Bracelets!

I've been working on another project - nameplate bracelets! These are hand stamped with my friends' horses' names. They're not perfect by any means, but I think that just adds to their charm. These little guys are destined to be Christmas presents. I think they're just as cool as the leather ones you can get through a tack catalog but they have a bit more personality and making a gift is far more thoughtful than buying one, in my humble opinion.

I'll post detailed instructions in the next couple days!

Updates

I haven't done any new projects lately so I'll just update on some old discussion stuff.

DIY Stall Snack - Desi LOVED his licky thing! I hung it in his stall while he was turned out so I didn't get to watch him discover it. But I did come out the next morning and find that he had sticky molasses all over his face and even behind his ears :) With the pelleted feed it's taken him a week to go through it. Next time I'm going to try grinding all the dry ingredients (oats, pellets, etc.) into a powder so it licks off easily without losing pieces on the ground.

Myler Bits - This was a topic I discussed a long time ago but I've since done some new research. My old conclusion that you could not buy a knock-off myler bit was incorrect. With a small caveat - you can really only get a knock off level 1 mouthpiece, or at least a bit with similar features and style, and most of them are 5" mouthpieces. Desi is a 4.5" (which is pony sized and so weird for a 16.1hh horse!) so I really haven't had much success with finding a knock off for him with d-rings (why buy another loose ring if I already have one?). But, if you want a myler level 1 5" mouthpiece, there is no reason to spend the $80 on a real Myler. Unless of course you have a thing for brand names and don't care how much you spend.... Anyways, here is a short list of other sources, I'll be updating it if I find any others!

• FES Bits from Schneider's Saddlery - $32.99 Great value, seem to be of good quality. Schneiders also carries a few curb-style varieties like the level 2 or 3 mouthpieces. Only available in the 5" mouthpiece.

• Heritage Saddlery Bits - $46.92 Made in England with great reviews. A little bit more pricey and will have to have them shipped to the U.S. but they carry more sizes, like 4.5"!!

DIY Hand Warmers

I just finished making these as part of my Christmas gift to my trainer - re-usable hand warmers! Super simple using supplies you probably already have laying around the house. If your barn has a microwave handy, then these are amazing! The finished hand warmers can be tossed in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to activate.

Things you will need:

• Fabric
• Scissors
• Dry, uncooked rice
• needle and thread

Step 1). Cut fabric into squares. Most people do 4"x4" but I made them a little smaller and did a 3.5" square.

Step 2.) With right sides together sew edges, leaving an un-stitched portion about 3/4" long.

edges are serged which is faster but a regular machine or even hand stitching would work too

Step 3). Turn fabric right side out. You can use a chopstick or other small pointy thing to push out the corners.

Step 4.) Fill bags a little over 3/4 way with rice and sew shut. You can hand-sew the opening or use a straight stitch on a machine like I did.

That's it! I made 4 sets (8 total) of these in about 20 minutes. I cheated a little because I have access to a serger :)

To mix it up a bit, you can add dry herbs or even essential oils to make them smell great! And the fabric can be cut to any shape, squares are just the fastest.

Ideas

I'm trying to be a better blogger, really I am. So far I think I'm doing a pretty good job actually. It's been over a month now and I've blogged at least once a week. And I haven't quit yet! That's a plus. I'm still not sure if anyone reads this thing - according to blogger I've had a couple page views that weren't internet robots but I'm skeptical. Who on earth wants to read my crazy blog? I haven't even told my real friends what it's called... Or about... Or that I even have a blog... Maybe that's what is keeping me going. I have a place to rant on about horsey things and I don't have to worry about boring my friends to death.

I know I've mentioned a couple times that I have a project that I'll work on over the holidays. But it's that time now and what have I posted of these mystery projects? Nothing really. So to hold myself to actually do these projects, I figured I'd post a list of my ideas. Maybe those internet robots will hold me accountable...

Nameplate Bracelets - Christmas presents for my horsey friends hand stamped with their ponies' names!
Another Beaded Browband!
A new Western Showmanship Jacket? (this one might get postponed, its a pretty time-consuming project)
Possibly a couple of tack bags?
Bit warmers, hand warmers

Geez. I know I had more ideas than that. I  guess some of them will just have to be a surprise when (and if) I actually get around to doing them.

And an update: I never actually got around to clipping Desi. There's too many "natural" horse people (and no, I'm not talking natural horsemanship - I'm talking the kind of people who won't use fly spray because it has chemicals) at my barn and I know I'd get crap for impairing my horse's natural heat regulation system. Plus I'm having a hard enough time keeping weight on him so I'll just be a little more careful about working him hard enough to sweat too much. I may eventually clip him but for now he'll stay fuzzy.


And because posts are so much more interesting with pictures, here's a funny horse picture. Not my photo, I pulled it off of google :)

Mission Impossible

I'm torn. My hunt seat saddle does not really fit either of my horses. Definitely too wide for the paint, but a little too narrow and the cantle sits way too low on Desi. It's up for sale but that means that if I want to show Desi again in the spring, I'll have to get a new saddle. I spent hours this weekend looking at used saddles online and I'm frustrated. In a perfect world, I'd get something with an adjustable gullet and adjustable panels since I'm leasing and may need my saddle to fit a different horse in the future. But at the same time, the paint has a saddle that fits (even if it's a funky color and I don't have a matching bridle...) and nothing short of custom flocked will fit Desi properly without LOTS of shimming and padding. Pads do not make a saddle "fit" if it does not fit without the pads. To make this much more interesting, I'm working within a budget of $800. I'm beginning to think that this is Mission Impossible.

The Heritage Saddlery Yin-Yang Competetion Event Saddle

If I owned Desi I'd save my money for a few more months and go the custom route. Which I know would cost upwards of $2000. Think again! Depending on the model you want, Heritage Saddlery will make a saddle custom fit for both you and your horse for around $1000. If I buy Desi in the future, this will probably be the route I go. I was a little wary of the quality of a custom saddle for the price of a middle-range off-the-rack saddle, but the reviews are all great. http://www.heritagesaddlery.co.uk/


If I cave in the meantime and need a saddle that I can make "fit" more than one horse, I'll probably go for something like the Bates Caprilli with the easy change gullet system and cair panels, although those have some seriously scathing reviews. Sigh. After spending all morning online researching saddles and saddle fit, I have no hope for the horse community. It seems like it is impossible for a saddle to truly fit a horse and rider. What one person swears by, another hates. Sometimes I feel like I should just give up on conventional saddles with their fitting issues and go treeless. I can't really show in a treeless saddle though...

For now I think I'll use the Dressage saddle on Desi and the weirdly colored saddle on the paint.

DIY Stall Snacks!

I bought a stall snack holder in April for Desi and it came with an apple-flavored stall snack. Well Mr. Desi with his "refined palate" wouldn't touch it. Spoiled pony... It has been sitting in my garage for months now. Since I'll be out of town again for a week in December and the hyper horse won't be getting as much exercise, I thought I'd try to revive the stall snack holder to keep him occupied when he's not turned out.

To make the thing more enjoyable, I thought it would be fun to make him a stall snack that I know he'll devour - one with alfalfa pellets and molasses. It's basically my take on an Ancle Jimmy's Licky Thing. It wasn't too hard to make (cleaning up the mess on the other hand...) and only took about 15 minutes for the actual cooking process. I think it will keep him occupied for several days, assuming that he doesn't pin it against a wall.

What you'll need:
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup molasses*
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup alfalfa pellets**
1 cup ground oats**

The existing stall snack with the can I used as a mold for the new one

*This recipe makes a treat similar to the Mojo Molasses flavor, for another flavor, simply omit the molasses and substitute another flavor of choice. You could try crushed peppermint, carrots, etc.
**I chose to use these grains for my stall snack but it could easily be adapted to any type of grain. Sweet feed, oats, bran, and other pelleted feeds will work well too!

You will also need:
Silicone Spatula
Medium saucepan (holds at least 5 cups)
Candy Thermometer 
Can or other shaped container
Greased dowel or stall snack stick

I chose to grind up my oats in a food processor so they acted like a binding ingredient but this step is optional.

In a medium saucepan, combine corn syrup, sugar, and molasses (if substituting something other than molasses, add with grain instead). Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove lid and bring up to 300 degrees F, stirring periodically.





When mixture reaches desired temperature, turn off heat and promptly add grains. Stir thoroughly, mixture will be thick and begin to harden.







 Promptly pour mixture into greased or lined container and gently tamp down with spatula. Insert dowel into center of container and allow to cool. Turn dowel every 20 minutes to ensure it does not stick.



Stall snack should be mostly set in about 3-4 hours but for best results, let stand overnight.

I loved how this turned out! It fits into my existing holder perfectly and is hard like the store-bought ones! Like a horsey lollipop!