A place for everything and everything in its place.  What a great idea.

I suppose the fact that I didn’t have a place for my stud chain when I took it off the new horse when he arrived is the reason I can’t find it.  I’ve looked everywhere for it.  But as my darling and analytic ex-husband used to point out to me, if it’s not where you think it must be, it must be where you think it’s not.

I looked there too.  It’s nowhere.  Maybe I’ll find it some day.  But I couldn’t wait for some day.

So I dug out my old TTouch lead — the one that has a brass-plated (now corroded) chain attached to the poor man’s version of a leather stallion lead, this one made of woven nylon.

That would have to do until I could replace the stud chain I lost.  But when I went to ebay, where I’d bought the last one, there were none available.  Little wonder.  The last one was a great deal, at $26.19 including shipping.

Where to go for a 30″ solid brass stud chain?  Sellers of such are few and far between, it seems.  I found one online, which sold a chain that looked just like the one I’d lost, and then I thought of Quillin’s and their impeccable reputation. I searched for “stud chain” on their site and all I got was “stallion shank,” so I picked up the phone and called Kentucky.

Did they have a 30″ solid brass stud chain?  “Sure,”  said the mellifluous voice with just a hint of a drawl on the other end of the phone.  She couldn’t have been nicer.  Fitting for a company whose motto is “25 years of service.”  Isn’t the idea of boasting about the service you provide kind of endearing in this day and age?

The chain has some weight, they told me, so they asked if I wanted them to send it by Priority Mail.  “Sure, that would be great,” I said in my less than mellifluous voice with its New York cadence.  The total came to a bit more than my last stud chain — $36.90 — but all I can say is “Wow.”

This is what a stud chain is supposed to be.  The links are just a tad bigger than I’m used to seeing, which makes them slide a bit easier through the halter.  Stamped into the D end is the word “England.”  Always reassuring.

Quillin’s serves the needs of the Thoroughbred industry with track halters, mare and foal halters, yearling sale halters and more, including those hard-to-find items for the breeding shed like the “muzzle stallion cage” and “mare covering boots.”  They’ve got great dog collars and leads, too.  Want a cheap racing saddle to start those babies?  Looking for a lined weanling blanket? How about a handmade Kentucky hickory twitch?  Quillin’s is the place.

You can get a halter that’s made exactly the way you want it, just by calling them (you’ll also be pleased to know that they have a great reputation for repair service, with fast turnaround).  Their new line of black and stainless halters and leads are perfect for DQs with horses from the Donnerhall line. Or, if you want to venture a little further afield on the color wheel, you can choose from green, blue or PINK leather.  The pink looks rather sedate on the website, so there’s no need for me to be calling for my smelling salts.  How can I when they still sell leather checkbook covers?