My friend ...who is a dude...introduced me to this beautiful line of jewelry, Pyrrha.
Pyrrha makes just gorgeous replications of 18th and 19th century wax seals. Furthermore, they responsibily cast them into reclaimed metals! Yeehaw! Check out their eco practices here.
Now why do I have this on Fourteen Carrots? You guessed it! Check out the rad horse themed ones!
This
handcrafted talisman necklace features a horseshoe representing luck.
The wings which flank the horseshoe signify protection. I don't know about you, but I can always use luck and protection when I am riding.
And for the fox hunter:
And lastly, the horsies!
This is the one I particularly am drooling over. It is the "Running Horse Talisman". The translation of the French is Valiant by Land and Sea. The horse is described as representative of "unconditional bravery."
They also have several unicorn and dragon pieces that I just love. However, I felt showing these on a horse blog would be controversial. For instance, many people distinctly feel there is no relation between unicorns or horses or pegasuses (pegasi?) and are offended by the implication. Dragons could eat a horse. Enough said.
Ida finished up a few products before she went back to her original home. Here they are in no particular order. And yes, I "intelligently" keep these empties around the house, patiently waiting until they are blogged about.
Sound Hoof Conditioner So, the hoof is like a modified fingernail, right? I think of this as like a nice hand cream, a nail conditioner, or a cuticle cream that I would use on my own hands and nails. The product smells like cake batter and the primary ingredient is essential fatty acids. I am not dependent on this product per se, but I do like to have it around. I will purchase again for sure, once the winter season is over. I suspect I am going to be dependent on it when I move to Texas though (because it is so dry there). Perhaps even more than the product itself, I totally dig the small business model of this company as well as their overall ethos and social/environmental responsibility.This hoof conditioner is all natural and environmentally compatible. It isn't petroleum based. I can attest to this being totally nontoxic if ingested, because the barn dogs at my stable were constantly licking it up off the ground after I shellacked it on my horses' hooves; and they never died. Cowboy Magic Greenspot Remover I find it essential to have a spray around that is multi-usable on saddle, boots, and horse. I don't know about your equine companions, but mine get covered in their own apples whether they are in a stall or in a field. And they slobber hay all over me, which of course I love. It is definitely gentle enough to use on their coat and skin. The product has a lovely botanical and non-synthetic fragrance, which is clutch for me. Here are a few of the ingredients: glycerine, honey extract, rose flower extract, sage leaf extract, nettle flower extract, matricaria flower extract, peppermint leaf extract, comfrey extract, horsetail extract, witch hazel extract. It does have parabens in it and sodium laureth sulfate, which I find annoying but not a deal breaker. Will I buy it again? Yes.....if I don't find something I like more. The botanical ingredient list is really wonderful, which should be enough for me really. The problem is.....and this is so shallow....the branding. Now I love Lonesome Dove as much as the next cowgirl but I actually ain't a cowgirl. I jump fences and shit! If they called this "The Foxhunter's Etheral and Special Fox Urine Multi Purpose Cleaner," I would have my holy grail multi-purpose cleanser. Farnam Thrush-XX Let me be clear: I *'&%*hate this product. It's my least favorite horse product of all time. I will never buy it again. Why? The smell is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. And even if I didn't actually get the product on me, just holding the bottle was enough to transfer the scent onto me for hours. Furthermore, no matter how much I would wash my hands I still stunk. The smell gave me migraines. Furthermore, I found it awkward to apply. Plus it is aerosol based, which isn't all that hot for the ozone layer. There are way better options than this. I am far happier with Thrush Buster. Mustad Tuff Stuff Before Ida came into her stall for the rainy times here, she had some pretty muddy areas in her field. We all know wet hooves are the penthouse for microbes. And thrush just irritates the shit out of me. Not the horse. Just me. The Tuff Stuff did the job of being like a rain coat for her hoof. I will definitely repurchase as a staple in my stash.
Eqyss Premier Spray - Marigold Sent I love this stuff. I've actually blogged about it before, here. I have slowed down on my use of this, mostly for cost saving reasons. When I have the extra change in the future, I definitely will repurchase.
And lastly.......Uncle Jimmy's Licky Thing
I know it isn't all used up yet, but it will be a while before it's back in the house. You'll let that slide, right? This is an Uncle Jimmy's Licky Thing and I bought the value pack. Want to hear a funny story about this Uncle Jimmy's Licky Thing? Well, the interesting thing about a horse is that its anus is level with its mouth. I hung the Licky Thing so that it was at a good level for Ida to play with (with her face). One day, I noticed that there was horse apples on the Licky Thing and I thought to myself "Huh? How did she defecate on her suspended toy?" Then I realized that a horse's ass is level with their face. When they are turned around with their lower gastrointestinal tract towards the Licky Thing, low and behold horse apples will appear on the Licky Thing. Ida loved her Licky Thing. It certainly is a boredom killer for the stall, which is what it is billed as. I will certainly repurchase refills.
Bye Ida! Today was our last day with our sweet 8 year old leased mare, Ida. I had a great time with Ida and definitely learned a lot from her. What did I learn? For one thing, that a spooky horse requires constant stimulation from me to keep her focused and going forward. So, I learned to be a more aggressive rider in particular situations in which the horse needed a clear leader. I surely learned how to sit through and control a bolt after a spook. Overall, the horse was kind enough to half take care of me, so I gathered some confidence. But, she pushed me to use the confidence that I had acquired at other times...if that makes sense.
I had a great time grooming her and scratching her in the spots that she loved to have scratched. I also thoroughly enjoyed being with a mare, as this is the first one that I have had the pleasure of caring for. She was a riot when she was in her estrous! She would prance around showing everyone her hind end. She was such a hussy!
So, farewell to Ida! We will miss you. We wish you green pastures and all of the alfalfa you can chew.
Tally ho though! Next up, you'll get to meet Oliver, the new (but quite old) dressage mount. He's a retired eventer! Stay tuned. I can tell he's going to be quite the model - he is half arabian.
Jess and Ida's last ride together
I had hoped to get a little video of each of our gates. Alas, I failed to adequately prepare the camera as I had been kindly reminded of before leaving home. So here is a nice 1 lap at the trot for us on the last ride. At the end, we will go past a large window that is our spooky, bolting spot. It took me two months to get smoothly past that area.
Well you know, I really have lagged on the old posting. The problem, it seems, is that I was getting very obsessed about making elaborate, long posts with wonderful photos. What I've realized though, is that this isn't Dappled Grey. It isn't going to be perfect and it isn't going to always look fantastic. I have neither the time nor the background (nor the financial interest) for such an aesthetically pleasing or well researched blog. So in the spirit of my productive buddies from Behind the Bit and Spotty Horse, let the laid back blogging begin.
Horseworship. I love the simplicity and depth of this phrase. This is how I would describe the emotion deep in my chest that I feel for horses. I think I saw these guys in the Dappled Grey holiday gift guide. And of course I fell in love. Because I should really be spending $120 on a horse sweatshirt as opposed to the the Rambo quarter sheet or winter waterproof Mountain Horse boots, right? (However, I am about to move to Austin, Texas, and don't know if these would be overkill for the weather there. Anyone know?)
It's funny. I found this line in an online designer British fashion boutique that I am constantly trolling, Shopbop. Eventually, everything on Shopbop will go on sale and you don't have to pay tax on it. So, if you like the Arabian line of horseworship's apparel, you could hold out for a deal on Shopbop.
The style I am lusting over is this one. I just love the elegant, baroque inspired image of the horses Incidentally, I really should be using my money for something useful like this!
Rambo Newmarket Quarter Sheet. Originally saw this on a horse in an episode of Midsommer Murder!
Ida and I at Star Vaughn. This was our first day riding together.
I will tell you honestly, I am guilty of horse crushes. During these phases, I silently stalked and admired certain horses at my ranch from afar whom I felt possessed a combination of both beauty and individual flair. I would seek out their stalls and covertly learn their names. Their full, graceful tales and funny facial expressions would go with me as I went forth in the world from the ranch. I'd purposefully go out of my way when wheeling about horse poop to walk by them in their turnout. Secretly, I would feed them treats like a naughty girl overfeeding a fat pony.
All of that has stopped though. I met Ida about four weeks ago now. This mare is just to die for. There are a lot of reasons that I have fallen head over heels for her and no longer have extra-relationship horse crushes. Here is a very small and by no means all inclusive sampling:
A) As the author of a "beauty blog for horse and rider," one might expect that I have a particular passion for grooming. Luke, the other model featured in this blog, exasperatingly despises my beautification obsessions and simply does not tolerate any sort of grooming....except having his tail hot oil treated . Don't ask me, I don't get it. Well, Ida just adores my fawning and fussing. She just sinks into me and melts when I scratch behind her ears and at the jowls of her mandible. She falls asleep as I curry and curry her until her coat shines like a diamond.
B) She came without shoes and the lease agreement that she is not to be shod. Yes, I drank the purple Kool Aid of hippy blasphemy in the hunter show world: I prefer unshod feet. I subscribe to "natural hoof shaping."
C) Her tail is ombre. Ombre is so fashionable and on trend right now. Like bow ties.
D) She is so sweet and appears to enjoy me, which is far more than I can say about my grumpy old TB Luke who at best tolerates me.
E) She came with the name Ida. I love old timey, vintage names. I have a list of "dream horse names" to include examples such as "Irene Adler" and "Tzarina Nicola the First."
Please look at Ida's face and not mine. Apparently, my trainer is handing me a "plate of shit" from the look on my face.
I just wanted to introduce her as one of the new primary models for Fourteen Carrots. Ida is half Connemara pony and half Dutch Warmblood. She is 15.2 hands and still fits the exact same girths as my 16.2 hand boy Luke (here I am trying to tell you nicely that she is "stout" or she "doesn't need any more treats" or she "could be on her way to equine metabolic syndrome"). Ida is eight years old now. We need to help her develop her hind end a bit, work on our circles, and effectively stand still at the halt. Love her to bits and pieces and am so happy that she came to hang out with us for awhile! You will be seeing lots of shots of this beauty to come.
Outfits of the day are a fine tradition on the usual beauty and style blogs. I offer the Equine Outfit of the Day (EOOTD) in which a specially dressed horse is shown off. The first featured EOOTD was styled this past weekend during the Ladies Riding Posse gathering at Clay Station Ranch.
Corinthian "Ian" matched his black half pad to his skull and crops embroidered saddle pad for a thoroughly bad ass Thoroughbred outfit.
The horses at our ranch LOVE to air their tongues.
Black on black is so stylish and practical on a chestnut.
Skull and Crops
Unfortunately, this custom saddle pad is not available to the general public. It was designed for a private eventing event on the East coast and my friend lucked out on getting one. It is both fierce and classic at the same time.
Another great outfit of the day! Tate was basically naked in his outfit. This is the most mellow three year old you have ever met.
I first began to admire Malin Baryard-Johnsson after Horse Junkies United posted their article Stirrups are for Losers in which they showcased Malin losing her stirrups in the 2011 FEI World Cup jump off and still finishing third. I have watched this video over and over again - trying to find inspiration for and the example of composure, calm, perseverance and trust in the face of a ride that did not go as planned.
Just to round out a proper bio, I should give you the usual detail that Malin is Swedish and has been riding since 6 years old. She won a team Silver for Sweden in show jumping in the 2004 Athens Olympics. She also has a long list of accomplishments when she was a junior rider.
Obsessed with this video in late 2011, I sort of forgot about it until quite recently when I had been doing some cantering without stirrups. I frantically searched YouTube for the video and came across some surprises and gems that firmly placed Malin as my favorite rider based both on her riding performance and total style. Malin is sponsored by H&M and they produced a series of high quality videos of Malin and Peder Fredricson explaining their favorite riding exercises.
Do you know the phrase that gets thrown around which goes something like "make it easy for the horse to do the right thing"? Malin to me is an excellent example in these videos of how to make it easy for the horse to do the right thing. She invokes this capacity to invite the horse to do the right thing in my mind with her calmness and interactions with the horse. I wouldn't really call her a "form rider" in the way that George Morris will describe people - but, really, what the hell do I know? I just LOVE the way she trills at the horse to both praise and soothe.
Lesson 1
Lesson 5
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
Meet Malin's Gaggle of Mounts
Ok. So all this riding jazz is fine and dandy and I'm just loving watching Malin ride. And then....I find the total gem! Malin does a music video called "Do You Wanna Ride?" My jaw drops. Just drops. Now I am a quirky lady with some totally unrelated interests, and this video includes quite a bit of them! First, Malin is just beautiful in that special Scandinavian way and project both grace and a sort of personal weirdness (I guess we can call that individualtiy). The lyrics of the song are genuinely about riding a course with "oxer" and "vertical" and horse clicks all being mixed. I'm pretty sure its really her voice and all of her horses that she introduces in the above video. Then the video gets pretty random and there is a guitar player totally shredding in her barn in a pile of hay. I just can't get enough of it. It is so entertaining and original and speaks to so many of the things I love: style, the countryside, animals, riding. All in a nerdy and aesthetically appealing way - to me. And I present to you............
Do you wanna ride?
Another reason that I so appreciate Malin and her video is because you don't often see media presenting actual equestrians when they show horses. For example, I have been elated to see two different Vanity Fair spreads in which fashion is presented with horses. Plus, a few seasons ago, Gossip Girl had an episode that took place partially at a polo match. I get so excited about the horses but then notice something that isn't quite right (or just outright wrong or dangerous) with the photos and video because the featured person doesn't actually know how to ride.
They didn't even attempt to put Kristen Stewart on horseback in that dress! Yes, yes I would sit on a horse in that dress and with that hat. Incidentally, I am obsessed with the white horse second from the left in the upper photo. He (I assume) is beyond gorgeous. Look at that head carriage!
Back to the point. Gossip Girl had an episode in which Serena van der Woodsen gallops a polo pony. Look at this photo: her leg isn't even in the right place.
Actually....I don't think that horse is even moving in this photo. This is the video from this episode. The riding starts at 2min mark.
My entire point is that it is fun to see real equestrians in stylized photos and in vide, like Malin Baryard.
Photo from H&M corporate website
Thus ends my odd praise of Malin Baryard who both rides phenomenally and has some excellent style.
