As November settles in around us (read: really unpleasantly cold), I find myself looking ahead to the coming year. After O's performance at the games day, it dawned on me that I really for real might have an amazing combined driving horse in the making. I've already been perusing the ADS website, trying to see what kind of options I have for next year. I used to do this on the USEA website around this time of year, every year... plan my whole show season out, and set goals. The idea of being able to do this again is really, really exciting.
She had Sunday and Monday off after the playday, got back to work with a very zoomy lunging session in the chambon on Tuesday, and had a very zoomy drive on Wednesday. Not sure what got into her, but she had places to go both days!
I drove her barefoot on the pavement, but thought that she was a hair more flat-footed than usual, not her normal big gigantic trot - the concussion on the blacktop is an awful lot, and I usually drive her in boots when we go down the road, so she may have been protecting herself a bit. The last thing I want to do is concuss the heck out of her, so we'll probably stay in boots whenever we venture onto the pavement.
Also, check out the shine in the lunging picture. That is her winter coat! I'm actually *gasp* considering not clipping her this year. I *want* to clip her, just for the fun factor, but in reality it kind of seems silly if that is the max amount of hair she is going to grow. She hasn't been sweating much at all this year, just getting slightly sticky under her tack on warmer days - hardly enough to warrant a full clip. This time last year, she was sweating absolute buckets with every workout... my only deduction is that she is so completely not stressed out by driving that she doesn't even break a sweat. She is definitely an anxiety sweater.
I may have located a couple of really awesome show carts for sale locally! I am having a really hard time deciding what I might want to go with! That said, I *really* need to sell some stuff before I commit to buying a brand new cart, so I went through my trailer (finally) and pulled out a bunch of stuff that I don't need any more. I am a total packrat, so you can imagine how much stuff is still left in the trailer!
Here's the list of stuff... (shipping is not included!) See below for email info!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INVENTORY:
Size 84" black plaid stable sheet - pretty good condition, all straps working. $20.
Perri's white all purpose pad, never used but some stains. $10.
Purple all purpose pad (IV Horse brand, from the UK) - never used, stain on one side but can't see under saddle! $20.
Schneider's Dura-Tech navy blue heavyweight neck cover - snaps are broken and need replacing. $15.
Nunn Finer no-slip pad - brand new, never used. $15.
Small horse sized zebra Sleazy - some small tears and needs a good washing. $20.
Purple tail bag - needs washing. $5.
Light blue sparkle tail bag - brand new, never used. $10.
Small horse/cob sized brown leather halter - well worn. $15.
Cornflower blue horse sized nylon halter with poly lead rope - brand new, never used. $20.
Blue head bumper - snap style, used but good shape. $15.
Formay saddle bags, pommel and cantle, black - horn bag was used once but other is brand new with tags. Both for $25.
Two old-school style Easyboots - one size 1, one size 2, size 2 has a crack - good for temporary backups. $10 each.
Breakaway halter replacement leather strap - brand new, never used. $5.
Black suede half chaps - used but in good shape, for medium-sized calves. $20.
Flash strap - back with silver buckle. Or use it as any kind of strap you like! $5.
Black leather halter with silver hardware - includes nameplate that hasn't been ingraved yet. Has some scratches and wear. From Germany. Nice halter! $25.
Mohair cinch - 26" or 28"? Fair condition, some breakage to mohair, good as a backup cinch. $10.
Blue/black lycra and mesh flymask with zipper - only used once, some stains, has ears. $10.
Leather and elastic sidereins - only used once. $20.
Quilts, quilts, quilts! One tiny 12", a bunch of 14", and one big pair of 16"? Wilkers. Wilkers are thick, the rest are thin quilts. All have stains. $10 a pair, Wilkers are $15.
Ladies black Ariat gloves - probably size 7? For medium-large hands. Feels like a second skin. Won't be sad if they don't sell! $20.
Bevals knock-off brand pull on bell boots - black, labeled as large but fits like a small medium. $15.
Blue glittery bells - missing a strip of velcro on one but top velcro works well. Medium-large size. Perfect for that horse who is gonna destroy them anyway! $5.
Light blue spur straps - brand new, never removed from package. $2.
Gold chain browband - dirty and worn. $5.
Gorgeous Kieffer Anja rolled leather black dressage bridle - horse/cob size. Padded crank noseband, padded adjustable crownpiece. Well worn and well loved. Only selling because it looks ridiculius on my current jugheads. Paid over $250, asking $100.
Weatherbeeta Freestyle (older model) heavyweight turnout blanket - size 78", needs a good wash but everything is intact! $70.
5" copper single joint snaffle - well oxidized. $5.
5" slow twist full cheek snaffle - like new. $20.
5" Baucher single joint snaffle. $10.
5.5" double jointed loose ring snaffle, KK knockoff. $15.
5.5" Happy Mouth double jointed snaffle, some small rough spots. $15.
5.5" Myler Level 1 dee ring with hooks - like new. $60.
5.5" silver colored double jointed loose ring - like new. $20.
5.5" KK Ultra loose ring with Aurigan - has darkened with age but still great, thick mouthpiece, slightly oxidized. $50.
Shipping is not included. (Neither are the errant cats.) Email me at eventingagogo@gmail.com for more info!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two of the local options:
These carts are both gorgeous, but very different. The detail on both is just stunning. Both would call for a harness upgrade as well (for showing).
This Meadowbrook is totally drool-worthy. It requires a russet harness (which is basically a chestnut colored harness), which would either look STUNNING on O, or make the entire picture totally melt together in a chestnut-y blob. Hard to say. It has a lot of really nice upgrades, and was built for low-level CDEs specifically. I love love love these natural wood carts, and think they are well-suited to O's color and movement (she is borderline being too flashy for them, but not flashy enough for a painted vehicle. Also she is chestnut, which is apparently not a fancy color.) It more expensive than the other cart I am looking at, and a bit harder to get in and out of.
This road cart is painted deep navy with baby blue pin striping. BABY BLUE! You know how much I love that. Given how dark the cart it, it would REALLY be a showcase of horse and driver. This is kind of the total opposite problem from the other cart - is this one TOO dark and different, will my horse stand out TOO much with this cart and clash with it? The other cart she might blend in with too much! That said, I think O is just fancy enough to look really nice with a painted cart (so long as it isn't too fancy), and I think the deep blues would look really nice with her coat - not much looks good with an orange-y chestnut, let's be real. This cart is also easy-entry, which is always a plus.
Both of these carts are totally gorgeous. What do you all think?
She had Sunday and Monday off after the playday, got back to work with a very zoomy lunging session in the chambon on Tuesday, and had a very zoomy drive on Wednesday. Not sure what got into her, but she had places to go both days!
I drove her barefoot on the pavement, but thought that she was a hair more flat-footed than usual, not her normal big gigantic trot - the concussion on the blacktop is an awful lot, and I usually drive her in boots when we go down the road, so she may have been protecting herself a bit. The last thing I want to do is concuss the heck out of her, so we'll probably stay in boots whenever we venture onto the pavement.
Also, check out the shine in the lunging picture. That is her winter coat! I'm actually *gasp* considering not clipping her this year. I *want* to clip her, just for the fun factor, but in reality it kind of seems silly if that is the max amount of hair she is going to grow. She hasn't been sweating much at all this year, just getting slightly sticky under her tack on warmer days - hardly enough to warrant a full clip. This time last year, she was sweating absolute buckets with every workout... my only deduction is that she is so completely not stressed out by driving that she doesn't even break a sweat. She is definitely an anxiety sweater.
I may have located a couple of really awesome show carts for sale locally! I am having a really hard time deciding what I might want to go with! That said, I *really* need to sell some stuff before I commit to buying a brand new cart, so I went through my trailer (finally) and pulled out a bunch of stuff that I don't need any more. I am a total packrat, so you can imagine how much stuff is still left in the trailer!
Here's the list of stuff... (shipping is not included!) See below for email info!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INVENTORY:
Size 84" black plaid stable sheet - pretty good condition, all straps working. $20.
Perri's white all purpose pad, never used but some stains. $10.
Purple all purpose pad (IV Horse brand, from the UK) - never used, stain on one side but can't see under saddle! $20.
Schneider's Dura-Tech navy blue heavyweight neck cover - snaps are broken and need replacing. $15.
Nunn Finer no-slip pad - brand new, never used. $15.
Small horse sized zebra Sleazy - some small tears and needs a good washing. $20.
Purple tail bag - needs washing. $5.
Light blue sparkle tail bag - brand new, never used. $10.
Small horse/cob sized brown leather halter - well worn. $15.
Cornflower blue horse sized nylon halter with poly lead rope - brand new, never used. $20.
Blue head bumper - snap style, used but good shape. $15.
Formay saddle bags, pommel and cantle, black - horn bag was used once but other is brand new with tags. Both for $25.
Two old-school style Easyboots - one size 1, one size 2, size 2 has a crack - good for temporary backups. $10 each.
Breakaway halter replacement leather strap - brand new, never used. $5.
Black suede half chaps - used but in good shape, for medium-sized calves. $20.
Flash strap - back with silver buckle. Or use it as any kind of strap you like! $5.
Black leather halter with silver hardware - includes nameplate that hasn't been ingraved yet. Has some scratches and wear. From Germany. Nice halter! $25.
Mohair cinch - 26" or 28"? Fair condition, some breakage to mohair, good as a backup cinch. $10.
Blue/black lycra and mesh flymask with zipper - only used once, some stains, has ears. $10.
Leather and elastic sidereins - only used once. $20.
Quilts, quilts, quilts! One tiny 12", a bunch of 14", and one big pair of 16"? Wilkers. Wilkers are thick, the rest are thin quilts. All have stains. $10 a pair, Wilkers are $15.
Ladies black Ariat gloves - probably size 7? For medium-large hands. Feels like a second skin. Won't be sad if they don't sell! $20.
Bevals knock-off brand pull on bell boots - black, labeled as large but fits like a small medium. $15.
Blue glittery bells - missing a strip of velcro on one but top velcro works well. Medium-large size. Perfect for that horse who is gonna destroy them anyway! $5.
Light blue spur straps - brand new, never removed from package. $2.
Gold chain browband - dirty and worn. $5.
Gorgeous Kieffer Anja rolled leather black dressage bridle - horse/cob size. Padded crank noseband, padded adjustable crownpiece. Well worn and well loved. Only selling because it looks ridiculius on my current jugheads. Paid over $250, asking $100.
Weatherbeeta Freestyle (older model) heavyweight turnout blanket - size 78", needs a good wash but everything is intact! $70.
5" copper single joint snaffle - well oxidized. $5.
5" slow twist full cheek snaffle - like new. $20.
5" Baucher single joint snaffle. $10.
5.5" double jointed loose ring snaffle, KK knockoff. $15.
5.5" Happy Mouth double jointed snaffle, some small rough spots. $15.
5.5" Myler Level 1 dee ring with hooks - like new. $60.
5.5" silver colored double jointed loose ring - like new. $20.
5.5" KK Ultra loose ring with Aurigan - has darkened with age but still great, thick mouthpiece, slightly oxidized. $50.
Shipping is not included. (Neither are the errant cats.) Email me at eventingagogo@gmail.com for more info!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two of the local options:
These carts are both gorgeous, but very different. The detail on both is just stunning. Both would call for a harness upgrade as well (for showing).
This Meadowbrook is totally drool-worthy. It requires a russet harness (which is basically a chestnut colored harness), which would either look STUNNING on O, or make the entire picture totally melt together in a chestnut-y blob. Hard to say. It has a lot of really nice upgrades, and was built for low-level CDEs specifically. I love love love these natural wood carts, and think they are well-suited to O's color and movement (she is borderline being too flashy for them, but not flashy enough for a painted vehicle. Also she is chestnut, which is apparently not a fancy color.) It more expensive than the other cart I am looking at, and a bit harder to get in and out of.
This road cart is painted deep navy with baby blue pin striping. BABY BLUE! You know how much I love that. Given how dark the cart it, it would REALLY be a showcase of horse and driver. This is kind of the total opposite problem from the other cart - is this one TOO dark and different, will my horse stand out TOO much with this cart and clash with it? The other cart she might blend in with too much! That said, I think O is just fancy enough to look really nice with a painted cart (so long as it isn't too fancy), and I think the deep blues would look really nice with her coat - not much looks good with an orange-y chestnut, let's be real. This cart is also easy-entry, which is always a plus.
Both of these carts are totally gorgeous. What do you all think?
I like the dark one. That might just be my preference toward dark colors though.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to be selling the other one if you buy a show cart or will you save the show cart for shows?
Navy!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhile I also side with you in loving those natural tones of the first cart, I really think that O would look stunning with the navy cart - it would really show her off, and I think she looks fancy enough to pull it off! But I don't know anything about driving, so I hope that's a good thing. And who can resist baby blue piping? :)
ReplyDeletebonita of A Riding Habit
Ooh! I like the dark cart! I think dark colors really make chestnuts stand out, especially if they are really shiny copper colored ones. Plus easy in/out is always safer!
ReplyDeleteCome on, I want the Shitner ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the black cart :)
I think her Red-Headedness would look stunning with the Navy blue. . . and the easy entry/exit is another plus.
ReplyDeletei love natural wood tones, but agree that O would probably get lost in it. she's got the chops to stand out in navy :)
ReplyDeleteWhat size is the black leather halter from Germany?
ReplyDelete& I also vote for the dark cart! :)
DeleteI like the dark cart too. I don't know how she would look in russet harness if you went with the wood one... She would look great with the dark one though. Is it built for CDE too or is it more of a pleasure driving vehicle? Good luck choosing!
ReplyDeleteWould any of those pads fit a long dressage type flap or are they all for an all purpose?
The wood cart is gorgeous, but agree with everyone else that O might be showcased better with the darker one (which is lovely in it's own right!)
ReplyDeleteNavy blue, no question. O is gorgeous, and you need to show her off!
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning towards the dark one. It looks sportier somehow. Are there pictures somewhere online showing the carts (or similar colored ones) being driven by chestnuts? That might help decide.
ReplyDeleteI love them both, but I vote option two.
ReplyDeleteOr you could just get both.
Meadowbrook. Bottom line, whatever one is built the best.
ReplyDeleteI vote #2 - I love contrast and the dark against her red coat would look stunning and as another Sarah said, it looks sportier, which I think matches her personality.
ReplyDeleteWhile option 1 is a beautiful cart, my vote is for the navy. The dark color would look amazing on her and I think matches her personality better.
ReplyDeleteGet whatever cart fits her best.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you necessarily HAVE to go russet with a Meadowbrook or other wood vehicle, but the light upholstry and russet leather bits on the cart does scream "RUSSET!!" Were they black you could stick with a black harness. I have seen russet harnesses on lighter colored Haflingers and they can look pretty sharp on blacks and greys, but I am not sure if I have really seen them on a bright chestnut like O. You would have to poke around and see. Russet is more expensive because the leather has to be of better quality (no dye to cover up color inconsistencies).
If they both fit her equaly well I would still lean towards the dark cart. While the Meadowbrook has the nice driver's wedge, being able to get out without jumping a wheel or lifting the seat up is a definite plus. Also: those 40-48" wheels are super expensive to replace. I imagine, though you can't tell from the picture, that the shafts on the dark cart are not a part of the body of the carriage, which means that you can have another set manufactured if needed. It can also make hauling easier as you can remove the shafts and roll it in the back of your truck or trailer (this has been the nice thing about our forecart, removable shafts, I don't think I would go back to a cart like the Meadowbrook that can't be broken down).
The extra bonus on the dark cart is that the woman who makes them literally lives down the road from me - if ever I would need a fix, she's right there!
DeleteThat is a nice bonus!
DeleteTHE ANSWER IS ALWAYS BLUE!!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteo looks great and I agree with option number 2 even though I think option one is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWow, the seating on the first is interesting. I have no idea how you choose - they are both lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe Meadowbrook has what is called a "driver's wedge" and is commonly seen on marathon carriages and other vehicles designed for the marathon section of the CDE. The seat is snug and slightly sloped to accomodate the more forward seat one takes driving hazards (kindof sounds like riding cross country, eh?). This one also appears to be more elevated comoared to the passenger/navigator seat to give the driver a wider visual fiels too.
DeleteI know nothing about carts, but I am excited for you to get a new one for shows!!
ReplyDeleteHey Andrea, I'd happily buy back the slow twist snaffle I gave you! I hope it's not gone... I really could use it but would never have asked for it back.
ReplyDeleteI may take some other things (nothing pricey, I'm jobless :( ) but the snaffle most definitely!!!
Please get back to me ASAP. Thanks so much!!
Jennifer.
(Email was Jennifer at jcryanebco . Com. Now it's captdavsgirl at gmail . Com.
Thanks!! Hey Andrea, I'd happily buy back the slow twist snaffle I gave you! I hope it's not gone... I really could use it but would never have asked for it back.
I may take some other things (nothing pricey, I'm jobless :( ) but the snaffle most definitely!!!
Please get back to me ASAP. Thanks so much!!
Jennifer.
(Email was Jennifer at jcryanebco . Com. Now it's captdavsgirl at gmail . Com.
Thanks!!
And holy crap have I not managed to post from my phone!!! Lol. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Jennifer