Equine Affair 2011 (1)

I had such an amazing weekend! and it wasn't because I didn't do any school stuff or work either. Okay, so maybe that was part of it ;).

All day Saturday my boyfriend and I spent that day at Equine Affair! I haven't been in a few years and had a really great time! We woke up super early, and got there at 8 A.M. in order to get a Steppin' Out. He is gorgeous (and for sale!)

I also got some pictures of the other breyers at the table.

Jasmine

Hansel and Gretel

Pecos

Once Upon a Time

Wish On a Star
After Steppin' Out was safely in my car, the shopping began. For some reason I had the idea that at things like Equine Affair and Congress prices were always higher than normal. At least at Equine Affair, this is not the case.

My big buy of the day was a medium weight turnout blanket for $35!! Can you believe that? It actually looks pretty decent, too! I am so excited about it. I will definitely post pictures when I get the chance to try it on Sonny.

I also bought a new pitchfork ($10), a new bottle of MTG ($12), a really nice pair of blue sport medicine boots ($35!!), and a cute T-Shirt ($17) that fits Sonny and I to a T (no pun intended). Admission was $28 for the both of us and parking was $6. Not including Steppin' Out, I think I got a lot for the money I spent! YAY :).

After shopping was over I did get a chance to see some horses. Here are some of the random pictures I have:

The new breyer horse Black Tie Affair. This guy was so old and cute!

Padre, a really cool Mustang Stallion. You can read more about him here.

A really neat looking pinto in the Jumper clinic we watched.

Last but definitely not least was maybe one of my favorite horses of the show! This is Iona Farm's To Bee or Not To Bee. Isn't he just adorable? He had two blue eyes and the cutest personality. He is for sale and I wanted to take him home with me so badly :(.

KHP Parade of Breeds

Considering I am up to my eyeballs in homework, I have absolutely no time to even think about doing anything fun like tack-making or going to see Sonny. Since I don't have any cool new tack stuff to show you (yet), I figured I would find something at least semi-fun to entertain you with.

I have been very lucky when it comes to real horses. I have had great opportunities that I will never forget. One of them is being able to participate in the Kentucky Horse Park Parade of Breeds. If you are unfamiliar with the horse park, twice a day they hold an event exhibiting different breeds. The horse and rider dress up according to breed history and ride around the ring while the announcer teaches you about the breed. For example, a paint horse was dressed up like a native american. When I was invited to ride at the parade of breeds, it was only fitting that I dressed my Thoroughbred up as a race horse!

This is the first of four years that I rode at the KHP. Obviously, it was like eight or nine years ago! It is neat to look back and see how far you have come. Hopefully you guys like this...if you do I will upload the other videos from my horse park experiences. Or maybe other horse shows? Let me know what you would and wouldn't like to see! Enjoy!

It All Works Out In the End

Although things with school and work really stink right now, I just have to keep reminding myself that it all works out in the end.

To begin with, I got the leather lace situation figured out :). One less thing to worry about!

One of my current projects is almost finished, but in the meantime...

a photo a LaBelle from Regionals. Isn't she gorgeous? And silly ;).

Dilemma

I was really looking forward to getting a good chunk of a custom halter done yesterday. Of course, it didn't goes as planned.

I understand that not all leather is the same, especially from different orders. I have had great luck with one distributor until this batch. I could tell right away that it was different: if was much thicker, didn't like my Safety Beveler, and had fuzzies galore. Even with an absurd amount of sanding and gum tragacanth, I just can't get it to look right. I have tried all different sections of the leather piece, but they appear to all be the same.

The top piece is from a previous order. The bottom piece was form the recent order. I want to note that the leather is laying flat, so the curves you see are the actual leather, not due to it being bent or sticking up.

It kind of looks like my dog either cut it herself or chewed it. Either way, this is not going to be sellable which really puts me back. So now what do I do? Place another order, hope for the usual quality, wait for it to get here, and spend another $7 on shipping for under $2 worth of leather? Oh, joy ;).

Oh I Wish...

I were an Oscar Meyer weiner.

Not really. But, I do wish school wasn't so time consuming. It is only week one and I haven't had time to blink. Oh well. Two more years and I'll be done. Focus on the positive, right?

Along with that, I obviously haven't done any tack-making. I have SO much to do, too. Maybe I can squeeze some in this weekend? Hopefully I will be able to and have updated pictures.

Sorry for the absence. I am not going to let it happen again! If it does, my future may look a little something like this:

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Dad :).

New Goal

It has come to my attention that my new hobby has turned me into a horribly disorganized and messy person. I finally got the chance to clean things up :). Therefore ky new goal: stay clean and organized! Every time I sliver something I need to throw away the remains...or put back extra leather...or tools...or hardware. I need to get more drawers, but for now I'm content with the way things are. Let's hope I can keep it that way!

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Tack Day

Today I was able to get some tack-making done...FINALLY!!!

First and foremost:

My first foal halter! I have never heard of a slip halter before, but I was asked to make one to fit Gilen for a custom order. I really like how it turned out, especially for my first one.

Next up I finished this halter:

It looks so much better with shortened cheek pieces and the additional pink! Now I just have to make a matching leadrope and clean up the glue.

Last but not least is my big project! Remember this?

Well, it has turned into a giant experiment for me. First of all, ROLLED THROATLATCH! Thanks to a very good friend with some great directions, I think I have figured it out! I know it is too short for this halter, but since the whole thing has been a fluke from the beginning, I probably won't go back and fix it. This halter also allowed me to practice with some silver. It isn't done yet, but I am happy with what I have accomplished with it so far!

That is it for now. Hopefully I will have a few more things done by the end of the day.