Thursday, January 30, 2020

Recent ZB-Related Purchases

Alternate title: "You Buy It Best When You Buy Nothing At All "

The best thing about ZB is literally everything.

But if I had to pick one thing that isn't 100% her most winning feature, it's that she doesn't fit in tack.

Her bridles are custom. You know why?

You literally can't buy that off the shelf. When I sent her measurements to Otto, they replied, "this horse does not exist".

Well ok no problem, right? Just get boots instead. Boots are so fun.
you see the gap?
Relevant problem: percheron x paint. Think thick, drafty cannons that are stock horse length. She can't wear taller than M fronts and L hinds in most brands and 0% of her boots actually close around her leg. (And yeah polos fit better but there is not time in my life for polos right now.)

So saddles then? Saddles are fun.
this saddle is too wide
Saddles are also expensive. And like. Hoop tree. And also. There are a lot of "draft" products out there, but most of them are some combination of heinous, made of horrid plastic leather, totally not optimized for anything athletic (the balance point is... where?), and just plain hard to find.

I basically call dibs on anything Roxie's mom sells and otherwise don't saddle shop.

But hey, there's always half pads!
Try again. My entire horse is a half pad. 
I typically think half pads are primarily fashion based anyways, but when your horse is a literal couch and now has 350 lbs of hair on top of couch status, like no. Do not pass go, do not spend $200, do not collect half pads.

That brings us to the obvious choice of saddle pads.
i miss fall and free time
Not pictured: any saddle pad
That sort of presupposes that I use a saddle, which I'm trying to be better about. Here's the rub: I have saddle pads. I sold a few I didn't like on her and bought a few in nicer colors, but like. There's a stack at the barn. I have an entire bin at home. Nice, clean, barely used pads.

I'm not opposed to buying an occasional high end saddle pad, but I have so many colors and models and since I can't use boots, don't have time for polos, and OH YEAH THE BONNET ISSUE.

You'll notice there aren't a lot of pictures of zb in bonnets.
this excluded. this is her winter hat.
There is literally one thing on this planet the little lady has voiced a strenuous objection to, and it is bonnets. THEY MAKE HER EARS ITCHY OK. She'll tolerate them in the fall before her winter coat comes in. They're OMFG MUM TOO HOT in summer and winter and shedding in them is unconscionable.

Plus given moose dimensions, she's an all-custom, all-the-time sort of lady so. 

In terms of fun things to purchase

That leaves 

(drumroll) 

6" bits

If you can find them. 

20 comments:

  1. This sounds like an excellent reason to buy breeches. and spur straps. and tall boots. *wink*

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    Replies
    1. tracy coming up with the real solutions.

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    2. I have been thinking I needed breeches. Interesting.

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  2. I feel your pain - my QH gelding needs a 6" bit and it was hell trying to find one that I could get shipped to Canada! I have an old western bridle I'm using how that fits, but I'd like to put him in an English bridle someday, but I've been stalling on measuring him, since I will no doubt end up with #s like ZB! ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I don't think I've ever found a 6" bit at a store. It's not a thing.

      At tack stores, I buy socks.

      SOB.

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  3. Carmen’s head doesn’t fit an ‘off the rack’ bridle either. I got a lovely one from Australia and it was a reasonable price.

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    Replies
    1. Australian horses must have truly interesting dimensions.

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    2. HA HA HA. You send your measurements and then they put the components together.

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    3. Care to share the web site for the Aussie magic bridle shop? Asking for a friend...lol

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    4. Pretty sure it's:

      https://ffequestrian.com.au/

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  4. I chuckled my way through this post. With her color she'd look good in ANYTHING, but it sounds like none of it will fit! What a frustrating, but thrifty dilemma. Great post!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah it certainly doesn't hurt the budget to be forced out of shopping, lol.

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  5. When I had the WB mare some of her issues were the same. Now with the pony mare it's the same thing again only everything is between cob/horse sizes. Harness was the same issue and this is why we have the term Frankenpony size!

    EBay is your friend. I just searched "snaffle bit 6"," and it gave me at least 5 pages of them. One is a loose ring snaffle listed at $5 with $7 or $8 shipping. Some of them I wouldn't use, but there are plenty out there. I found a few of mine (6" loose ring French link) on Tack Trader dot com and one of them was $12 + s/h and still came in under $20.

    If you're still searching for things, hit me up in email and let me know what you want. As for saddles- Duett saddles are made specifically for wide backs. They are also reasonably priced and can be found on EBay too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One time I ordered a 6" driving bit on ebay and the seller definitely measure the decorative cheeks, not the mouthpiece.

      #struggleisreal

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  6. These are all the same problems I have with Gwyn, LOL.

    I did find awesome open front boots from Premier Equine (UK but they shipped really fast!) in purple. I got the Large and then saw the size chart and had a minor panicked moment thinking I had ordered way wrong (they claimed L was for 16.3 and up). But L fit perfectly on miss giant cannons Gwyn.

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    Replies
    1. I was really hoping these wouldn't be reviewed well. Who doesn't need purple jump boots?

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  7. I mean... with your mad shopping skillz, you of all people will be able to find SOMETHING to fit Ms. ZB. Either that or just go "shopping" at Roxie's mom's house. That could work too.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah I kinda combine the two. There's plenty of custom stuff I can order but nothing kills the impulse shopping vibe like lead time.

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  8. Hello, this is why I just made a bridle lol. Magnus wears a weird mix of oversize and horse, and a 6" bit as well.

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    Replies
    1. ummmmmm and zb wants you to make her one too. JUST SAYING.

      Delete

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