A Few of My Favorite Things

Now that I'm finally out of school, working full time, and the wedding is a year behind me, I've started upgrading some of my riding things that have worn out or purchasing the things I've always wanted to have. So here's a post of some new, some old- but all of my favorite things.

Clockwise starting from the top left.

1. CWD Saddle and saddle cleaning kit: I loved my Antares saddle, but the flap had been bunching up under my leg while riding and I was having trouble clearing the pommel. While these weren't deal breakers, they had started bothering me more and more while I was riding. I had the CWD rep come out and found a saddle that fit me really well and this saddle cleaning kit was the promotion during the month I purchased the saddle. I wasn't unhappy with the leather conditioner and soap that I've always used, but the saddle care kit came in matching CWD case which easily keeps everything together and their products smell great. There wasn't anything wrong with the tupperware I used to keep my saddle cleaning things in, this makes me feel all *fancy* and happy inside, not to mention it matches the CWD saddle cover (It's the little things in life...) It came with saddle soap, conditioner, a tack sponge, and a cool fuzzy mitt to apply the conditioner with. I love, love, love the zippered pouch and cleaning kit that came with my saddle.

2. The next thing I upgraded were my grooming brushes. After a full summer of using them I can say that I won't be going back to synthetic brushes. Natural fiber brushes really do require fewer sweeps to remove dust and dirt and I feel like they bring up more of the coats natural oils. I've also been cleaning them every week or so because they remove more of the dirt from the coat instead of just pushing it around. I do notice a difference between the freshly cleaned brushes and when they're in need of a bath. Overall these seem to remove more dirt than the synthetic brushes I have used in the past.

Clockwise from top left: Haas Kopfburste Face Brush  (soft enough for the face, firm enough to remove caked on face dirt), metal curry for removing dirt from the brushes as I go (100% necessary with these brushes), Haas Schimmel Brush (a stiff body brush, 1st step after currying), Hass Lippizaner Brush (a medium body brush used after the schimmel to remove finer particles of dust/dirt), the Ultimate Hoof Pick Junior (so easy to remove packed in dirt!!), and Sleek EZ 5" shedding blade (great for removing loose hair).

You can find a more in depth review of these brushes here.

3. Ogilvy half pad. While this isn't new this year I really enjoy using it whenever I ride. Do I really know if it actually makes a difference in the way a horse goes versus a normal fitted pad, no, but I feel better knowing theres impact absorption and a squishy cloud between me and Panda. I've also been thinking about buying a memory foam fitted pad for when we show, but I'm nervous the pad will pill and look dingy after a couple of uses like most fitted fleece pads do. I wanted to purchase the hunter memory foam half pad and just using it in conjunction with a normal fitted fleece pad, that way I can just replace the fleece pad when it starts to look less than show worthy. Alas, when I went to look I could't find the hunter half pad option anymore. Maybe I'll reach out to Ogilvy and see if they're still in production or if I'm out of luck.

4. I love the Jeffers open front tendon and ankle boots for schooling. At $29.99 and $21.99 respectively, I'm really happy with these boots. They're easy and quick to put on and take off and you can even throw them in the washing machine. They've held up great all summer and I get compliments on them all the time, people are always shocked that they're not a more expensive boot. I've never had any problem with the stitching, over stretching, or movement when riding. Love these boots!