Shopping Trip

Things that I should have done today instead of driving for 2 hours to go to the tack store(s):

  • deep cleaned my house (my mom is coming to visit on Friday)
  • cleaned my car (I'm giving the dressage trainer a ride home on Monday and it's a disaster in there)
  • taken my dog for a hike
  • spent time with my boyfriend
  • slept before my overnight shift
  • (I'm sure there are more things, but those are the big ones)
Things that I did today: 
  • drove 4 hours round-trip to go to the tack store
My town doesn't have its own horsey store, so shopping in real life involves a lot of driving.  I found out yesterday that there is actually a closer tack shop - only like 40 minutes away - but as an extreme creature of habit I decided to make the trip to STL anyways, because it's familiar and I've been to the two there before and I was pretty sure I'd be able to find all of the things that I was hoping to obtain. 

Shopping list:
  • consignment tall boots, or at least try on enough pairs to get a good idea of what I should be looking for when I shop online
  • consignment bridle (under $50) for schooling so that I don't have to keep borrowing my trainer's and don't need to use the fancy pants PS of Sweden one every time
  • backup pair of lime bell boots for when the current pair inevitably dies
  • hoof hardener
  • new show shirt (on sale or on consignment)
I was hoping to spend $100 or less, unless I found a magical pair of tall boots.  

The purchases:

Leo's 'signature' look
The current pair are Centaurs, but the tack store only had Romas.  I'm sure they'll do a very equivalent job of bell-booting.  Heaven forbid that Leo go a day without lime green kicks.

Grey and purple kind of go with lime green, right?
A cooler wasn't on my list of things for today, but I've been on the lookout for one for a while.  This one was on consignment, so it was super affordable, and also completely adorable.  Although Leo was less than thrilled with the fact that I brought him in from the pasture to try it on.


Pretty fancy stitched bridle and matching removable flash.  The color looks better on him than I thought it would, and it seems like decent quality leather.  It came with matching reins that I didn't put on right away because I was kind of in a hurry, and the flash wasn't adjusted right, but it fits and has lots of room for adjustment!  I'm really excited about it - I am not super inclined to use my PS of Sweden bridle ALL of the time, and I don't leave it at the barn, so I needed a backup.  Also if we ever do hunters (ha, ha) we now have a show-legal bridle.  And it was on consignment for half of what I was willing to spend.

Leo should be a model.
And that's it.  I didn't find a single pair of boots that fit well, and I didn't find a show shirt that I could afford.  I also didn't research hoof stuff enough to make an informed purchase, but I can pick something like that up at one of the local stores.  And I stayed well within my budget!  Definitely a successful trip, although maybe not entirely worth all of the driving.  If I can find someone to go with me next time, I'll probably check out the closer store.  (:

Comments

  1. EventingSaddlebredStyleSeptember 3, 2016 at 9:54 PM

    I love the lime green bell boots! Also totally jealous you can use ones with Velcro. My idiot will remove anything with Velcro, so I'm stuck with pull ons

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kaitySeptember 3, 2016 at 10:59 PM

      I was actually pretty shocked that he didn't destroy them immediately, but they've held up really well so far! I hear the pull ons last longer regardless, though, so you've got that going for you! If only they made them in fun colors...

      Delete
  2. TrainwreckInTealSeptember 4, 2016 at 7:34 AM

    You definitely need to check out RCW -- she's much closer to you and has awesome stuff!! 😀 I am there like every other week, so dangerous to my bank account haha. But I'm glad you were able to find some of the stuff on your list!

    ReplyDelete
  3. KateRoseSeptember 4, 2016 at 12:47 PM

    I love the green kicks! Sounds like a success :) good luck on the boot hunt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kaitySeptember 6, 2016 at 6:05 PM

      Thanks! One of the trainers at my barn has a few pairs for me to try, hopefully one of them works out!

      Delete

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