Why I'm so pleased to have my first mare

It's safe to say that 2019 hasn't been my best year. I have lost so much - my special rescue dog Toivo, my grandpa who bravely struggled against cancer passed away and then just before his funeral, I lost Basse after 15 years together. In just a span of 7 weeks, they were all gone. But then a little sass pot of pure goodness came into my life thanks to my mum's kindness... And enter Melisse! I don't think my mum will ever know just how much this means to me. Now although Melisse has been mentioned plenty of times on my Instagram, the blog's Facebook page and even here on the blog, she had always been more of my mum's horse rather than mine - I only rode her whenever mum has wanted me to, rather than actively training with her. But after everything that had happened and then finding out about Erik's injury last month, I was broken. For the first time in over 15 years I had no horse to ride. But now, I have my very first mare! And I am over the moon to have her, because she is so special 🌙✨

Now I know that sometimes mares aren’t always well liked and I know it's the same reasons why strong women aren’t - they have opinions, there's a certain amount of stubbornness in them and they require you to respect them in order to work with them. But I believe that those opinions aren't without a good reason, and maybe we just need to work harder to get the mare on your side. Although my boys aren't easy rides at all, there's something extra about a mare. I think it comes from the fact that mares just will not let you bulldoze over them, everything has to be a discussion and you have to prove yourself over and over again. But with a healthy dose of respect from the rider, I believe a mare's resilience will be an asset to the rider every time you need it.

uvex suxxeed diamond helmet

So after my latest fall a few weeks ago, I decided that it was about time that my head deserved a new helmet to protect it! I was about to go for another Samshield when some tiny part of my brain decided to have a look online to see what else is out there. KEPs are unfortunately too expensive for me and everyone has them and although I love Charles Owens helmets, they don't suit my head at all. I still wanted a well known and well respected brand, hence going for uvex. And when I saw this glamorous and super sparkly uvex suxxeed diamond helmet I knew that I had found the one that I wanted! ✨ It also helped that the shop I bought it from had a -25% discount code available which made it a much more feasible price.

 Uvex designed this beauty together with Swarovski with the crystals and pearls in a variety of colours sparkle and shine against the silky material of the rest of the helmet. I mean, drool... It's not often I'm left speechless, but when I opened my parcel I didn't say anything for a good ten minutes. It is that pretty! It's a starry sky of Swarovski crystals 🌌

But more importantly, with its impact-resistantance on the outside and shock-absorbance on the inside, I know my head is as safe as can be. Also with the uvex monomatic comfort buckle, the R-FAS strap system (to be totally honest this did take me a few minutes to get used to it - it is very different to other helmets!) and the dial size adjustment system at the back, this helmet can be adjusted precisely to the shape of your head in every dimension. Before I got the adjustment at the back correct for me, I did panic thinking that it didn't fit me at all but after playing around with all the fittings it suddenly then fit like a glove! It also has a uvex temperature regulation system inside that always keeps your head cool as well as a removable anti-bacterial, anti-allergenic and washable inner pad.

Horse bit fitting consultation

Bridle and bit fit, especially the headpiece fit and horses' comfort are issues that I've known about for ages and despite trying to my very best, a while ago I decided that I needed professional help with both Melisse and Vallu's bridles and bits. Whilst both seem comfortable in their bridles, I've not been entirely convinced that I have got the best possible bits which is why I decided to go for a Horse Bit Fit consultation - my local bit fitter is the lovely Lyn Beattie. Even though I consider myself and my family as experienced horse owners, I've spent hours trying to learn as much as possible about all the different types of bits and I've spent much money on purchasing many different bits, Lyn's advice was invaluable. She spent ages with us and advised which bits to try and explained how both of my horses needed slightly different settings in their bridles and in the end found the right bits for both! 🙌🏻

So each horse had a 1.5 hour consultation with Lyn. Both were looked at in the stable with the bridle on as well as when being ridden. The weather was NOT on our side - although we didn't get soaked through down to our skin, it was SO windy that neither of the horses were able to relax fully (I mean who would in the middle of a storm?!) which meant that it was a bit more difficult for Lyn to judge what the horses thought about the bits. I loved when Lyn went over both of the bridles, it felt like a lesson in bridle fitting which is exactly what I wanted, I needed for someone to point out what needed to be better, what was good, how each horse's mouth confirmation meant that they suit different bits, what to look for in a bridle, what to avoid, how to make a bridle fit a horse better, where exactly the bit should fit in their mouth etc. It was like having a tutor there for 3 hours explaining everything to you!

10 Questions For October

Thank you to the wonderful Viva Carlos for doing another set of brilliant questions. In case you don't follow her, you really should - I love her writing and have been following her blog for years!

1. What discipline do you ride? What would you ride if you could pick any other one?
I'm going to be sticking to dressage, but if I was braver then I'd love to give eventing a go. All my horses have been bought for dressage so I can't see myself doing any jumping shows with them, the boys can just about canter over poles, and Melisse gets so hyper that she jumps everything and forgets about steering and half-halts totally so I don't think we'd survive an actual round of jumps!

2. How many horses have you ridden in your entire riding career?

I have no idea! I'm guessing it must go well into the several hundreds... Considering I started actually riding when I was 7 years old and since then I've been lots of riding schools, had my own pony and own horses and ridden friend's and employee's horses, there's no way for me to be able to count how many I've been lucky enough to ride.

3. Most bizarre activity you’ve done with your/a horse?

Not my horses, but when I was at a summer confirmation camp organised by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland when I was 15 years old, one day we took all the horses out for a swim at a local lake  🌊 I'd never ridden a horse bareback in a swim suit and swim with it before and don't think I will ever again - but it was SO COOL!

Tech Stirrups Athena product review

It's been a long time since I've last done a product review blog post but it's also been a while since I've bought something that I've thought would be good to review like this! I know when I get ready to purchase something either from a new brand or something which is expensive, I enjoy doing a bit of research before parting with my hard earned money so I always have a bit of a google and always read any blog posts about that particular product 💻🔍 So if anyone wants any more information about the Athena stirrups from Tech Stirrups, here is my review!