guess the breed answer and winner

All you smarties out there who guessed Standardbred, you were right!! Go you!

This Standardbred is Freedom Hall, also known as Louie. He is a six year old gelding that only raced a few times before he was retired for being too slow. He was then sent to New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program.

New Vocations is the largest racehorse adoption for Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. They rehabilitate the horses after they retire, provide them a safe place to live, and then adopt them out to to caring homes. New Vocations matches horses to new owners and follows up with the horses to make sure that they have a new life and a new purpose.

Louie, aside from being a Two Horse Tack model, has been a great ambassador for the breed and program. He spent eight months as a riding and trail horse. And he was also trained to rack.

Louie was donated to the Camp Nelson Honor Guard because of his calm disposition and quiet nature. Louie is used in military funerals pulling the caisson. He has also been used as the riderless horse. Camp Nelson is planning a six horse hitch with Louie as one of the lead horses because he is so calm and reliable. He has a great second job that he really enjoys.

Louie, taken from Camp Nelson's website

The winner of the Guess the Breed Giveaway is Dom! Which is kind of ironic, since she has a Standardbred. Congrats Dom, I will contact you for your prize.

Thank you again, Two Horse Tack for this amazing and fun opportunity and for sharing Louie with us! 

Winner was randomly selected using random.org

guess the breed giveaway

Two Horse Tack and I have teamed up again for a giveaway of their awesome beta biothane tack! Winning is fun and easy. All you have to do is. . .guess the breed! And I can tell you that it is not a Haflinger. . .that would be too obvious. 

This is one of the models at Two Horse Tack. In addition to being a model, he also has a great story, which I will share when I announce the winner. 

The winner can chose their prize from the variety of tack that Two Horse Tack has to offer!

Bridles (English, Western, Halter, Bitless, Australian, Midieval, Icelandic, Mule)

Halters (Turnout, Buckle Nose, Grooming)

Breast Collars (English and Western)

Reins (Riding or Driving)

Other stuff you might need (browbands, cruppers, curb straps, martingales, tie downs, stirrup leathers, and more)

Collars for dogs

All these items come in a bunch of very cool colors or color combinations in durable, waterproof, easy to clean beta biothane. 

Two steps for a chance win:

1. Guess the breed of the horse below
2. Click the links above and tell me what you would like to win from Two Horse Tack and in what color or color combo

****Put your name (if posting under anonymous) and answers in the comments on this blog to enter. **** 

If you are chosen as the winner and I can't find you, I will have to pick another winner.

**To get a bonus entry, share via some form of social media (blog, Facebook, Twitter) and add that link to the comments. **

I am not going to publish the comments until the contest is over, so no one can see what everyone else guessed. Tricky, tricky.

Contest ends July 16th 2014 at midnight EST.

Good Luck!

two horse tack halter bridle giveaway

In my newfound love of all that is beta biothane and halter bridles, Two Horse Tack is giving me the opportunity to do a giveaway to share the love! To read my review on the halter bridle, click here.

Shyloh modeling the three different styles of the halter bridle

To review: Two Horse Tack is home to handmade halters, bridles, harnesses, breast collars, reins, and other items. All made in the USA. They have leather, but offer beta biothane in all of their tack. Beta biothane comes in many colors and it is so easy to clean. It is also strong and durable and waterproof. 

The giveaway is a Quick Change Halter Bridle with Snap on Browband. The halter bridle comes in three pieces and is quick and easy to change around. The hardware is stainless steel. And you can pick the two colors you want it in! Or you can pick a solid color, bling, reflective overlay, or camo.

There are a ton of color combinations to choose from. Go crazy! Or choose a different style, it's up to you!

Sizes available are draft, warmblood/TB, horse, cob, Arab, large pony, small pony, mini, and even custom for those hard to fit heads.

 Go here to enter with Two Horse Tack

Leave a comment on which style or color combinations that you would like to win. But in order to enter, you must click the link and enter through Two Horse Tack website.

Share! Do lots of sharing of the contest!

Two Horse Tack will pick the winner. Good luck everyone! Giveaway ends Saturday June 21st at midnight EST. 

Oh, and everyone who enters gets a $10 off coupon for anything at Two Horse Tack. Pretty cool!

drumroll please. . .

And the winners of the Horze giveaway, in order are:

#1 Megan H
#2 Melissa S
#3 Saiph from Wait for the Jump
#4 Hannah from Chronicles of a Moody Mare

Congrats!!

I'll send everyone an email so I can get your prizes out to you right away!

Thank you to Horze once again for their generous giveaway! 

On to Shyloh. . .

I missed this fuzzy pony all week!

My pony was so sweet yesterday! I think she knew I had a crappy week at work and was super awesome for me. I did a little bit of work with her. We worked on sidepassing, backing, and bow. 

Shy was sidepassing and backing like a champ. Once again though, I am sure when it is time to do it at a show in front of a judge, Shy will act like I am asking her to do handstands or spin on her head. I'll have to video some proof. 

I also went back to working on the bow. Shy has the get her head between her legs part down, it's just the bending on the knee that she has trouble with. I think it stems from asking her to go down a little bit and that is a vulnerable position for her. But today we made some progress. I held her leg up and when she lowered her head through her front legs and relaxed, she went down on her knee! She wouldn't stay but for a second, but it is a start!

Love that she walks up to me now

More freezing weather and snow on its way. . .yuck!

And Equestrian at Hart is hosting a Higher Standards Leather Care Soap giveaway! Check it out!

open the doors for a horze giveaway!

******This contest is over******

I was contacted by Horze for another giveaway. Yay! This time I have four items for readers to win. Exciting!

Door #2

 (Click on the doors to see what lies behind them)

Door #1

Door #3

Door #4

For a little info on the giveaway prizes. . .

Door #1 opens to the Horze Toulouse All Purpose Saddle Pad. It has a diamond quilt pattern and is breathable yet thick. The choices for this saddle pad are XDB/ASOR in Full, Black in Full, Winter Sky in Full, and Dark Blue/Chili Pepper Red in Full. It will look nice for all you English riders as it has double cords all the way around it and nice details.

Door #2 opens to the Horze Holly Argyle Preppy Socks with Coolmax. The winner of these socks get two pair in Dark Brown and Black argyle print (sizes 8.5-10) of these moisture wicking socks that have memory fabric. These socks are pretty nifty, especially if you love patterned socks like me!

Door #3 opens to the Horze Tendon Boots. The colors that are available are Ombre Blue in Cob and Full sizes, Gray/White in Cob and Full sizes, and Winter Sky in Pony ans Full sizes. Consult the chart for sizes, as I believe the sizes run a little big, at least they do for halters.  These are some great boots for all you jumpers out there!They have rounded edges and are designed to absorb shock and prevent injury. 

Door #4 opens to the Horze Wooden Grooming Set. This is a set of wooden backed brushes in a nylon carry bag. Perfect for getting your horse ready for spring shows!

Now to win one of these prize, first go to Horze and tell me what one thing you need for Spring to freshen up your tack collection. Something nice and new and purdy. Leave a link to the item and why you want it in the comments. 

I am also trying out this RaffleCopter thing to help choose winners. Four winners will be chosen and the order that they are chosen will determine the prize they get to pick. So first winner will get to choose from all four prizes, but the fourth winner gets the prize left over.

Shipping is open to US and Canada. Have fun!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

giveaway winners and blogger gift exchange

. . . and the winners are Jen from Cob Jockey and T. Myers from A Filly's Best Friend. Congrats to you both! Hope the hat keeps your heads toasty warm. Contact me with your information and I will get them sent right out to you. Thank you again from Horze for yet another giveaway.

I think I am a little tired of giveaways for now. Whew.

Tracy over at Fly On Over is hosting a Blogger Gift Exchange. How fun! If you want to participate, head over there to sign up. 

Wishing everyone a relaxing and Happy Thanksgiving!

horze hat giveaway

******This contest is over******

Horze has given me yet another chance to giveaway some of their products! This is thanks to all you guys who read and comment because, let's face it, Horze is looking for more traffic to their site. So when you guys click on a link from this blog, they know. The more clicks they get from here, the more opportunities I get to give away their products! More products! Better products! It's a win for everyone!

We have officially had our first snowfall of the season and although it did not accumulate or last long, I did have to bust out the ice scraper for my windshield. While I do like the snow, everything else like wind and ice can stay away. And driving in it. Seriously, I thought we were supposed to have teleport machines by now. It would totally cut down on travel time. 

This time around, Horze is letting me give away not one, but two knitted hats. These cute pom pom hats have a fleece lining for extra warmth. They come in a dark blue and are one size fits all. Winter hats are nice, whether you are out at the barn or doing other fun winter things like sledding or skating. Sorry to all my warm weather readers, you are lucky to not really need super warm hats. 

And a bonus for hats. . .you don't have to worry about your hair, just throw the hat on! And when you take it off, just blame your fro on hat hair.

I promise you will not look creepy like her in this hat

Two lucky readers can win this B Vertigo LUKE hat, all you have to do is: 

• Go to Horze.com (again, need the clicks to give more away stuff) and look around at their winter gear for you.
• Comment under this post with what piece of winter Horze gear you would be most likely to buy and why. They have these Thermo Tallboots that I think would keep my feet toasty warm and dry in the cold. If you would like a hat for style reasons, but live in the warmth, you can find what you would think you would need if you ever had to experience sub zero weather. 
• And of course, extra entries for sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and your own blog to let others know about the contest. Share the link so I can see. 

That's it, easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Giveaway will end Wednesday November 27th at midnight EST. Open to US shipping only. Good luck!

Shyloh in her new Horze halter. It's so cool, it make her forelock stand up.

giveaway winner and shy's inner arabian

. . . and the winner is Liz from In Omnia Paratus! Congrats! This time I used random.org to pick the winner since I stayed home sick from work. Enjoy the fleece cooler! Thank you again to Horze.com for letting me host another giveaway! They are a ton of fun to do.

What are Shyloh and the minions looking at?

Whatever it is, it has caused them to run up. . .

and down. . .

the back end of the pasture. And only the back end. Never near the actual source of the excitement.

Whatever it is, it has Shy's nostrils flared and her tail carried high (for her). 

What could it be that has channeled Shy's inner Arabian?

Why. . .

It's just Gunny getting hooked to the cart for the first time!

He did very good in the round pen. Did I ever mention that this is a draft sized round pen? It is pretty huge for Shy and the minions. A short and sweet lesson was had. Until the decision was made to drive Gunny back to the barn. Then disaster was had. . .Gunny made the decision to fully gallop to the back fields. It was not pretty, but he was calmed down and was brought back to the round pen for another lesson. We must end on a good note. And he did. 

I am pretty sure Shy was sending Gunny telepathic messages to be bad, hence the staring and running. She was probably thinking. . .not another equine being trained to drive, oh bother! Or not, but either way, it was less than exciting the whole time Shy and the minions were worked up. Usually she does not care for that length of time about what goes on around her. Searching for food is her main goal in life. It was funny to watch her though!

horze fleece giveaway

                            ******This contest is over******
                          Liz, congrats on winning the giveaway!

Horze is giving me another opportunity to giveaway one of their products. This time, it is something for your horse. And again, since colder weather is approaching, many horses in work will need a cooler to help wick the sweat away after a ride. Horze products are well made and priced right. I am about to order Shyloh a nice fleece halter for winter. 

This Horze cooler comes in six different colors, including a striped pattern and a check pattern.  The sizes range from 66 inches to 75 inches. I'll be honest here and say that I have no idea what size horses that will fit, since Shy doesn't wear a blanket and the cooler she has was a gift from Jaime (which she rarely wears because she rarely sweats).

The lightweight fleece rug has cross surcingles, front straps, and a tail strap to keep it in place as your horse cools down. It also has good overall customer reviews. And it looks like you can even put it under a blanket as an extra layer for those super cold days that are approaching.

One lucky reader can win this Horze Base fleece, all you have to do is:

• Go to Horze.com and look around to see what they have to offer.
• Comment under this blog post with a Horze item you are most interested in. It's mostly English stuff, but I have found a few things that Shy "needs." They also have stuff for the rider.
• Extra entries for sharing this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter (be sure to put the link in the comments so I can count it). 

And that is it! This giveaway ends at midnight (EST) on November 11th. That is a whole week to get your entries in and share for more entries! The more the merrier (and the more opportunities for more giveaways!) Open to US shipping only. Best of luck!!

giveaway winner and sunshine award

. . . and the winner is. . .Emmi from My Life on Horses! Congrats! Enjoy your new hoodie! I used a fool proof method of putting everyone's name on a piece of paper, cutting it up, putting it in a cup, and having my co-worker pick the winner randomly out of the cup.

Thank you to Horze for sponsoring this giveaway. I had a ton of fun holding this contest. And the best part? I discovered a bunch of new blogs to read!

The Sunshine Award has been making its way around the blog-o-sphere. I have been nominated by L. Williams from Viva Carlos and Mallory from The Country Hitching Post. Thank you both for thinking of me!!

"Here is what the sunshine award means, "bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere." Of course all awards have rules for awarding people. Rules below."

• First, the nominee must thank the blogger that nominated her and link to her blog. 
• Next she must nominate ten bloggers for the award and let them know. 
• Then, she must answer a list of ten questions and post to her blog.  
• Finally, the Sunshine Award button must be posted on the blog 

1. Do you prefer Mares or Geldings?

Mares. I find them so funny. 

2. English or Western?

Driving? Or Western. Maybe one day I'll ride my horse. . .in the Western saddle I have for her. 

3. Do you prefer "younger" or "older" horses?

Mia was old and basically bombproof. We had a ton of fun together. Not that I don't have fun with Shyloh, but she is a lot more work!

4. Have you ever trained a horse from ground zero? 

No

5. Do you prefer riding or ground work?

Riding? What's that? Just kidding, I love riding. But I also love doing stuff on the ground. 

6. Do you board your horse or keep it at home?

I board at a friend's house. 

7. Do you do all natural things or commercial stuff? (In the sense of products.)

I try to stay natural, however I have no problem going commercial if that is what works. 

8. All Tacked up or Bareback? 

I love love love bareback. 

9. Equestrian model?

I don't really have an answer for this. 

10. What's your, one, main goal while being in the horse world?

Ride my horse without the fear of death? Or just have a great bond with my horse and make her feel safe (preferably while riding or driving). 

Next up is my nominees. I am trying to pick bloggers who have not been nominated yet, so here goes:

The Three Muleteers

Drafy Hafy Gurl

Tails from Provence

Little Bay Horse

The Dancing Donkey

Cash's Steppin' Up

A Little Slice of My Life

Living a Dream

Life With My Herd

Memoirs of a Horse Girl

monday musings by shyloh #106

Before I can even talk about me, Allie asked me to do a PSA about her giveawy. Today is the last full day to enter to win this Horze women's college jacket. So you better enter for your chance to win!

Now back to the important stuff. . .me. There is so much more of me now! I find it to be quite wonderful, even though Allie complains that my tack doesn't fit. Oh well, work is over rated, right?

But Allie has been going on and on (as she often does) about my lack of self control with my precious round bale. All day access to hay is the best thing ever invented!

I heart eating! It's my most favorite thing.

Allie thinks it is not. . .and I have been deemed the Supreme Ruler of Minions (and Reba when she is in heat). I am permanently housed with the minions (and Reba when she is in heat, like now). The minions don't eat much, therefore I know do not eat much. 

I am sharing this super small pile with Meatball. When it gets low, I will run him off so I can have the rest.

But when I do eat, I make sure I eat my fill over the minions. I am the boss. And I get the most hay. Which really isn't much at all. 

Sharing with Reba. Gotta close my eyes to savor every bite.

I'm the only one left cleaning up all the scraps.

And to make matter worse, a "chastity" board was put at the bottom of my stall! Now I won't be able to share Isaac's hay or steal is grain. I guess two leggers were confused as to how both of Isaac's buckets and Notch's buckets were ending up in my stall. I have that much talent.

My stall is on the left end, then Isaac's, then Notch's. See how there is a bottom board now between me and Issac?

Allie says she is NOT buying new tack to fit my ever expanding girth, so my girth must accommodate my tack. I call bull. . .I need no tack at all. Why can't I just eat all day?

This is for FH at The Three Muleteers. Gunny's love of food dominates over his fear of people.

~Shyloh

horze college jacket giveaway!

******This contest is over******
Emmi, congrats on winning the giveaway!

It's fall time and the weather is getting chilly. Horses are growing their fuzzy winter coats to prepare for the cold. Shouldn't everyone be donning an extra layer to keep warm?

Horze is sponsoring a giveaway for a College Women's Jacket. This cute equestrian hoodie is great for riding or driving, barn chores, or just hanging with your favorite horse. 

One lucky winner will get this lovely piece of equestrian outerwear. It comes in the color Dark Shadow and is available in sizes XS-XL (size chart is on website). 

To enter the giveaway for this horse jacket, 

• Comment on this post about your favorite fall ride/drive.
• Extra entries will be given for sharing this contest on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. (leave the link so I can see!)

This giveaway ends at 8:00 am on Tuesday, October 29th.  Open to shipping in the US only. Good Luck everyone!