TOA Blog Hop- History Lessons

History of the Horse

Before you met, where was your horse?  Who bred him/her?  What do you know about his sire and his dam?  What do you know where he came from?  Tell me about the time before he had a trainer.


Holly aka Homegrown Art  (AQHA)
 born 2008

After lots of digging, I found this:

The youngest pic I can find

http://rockingvt.wix.com/lvu-performance-horses#!horses-for-sale/vstc4=gallery04/vstc1=portfolio

That site is her breeder as far as I know, who was the least helpful person I could find. Her last owner was a 15 year old and her mom. According to her, they saw her in a field at 3, fell in love, and when she went up for sale, they jumped on the chance to own her as a WP horse.

I know she is from :
Sire: Artful Investment (QH) - Pedigree (Well known and well liked sire)
Dam: Leapin Lauren (TB) - Pedigree (aka all I know)

Sexy QH

They put about a year into her before I had her, some trainer work, some showing at local shows (go figure pretty girl won some blues at breed shows), some trailering and trail riding. When you list it all that way, you'd think she'd be bomb proof and understand jumping from under the fence isn't best practice. Clearly there were gaps in her training, and ultimately her nice big stride just didn't work for WP, no matter how low she dropped that pretty head.

1 yr ago

She went back to basics for us, half for me, half for her. I have had my moments of wanting to quit with her sassy, spooky ways. But then summer comes, and she chills out, showing me where she can go with some more elbow grease and patience. 

Trainer asked recently if I'd sell her if someone would pay well. Really well. Truth be it, I'm fairly smitten with my sassy girl. I feel I at least owe her a good season of showing and working this summer. She feels so on the brink of really settling in, and I can't imagine all the sweat and tears paying off for someone else to enjoy. Plus she puts up with my son. That's worth gold.

Apparel Review: Tuff Rider- Women's Ventilated Schooling Tights

Tuff Rider- Women's Ventilated Schooling Tights 

Price: $32 shipped (w/ Amazon Prime) 

I bought size Medium (but would prob do better in a small if not pregnant)
I bought Navy color to go with the most shirts ;)

Description: (Via Amazon) "Lightweight, poly/spandex schooling tights are breathable and have the convenience of a pull-on low-rise stretch waistband. Contrast striping is made with a ventilated moisture wicking fabric and continues across the back to enhance the tights stretch and breathability. Also featuring UltraGripp knee patches for a secure grip in the saddle".

Pros: -Stretchy. They fit me comfortably until 5 months pregnant, and I imagine I could still wear them, they had great stretch-ability. 

- They seemed durable, I am pretty rough on breeches, they get thrown into a cold, delicate wash, and often the dryer on low so I can wear them again. They usually made it about two rides, then felt saggy enough to want to wash.

- Definitely cooler to ride in. I felt significantly cooler riding in these than other breeches. 

- Plenty of length. This could be good or bad, depending on how long your legs are. I am 5'5" (ok, almost) and had a bit of excess at the ankle. Luckily the material is thin, so wasn't super uncomfortable if a little bunched at bottom.


Cons: - Not a lot of good color choices. The above brown I picked so you could see the details, but it looks pretty ugly color at least in photos. I like the navy a lot, but not sure I dig all the stripe combos.

- Underwear lines. Yup, did pretty ok with the dark color, but pretty sure the lighter ones would show major lines (for those of us that don't go commando).

-Slippery. Not terribly so, but not the grippiest things you've ever ridden in. Definitely felt a little less secure.

Overall: Great choice for the price and for anyone who deals with hot summers. I will buy a size smaller once I'm back down in weight, because I think they would ride/fit better snug, even at the price of showing my rolls and panty lines a bit more.