horse finances

Finance Fridays in 2018: Any Interest?

Amanda1 Comment

I’m thinking about setting up a very loose ongoing blog hop in 2018 centered around finances.

The goal would be to ask everyone to articulate and commit to a horse-related financial goal for 2018 – big or small, specific or general, savings or spending. Maybe you need a better emergency fund. Maybe you are paying off vet bills . Maybe you need to buy a new pair of tall boots. Mayyyyyybe you are doing all three. (Ummmm…)

Then we’d all together come up with obstacles in the way of that goal: budgeting, extra income, finding the right item to buy, etc.

Continuing posts in the series would tackle some ways to solve that problem – they could be crowd-sourced, or guest-written, or written by myself.

Each month, I’d post a check-in post for everyone to comment on so we can see where we’re going and how much we’ve achieved.

The idea is it would be joint accountability and support.

Does that sound interesting/useful for people?

Please chime in via the poll below so I can gauge interest. (If you can’t see it via your blog aggregator, there is a poll; please click through to answer it!)

equipment

Share your Back on Track secrets!

Amanda11 Comments

Christmas came early for a certain roan mustang: I ransacked the Riding Warehouse Black Friday 25% off sale and bought, um, way more than I should have. I regret nothing. The only thing I’m not over the moon delighted with was a pair of $5 gloves on super clearance. They’re fine. They’re just not perfect winter gloves. That quest continues.

Anyway.

Two of the things I indulged in were Back on Track items. I experimented with the hock boots about two years ago, borrowing them from the barn manager, but they were too big and I just never quite had the discipline to follow through on them. I have wanted to try again with properly-fitting ones ever since, so 25% off and some side income made it worth it.

I am now the proud owner of a dressage saddle pad and hock boots. The hock boots fit great!

The saddle pad makes me wish again, once more, with feeling, that more companies made cob-sized dressage pads, because, well.

It could be worse! But it could also be waaaaaaay better. (Whither thou goest, Classic Equine dressage pads, with the square corners and the perfect cut and the great quality? Why, why, have you gone entirely over to Western equipment? Sigh.)

Anyway. I put the hock boots on while grooming, and left them on for our walk warmup, then removed them. (Maybe I should have put them back on for cooldown?) I used the saddle pad…as a saddle pad. I don’t think there’s much of a secret there.

But I want to know if I can optimize my use of the hock boots. I was reading through the material they included (YES, I KNOW) and they had things like “after seven weeks of use…” What does that mean? Continuous? A couple hours a day? Am I not leaving them on for long enough? I require more direction than that!

So: what do you do? Do you leave BOT stuff (the stuff that’s meant to come off, anyway) on for longer? Every day? I’m particularly interested in things like the hock boots – and perhaps the quick wraps, if anyone has those. I am considering getting the quick wraps after Christmas and want to think about whether I should have them on overnight, or before riding, or after, or…? Your experience sought!

grooming

Gelding Canon Crud in Winter

AmandaLeave a comment

Tristan has a sheath that, let’s say, is on the messier side.

The good news is that he could care less about me messing with it, and it’s not a chore I find completely awful. Obviously, it’s not my favorite, but I don’t have much of a gag reflex nor am I squeamish. I go right up there and clean things out.

Not too often – I know that tends to then make things dirtier – but when I need to.

Much more often, I find myself scrubbing his hind legs. See, he gets crud all over his legs. It’s really annoying. It does not brush off the way mud does – it’s kind of sticky and gummy. It gets all over things.

It’s not a problem in the summer – I just squirt some Dawn or shampoo and hose or scrub it off when I’m hosing him down or giving him a bath. Quick and easy.

Winter, though – winter is a pain in the ass. On all levels.

Yesterday, I faced up to the growing crud problem and got to work.

The plan, which worked reasonably well, was to heat up a kettle’s worth of boiling water, then add cold water from the faucet until it was just hot and not scalding. Then I used a scrap towel to wet down his legs, then dolloped on small amounts of shampoo and scrubbed.

Then I used another scrap towel to “rinse” his legs, and a third to more or less dry them. It wasn’t to cold yesterday – mid 20s at worst – so I wasn’t too worried about leaving them damp. Later in the winter, I’ll go through more towels to dry his legs more thoroughly.

Do you have any other grooming tasks that are made harder in winter? How do you work around the cold?

Small Business Saturday Roundup
blog roundup · shopping · Uncategorized

Small Business Saturday Roundup

AmandaLeave a comment

First, I would be remiss if I did not link to my own shop, Bel Joeor Metier. Looking for a great barn gift for the holidays? All saddle covers are 10% off, and everything else is 10% off with the code OPENING2017.

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Small Business Saturday Roundup

Arias Whips – wholly customized racing and eventing whips, made by a former jockey (Recommended by  non-blogging friend.)

The Herbal Horse – “Harley and I wouldn’t survive without “Be Calm” and I love the coat conditioner spray for taming blanket static in the winter.” (Recommended by EquiNovice)

Uniquely Equine – customized halters (Recommended by Viva Carlos)

Galloping Graphics – “Simple, affordable, customized graphics. They’ve really broadened their scope in the past couple of years and everything they produce is really cute.” (Recommended by The Owls Approve)

Because Pony Holiday Cards – adorable corgi and Haflinger themed images. (Recommended by me)

The Artful Equine – lovely housewares, in particular the dish towels (Recommended by a non-blogging friend.)

Relatively Stable – monograms & custom stickers (Recommended by Viva Carlos)

Dark Jewel Designs – gorgeous, customized browbands (Recommended by Clover Ledge Farm)

Dapplebay – clever equestrian apparel (Recommended by non-blogging friend.)

Arctic Horse Gear – riding skirts for all weather! (Recommended by Because Pony.)

The Printable Pony – organizing essentials and clever patterns (Recommended by loads of you.)

Gray & Company Design – all sorts of really lovely custom products (Recommended by Viva Carlos)

Last but not least, I would be remiss if I did not link to this: 2017 Black Friday Sales from The $900 Facebook Pony. Many of the sales here are from small businesses.

Happy shopping!

bel joeor metier

New items at the Bel Joeor Metier Etsy shop! & Black Friday Sale.

AmandaLeave a comment

I’ve added a bunch of new bags in time for Black Friday to the Bel Joeor Metier Etsy shop!

In addition to new items, all saddle covers are 10% off through November 30 for Black Friday.

Remember, through November 30, enter code OPENING2017 at checkout for 10% off your order.

These aren’t all of the things I added. Click on the pictures to go through to the items they represent, and check out the whole shop for everything else.

Oh yeah, and if you want info in your email about sales, new products, etc. sign up for the Bel Joeor Metier mailing list!

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admin

Bel Joeor is moving!

AmandaLeave a comment

I’ve been thinking about this for a LONG time, and now it’s official.

Bel Joeor is moving!

Please bookmark the new site, http://www.beljoeor.com.

Until December 1, I’ll cross-post each new post on both this blog and the new site. Each post here will have a reminder to follow me to the new site.

After December 1, all new content will be exclusively at the new website.

I’m excited for the change, and I’ll see you over there!

Uncategorized

House Post: Sometimes, Home Ownership is the Worst

AmandaLeave a comment

So, a couple of weeks ago we had this big huge storm. It wreaked havoc throughout northern New England; some record high number of people were without power. We lost it for about 48 hours.

It was very exciting, really. I have not that many complaints; loads of people were without power for far longer, and I had other resources to make food. The fridge and new chest freezer came through fine, and it wasn’t really cold yet so we didn’t miss the heat.

However.

We did also have two trees come down in our backyard. One was long dead. The other was mostly still alive. Both fell in nearly the perfect way so as not to cause damage, and only be frustrating.

One tree is obvious. The second is a bit tough to see in this picture, but you can see it leaning against the back fence if you follow the fenceline to about the center of the picture. Directly behind that fenceline is a steep slope, at the base of which is the tree.

Earlier this week, a friend stopped by with his chainsaw and took down the leaning tree so as to relieve pressure on the fence.

 

So then we had two trees in the backyard more fully than before.

Little brindle mutt for scale.

Then, yesterday, while I was at work staying warm and cozy and eating leftover Halloween candy, the husband took apart the trees.

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And, you know what? We got lucky. There was no real damage. The dead tree could have come down right on our neighbor’s house, and it’s been on my mind to get rid of. Everything worked out about as well as it possibly could have.

But seriously, what a pain in the ass, and a not-insignificant chunk of time spent taking care of this that would have been better spent on other things! Sometimes houses are dumb.

blog roundup

Weekly Blog Roundup for Saturday, November 17, 2018

Amanda1 Comment

This week’s featured product from my Etsy shop!

And as a reminder, you can sign up to get these blog links in your email on Friday afternoon.

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HOW YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A HEART HORSE from Three Day Adventures with Horses
❤

LandSafe Clinic – Day 1 & LandSafe Clinic – Day 2 from DIY Horse Ownership
I loooooooove these clinics and these are terrific recaps.

THE UNICORN LIST V2 from The Printable Pony
Horse shopping is so hard.

Lund Saddlery Calfskin Stirrup Leathers Review from Patently Bay
Lund is getting a lot of attention right now, and these leathers look gorgeous.

THINGS I BOUGHT AND DIDN’T NEED | 2017 EQUINE AFFAIRE HAUL from Breeches and Boat Shoes
I need to do my own version of this…

Equestrian gifts for under $20 from Hand Gallop
A really great list, and I’m not just saying that because my own things are on there.

Dante and the vacuum from Viva Carlos
Horse vacuum = living the dream.

Best of HN: This OTTB’s Second Career in Horseback Hawking is #Goals from Eventing Nation
THIS IS SO AWESOME I CANNOT EVEN.

Horse Hunters Episode 1 & Episode 2 from DIY Horse Ownership
Goooooorgeous farms. I covet.

Product Review: Dublin Performance Tights from Journey with a Dancing Horse
Color me intrigued. I was sold at “fleece lined,” tbh.

58 Equestrian Gifts under $25 from The Printable Pony
Awesome list!

Grids and Gymnastics from In Omnia Paratus
Pole grids are my jam, especially in winter.

Half Halts and Forward from Not So Speedy Dressage
I struggle with half halts and keeping forward, so this was good to think about.

blog roundup

Small Business Saturday Suggestions?

Amanda5 Comments

Your input eagerly sought!

I’d like to put together a list of equestrian-related businesses for people to shop from this coming Small Business Saturday.

via GIPHY

Do you have a favorite small equestrian business? Please comment below with its name and website, and maybe a line or two about why you love it!

Saturday’s links roundup will be entirely small business related. (Blog links will be held for the following week.)

Comment below, please!