dancing horses

dancing horses

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Styling

I never really used to think much about how everything looked on my horses. As long as they were economical and functional I was happy. 

Then I bought a gray mare and a whole world of fashion possibilities opened up. I find myself looking at things and going 'ooh that would be pretty'

When I first started showing Carmen I had a plain black bonnet. It went well because her mane and tale were still quite dark. 
from back in 2017
Carmen is much lighter this year and the black looked a bit stark. At the test riding clinic Libby shared that judges don't like bonnets that contrast too much, it's distracting and can really emphasize if the horse is tilting their head. 

That gave me the push I needed and I decided to order a bonnet for Carmen. I contacted  Fun Bonnets via FB and ordered a new bonnet. I cannot recommend this person enough. She helped me figure out the colours and design (there are so many options).  I opted for silver gray with black cord flanked by two smaller white cords. 

She also explained that there was a ton of orders and there would be wait. I contacted her a couple weeks ago and whined asked if it could be ready in time for the August show. She responded right away and promised I would have it. 

And it's perfect. 

could only get one ear up for the photo

It blends in but ads a bit of contrast. The material is so soft too. I love how it goes with her browband. 

absolutely refusing to put ears up, no matter what. 

And from a distance it's great:



I now want to get more to match some saddle pads.......

If you are looking for a quality bonnet at a good price I would definitely recommend FUN Bonnets!

Also, on another note, my friend Cindy had a few clips of my last ride on Sunday. I was able to put them together to show the last half of the test:



24 comments:

  1. Too beautiful! I'm sure the judges don't appreciate my flashy white bonnet on my fat bay horse, but I pay them to watch me ride, so whatever lol. Carmen's tail is so pretty. Your turnout is utterly gorgeous!

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    1. Lol that’s a good point about paying the judge. Lol. She has an amazing tail. And thank you.

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  2. It's a perfect color for her. Looks great with the browband too.

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    1. It is always hard to tell from a photo before the order but I’m really happy with it.

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  3. Oh love it! Looks especially fab with that pretty browband! I definitely support your investing in more bonnets... #enabler

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  4. Nice ride! I never thought of horse bonnets and had to look them up. Hers is perfect! I love it!

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    1. They are good for fly protection. They also hide that her ears are not clipped. Not that I would clip them anyway.

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    2. I use them also to cut wind noise (my older horse has always been spooky about wind noise) and to help with gnats that one local show facility is known for. For my boys they really are "thinking caps".

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    3. Austen, did you know that one of the latest TTEAM exercises involves wrapping your horse's head in "thinking" bandages? If Linda says so, it's all good: )

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  5. Grays are SO HARD to match. Congrats on finding something! I really can't help but giggle when I see a white bonnet on a dark horse. It makes me think of the Easter bunny.��

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    1. Lol, now I’m always going to think of bunnies when I see a white bonnet on a dark horse!

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  6. I just purchased a hunter green bonnet for my grey mare. I'm curious to see if it helps at all with noise in the environment. Since we aren't showing at the moment I think I can get away with the stark contrast.

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  7. that looks really sharp on her, great choice!! i love bonnets and actually was so excited to get a TB bc i figured it meant that most bonnets would finally fit, since nothing ever fit arab Izzy particularly well. except.... well, charlie's most distinguishing mark is his star, and if you cover that up it completely changes the picture. so... no bonnets lol. sigh!

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    1. This person can put cute little badges. Like a superman crest

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  8. If you could get a saddle pad to match the cording it would be amazing! Mattes does custom cording.

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  9. Nice! I admittedly care quite a bit! It goes along with grooming/top turn out. It has actually made me care more about my attire etc while riding...

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