 20% off Henri de Rivel products at breeches.com with the code HENRIDERIVEL20S or even 20% off the entire site with SASBR20! I wonder if the 20% off Equine Couture coupon code means I should buy the Beatta breeches in berry?

I got myself ready for summer, too, of course. I started wearing my Trauma Void helmet again because it’s lightweight and fairly well ventilated, plus the Equivisor.

The black actually cuts down on glare quite a bit. And I need all the help I can get with that!