Minis can certainly rock-the-look!
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Honest question- what flaw does bling on a helmet point out?? I get browbands/bonnets highlighting a wagging or unsteady head, I get patent boots/sparkly spurs highlighting an unsteady or nagging leg, and I get white or bling gloves doing the same for an unsteady or incorrectly placed hand(s). But helmet? Genuinely curious because I purposely have nondescript everything except a darker crystal browband and a sparkly Charles Owen JR8.
As for the general opinion on ear bonnets, Iām not much of a fan. I get that they have a function, whether thatās protecting against bugs or just looking pretty. But my horses have a healthy amount of ear hair, we donāt have a ton of tiny bity bugs where I regularly ride or show, Iām not that in to the look of them, and Iām usually a little too lazy to add in one more extra piece of equipment. So you can do you and Iāll do me 
.
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How steady is your head? In the sitting trot while I donāt have the āwobble neckā thing, it does move around. Iād just rather not draw attention to any aberrant movement. I am working on my position but I know itās not perfect.
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What would be an example of this?
Uneven. Too high. Too low. Too wide. Sawing at the mouth. Puppy dog hands. Just about anything.
You donāt get judged on equitation per se but it does inevitably take away from things of you look like a hot mess.
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LOLā¦had to search puppy-dog-hands and google search brought me right back to COTH!
I didnāt know that things like that, incl torso position i suppose? were anything other than a distraction from general overall impression. I suppose if someone was sitting / holding reins in such a way as to be an affront to generally accepted form it would work against you. Especially if it could be connected to causing a less than stellar movement, ( and then it could even be mentioned in remarks?)
edit: my coach has had to tell me to āthumbs upā a few times. I think i tend to have the back of my hand at a 45degree angle. Wrists not broken, but my hands are not vertical. Now that i know itās something bad (puppy hands) iāll pay more attention to it. Thanks.
OMG! HAhahahahahahahahahahah!
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I donāt love the bonnet look either but we get horrible ear-biting gnats here so theyāre sometimes necessary. I have a plain brown Majyk Equipe one that I think is pretty nondescript on both my bay and my chestnut (whose silly ears are actually too long for it lol):
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I had a blaze orange one custom made for trail riding in hunting season, made to fit her airplane ears. Now I put it on my current mare with teddy bear ears and the ends flop overtime a dogās. 
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hmmmmā¦I use one when needed and saw a lot of them at the shows in New England. I donāt find anything dumb about them.
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Thanks! I had not noticed that icon, was trying to work with the image icon instead!
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It could be reflected in the rider score.
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If ear plugs became legal, Iād stop using the noise-cancelling bonnet. Itās too hot in the summer and it falls off if he shakes his head (worse is when the whole bridle comes off). At USDF Finals it got soaking wet and he had to wear it later in the day like that because the other one I brought was wet from the day before. I will admit I like that I donāt have to braid his forelock since heās a nudge and makes it difficult to stand in front of him!
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You do realize you are the one who started a thread just to bash them, right?
You nailed it!
I would like your post more than once if I could! Well said (the whole post, not just the part I quoted)!
On the topic of ear bonnets, I am one of those people who could care less about fashion trends. I have never bought the in style breeches or helmet or saddle pad. I buy what fits or works for me and my horse.
I am also a person who loves ear bonnets. Not just because they are functional, but because it allows me to express my middle aged not going anywhere but having a blast riding self via some fun colors and patterns, while preventing my poor horse from having bugs in their ears because my horse is sure I am killing her when I try to apply fly repellent products to her ears.
I am all for - you do you, and I will do me. As long as I am following any rules in place while doing whatever I am doing, and my horse and I are doing it safelyā¦ I will do me and having a fun ear bonnet makes me smile and my horse does not care.
@eightpondfarm, feel free to make faces as we ride past because our ear bonnet is fun. We will not care that you do not like it.
I admit, the trend of them being popular makes my ear bonnet buying choices far more extensive, and that makes me smile.
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No. I donāt realize that.
I started this thread because i got an invitation to shop early on LeMieuxās Black Friday sale. And on there looked at the toys. Saw all the cute little plushey horses now in many more colors and i thought about the earbonnets being such a thing now for children and figured it might just very well be the end of a trend. My thought-process is: Once little girls take on a fashion itās the beginning of the end.
And, like i said in the OP, when i went to NEC for the regionals i saw very few ear bonnets.
So i came on here wondering. Hopefully wondering for sure, because i do think they look dumb like-i-said.
Nah, all of us are little horse girls at heart. Now we just have real ponies and our own money!
I would show in one if my mare wasnāt so adept at dumping her bridle when she has a bonnet on. Like others on this thread, she has about 6 forelock hairs and detests my attempts at making them into a braid. Weād both be happier with just popping on a bonnet and being done with it. My big mare is not much more endowed in the forelock department, so Iām going to order her a custom bonnet. I think with her Micklem the bridle dumping shouldnāt be such an issue. Iām also going to try out the noise canceling one this winter because the indoor arena making noises really bothers her though she is usually not a spooky horse.
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Agreed. Very cute indeed.
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Love a good matchy matchy! Very nice.
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Helmets look dumb.
Half chaps/tall boots look dumb.
Seatbelts look dumb AND wrinkle linen clothing.
Safety stirrups look dumb.
Breakaway halters look dumb.
Roofing harnesses look super dumb.
Blaze orange vests look dumb.
Editing to add RUBBER BOOTS, omg, the dumbest looking things on the planet.
There are ALL sorts of ādumbā looking things in the world. They are not going away. Get over yourself.
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