Palomino's Training Journal-Summer Update

[Baymule]

You have that magic touch with horses! He looks like a natural.

 

[Palomino]

@Mini Horses Thanks! He is a gorgeous boy. My first "big" pony and I couldn't ask for a better tempered one.

He's becoming fairly finished in hunter now too!

 

[Baymule]

You are so incredibly talented. I’m so impressed with the magic you do!

 

[Palomino]

Getting close to show time! Amigo is coming along after having the entire summer off

Gaston continues to do really well! We are mainly just building his confidence in the cart right now but he's a good one!

 

[Bruce]

good luck!

 

[Ridgetop]

Love the outfit - particularly the hat! I loved wearing hats when Princess Di was alive and made hats so popular. I have hatboxes full that I can't bring myself to get rid of, including a couple that belonged to my grandmother.

 

[Palomino]

good luck!

Thank you!

Love the outfit - particularly the hat! I loved wearing hats when Princess Di was alive and made hats so popular. I have hatboxes full that I can't bring myself to get rid of, including a couple that belonged to my grandmother.

Thanks! I love hats too and have jus a few others lol. Yours sound beautiful! Would love to see pictures sometime! I have one or two vintage (circa 1900) hats.

 

[Baymule]

The horses are coming right along! I love the pretty outfit, it looks so nice!

 

[farmerjan]

I have a question that is in no way meant as a criticism.... I see that all your training and showing is done with you in skirts and hats... Is that a rule/requirement for showing? Is it some sort of accepted type of dress for doing so? No one requires hats on Derby Day but it is "unspoken" accepted dress for women... And if it is an unspoken thing, do you wear them while training so that the animals are fully used to it and not fazed by something they are not used to seeing? I mean someone could train with pants and such, then to change for showing and have the horses get fully upset or flustered by the different clothes... I am well aware of how they can be sensitive to changes like that. Even the cows get wary early in the cold weather when you start wearing a knit cap or a hooded sweatshirt they are not used to, just to do chores and such.
And maybe it is just your personal style to wear dresses and such which is perfectly wonderful... I was just curious. I have watched some of the carriage competitions and the drivers and attendants are all in top hats and very finely turned out clothes... so I assume that is the accepted/required type of clothing for those classes...
So, I was curious about what was acceptable or required in your showing...

 

[Palomino]

The horses are coming right along! I love the pretty outfit, it looks so nice!

Thanks!! Yes they are doing great. Results coming soon but we had a good show.

@farmerjan I'll answer your question in several parts.

At home, yes that's my personal choice. If you see me outside without a sun hat, something is wrong lol. I never go out without one, just always have worn one as growing up in Texas the sun was very bright! I find skirts comfortable so that's why I wear them. But most horses don't care what you wear. I have met the occasional one who is a bit surprised by a hat but these horses are used to a lot of things.

Breed ring vs carriage are two different things. I'll start with breed ring. Much of it is current trends and unspoken rules but some of it is written down. For example in Western Stock you must wear a Western hat, long sleeved blouse or jacket and Western style footwear aka not sneakers. For other classes like hunter, jumper, obstacle it's personal choice and most people wear a hat. For showmanship, hats and boots are required but it doesn't say Western so some people wear English helmets and boots.

In breed ring driving, it depends on the style of the horse and class. In Western most people wear Western but it isn't required and dresses are becoming more popular. In country most people wear jackets or dresses and in single it becomes more formal dresses. For evening classes, usually formal dresses are worn for all three divisions. But then you have something like versatility where you have to get out and run in hunter and halter so you don't want to wear a dress. There have been many many videos and articles done on appropriate wear for all of the various classes.
The idea is classy but not costume, which brings us to carriage.

As most drivers are using antique carriages, complete with period lamps, whips etc. one would think the outfits would resemble costume but that is not the case as the clothing originally used with carriages was not over the top like most period costumes. So it is a modern take and evolution of the style of attire used then. Aprons are still used as traditionally they protected your "good" clothes being worn on the trip. But you have to try to think, what would someone wear with this style horse or this time of year? If it's summer and you are driving out on the road, a lady would absolutely be wearing a sun hat. But in winter she might be wearing a fur or wool hat that is warmer. If one has a big moving horse, you are going to put it to a classier carriage as traditionally, if you had a big mover, you had money. So your attire is also going to be classier. You aren't going to wear tweeds or plaids like you might with a classic mover put to a road cart as dyed colored clothes were also worn by the richer classes. However that is a point where the modern interpretation comes in as they did not have the range of colors we have now. Everything has to blend though, your horse, harness, clothing and carriage all either have to be plain, fancier or ultra fancy. That is the basic gist of it. Then there are the passengers and grooms but that could make this even longer and it's already a book lol. But hopefully it explains some of it! It's one of the most interesting parts of carriage driving and enjoyed by many people.