All right, I know that in recent weeks, I’ve been encouraging you to spend your money more than I usually do, but the holidays are coming.

And I love these bags from Forestbound.  They seem like just the thing to take to the barn, wear with your jeans or breeches, use to hold your grooming gear, or take to horse shows.

Each bag is one-of-a-kind, and incorporates recycled vintage fabrics from New England.  Utilitarian and green retro chic at its best.

How about this WWII era canvas and leather tote bag?

16" x 13" x 4.5" - $92

Or this one, with braided leather handles:

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Sometimes a horse and rider just fit together.  Heather Blitz and Paragon are a perfect example.  They’re a fairy tale duo and an inspiration.  Heather’s 17.3 hand chestnut shows it all off — the elegance, the extravagant movement and the blue fly bonnet.  And not just any blue, electric blue — at the Pan Am Games, no less!

We’re seeing more and more dressage horses in fly bonnets, following on the heels of their showjumping compatriots.  While a fly bonnet is a practical accessory when the insects become annoying, it’s also a great fashion accessory for your horse.

Despite how old-fashioned they sound (bonnets?  veils?), there are some strikingly beautiful modern examples.  I just heard about the De La Coeur line and all I can say is ooh la la.  Well, I can also say abonimablement cher, but très ooh la la.

Adorned with three rows of hand-stitched crystals. Wow.

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I’ve done enough wrapping of horses’ legs that I can make a very attractive, would-please-Anne-Kursinski kind of wrap.  I’m helped by the fact that I use Back on Track no bows for my standing wraps.  Not only are they pretty, they’re effective.  Just like good eq.

The fact that they’re black is part of what makes them so elegant. But they’re also easy to handle, so the big concern about even tension throughout the length of the wrap becomes a smaller concern. Even novices can make nice looking wraps using the Back on Tracks no bows (you have the option of pillow wraps, too, if you prefer).

And if you have any aches and pains yourself, I have additional ways for you to spend your money:  on Back on Track stuff for yourself. If you also have a dog, go wild.

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My favorite movie is The Palm Beach Story, a B & W screwball comedy from 1942 written by Preston Sturges and starring Claudette Colbert. Crooner Rudy Vallee plays John D. Hackensacker III (think “John D. Rockefeller”), who has a small notebook in which he writes down all his purchases and expenditures. As he confesses, “I write them down, but I never add them up.”  Or words to that effect.

Sounds like someone with horses, doesn’t it?

In the spirit of John D. Hackensacker III, I’ve decided to start a list of things to buy, all horse-related, that I hope will be of use to you.  I have no intention of discussing costs or, even more horrifying, adding them up.

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