Uisce Saddlery: Custom Bridle Work Review

This past summer, I got an itch to have a cool, colored-padded, contour-fitted, super-magic-amazing dressage bridle for Courage. The obvious choice for that in the dressage world is of course, Otto Schumacher.

pictured: not otto

You know--big, patent, fancy, custom shit. Oh, and it's like $700/bridle and you have to go through their rep system because heaven forbid a mere plebeian learn how to click the order button. It's like going to Oregon and not being allowed to pump your own gas, except in this case, I'm in BFE and there's no rep to help me even if I did want to talk to someone. Which I don't. Eff off, Otto.

Construction and Service

I asked around and got pointed to a small Irish shop called Uisce Saddlery, based in Ireland. I am the worst at custom anything because I hate options, so I looked through the gallery until something leaped off the page at me and then emailed to ask how much it would be and if there was shipping to the US and just sort of get a feel for the process.

I got a prompt, polite reply in fluent english (hey, you never know) by the saddler herself (holla Elaine!) with specific answers to my questions. She was also conversant in standard sizing, inches, and US dollars, which I find very useful because my interest in understanding foreign currency is around zero. I will google the exchange rate. That is all.

I don't order full custom much, so this was kind of an experience. Elaine doesn't just glue some trim on an existing caveson--she makes each piece from scratch.

The gallery and her happy customs told me she could do more fancy custom stitching and etc, but I liked what I saw and I had an itchy trigger finger. I had a paypal invoice in my inbox within an hour or two of initiating the conversation and when I paid, there was a note indicating about a 10 day wait depending on what was ahead of me in line.

threw it on a bridle i had sitting around :-) 

Best part? Ten days later I thought I might send her an email just to check my order status since I hadn't used her company before, but when I got home to do that, there was a package from Ireland sitting on my porch. Oh, AND when I emailed to say thanks, she apologized for not sending tracking. Geez. Polite much?

Fit

I told her Courage was a pretty standard cob size, she sent me her standard measurements, and because I'm a dork who has C's measurements memorized (but not my own, go figure), I knew it would work. I also needed it made sans flash because SOMEONE hates them.

dress up=always a good idea

The measurements were accurate the the piece fits true to size. If I had it to do over, I might have her bump the caveson hangers back a quarter inch each side just because I'm picky, but it looks fantastic and gets tons of compliments. I LOVE the cutback around the bit. Courage has a small face that does well with a big caveson, but there isn't room for that + a bit, so this is an ideal solution.

Durability

This is a funny topic with strap goods. I love my some French leather, but I really don't think the Antares/CWD/Devoucoux/insert French here strap goods are worth it for the asking price (but by all means, hit the used market). They don't hold up the bestiest and they just aren't as substantially nicer than everything on the market the way the French saddles are.

we don't understand

Then there's things like Stubben strap goods, which everyone is like "oh they last forever", but like... it's shit the whole time so does it really matter? Wouldn't you rather it just died and went away? I would. I hate shitty strap goods. They're the worst.

experimenting with bonnets

Anyways. Uisce is neither French nor German, so I guess the last two paragraphs weren't super relevant. The point is, it's nice English leather. It takes a little breaking in, can handle daily wear, and still looks good. Yeah, it's not French but it will outlast the mustachioed bastards oh and let's talk about price...

Value

Remember when I inquired by email originally with some specific questions? See the thing with the world of custom shit is that you can get anything you want; you just have to be willing to pay for it. A lot. And while I spend an obscene amount of money on Courage, I'm just not the sort of person who drops $$$ without thinking about it and planning for it and all that. I'm blue collar. What can I say?

So yeah. Custom colored, custom stitched, custom made piece of leather shipped to the US. What do you think she quoted me?

oh yeah and that other blue bridle also

$65.

Not a joke.

I... really don't know how you could say no to that.

(Note: price current as of fall 2016, so be advised that currency fluctuates and I'm not a rep and if you're reading this post years later, you need to get your own number).

Likes

Oh, everything. Love the color. Love the cut. Love the design. Love the non-crank. Love the custom options. Love the service. Love it all.

yup

Dislikes

Ummmmmm well it's exactly what I wanted, which is exactly what it was advertised to be and I had an exceptional customer service experience. I'd be hard pressed to find anything to really dislike about it.

mmm sexy

Conclusion 

If you need fun colors, custom sizing, bold accents, and affordable pricing, I really don't know how you could do better. The look maybe isn't for everyone, but I'll definitely be ordering from Uisce Saddlery again. 10/10 positive experience would recommend.

PS If you want one of these in purple (I DO!!) and have a stupidly tiny horse (alas. sob.), Teresa has one for sale. Contact her for details.

DQ Wish List Extravaganza

For several very-convincing reasons, I'm on (another) indefinite horse-spending freeze. It's fine--I really have all I "need" for Courage and let's face it--dressage only really requires a pretty minimal amount of equipment. I have all that and more plus a rubbermaid bin of polos.

But of course, the moment the shopping is off limits, I started creating a giant list of things Courage absolutely CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT, as one does. I'll just put two three things here so I don't look like the obsessive weirdo I might actually be.

1) Full set of Dressage Sport boots in pink with black fleece. 

No, I'm not a pink person. Yes, I ride a gelding. And if you're wondering, pink usually looks sickening on him and every pink thing I've ever bought for him has ended up with Lindsey because she both likes pink and has horses that look good in it.

just... not his look

So obviously, these are necessary.

2) PS of Sweden pale pink summer collection monogram pad

No, it doesn't match the boots AT ALL. I just want it, ok? I don't know why. Again, not a pink person and pink is not a great color for C. I. Just. Want. It.

Apparently I'm on a pink kick that no one notified me about. Sue me.

3) Ovation Elena Shaped browband.

Do I need a browband? No. Is Amelia working on readjusting some of my old strands so I can use them on C LITERALLY AS WE SPEAK? Yes.

modeling talents provided by useful friend

On the other hand, I've seen this in person and loved it (even made a useful friend try it on) and REALLY wanted it, but I couldn't justify the shockingly affordable price because it was a size too big for someone's teeny head COURAGE.

he's super concerned

Sigh. I'd better stop there or I really will look crazy. Am I missing something truly fabulous?

Merry Christmas!!!

From us here at SprinklerBandits!!

PS Many thanks to Redheadlins for braving the cold and driving snow to do outfit consulting and picture taking!

Full Tack Ho: Lorenzini Stirrup Review

so shiny

I think it's time. I've had my Lorenzini iridescent stirrup irons for several months now. I paid way more for them then I ever thought I would for trendy foot platforms and I had never set eyes on a pair in real life. So. How do they measure up? Let's see!

Lorenzini Titanium Stirrups - Limited Edition Irridescent in Blue Sky

Retail price: $278+shipping
What I paid: $208+$12 duty bill

Before we talk about why I need $220 stirrups, let's acknowledge that regular non-flex fillis irons completely cripple me for days at a time, particularly in jump tack. Even in a flex iron, my knees give out after a fairly short span of time when I ride with short stirrups and my leg is mildly destabilized by their mobility. I have the world's most inflexible ankles, so I can't even imagine what flex does to bendy people. I don't have a history of knee problems, and I'm not interested in creating one.

love this shot

That said. I bought these without ever trying them back in the spring because they were beautiful and I wanted them, and those are very compelling reasons in my world. The lorenzinis have no flex, but the tread is set on at an angle to accommodate the heels down position we strive for in jump tack.

Because my stirrup needs are so specific, I don't know what drew me to these particular irons. I really love their unique design that sets them apart without being distracting. The color is equally awesome--it's shiny and fabulous and different in different lights, but it doesn't scream "NOTICE ME" the same that that say, red, would.

From the first time I touched these, I was absolutely in love with the engineering behind them. The angled footbed actually works better for me than a jointed stirrup. The wide tread keeps the joints happy. The color is perfect. The grip is wonderful. Every detail has been thought of and adapted for maximum aesthetic and athletic payoff.

I bought them because they're beautiful, but now that I have them, I want another pair for their function. They are really that good.

Whether it's popping over tiny jumps or hacking or flatting or a hard training day, I find that my leg is more stable and my joints are more comfortable. To me, that makes these irons worth every cent.

In conclusion, I adore these stirrups. I would only sometimes advise dropping this much money on novelty items, but if you are struggling with swinging legs in flex stirrups or aching joints, you really ought to give them a look.

Or not. I love being unique.

Never Apologize: Phone Photography for the Horse Blogger

took this. on my phone. 

I'm kind of known for going on and on about how it's ok to be an amateur and we shouldn't expect to be professional riders when we just plain aren't.

But that doesn't just apply to riding.

I always think it's kind of funny when people post pictures of their horses and then say "It's just a crappy phone photo".

Hello.

best ears. yes edited.

1) It's 2015. My crappy phone photos are FREAKING AMAZING compared to what a picture from a "real" camera would have been even ten years ago.

2) No one (not even me or Wendy) has a professional photographer follow them around and shoot their every move. Most of our pictures (well, mine) are going to be screen shots from a video or ears pics on my phone or headshots of my horse standing still.

3) You can actually take pretty damn good phone pictures if you put a little work into it.

I mean. I'm not an expert. Or an artist. Or a photographer. I'm not educated about photography and the truth is, aside from Lauren's fantastic series on taking horse pictures, I'm not likely to ever take a class.

But in 2015, the technology is available, accessible, and cheap.

thank you burst mode

90% of the photos on my blog are shot on my phone (iphone 5s). 85% of them are then run through a photo editor (also on my phone) in a sequence that takes under a minute. Here are some (REALLY REALLY) basic guidelines:

1) timing is your friend. You know that awkward moment in the trot where it looks like the horse only has two legs? No one wants to see that. Most phones have a "burst mode" option. On my phone, you literally hold down the camera button and get like 47 photos. Choose the one that doesn't suck. Delete the rest. Magic.

from this

OR. (this is best if someone is taking pictures of you and their timing maybe isn't fantastic or the lighting is less than ideal.) Have them take a video. Pause. Screenshot. Voila! Exactly the moment you wanted.

2) Cropping is your friend. You know how to make a shitty off center picture into reasonably decent blog fodder? CROP THAT BITCH.

to this

Seriously. You don't even need an app for that. Center the horse (more or less) in the frame. Zoom in as much as possible without pixelating the image.

BAM.

Your photo is 75% better already. It took you less than 10 seconds.

emphasis by Redheadlins

Noted: I generally leave a little more space in front of the horse than behind if the horse is going forward. I leave more sky if the sky is pretty or more grass if the footing is nice. If both sky and footing are unremarkable, there's no reason for them to be in the picture. Just highlight what you want to emphasize.

Also noted: instagram likes square pictures. Blogger likes rectangles. On my more motivated days, I make different edits for different mediums. That is not every day.

what my phone looks like before edits

3) Apps are nice. I started with "afterlight" (go to the app store. It's either free or 99 cents). It's a fantastic basic editing program. There are four settings I use all the time--contrast (more or less), saturation (BRIGHT COLORS Y'ALL), brightness (summer in Idaho is a bitch), and... that other one.

There are plenty of other options, but these are just simple, basic things that can drastically improve the visual impact of your photos and take almost no time.

If you're all fancy and cool, you can get pricier apps. I just upgraded to "phototoaster" ($2.99 in the app store) and it has all kinds of bells and whistles and widgets. Part of me knows I'm not technical enough to capitalize on all this, but the other part is determined to make it happen.

kitten <3

If you're on an android platform, I hear rave reviews of Pixlr.

There are roughly a billion photo editing apps out there and you can get REALLY FREAKING FANCY if you want to. I'll admit I got phototoaster after reading this article. While there are some great tips there, that person works a HELL of a lot harder than I do at photo editing. Also they sound like they have a clue about art, which I definitely do not.

yup. phone. 

I mean, if photos aren't your jam, I totally understand. I'll never pretend to have the art chops that Niamh and Lauren do.

But I see no need to apologize for a phone picture. They can be pretty rocking with just a very little amount of work.

Show Attire Con't

Cuna had the right idea. As usual.

I posted last month about my intense hatred of white breeches (and show coats. COATS.). I maintain that white is a holdover from a bygone era that makes no sense to continue for practical, financial, or aesthetic reasons.

And the primary kickback I got from readers was that they liked participating in the pomp and circumstance and tradition (bear with me) of the Victorian evening wear that is currently foisted upon us. It's "elegant" or something.

So here's my response: basketball players, alpine skiers, and even golfers get that same sense of belonging by dressing in their sport-appropriate garb. That idea of becoming part of something bigger than oneself is commendable and important, certainly. My argument isn't against that sort of uniformity, but rather redirecting the uniformity into something that makes more sense.

As illustration, here's the one and only Charlotte Dujadin riding a phenomenal young horse in a demonstration.


Charlotte is obviously an amazing rider and the horse is to die for, even if I can never sit his trot.

But that's not the point. I LOVE Charlotte's attire here. It's classy. It's comfortable. It blends the rider to the horse and keeps the focus on the performance. Isn't that the whole entire point of a sporting uniform? It's not about how much you spend or how perfect your body is--it's all about how that particular equipment allows you to perform your best in your given sport.

I was talking to a western pleasure rider some years back and she dropped this interesting comment: "All the riders used to wear black, but then they realized you can't tell 20k black from $20 black." So western pleasure moved away from black because it was too affordable and easy to emulate more expensive looks while spending less...

HELLO. THANK YOU.

because my horse is cute

Horses are a prohibitively expensive sport. Here's an area where we could literally slash costs for all participants without detracting from the quality of sport at all. It would maintain the level of camaraderie that riders are looking for, certainly not detract (and possibly improve) the quality of sport presented, and eliminate completely the useless relic that is a show coat.

As I see it, there are only upsides. Those of you who like spending lots of money can still do so. Those of us who think dressing like Victorian gentlemen (handraise) is an asinine way to spend a weekend if you're not at a steampunk conference will be happier. We look like athletes. We aren't in white spandex.

What exactly is the drawback here?

Four Awesome Things I Want for Christmas

It's that time of year again. People are all crazy go nuts buying things for loved ones and I'm just over here like "I'm on a budget and all the pony things are on sale. Whyyyyyy." 

So as per the usual, I really, really want these things, but I won't be purchasing any of them in the foreseeable future. Let's imagine that I had a budget or someone was shopping for me though. Here's all the crazy fun things I'm wanting but don't need and can't afford. 

It's ok to borrow pics for advertising purposes, right?

1) PS of Sweden Jump Off Revolution Bridle

I already have a PS bridle and not gonna lie, I love it. So much. Cool features, quality workmanship, fits perfectly and keeps me entertained. 

This one is also super cool. Interesting design features and very anatomic and 

GRABBY HANDS SO WANTY.

Not gonna lie. Wanty.

2) Dublin Pinnacle Boots

Yeah ok, it almost killed me when Bit of Britain had their black Friday sale and these bad boys could have been mine for $167, when full retail is $209. 

Long time readers know I have wanted these forever. They also know that I really can't justify $200 muck boots. I tried telling my husband that it was a great deal and I could ride in them too and I don't do barn work anymore (knock on wood), but no dice. 

I guess if I got them, I'd realize my wardrobe isn't trendy enough to match them anyways. 

Certainly wouldn't complain if it was monogrammed

3) Ogilvy Baby Pad

I took the plunge this year and snagged an Ogilvy pad for Courage. It's a pretty great pad. It's way classier than my cheap and limited saddle pad collection. I really want the Ogilvy baby pads to balance out the classiness and be all non-slip awesome, but at $40 a whack, they haven't been in my budget.

I'm way too impatient to custom order through any of the vendors and I'm perfectly happy with black and white. 

Free shipping at smartpak if you buy two, ok Santa?

Not the dorky hat though.

4) Horsewares Daja Hoodie

Truth: many years ago when I still had the hellmare and expendable income, I snagged a horsewares hoodie on a mad post-Christmas smartpak sale. I loved it.

You can tell, because I'm wearing it while I'm typing this post. The cuffs are fraying apart and the print is wearing off, but that's par for the course after like.... 4 or 5 years of heavy wearing and washing, including barn work and riding in all weather. 

I love the horsewares line--cool details, well made, infinitely stylish (maybe that's just me? I dunno). I don't like the prices, which I why I don't own much from them, but we're dreaming here so SHHH. 

I'll stop now. I could come up with more. I could do an all-tack list. I could do a for the horse and for the rider list for several different disciplines, but I'm committed to my budget and shopping is the buzz kill of budgets as far as I can tell. 

So. What's everyone else dreaming of? 

PS Please don't say jewelry. If it sparkles, it damn well better go on a horse, or I'm flat out not interested. 

Color Me Unimpressed: Two Horse Tack Review

But so pretty?

I somehow missed the bus on Two Horse Tack Reviews--I know other bloggers got free things and I so wish I did. But I didn't. So rest assured, this is a not-for-compensation completely honest post. Well, I write those anyways, but here goes.

After seeing some reviews floating around the blogosphere, I got interested in Two Horse Tack. They purported to provide high quality beta biothane tack in vibrant colors. I specfically wanted a grooming halter--I clip a lot of horses in the winter and an adjustable grooming halter that is easy to both clean and recognize would be fantastic. I went to the website to place my order.

I thought the price was a little high at $28 + $6 shipping for a single grooming halter that went in a flat rate envelope, but hey, I wanted the product and I could definitely justify the cost/benefit ratio because I could also clip client horses in it. I checked their product sizing guide and found it rather user-unfriendly. They prefer you don't measure and just want you to go by company guidelines.

Um, ok.

As if

Courage wears cob size in literally everything I have ever bought him, so I ordered cob. He's not even "big cob size" or "small cob size". He's just totally average cob size.

And then I waited. It took it's time getting to me--I guess not unusual for a semi-custom item and I have no idea what their wait list is like. When it finally came, I took it out to the barn to try on Courage.

Yeah... never going to fit. That was it's largest adjustment and it wasn't any closer to fitting on Prisoner, who is a chiseled 15.2 and even smaller than Courage.

Out of curiosity, we ended up putting it on Pandora, Alyssa's 13 hand Quarter pony, and it did fit on her on the largest hole.

So....

Obviously, not going to work.

I immediately contacted Two Horse Tack via email.

And if the headstall goes up, the nose might not fit.

SIX DAYS LATER, they saw fit to respond, if not to answer any of my questions about, you know, sizing, exchanging, and a potential return. All I got was a link to their returns and exchanges page, which basically says "you're f*****".

Again, I replied promptly to try and at least get an answer to what size I should have ordered in the first place. I mean, if cob is this tiny, does my cob size horse actually need oversize? Are there measurements or something I can check?

**crickets**

I finally (more days later) get an email with a 20% off code, which means I could reorder the same product in what may or may not be the correct size and still pay full shipping. It would cost me $30 on top of the $34 I'd already spent and I had no reason to believe that the sizing would be any better and no comparison of any kind that made sense. One data point can't be extrapolated. Plus, the service rep was still not answering any useful questions or even referring me to someone who could. Nothing.

Needless to say, I decided to cut my losses. It really is a nice product and I wish it had worked, but the customer service was useless and at that rate, I was looking at what would be a minimum $64 grooming halter and more likely a $94 halter if the next size I chose at random didn't work.

As such, unless you already have a piece of their equipment to get sizes from, I wouldn't buy from Two Horse Tack. It's not that the product is so bad--it's that the sizing makes no sense and the customer service is that bad. There's no way around it.

Dream Horse Studios Contest!! (plus review)

Dream Horse Studios Carnivale Boot Review

Rocking the C-rage style

As most of you probably noticed, I'm a total tack whore who loves trying new things. I have a wide variety of boots to suit my very different and very picky horses.

I was thrilled when Lauren, the super-nice owner of Dream Horse Studios, reached out to me to see if Courage and I would be interested in doing a review of her Carnivale open front boots. They're standard jump boots with a twist--lovely blue patent leather with a soft black calfskin lining and stud closures on black elastic.

Yes I did just say blue patent leather.

Design and Construction

Still in the plastic!

I tried not to squeal when the box showed up at my house and promptly set up an epic photo shoot to test the boots out. They were neatly wrapped up and smelled amazing right out of the box. I did everything but put them on and prance around the house.

The white stitching is tight and even. The calfskin lining is soft and smooth--no funny edges or uneven patches touching my horse. There are easy to clean--just a simple wipe down. The stud closure looked sturdy enough to handle the demands of every day riding.

Stud closures aren't the most flexible option--there are 2-3 options for how tight to make them. That said, the Equifit T-boots utilize the studs and are massively popular. I've neer had stud closures before, I wanted to know how they would work for a variety of horses with different legs.

Patent Leather Boots in Action

Photoshoot time!!

The gang

We were working with a full set of horse sized boots--open fronts and hinds.

In addition to Courage (16.1 OTTB, medium bone and cannons), we had Diva (17.0 OTTB, big bone, long cannons), and Vegas (15.1 paint, medium bone and short cannons).

Yeah Vegas!

First they went on Ms. Vegas, the completely adorable and awesome paint mare owned by Alyssa at Four Mares, No Money. Vegas is super competitive in the local open shows and has won some serious swag.

She is definitely a candidate for the cob sized boots. The front boots went on her just fine, but her 15.1 self was just too petite for the full size hind boots. That said, she was demonstrating some of her english pleasure/pattern moves and did a couple of jumps in the boots. They didn't move at all and she was perfectly happy.

Diva looking fancy

Next up with the supermodel--all 17 leggy hands of her.

Diva is all legs and built lean, but she has lots of bone. Both front and back boots fit her comfortably. The boots seem to be cut just right--they weren't too tall for Vegas, but they were still perfectly respectable on Diva.

It did take me a couple of tries to get them on right. For reference, the top strap on the front boots goes straight across. The bottom two straps cross. It's perfectly intuitive and fairly obvious when you look at the construction, but somehow I kept messing it up.










AND THEN COURAGE!!!!

Might as well put three rides on the boots for their first day. I put the full set on Courage. He has had mental issues with back boots in the past, but he seemed ok with these.

We had an excellent ride, walk/trot/canter and a few jumps. Courage wasn't bothered by the boots at all and when I got off, they hadn't moved around or caused him any problems.

Plus, they looked totally cute.

At $90 for a full set, they are an excellent value. Even a set of cheap synthetic boots will run you close to that, so I say you might as well have some fun and order a cool color in patent leather. Blue isn't the only available color--there is quite a range available on the website.

CONTEST!!!!

The Calypso boots. Pretty sure I need them too.

Remember how I said Lauren is super nice? Not only did she send me a set of boots to review, but she's also giving another set away to a lucky reader!! Here's the deal: go to the Dream Horse Studios website and look around. Come back and comment on this post with your favorite product. Your comment enters you in the random drawing for a winner. For an additional entry, share the contest on your facebook or blog and let me know you did it.



Entries close on Monday, November 4th (2013) at midnight, so you have a full seven days to enter and spread the word!