Trailer Hunting

Pretty much immediately after leaving the bay area, I wanted a trailer. I've been ever grateful that having TC relatively close to my parents' ranch has meant that I could borrow their trailer almost any time I wanted. This was crucial to getting TC used to going all the places and I think it made a huge difference in my confidence with him. Plus, shows and trail rides and lessons are super fun!

MORE TRAIL RIDES PLS

Now, it'd take me roughly five hours to go down and get their trailer and bring it back to my barn. That's a bit out of the question.

I'm waiting until the end of April to figure out what my budget is for a trailer, though I'm thinking that CHEAP is a good way of quantifying it for now.

I'm really not very picky either, I only have three requirements:

1) I want a two horse trailer, since I'm already really anxious about having to back it up and drive it through the city so I don't want anything too large. Plus, I have one horse and am not planning on expanding my training business so much that I have to haul too many clients around.

2) It has to be warmblood-sized or at least a bit bigger than normal. TC is a big-ish horse. Not too big, but big enough. I don't know how big my next horse is going to be. Hopefully not big at all. I'd really want to be on the other side of the transaction when an adult ammy buys a super fancy dressage pony. But I know that even if my horse is small, I'll not regret getting a larger trailer.

3) It has to have a dressing room. I've seen a lot of those little straight loads with the tack under the feeder, but at pretty much every show I'm changing/crying/having a panic attack in the tack room, so I need to fit inside of it comfortably.

TC says BUY ME A TRAILER so I can get back into that show
ring ASAP

Other than that, I don't care. I don't care if it has a ramp or not (TC has been in both) or if it's a straight or slant load (TC will get in anything if there are cookies involved, I'll make sure of it) or if it's a goose neck or bumper pull (truck has both and I've driven both).

BUT I have never bought a trailer. My mom has, though, and has been really intrusive offered a lot of great advice. I figured I'd ask the blogosphere though, what has been your experience in buying trailers? Any good websites/etc to look for them? Buy new or used (very much used for me I think given my budget)? Vet check for trailers? Anything to look out for?

I've already budgeted for maintenance, which is currently being rerouted into my trailer savings fund. I've got a place to put it (barn has free trailer parking, thanks amazing barn owner!), and I've already got all my shows and lessons and trail rides obsessively planned in the calendar. Now just to get the thing!

Unicorn Found

My mom has been shopping on and off for what I've called her unicorn. Seriously her wishlist is ridiculous.

She wants first and foremost a family horse for the grandchildren she doesn't have (yet), who is perfect on the trails with and without other horses, who is very sound, but also over 10 years old and under 14, who is smooth to ride, who is small enough for her to get on from the ground but has enough neck in front of her to feel like she's riding something with substance, who is quiet enough to be left for a few months and then ridden without a longe, but who is also happy being ridden every day if she feels like it, who has a big enough walk to keep up with my dad's TWH but isn't that forward thinking, but isn't lazy either, and who obviously cleans his own paddock and does her taxes for her every year.

I basically told my mom that the horse she wants doesn't exist. And she went off and proved me wrong!

She found a little horse nearby who fit almost all of the criteria. He had been horse camping and trail riding most of his life, and then found his way into an event barn where he had done a couple of events and was giving a longe lesson to a 6 year old every week. And on Wednesday I went to go see him.

His ad said he was athletic and... okay well maybe I'm just biased with TC who is what I would call athletic. This little guy is sweet and kind and we adore him but I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to call him athletic. Which is a major plus in our book! My mom has gotten my hand-me-downs for quite a long time and has had her fair share of athletic horses.

I put him through his paces (I even jumped him, I've jumped maybe four times in the last year so I was real bad) and gave my mom the go ahead. Now we just wait for the vet check. Could these be the weeny little ears my mom gets to look through? And maybe me too, because come on, he jumps!

Fingers crossed, vet check is being scheduled soon

Adventures at Dover

Saturday after visiting TC, I got home a little before noon. L had finished washing her flying pig and we headed out to lunch to have some amazing carne asada tacos. Our ultimate destination was the new Dover store, which has been open for quite a while now and is only about 20-30 minutes away from each of our houses. But, you know, we're adults who have self control... sort of.

Actually I was really good about my self control, as I was awaiting the possibility of TWO pricey vet bills (looks like I'm going to dodge the second one) and too many people have birthdays in March. But even just SEEING a Dover store was amazing. And you can't go in there without buying something, right? Even if it's a sticker. FYI all pictures taken by L because my phone was out of battery.

SO EXCITED FOR DOVER

Our main goal was to dress each other up as each other so we did that first. L picked out tailored sportsman breeches for me with a SIDE zip (never worn those), a really cute top that I totally would wear to work except that it wanted me to wear a sports bra, and an awesome jacket that felt real short since the last jacket I wore was my shad (damn lame pony!).

I've never worn side zip breeches, and that was an experience. Then I forgot to tuck in my shirt, for which George Morris would have sent me out of the ring. The shirt kind of choked me too. I said that George would have told me that I had a fat neck and needed to lose weight just in my neck. But everything came together real cute even if I can't model to save my life.

I am the most stylish hunter rider

GM would be proud

I really wanted to get L in a shadbelly, but I think I'll have to stick her in mine at some point. We couldn't find one that would fit her because all of them were huge. So I dressed her up as a non-FEI rider, boo.

But then I totally wanted to buy her outfit. I put her in white breeches with a gray full seat, which was awesome and my next pair of show breeches will for sure have a gray or black butt. Then we found a white shirt and I choked her with a not-pre-tied stock because all the pre-tied ones were in boxes and we were trying not to be destructive. And then she got the cutest black Pikeur jacket with little silver accents and buttons that I thought were a bit over the top but I don't care, I want that jacket.

After playing dress up (and being good customers who put everything back rather than leave it in the dressing room), we went exploring.

L is the most amazing dressage rider

This place is amazing and I'm grateful that the dumbest horse in the world is lame because I would have wanted to buy EVERYTHING since all of TC's stuff is hand-me-downs from Rico (except his halter + one saddle pad) and he obviously needs a whole new wardrobe even if he hasn't worn tack in 2.5 months.

There was this amazing snaffle bridle with a sparkly noseband that I totally wanted. But then a bridle next to it had silver piping on the noseband so I thought I'd rather go for that one. Can't decide. I *do* need a snaffle bridle at some point since my bridle is one that I bought when I worked at a tack store 12 years ago. Still going strong though so I can wait.

I totally wanted new stirrups too, and they had gray composite stirrups that were sort of calling to me. I haven't ever ridden in wide foot bed composite stirrups though, and I get along with my boring fillis irons just fine. So I put them down. But then picked them up several more times but ultimately left them.

I saw they had Custom saddles there, but only the Steffen Peters Advantage, which isn't my favorite. I love the seat on those things but the blocks aren't my style I don't think- haven't sat in enough to really know. Still better than my Custom Versailles, but they can't beat mine's price ($650 including tax), so I'll stick with mine.

I RIDE PONIES SO GOOD

Discipline change for sure

In a jump saddle! I look confused
as to why I'm sitting in this thing

I saw my future helmet, a CO with a sparkly stripe. I like my gray stripe one too though, especially with my shadbelly that has gray points. But my regular jacket is a boring black one and so maybe some sparkle in my helmet will make me look fancier. Or maybe it will just blind the judge so they don't see what's going wrong.  Excellent.

We saw a saddle pad that I NEEDED. It was bright blue and sparkly. If it had been less money and if I hadn't had a second pending ultrasound, I would have bought it and worn it to my first Tracey lesson back with TC because Tracey needs to know what she's getting into if she's going to be my trainer again. If it goes on sale, I'm totally buying it. And matching twinkle toes as well.

Sparkle noseband! To go with sparkle pad and sparkle helmet.
I like my nosebands thicker though...

I actually did want to buy a cute gray saddle pad with purple piping but again, the price point. Saddle pads are expensive these days, and not a necessity- I have tons of them. Boo for adult decisions.

I showed L the half pad I desperately want but need a sound horse (and a sale) to justify buying. It's a fleeceworks pad with thinline, which makes it super thick. I'm hoping that a thicker pad (with the ability to use inserts) will help keep Rico's saddle fitting TC as he puts on muscle. Then he can step down into the regular fleeceworks pad later. But I definitely looked at the ogilvy pads there too. I might have to look into those. I love the covers that you can get in pretty colors... but that may be the only reason why I want one. I like the idea of having a show cover in gray or white or black and then having a fun one for home in blue + silver + gray.

So many pretty jackets!! Need all of them

I also finally found Rico's leather halter, which I want to buy for TC when TC can graduate to using a regular halter instead of a rope one. I bought Rico's halter at that same tack store 12 years ago, before I even bought Rico- it's black leather with padding and silver piping with chrome buckles.

When I was thinking about buying TC, I wanted to immediately order that halter with a name plate for him, but couldn't find it. Eventually I gave up, remembering that I have no show name for him anyway. So we'll wait on that. Rico has had his for 11 years and his name plate is still sitting in my desk drawer. So no promises, TC.

This was the weirdest grooming mitt

It was SUCH a fun day. I mean it's always fun to hang out with L. But Dover was so cool, I definitely want to go back when TC comes back into work. But then my self control may not be so great. Shout out to the injured horse for simultaneously destroying and saving my bank account.