Equestrian Couture: My Old Jeans Count, Right?

As you may have guessed from the title of this post, our next Equestrian Challenge Question is for me to talk about my riding clothes, tack, and equipment.  I already listed some of this information under the page About Rocky, but I'll discuss it more in depth here.

I don't have a lot of fancy stuff for me, most of my money was spent on Rocky's saddle. Otherwise, I keep things thrifty (or try, anyway).  I normally ride in jeans, sometimes skinny Rockstar jeans from Old Navy to show off my cowboy boots.  I got my cowboy boots from the Minnesota State Fair, I needed a new pair because I wore my last ones out.  My mom took pity on me and got me and "early Christmas present."  They're Ariat Quickdraw Ladies' Western boots in Sapphire blue, seen here:

Also at the Minnesota State Fair, I bought myself a leather belt with barbed wire tooling.  They would personalize your belt for free, tooling into the back whatever you wanted.  I had them put ROCKY and KERI on the back.  I also picked up my first real Western belt buckle, a silver square with a galloping gold colored horse on it. 

I bought myself a pair of winter riding boots last winter, Ariat Heritage III insulated paddock boots: 

 They work so well, my feet sweat sometimes.  They also have enough traction on the bottom to be usable in the snow and ice, but not so much that they become sticky in the stirrups.  Along the same winter gear lines, I also have SmartPak Equine's Winter Overpant. I hate overalls, so these are a bit like snowboarding pants but with a synthetic suede full seat that keeps my butt from sliding out of the saddle- at least a bit!  They're windproof and waterproof, plenty warm, and I can fit a pair of pants under them. The sides zipper all the way up to the waistband and there are elastic bands to put around the bottoms of your boots to hold them down. (Stirrup pants, anyone?) 

Other stuff of mine:

-Troxel helmet in matte black.  I should probably replace it sometime soon because it's protected my melon in a few falls since its purchase, and I think you're supposed to replace them after every fall. Oops.

-Lunge whip with removable string.  I got the cheap $15 one from a local tack store. It works.

-Tack box that is a step stool and tack box in one.  It holds all my stuff, closes up and has a handle on top. Plus, if I need to see the top of Rocky's neck I can stand on it without having to go looking for a chair.

That's about it for me. On to Rocky!  Looking back at his Page, I pretty much described the important pieces.  A quick review, then:

Saddle: Circle Y Trail Saddle

Saddle Pad: Diamond Wool, round barrel shape in Mahogany color pattern.

Girth: Weaver leather felt lined Smart cinch with Roll Snug cinch buckle.

Headstall: Reinsman brand with clips so changing out bits is easy.

Bit: Reinsman Offset Dee 3/8" Smooth Copper snaffle. He likes to chew on it sometimes, I think he enjoys the copper flavor.

Slobber straps: Clinton Anderson's 2 piece with barbed wire design.

Reins: Clinton Anderson's mecate reins in black. LOVE THESE. 

Close up of his bit and slobber straps.

My old saddle, but you can see the whole bridle pretty well here.

Halter: teal blue rope halter, as seen in Rocky's picture on the left margin of the blog. 

Lead Rope: Turquoise nylon, my husband accidentally purchased a lunge line instead of a lead rope, so I cut the lunge line to size and melted the end. The rest of the rope was turned into a tug rope for Bear. Everybody wins!