What the Heck is Horse Bling?

At Horse Bling we capture the spirit of riding and horses by making jewelry for horses. Throughout time, people have celebrated their horses by decorating them with costumes and beads.

Share our love affair with horses. To see how fabulous your horse could look in Horse Bling, take a look at this short PowerPoint slideshow. View Horse Bling on Horses

We also have some great stuff for humans - jewelry, T-shirts, greetings cards, skin care products, photo pendants, and art. Browse through our store and buy something fun for yourself, your friends, or your children.

Top Five Reasons to Dress Up Your Horse in Jewelry

1. You have too much style and it overflows to your horse
2. Improve your riding or relationship
3. Stand out from the crowd on the trail, in the ring, and at shows
4. Create a buzz and have fun
5. Save time - instead of time-consuming mane braiding with ribbons, clip on the Bling to match the event and outfit

July 2008 News and Events: The Horse Trip to Heaven, Hell and Back

In June, Kate and I rode with "The Rough Riders" in New Mexico. The Rough Riders is a Texas-based group that rides together in new places, and takes lessons to improve our horsemanship and riding.

The trip was a stretch for a number of us: trailering our horses for 14 hours up to 8,000 feet, on a remote campsite at the top of a mountain. I had never done anything quite so ambitious with my horse, Ellie, before.

We knew the trip was going to keep us on our toes when Blaze, my horse's best buddy, escaped from her overnight pen in a mysterious Houdini-like maneuver, which was NOT magic. In the middle of Lubbock, "Blaze the Houdini" galloped towards us, with the main road less than 200 yards away, to reach my horse while I was loading her.

Hoping that all the treats I fed Blaze over the years when I went to get Ellie would ensure I was in a good place with Blaze, I stood still, Ellie spinning around me on her five foot lead rope. After a few minutes, things calmed down and we loaded our horses.

Lesson 1: Carry your own supply of Rescue Remedy, or some other calming agent, at all times. You will undoubtedly need it.

After a second day of driving eight hours in convoy, we approached the mountain road that would elevate us to 8,000 feet. Sue and Donna, our leaders, started to smile wickedly when we made our last stop at the bottom of the mountain. Kate and I, trailer neophytes, were to take the lead, having a sturdy Landrover and a two horse trailer that would be easier to pass if someone met us on the way up.

Their smiles turned into giggles as we got ready to make the climb.

Lesson 2: Don't take the lead when your leaders don't want to under the pretence that their trailers are too long.

Repeat lesson 1: Carry your own supply of Rescue Remedy, or some other calming agent, at all times. You will undoubtedly need it. AND, take it in large doses before climbing up an 8,000 foot ascent along a narrow, mountain ledge with edges crumbling down rock faces, and memorial flowers marking the place of earlier accidents.

Kate, having banned us from talking until spoken to, graduated as a high level trailer driver. We killed nothing on our way. Hooray! The last time I made such a mighty climb was in India back in 1986. Our taxi could not go at less than 30 mph otherwise we would break down in the middle of a desert.

We climbed Mount Abu, the only hill station in Rajasthan, where there were a multitude of skulls and crossbones marking the spots where people fell to their demise. At the bottom of the mountain, our taxi driver got out and prayed at an altar. I just carried on eating my monkey nuts, tossing with abandon the shells.

Darkness cloaked the mountain as we struggled to stay on the road, with its hair pin bends, at no less than 30 mph.

On one very blind hair pin bend, cows were standing in the middle of the road. In India, the cow is sacred (as it is in Texas, but on BBQs.) Our Hindu taxi driver swerved to avoid these sacred beasts, taking us to the very edge of the cliff, our taxi wheels just managing to stay on the road.

We were too scared to scream. I just continued to eat my monkey nuts but, to ensure that when I died, I could see our descent over the mountain edge, I ate the shells as well, thus keeping my eye on the road.

Lesson 3: Take monkey nuts on any mountain trip, no matter how good the driver, or you might be tempted to crunch on their hands to ease nervous tension.

At last, Kate reached the top of the mountain. We unloaded our horses, making sure to keep Ellie and Blaze together to avoid any mountain Houdini escapes.

As we walked around to find a place to pitch our tent, we came across a man who asked if we had seen his horse, and who proceeded to tell us that he had ridden off the mountain trails through high dead wood, thus injuring his horse. He tied his horse, saddle, bridle, reins and a sign that said, "eat me", to a tree in the middle of grizzly bear country, and walked back down to camp. BUT, when he eventually went back up the mountain to get his horse, you won't believe this so brace yourself, his horse had gone. If you ask me, any twerp who does that to a horse needs a labotomy, but the horse had had enough sense to run away from his stupid owner. Being the polite riders we are, we advised the twerp that we had not seen his horse.

Lesson 4: When a riding trip starts in this way, it is a sign of more to come.

Sue, one of our beloved leaders, pitched our tents for us. Our view spanned about 10 miles into the valley, with snow-capped mountains framing the verdant tree-covered mountains. The immediate view three inches from our tent, was of a chipmunk hole.

During our stay, a little chipmunk named Desmond, popped his head out of the hole to check who had stuck her tent on his chipmunk digs.

Lesson 5: Pitch your tent near chipmunk holes as they serve as ready-made port-a-potties. According to the Forestry Commission notices, when going to the restroom in the wilderness, first dig a hole and then cover it.

Having fed our horses and ourselves, we were ready to sleep, hand on axe to protect against the grizzlies. Thinking about the steep mountains, and the likely trails we were going to ride, and about the bears, kept me wide awake all night.

Lesson 6: A mule call sounds like a grizzly bear.

Day one of riding, we bounce out of bed brimming over with nervous energy. The horses read us as easily as a genius reads toddler books. We take about two hours to tack up our horses (I prefer tacking-up to riding up steep mountain trails and thus belabor this important activity.)

I am uptight, so is my horse. Go figure? The unfair part about this story is that my horse gets two shots of horsey vicadin, and I am stuck with chewing gum and Rescue Remedy.

We head out on the "easiest trail." "The easiest trail." I repeat this phrase, as Donna, another of our beloved leaders, assured us that the trail we were about to ride was the easiest. When you think of an easy horse trail what comes to mind? To a neophyte mountain rider such as myself, I envisage wide trails where we can ride two or three abreast, with trees all around and where I can be ponied if I freak out.

We go up the "easiest trail" - a 45 degree mud path. The horses ahead pull up the path like gymnasts, panting at the next ridge. Isabelle, who has been ridden in the mountains before, slides down the steep path. Her rider, Mary, thinking that Isabelle is still suffering from nearly asphyxiating herself when she fell back into the lead rope while being tacked - tries to get out of riding.

Sue, our tough leader, tells Mary that Isabelle is just "trying it on," so Mary leads her up the path and gets back on.

Lesson 7: Don't ride near the leader, as you cannot chicken-out.

Meanwhile, I am watching all this from behind, my horse standing quietly, thinking, "Ellie can do this; easy peasy."

Alas, my sure-footed Ellie, who has NEVER stumbled on hills, slips. I kick her up the hill, and she decides to refuse by rearing on the 45 degree slope, losing her balance. Being the riding coward that I am, and not wanting myself to get hurt infront of my daughter who is having hysterics ahead of me - I try to act quickly. Also, feeling my horse slipping on top of me, I dismount and fall on a rock. Luckily, I am wearing my hard hard hard hat, which few other riders do by the way. But hard hats do not prevent knees from getting hurt.

I abort my ride adeptly and not being near the leader I succeed. I hate rock ledge paths, and my daughter is afraid, as am I. So we lead our horses, with help from Jack, down the 50 feet we have managed to ride on our mountain trail, back to camp. I make my horse do a little work at camp, and plan to get her up the hill she refused later, when my heart rate goes back to normal. My heart rate goes back to normal at about 4.00 p.m. the next day.

Lesson 8: Don't go on a mountain riding trip when you do not like mountains, except to look at them. You need to be a "Tough Rider" to do that, not just a "Rough Rider."

This takes us up to 11.00 a.m. on the first day of riding. The trip takes another turn in the evening.

To read our next installment, where we talk to the twerp who tied his horse to a tree, or to hear about a miraculous gesture of caring when a horse suffers from a bad bout of colic, visit our blog in a few days: Check Out Our Current Message About "The Inappropriate Fox" on Our Blog

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Our studio is a "candy store" for horse-lovers. Our customers share their appreciation with us every week, thanking us for highlighting the spirit of horses with our products.

Custom Saddle Pads
"Sheila, i love, love, love love the blankets. They are wonderful!!" said a customer about her two custom saddle pads created for her horse ranch and shows.

When you start looking at the pad choices for your horse, you realize that they are limited. When you want to express your creativity, call us to make a pad for your special horse.

Horse Pins We adore our line our sassy horse pins. For one-of-a-kind art pins, simply click and buy.

Bling With a Cause We have launched charity lines of Bling to help raise funds for horse rescue for Meadow Haven Horse Rescue, and also for cancer research. A portion of the purchase price will go towards good causes. Help a horse or research by purchasing Bling With a Cause.

Techno Links
A. Check Out Our Current Message About "The Inappropriate Fox" on Our Blog
or
B.
Enjoy our Horse Bling YouTube Presentation
or
C. Visit our lens at

From Kate and Sheila

Create your "blingdom" with Horse Bling. After all, friends don't let friends ride without Bling. Have fun shopping. We give you free shipping for orders of $100 and over, we offer gift certificates, and gift wrapping. We also include unexpected surprises to make you smile.