The Blog

Being an adult amateur is hard enough, #iykyk. Adding a young horse to the mix, well that levels up the difficulty to say the least. Here’s 5 tips I’ve learned so far on my young horse journey. Do Not Compare! This is true with all equestrian journeys but especially so with young horses. Do not […]

What is the biggest organ in your body? If you said skin you’d be right. Since it is our outermost layer most of us take it for granted. Equestrians push their skin, and other vital organs like the brain and heart, to the max. Its important as we start spending more time outside in the […]

By Guest Blogger Amy Benenson If you’re like me, you’re already trying to figure out how to afford the summer show season that’s fast approaching. If you’re unlike me, you already have everything planned out and you have decided to take a leap of faith and trade your AirBNB for RV accommodations. During the height […]

Meet Your Guest Blogger Hi there! My name is Lisa, I am a lifelong amateur equestrian with a passion for leatherwork and helping others fit their tack. I run Gray Horse Leatherworks (@GrayHorseLeatherworks), creating custom leather goods and performing repairs. I am also a dual-certified bit and bridle fit consultant and I love sharing with […]

Truthfully, I’m not huge fan of Valentine’s Day. Human-PDA makes me v uncomfortable. On the other hand, horse-PDA is totally acceptable. Want to make the day special for your horse to try to forget all of the human love in the air? Well this is the blog post for you! Gift for You You know […]

Meet Our Guest Blogger Hi I’m Amy, IG handle: @amyrose__9! I’m a former aspiring professional equestrian turned adult amateur. I now spend my days as a physician assistant treating patients by day and running to the barn to ride! After turning 30 years old this past year, I was finally able to buy my first horse after […]

Water. This is a substance that is talked about as much as poop in the equestrian world, #iykyk. The two actually go hand-in-hand. In the winter every equestrian starts obsessively worrying about their horses input and output. We’ve all noticed that our horses tend to drink less water in the winter months. Why is that? […]

Winter time is the pits, for many reasons, but to name a few … shortened days, cold, mud. If you don’t have access to hot water during the colder months bathing is in fact impossible. Even for those with access to hot water, if your horse is not body clipped, bathing is a nearly impossible […]

Get ready, these sales are some you are not going to want to miss! BOTORI: Wednesday, 11/22/2023 through Monday, 11/27/2023 automatic 20% off sitewide, can be combined with my discount code OXERS10 to increase to 25% off sitewide. If that wasn’t good enough, if you spend over $175 you will receive free shipping (US only) […]

Gift giving is one of my favorite things. However, I am the world’s biggest procrastinator to purchasing though. No seriously. Susan always gets her birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day gifts like 1-2 weeks after the fact – ask my husband. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are quickly approaching. With that said, I wanted to post a […]

Every year I have been fortunate enough to qualify and go to National Horse Show it has been such a surreal feeling. Pre-2020 Sarah dreamt of qualifying for the THIS NHS Adult Medal but definitely had doubts of it ever happening for her. I remember the inaugural year thinking, “yes, this is my goal.” What […]

Going to a horse show is stressful enough. No need for packing to add to that stress pot. Over the past 7 years I have learned things that add and detract from the baseline jitters most of us experience leading up to and/or at a show. Without further ado here’s some of my tips for […]

Unpopular opinion, I find body clipping relaxing. Well, let me clarify: I find body clipping relaxing on horses who do not dis-enjoy being clipped. How about that? The best way to achieve great results is to be consistent and use the same or at least similar approach each time. Below I’ll share my “guide” to […]

How many gray lovers do we have here? Chrome lovers? Paint lovers? Probably a few. I specifically requested no chrome when shopping for my second equine but alas here we are, 4 white socks. Luckily, through my time at my barn I got a front row seat to one of my barnmate’s keeping her paint […]

Did you know you were supposed to replace your helmet every 3-5 years regardless of falls or trauma? Did you know after a fall you’re supposed to replace your helmet too? Luckily for you SmartPak is having a helmet sale in honor of Safety Awareness Week. Check out some of my favorite helmets in the […]

So you might have seen my blog on horse show costs, primarily comparing that of a local to a rated horse show. If you missed it, check it out here. To summarize, a local show will cost around the $250 mark while a rated show will be closer to $600. These numbers are without training, […]

We work hard for our horses to have a good life. Every now and again we can spoil ourselves along with them. Check out some AMAZING Labor Day Sales! Happy Shopping, friends! 🙂

I get this question a lot – “why a young horse?” At first it was the answer you suspect – budget. I did not have the budget to go out and purchase a quality, finished A/O hunter without major “holes” as my second horse. I feel like shopping for horses is a three legged stool […]

You’ve read about wardrobe hacks and lesson costs on my Instragram posts. Now, you’re ready to test your skills at a show. What are your options? Well, you can go to a local show or a rated show. For a local show I will share the math for River Glen affiliated with Tennessee Valley Hunter Jumper […]

No adult ammy life is the same and I think that’s what makes us a cool “breed.” We have some who are in their equestrian era, some in their professional (career-wise not riding, come on now we’re amateurs) era, some in their parenting era, and some in eras in between. Yes, that was a Taylor […]

Raise your hand if you ever have gotten clocked in the ankle by a stirrup iron in the middle of no stirrup work. If the answer is yes and it is associated with a painful memory, you are likely of my generation and grew up with the traditional, heavy, inflexible Fillis stirrup iron. To call […]

It’s another weekend for sales! Need to add some new pieces to your closet or tack trunk? Check out who’s having sales below 🙂 Happy Shopping! 🙂

Equestrian apparel. If I picked one clothing item that comes to mind when I think of equestrian apparel, it is the breech. Not every riding pant is made the same, so let’s check out some of my favorites that are priced under $250! 1.BOTORI Andi Tights BOTORI is an equestrian-owned company and that goes a […]

Hello, world! My name is Michelle (@therustystirrup) and I’m thrilled to be a guest blogger for Sarah this month. Sarah and I became Insta-friends during the pandemic and have kept in touch through social media. I love how encouraging she is and how she advocates for marginalized communities, so when she asked me to be […]

Thrush. What is it? Good question. Thrush is an infection of the frog of the horses hoof which typical causes foul-smelling (you remember this smell forever) with a variation of discharge colors, most commonly thick and black. Thrush can be caused by bacteria OR fungus – which can make it tricky to treat. What predisposes […]

My name is Sarah, I’m a 31-year-old adult amateur competing in the adult amateur hunters, equitation, and some derbies with my 19-year-old Dutch warmblood, Ocelot. I rode casually as a child, competing at local shows in Woodstock, NY in the walk-trot, walk-jog and eventually walk-trot-canter, walk-jog-lope and trail classes with my Welsh/Arabian pony, Mystic Diamond […]