Presents

Today is Piper's second Gotcha Day/fifth birthday (observed).

To celebrate, she got an extra big helping of her favorite treat.

Olive did better: She got a brand new headstall.

Olive's always had a busy mouth. Her previous owners tried several bits before settling on a three piece snaffle with a lozenge in the middle. I started with that, but eventually moved her to the same, but with a  Baucher cheek. That was a step in the right direction, but still, I felt like we could do better. Last summer, I tried her in Karen's "S" hack. Almost immediately, that was a good fit. I've been riding her in that, more often than not, ever since.

Karen is a really good friend. When it became obvious that Olive liked the "S" hack, it was no longer a loaner. It was mine. But honestly, it still looked like a Karen bridle. I wanted it to look like a Jennifer bridle, so I started customizing it.

The reins and noseband were the first things to go, but the headstall has been a problem. My ideal was something like this hackamore bridle by PS of Sweden, but that has been out of stock essentially forever.

About a month ago, Heather sent me a link to a similar style headstall by a new, local company called Millbrook Leathers. The price was right, so I ordered one asap.

It arrived yesterday. I tried it on Olive today, and I think with a couple tiny adjustments, this is going to be perfect.

Happy Piper's birthday, Olive!

I am so happy to have both of you in my life.