any other tackaholics always hoping for a peek?

[pintopiaffe]

I feel like it’s naughty or something. :lol:

I’m always watching the ‘after the test’ stuff to see what saddles, girths etc. are being used.

Mostly because some of those horses HAVE to be wider than mine, and so far I’ve only found two saddles on this earth shy of custom that fit him. One of those two I can’t ride in.

I’m always looking at the bridles too. I’m a rolled fan, (on an Indian budget :uhoh: ) but I’ve seen a couple flat bridles I’ve liked too.

One rider, was it a Brit? Had clips on her reins. I have clips on my schooling reins because I have different bridles for the youn’uns but only a single pair of reins I really love. I was really surprized to see them on for showing–especially at this level. I’ve always switched out to show, maybe I don’t have to now?

Finally, I sure wish I’d bought stock in sheepskin half-pads. I don’t remember EVER seeing so many. Everyone is going to want one now. I’m surprized in that heat to see so many OVER a square pad. IMO, part of the reason I do pay for REAL $heep$kin is the cooling and wicking. I’ll use a square pad under in the spring when it’s shedding season, but I actually started using sheepskin in the dead of summer when I’d trailer in for lessons and it would be a good 15-20 degrees hotter down there, with horrible humidity.

At any rate, I am just really surprized to see so many, when you know at that level, most of the saddles are probably custom. I hate it when something I use becomes a ‘fad.’ :lol:

[Eyemadonkee]

I was wondering about the half pads over the square pads too… they are supposed to be under, but everyone uses them over to keep them clean… I wouldn’t have expected riders at this level to worry about keeping them clean, so maybe they’re just using them for the cushion rather than wicking? Who knows…

[Seven-up]

You’re supposed to use half pads underneath a square pad? Weird. Never seen that before.

Unrelated to that, did anyone notice the sj horse (Japan, maybe?) whose breastcollar appeared to have a little red heart on the front, on the horse’s chest? Not sure if that’s what it was, but it was cute.

[yaya]

I didn’t see it, but could it have been just a red circle, like the Japanese flag? (Red circle on a white background)

[Vesper_Sparrow]

Yes, I was eyeing the bridles and browbands in the dressage since I’m looking for a browband for my new horse.

[Seven-up]

[QUOTE=yaya;3461017]
I didn’t see it, but could it have been just a red circle, like the Japanese flag? (Red circle on a white background)[/QUOTE]

Possibly. That’s what I thought it was at first, but it didn’t look completely round on the top, making me think it was a heart. I’ve been trying to find a pic but I haven’t yet.

Anyone else wonder why some horses have so MUCH tack on? Like, what’s the point of having a breastcollar AND a running martingale on, when you could just have a running attachment clipped onto the chest ring? There was one head-tossing grey mare that had so much stuff on I couldn’t help thinking maybe she was trying to get some of the sh!t off her face.

Or why you would use a rope noseband when it’s not connected to anything (like a standing martingale)?

[TexasTB]

I found it interesting that Anky wasn’t riding in her Anky saddle. Was it a Barnsby AVG, perhaps?

[system]

Crocheted Crown-Pieces on the Show Jumpers

Those classy, good-looking ear and brow covers add some panache to the exhibitor’s turnout. But…I wonder if some of the horses’ head-tossing in the Jumping was due to the flopping of the bottom edge of the cover banging right between the horse’s eyes, serving as a distraction to their eyesight, and feeling possibly like someone poking them in the forehead repeatedly, just at the moments when they’re trying to gage their stride or launch point…?

If the size of the Cover was too large for the horse’s head, or if the groom had, in tacking up, pulled or stretched it too low down on the horse’s face, then…bang, flop, toss, how vexing it might be for the poor horse. There were some crown-pieces that fit just right, and extended only an inch or so below the brow band of the bridle…No head tossing. The horse’s comfort, concentration, and performance shouldn’t suffer for style, or hastily applied tack.

Any Grand Prix thoughts would be valuable…I think I may have been a showjumper on my previous planet in a galaxy far away.

[Seven-up]

I had one of those old school ones ordered from Millers when they were someone you wanted to order from (where’s the B!tch smilie?) that had the dingle balls on the end of the front…I guess to softly thump any offending buggies that dared to fly close. Anyway it hung too low over my guy’s eyes, so I had to roll it up into the browband so he could still keep the bugs outa the ears. It only unrolled once or twice, where my man stopped, tried to look around, and must’ve said, “where did I go?” Other than that, worked pretty well.

[Pat]

@Seven-up;3463905

Or why you would use a rope noseband when it’s not connected to anything (like a standing martingale)?

I always wondered about that too.

Using a running and a breast collar… Well, dunno. I think that some people feel that the attachments sit at a funny angle. Plus they are usually rather limited in thier adjustability. I had to have one lengthened to fit my long and tall OTTB properly.

[columbus]

perhaps

Perhaps they are hiding that the ears have plugs to deaden the sound…maybe to keep cotton on place in the ears.

Also if you have never been punched in the nose by a flipping horse’s head you might not use a tie-down on a high strung head flipping horse but it sound like that horse needed whatever it took.

Idle Dice also used a rope nose band and I never could figure that out either. PatO

[pintopiaffe]

A rope noseband adjusted correctly can keep a horse from gaping it’s jaw. A different way from a crank… the rope allows some movement, but only to a point. It’s obviously a sharper feel than a regular cavesson, discouraging the over-opening.

Also, at least from my long-ago western days, some would train with the rope and the tie-down (Standing martingale) but then remove the tie-down (martingale) but the horse associated the NOSEBAND with the tie-down and would not repeat the behaviour because he would think he was still restricted.

And I thought Anky WAS in her saddle. Square cantle, same thigh pads… ?? I mean, I’m sure it’s a custom version… but… I dunno. Saw more Passiers than I expected, some Spirigs were identifyable, a couple Isabelles. Then many non-identifyables.

[everyequine]

[QUOTE=pintopiaffe;3479075]
A rope noseband adjusted correctly can keep a horse from gaping it’s jaw. A different way from a crank… the rope allows some movement, but only to a point. It’s obviously a sharper feel than a regular cavesson, discouraging the over-opening.

Also, at least from my long-ago western days, some would train with the rope and the tie-down (Standing martingale) but then remove the tie-down (martingale) but the horse associated the NOSEBAND with the tie-down and would not repeat the behaviour because he would think he was still restricted.

And I thought Anky WAS in her saddle. Square cantle, same thigh pads… ?? I mean, I’m sure it’s a custom version… but… I dunno. Saw more Passiers than I expected, some Spirigs were identifyable, a couple Isabelles. Then many non-identifyables. ;)[/QUOTE]

Yes. Pretty sure I saw a few Hennigs…Debbie Mc Donald’s saddle fit her leg, and made her look TALL!!!

Watching the jumping with Mr EE and he would say “hey did you see that??” Me: “no, I was looking at the saddle…”
but he was in agreement on a few tack items…he would say yeah, that looks like ____ in the catalog!
Yes, I have caught him reading the Dover catalog… which usually prompts the question, “what are you going to buy me??” :lol: lol!

[half_seat]

@Seven-up;3463905

Anyone else wonder why some horses have so MUCH tack on? Like, what’s the point of having a breastcollar AND a running martingale on, when you could just have a running attachment clipped onto the chest ring?

It’s an issue of proper fitting. As an event rider, I never used a running martingale attached to a breast plate ring because it just never fit in the proper position, no matter how I adjusted it.