Scary Pink Saddle of the Week

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!

Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Wow this sucker is fug-ly. Thankfully no sparkles, silver, or sequins, but unfortunate looking none the less. Oh, and it comes in other fun colors too, stay tuned.

Cranky

Crank nosebands and Rollkur. Two words that will send dressage aficionados at each others throats in record time. However, no matter how you look at it this IS NOT GOOD FOR THE HORSE! Look at this fellow, see the nice pad under the buckle of his noseband? That should not be necessary. A properly adjusted cavesson should still be loose enough for the horse to relax his jaw. This fellow cannot, its a wonder he can even FEEL his nose with that thing cranked that tight. The whole point in the crank is to render the horse unable to resist the extreme pull on the reins, flexing his neck into this unnatural position. Now, I have NO ISSUE with a full double bridle, heck I use one myself on my old mare, but this is just not acceptable. They have these horses so hyperflexed their noses are nearly on their chests. Oh, and check out the angle of the shanks on the curb of the second one, that's not right. Also notice his eye, you can see the conjunctiva he is so strained. This causes a myriad of issues, both for the horse and for the sport itself. There is a very interesting site called Sustainable Dressage, the author very concisely explains and illustrates the effects of various pieces of tack, how they work, and how Rollkur affects the horse's body.

Oddly appealing...

You know, every once in awhile someone sends me something that I go to look at expecting to absolutely hate it, then oddly enough, I sit, scratching my head and actually LIKING it. The more I look, the more I like. I know, I know, I'm slipping. I just find this particular saddle to be somewhat intriguing. I mean, honestly, you wouldn't see most of the tooling when you were in this saddle, but it looks right sharp when your butt isn't obscuring it. I bet it would look way spiff in black too. It also looks incredibly well made and comfortable. Probably gawd-awful expensive though.

FAIL or Natural Selection in Action

See, this is a prime example of Darwinism. This person, in all their retarded-ness, is a prime candidate for natural selection. Hmmm, let's go stand up on our unrestrained horse's back (bet that feels GREAT) and hang clothes on a line. BRILLIANT!!

My only hope is that they did not have a chance to reproduce before this horse spooks and they land on their unhelmeted head.

The "Matching" Saddle

Today I have for you the "matching" saddle for yesterday's pink tragedy. This one appears to be a grayish blue. Why? I have no idea. Again, I sincerely hope this is some made in India contraption and it has absolutely no ties to actual Australia. It is admittedly less offensive than its pink mate, but still is disturbing to my rather conservative tastes.



What ever happened to a plain brown or black saddle? Why is it that we must manufacture saddles in such horrendous colors?

Scary Pink Saddle of the Week

Today we have an entry from "Down Under". This saddle was sent to me by a reader that found it and a "matching" one on Craigslist. I have NEVER seen the like. A solid baby pink Aussie saddle, really. I simply cannot FATHOM who would purchase or better yet USE something like this? It has to be a made in India cheapie, I just refuse to believe that the fine folks in Oz would produce such an atrocity.






I need brain bleach.

What the heck?

Can you just hear the sigh of defeat coming from this poor horse? He looks SO embarrassed at having to model this. I was sent this a long time ago and have been saving it for awhile. I have NO IDEA what this is supposed to be for, all I can tell is it is VERY sparkly and seems to be zebra striped. It also seems to be asymmetrical, which really bugs me for some reason. Looks like someone got WAY too carried away with the sequins and BeDazzler and this poor horse has to suffer the results. The large rosette-thingie on the right side looks like it might get him in the eye too if they are not careful, the only thing I can figure is that it is covering the adjustment buckle on this, erm, bridle.

Yawn, it's Monday

Monday, early, very sleepy...HOLYCRAPWHATTHE...oh, it's just another catastrophe of a saddle!

Who comes up with this crap? Really? A canvas covered saddle made on a funky looking tree with black and red horse shoes embroidered on it?

Friday Funny

Ooooooooh, someone is about to get bitten on the hiney for this! Terribly amusing, but hazardous to the pony's owner! Mr. Pony does not look pleased with this getup! Thought everyone could use a good laugh this morning!

More Changes

I have changed the template to be easier to read. I hope this is ok. I didn't realize that the black would cause so many issues. Sorry!

Um, OK....

Wow, correct me if I am wrong, but dosen't a certian company(who shall remain unnamed...cough *Disney* cough) get awfully annoyed with stuff like this? I seem to recall a tendancy toward lawsuits over copyright infringement. I really think this is not vague enough to avoid that. It is most obviously supposed to be certian copy written chartacters.

Scary Pink Saddle of the Week

This weeks edition has not only the fugly ostrich leather and frilled lizard skirts, but it has been attacked by the crazed BeDazzler! They have covered every conceivable surface with a myriad of sparklies. Flowers, stars, hearts, conchos, silver plates, and crosses galore. Yikes. Why on earth would you DO this? They probably wouldn't stay on well anyway, and it has made this already questionable saddle completely hideous. Added to that the obvious lack of quality of the saddle itself (check out the wrinkled leather, curled skirts, and the way it sits on the horse, who I am sure is completely mortified at having to wear it) it is an overall Tacky extravaganza.

Oy, time for the eye bleach.

Torture Device Tuesday

A reader sent me this photo, I was appalled at the amount of headgear on this horse. He is wearing a drop noseband with a rope nosepiece, a gag, draw reins, a standing martingale, and check out the blood on his mouth! Geesh, overkill much? I understand Polo ponies are hot, but do you really need to bloody their mouth to control them? Also, that noseband looks perilously close to cutting off his air.

New Look and PSA

TTotD has a new look! There are a few requests I'd like to make and some info for you guys.

First, if you are sending links to tacky stuff on Craigslist or similar sites, please save the actual photo or screenshot and send it as an attachment in the email. I cannot view online classified ads on my computer.

Second, I am NOT Kathy from FHotD! Really, I'm not. Not that I am not flattered by the mistaken identity!

Third, please, if you are sending an online ad, be sure to actually save and attach the photo from the ad, more often than not, by the time I get to it, it is gone.

Fourth, I cannot view YouTube or any other online streaming media. Send it to me in an attachment!

This ends the public service announcement. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

EEEEEEEEEEEEK!! Oh. My. GAWD!

Holy crap that's hideous. I think it was made for Sylvester Stallone or something. Regardless, it is perfectly horrible. No accounting for taste.



Runs screaming.

Friday Parenting FAIL

OK, who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? Oh, lets put our 13 month old on the ginormous draft horse and NOT HOLD ON TO HIM!! It's so cute! Sure, until ol' Dobbin there moves and the child falls roughly 6 or so feet to the ground and lands on his UNHELMETED head. Sure, cute. And WTF is up with the "bridle" on this horse? Apparently is is a BOZ bridle with a BOZ bareback saddle without the cantle attachment. Can we not use a normal bridle? I guess with the Parelli phenomenon, everything that goes on a horse's head has to be parachute cord now. And, while it may be so terribly cute that the baby is "holding" the reins, it's not like it will do any good should the horse bolt. The horse is not even being held, there is NOTHING to stop a disaster here. I hope for the child's sake, the parents will grow some brains and realize the idiocy of this. Unfortunately, I have my doubts.




I am just in shock at the stupidity here. Didn't think I could be shocked any more, but I am.

Terrifying Turquoise

Here is yet another version of that cheap, piece of junk, comes in a variety of hideous colors, saddle. This one is a lovely shade of turquoise. Of all the various incarnations, this one, sadly, is the least offensive to me. I guess it has to do with it being a "cool" color. Blues and other cool colors don't "harsh my mellow" nearly as badly as "warm" colors, like the yellow one, do. Still, it does not negate the fact that it is Tacky as all get out, just slightly less painful Tacky. You can just see the level of craptastic craftsmanship and the lack of quality leather. I would be afraid to try to use any of these saddles for fear of a catastrophic failure and nasty wreck. Not that my horse would let me near her with it in the first place.

Bonus Post

In apology for missing a couple of days, here is a bonus post!

All I can say is, "What. The. Hell."

Why? This is sold as a mule bit. I know mules, they don't need something like this any more than a horse does. They are NOT stupid, stubborn, or untrainable. People are so ignorant sometimes.

I'm Back with The Scary Pink TRAILER of the Week

Sorry for missing a couple of days, I have been rather under the weather. But, I'm feeling better and am back online with your weekly dose of Pepto!

This time it comes in the form of a TRAILER! Yes folks, an entire horse trailer in disgusting Pepto Bismol pink!

Why you ask? Apparently this is a special order item from True Love Trailers. You can actually buy this thing brand new off the lot.

Wow.

Friday FAIL (Funny)

I think we got the wrong animal out of the barn this morning!

Tacky Potpourri

Please don your protective eyewear.

Click the pictures for a larger view, it's worth it. The only one I can tolerate is the one on the top right of the first group. It's kind of pretty.








Gads, there really isn't a great deal I can say about this, save that the at least look to be decent quality. But, OMG my eyes!!

Scaey Pink Saddle of the Week

It's that time again folks! This week we have an entry from the same saddler that made the trophy saddle from last week (their website is chock full of Tacky). This one has the over abundance of fringe, but in PINK! It also sports pink rhinestones and sparkly conchos! It also seems to be a trophy saddle, and again, blech!

TDT Guest Blog

Today we have a guest blog! This is an email I recieved from Kelsey, a reader who saw something odd about the horse on the cover of her Dover saddlery catalog. Here is what she has to say...

I got the new 'Elite Hunter/Jumper Edition' of the Dover Catalog today. There is a nice looking hunter on the front cover, but when you look closer, his gear is a bit much, even for a cross country type hunt on a large horse.The horse is in a pelham and breastplate, which is very common hunt gear. However, someone has added not only a running martingale but also a puller type noseband (a new version of the Kineton, I can't remember what they're called). A pelham and a Kineton, PLUS a mart? WTF? Just the idea of a curb type bit and anything like a Kineton is nuts.I ride my large draft X mare XC in a basic dee ring and standard noseband, and she is QUITE fresh in open country. This bay looks a lot like her other than color.I have attached a couple scans of the cover. I know they want to sell tack, but that much on one horse? Yikes!(the Dressage cover was just as bad (Steffen Peters & Ravel), but people seem to think its ok for a curb bit to be at nearly a right angle to the horse's lip line, ugh)



Here is a scan of the whole cover...








Here is a closeup of the horse's head...