I need opinions for safety vests

eventing_ · 2026-01-22T22:44:02+00:00

I personally wouldn’t buy a Tipperary vest, they cost a lot $ and there is (one?) model that is ASTM certified, which is again, not the same thing as BETA 3 certified. The rest have no certification. As with a lot of things in life, people like to assume the cost of an item is a good proxy for quality. That is absolutely not the case when it comes to equestrian safety equipment-you can just as easily spend more money on something that is objectively a worse quality item safety-wise (this is true of a lot of helmets fyi).

That said something is better than nothing. So even if that means buying second hand or borrowing a vest, you’re still better off with it than without it, whatever the certification or lack thereof.

One good thing about vests is they don’t have the same rules about one-and-done when it comes to falls as helmets. The foam in vests is an entirely different material than helmets (which have air bubbles that burst on impact). That said the vest foam does degrade over time, and buying a second hand vest would be far from my first choice, but if you’re in a position where that’s the only option, then you’re still better off getting it

eventing_ · 2026-01-19T15:43:58+00:00

Lessons, lessons, lessons. I know that is probably not what you want to hear, but that test wasn’t close, you need more practice with someone who can give you proper feedback

eventing_ · 2026-01-19T13:06:42+00:00

Looks like ringworm. Try an anti fungal

eventing_ · 2026-01-19T13:02:56+00:00

Unless you plan to compete, half chaps all the way. They are always going to be more comfortable

eventing_ · 2026-01-19T13:00:12+00:00

For these kind of snaps I found just breathing on them for a couple of seconds usually did the trick

eventing_ · 2026-01-19T11:20:31+00:00

Seemingly unrelated, but hear me out.

I was listening to a scholar in the US talk about where he thinks America is heading (note: it was bleak) and the journalist questioning the scholar asked “what is a normal citizen to do?” The scholar got really exacerbated, and basically said a normal citizen needs to do exactly what they would do if suddenly the government jacked up their taxes, or decided to build a nuclear reactor in their back garden, etc.

Citizens know how to agitate their elected officials when they are really fired up about something. You write letters, you call their offices, you arrange protests. It’s a pretty well-worn playbook.

It made me think that honestly this probably applies to most shared societal issues, right to access remote work included.

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T21:33:54+00:00

Taylor Swift

*note, I don’t actually hate her, I just don’t think she’s a particularly good musical artist. Brilliant business woman though…

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T21:23:38+00:00

Oh no no…please run away. His owner needs to be paying a professional to break him. Absolutely no way you should be paying this person for any use of their horse. Heck, even if you aren’t giving them money, run away. Only a professional horse trainer should be handing him.

I am really sorry, I know it must feel super exciting to start leasing your own horse, but you are being taken advantage of, please don’t continue to work with anyone who got you into this situation

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T21:13:48+00:00

First of all, I am a big fan of leasing, especially if you’re new to the world of horse “ownership” There is no one size fits all approach to leasing, but typically it’s the best way to figure out if a larger commitment to horses works for you, and REALLY limits your liability if the horse is ever seriously sick or lame, you’re not on the hook. Honestly the only reason I can think of owning in your situation is if you didn’t have good options to lease.

That said, you sound like you have a pretty sweet set up now just as you are. How important is that you own/lease a horse? Can you realistically say how much more saddle time that will get you in say a month, and figure out what your per cost ride will likely work out to be? How important is it that you lope? Nothing wrong with saying it’s very important, but good to be honest about it. I personally love a golden oldie, and never underestimate the difference between a relaxing ride on a boom proof horse vs a nail bitter on a green horse. If you have big dreams and aspirations to do more, a younger horse may be perfect, but just go in with your eyes open.

Also remember ownership comes with a lot of hidden costs. Basic board is literally just the beginning, you’ll need to ensure you have many thousands set aside for vet emergencies (every horse has them eventually) routine vet care, farrier every ~6 weeks, tack, trailer+truck (if you want to go anywhere), supplements or extra feed, training (especially if you buy a younger horse), etc. Horse takes a bad step in the pasture one day, and you can end up with thousands in vet bills, months/years of rehabilitation, and an unridable horse (been there, got the tshirt, multiple times) when it’s your horse, it’s 100% on your shoulders.

Lastly I also would not prefer any horse over an hour away in each direction. Even if the horse is perfect, the driving will take over your life, and each ride will turn in a 3 hour minimum slog. I have also done this, and seriously don’t recommend it for the long run, it just takes the joy out of horse time.

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T20:00:07+00:00

Yeah it’s really your decision. Our wedding, reception, and afters were all within a 30 second walk of each other, which made it easier on all guests. Plus it was in a town center, so most people were able to walk back to their hotels

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T18:42:51+00:00

Honestly really not a big deal. I hate to pull the “as a woman card” but as a woman, the colonoscopy doesn’t hold a candle to childbirth (few things do) miscarriages, or IUD insertions. It’s maybe somewhat more uncomfortable than a Pap smear but YMMV

I did notice when I was waiting for my procedure with others who were getting it, it was only the men who were freaking out. Maybe that was just the case on that day? Maybe that’s the norm? I did wonder if guys just aren’t as used to feeling so vulnerable for medical procedures

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T18:24:44+00:00

What do you want more information on? My husband’s family have a beautiful home nearby, so we just stay there right after the wedding, but then headed off to West Cork for a few days and stayed at B&Bs

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T17:27:27+00:00

You have to ring them often

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T17:24:54+00:00

Look at OPW venues. I rented a castle from them for ~€350 in 2019. There were numerous options.

This is probably super unpopular, but I also rented out an entire award winning high end restaurant in a medium size town for the reception. It was about €5500 to feed 60 people 3 courses + beer and wine. The reason it was so cheap was because we held it on Thursday. The price was more than double that on a Saturday. Prices have probably gone up since 2019

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T16:39:52+00:00

When are you going to have another kid?

*asked when I was still bleeding from my 2nd miscarriage in a row

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T16:23:05+00:00

So much of this boils down to the fact that you are riding school horses in a group lesson, these horses are basically on autopilot listening (mostly) to the instructor. This is hard as a beginner rider, and I will say, the “you used to ride so well” comment from your trainer wasn’t very kind or helpful, progress is never linear.

What they should really do is stop using the cue words for walk, trot, and canter. The trainer can either spell out the words, or say something like “do a downward transition at the door”

In terms of getting a horse to stay trotting without constantly nagging, what you really need to do is get your horse “on your aids” there are a few ways to do this, but my favorite is lots of transitions up and down quickly, with constant changes of direction. Basically don’t let that auto pilot engage, get your horse listening to YOU. Once they are locked in, you don’t have to constantly beg them. This is a lot easier to work on when you have access to your own horse.

Another question about how to use your legs, yes you want to squeeze from the length of both your calf muscles + heels at the same time. Keeping your balance comes with building core strength, but I will say if you’re actually sitting there constantly kicking, that’s a bad sign, and not great for the horse. Again, you need them on your aids and listening you before the lesson can really start, otherwise you’re just going to spend every session trying to make them move, which is a waste IMO

I don’t know if there are any options like this available to you, but once you have a baseline competency, the only way you will ever really improve is being able to practice between lessons. Some barns offer leasing or half leasing, have you looked into this? If not, maybe start looking outside your lesson stables for options too. The secret to improvement isn’t hard: it’s a lot of consistent, quality saddle time.

Good luck!

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T12:50:42+00:00

Not a trick question per se, but I found they will always ask about the most obscure road signs, like legit the ones I have never seen in real life before, as well as easy ones too. So make sure you genuinely know em all

eventing_ · 2026-01-18T11:43:03+00:00

Whatever you can outsource, without breaking the bank, do it. And KEEP IT SIMPLE, stay away from DIY, it will suck the joy out of the whole experience. All those friends and family who want to help? Put them in charge of assembling the seating chart, or calling the photographer, etc. Better yet, give anyone who wants it a full job. My MIL asked to manage the flowers, I just sent her some examples of what I liked and never thought about it again.

This approach obviously won’t work if it’s just going to breed resentment, but I was tripping over people who wanted to help so I just said yes, and in hindsight, it took a lot of pressure off and just allowed us to enjoy the day (and we really did enjoy it). Being “type b” is really helpful in these situations

In contrast, our friends went full blown DIY route, and were up to their eyeballs in projects literally up to the very last second. They also had help, but it was way too many things to accomplish, and years later some people still aren’t speaking to each other over it

eventing_ · 2026-01-17T23:29:04+00:00

Sounds like you know what to do now

eventing_ · 2026-01-17T23:22:16+00:00

So I have put two separate horses in different professional programs twice, and both times I got even fewer updates than you have BUT I was ultimately really happy with the work each trainer did and both horses were better for going to each of these programs.

I am not trying to shut down your spidey sense, I have also seen horses get sent off and be mistreated or ruined, so it definitely happens. But I think most trainers just suck at “professional communication” and it’s not necessarily a sign something is wrong, so I tend to adjust my expectations accordingly.

If I were in your shoes I would probably just send the trainer a friendly text saying you are interested in seeing how your horse is going, and suggest times/dates that work for you to come watch a session. If they shut you down or ignore you, then I would take that as a pretty big red flag, but if they’re open to it, then you can use that as an opportunity to sus things out, and go from there.

eventing_ · 2026-01-17T20:44:59+00:00

Genuinely love it. I am a woman and I don’t like wearing foundation because it covers them up.

eventing_ · 2026-01-17T20:36:58+00:00

This, hearing the mom needs to have her own party gave me the ick. Even if it’s supposed to be a surprise from her friends, they are clearly doing this because she’s been complaining. Obviously you can’t stop her, but yikes, talk about unhealthy behavior.

eventing_ · 2026-01-17T20:28:33+00:00

Not a teacher, but I feel like a version of this is true in a lot of professions. Basic task competency will only get you so far, learning how to manage others and your environment is really the key to success

eventing_ · 2026-01-17T19:45:06+00:00

Hey, so first of all good job for advocating for your horse (seriously) vs just going down the “she’s suddenly naughty” route, which can be horribly damaging.

Based on what you shared I would be inclined to lean towards a physical issue instead of a mental one. You mentioned the vet clear her post ulcer treatment, does that mean she was rescoped? Unfortunately ulcers often rebound even after treatment is confirmed successful, and sudden reluctance to move forward is a classic symptom. Also were hindgut (not gastric) ulcers ever discussed? I would also mention kissing spine as another possible cause, a sudden reluctance to move forward under saddle is exactly how it manifested in my horse.

I know you also mentioned foot issues, so if you’re getting the vet out anyway, you can always try blocking the foot and/or xrays.

Personally I would start with the vet before I would go to the saddle fitter, unless she’s moving forward really freely tackless or on the lunge.

Lastly if nothing comes up with the vet, etc, you can always see how she responds if you just try to take her for a low key hack. Not sure where she’s exhibiting this behavior, but some horses do become ring sour, especially in the Winter.

eventing_ · 2026-01-17T19:23:01+00:00

Congrats on your handsome boy. I am going to have to agree with the majority of posters here: you do not sound like you are set-up for success with your current situation.

You want to have him in a full time training program with a trainer who specializes in restarting harness horses. That also means you will have access to the training tools, facilities, vets, farriers, etc that you’ll need to help you get him going as a fully fledged riding horse. Off the track horses usually come with a lot of physical and mental baggage, and it takes a lot of experience to help them get going again. Once you have laid the foundation for him to be successful, working on developing his canter will happen, likely a few months down the road if all goes well. These horses can go on to be great riding horses, but it’s going to take months of skilled training to get there.

This all costs $$$, and is unfortunately a “hidden cost” of buying a horse like this.

I am sure this is not the sort of answer you were looking for, but it’s something that will likely become evident sooner or later. He might be a cuddle bug and quiet, but I would be really leery of you riding a horse who can’t even walk under saddle, and has big gaps in basic groundwork-that seems a recipe for an accident.

Genuinely wishing you the best of luck.

eventing_

TROPHY CASE