Product Review - SHE System Gloves

If you're just joining us, you can read the pre-purchase post HERE.

I've been using the gloves for a few weeks now. It's been getting a little warmer, of course, but even on the coldest of days when Ohio was imitating Minnesota, they seemed to keep my hands as warm as anything ever has. I have not needed to use hand warmers.

Overall I consider them a good purchase, even though they were on the pricey side. There are some details I'd like to share:

• I've been layering them with Silk Glove Liners. The inner gloves are quite thin in the fingers to provide greater dexterity, but too thin for the coldest days.
• The glove fingers ARE too long and sometimes get in my way, but since they are not lined I may be able to alter them slightly. They're a S/M size and are supposed to fit the "shape of a woman's hand" but they are clearly speaking of a much heftier style of woman.
• Maneuvering the finger and thumb flaps took some getting used to and were rather frustrating in the first few days, but have become second nature.
• They have actually gotten TOO warm a few times but since the outer mitt is easy to slide off it's a quick fix.
• Somewhere between riding and cleaning stalls I developed a hefty blister on the pinky side of the first knuckle of my right ring finger. But since that's not where the rein is supposed to sit anyway, maybe it's a good reminder to start holding it right.
• They are WASHABLE!!! Hooray! I did have to email the company and ask for the washing instructions since they were absent from any of the tags, hang-tags, or box. Machine cold - air dry. Works great!
• The black suede-like fingers have dyed the glove liners black... not sure if they would have done the same to my fingers or not.
• On the coldest days I could actually RIDE with three fingers inside the mitts.
• The mitts eliminate ALL chance of dexterity for tacking, but I was able to clean stalls in them and use brushes.
• The over-mitts can be worn with ANY other glove, which will be nice for those days when you need to layer on and off constantly.
• I LOVE the magnets. Most gloves like this use velcro. The magnets do not hold shavings/hair like velcro can, and I only need to get the flaps close to their magnet and they pull themselves together on their own.

They seem to be sold out nearly everywhere, but perhaps by next fall they'll be back in stock at Cabelas.

WTFriday #3

In my hunting for saddles I have come across some eye catching things that I thought I'd share with you.

Kinda makes you want to see what it looks like under a blacklight, doesn't it?

That overlay is a bit thick to put on the jockey, don't you think? And they should probably put the pad on the right direction...

WHY oh WHY is everything patriotic so fugtastic? And do they think the pile of dirty laundry on the ugly 70's chair will help the sale?

I thought they had better taste in the olden days...

it seems I was wrong.

Then called this next one a "Modern Western Saddle"...

Thats.... lots green.

At this rate they really ought to make the pommel and seat zebra, too, or at least either hot pink or lime...

We over here we've got...

Saddle Search - Part II - Updated

Guess what's getting shipped off to Texas tomorrow....

:)

Though the Ebay fees, Papal fees, and increased shipping costs means I'm not getting as much of the purchase price as I'd like, I'm still getting MORE than I was trying to get for it locally. Everyone still wins. Time to go shopping for REALZ.

EDITED TO ADD:

I've shipped two saddles now and there are things that I didn't really consider before doing so. Here is how YOU can avoid what I've just done.... I still did very well on the sale, but comparing the Auction sale price to what I actually MADE is usually a shocking reality.

Ebay FEES: Ebay's fees are constantly going up. Check Ebay's "Final Value Fees" so you are prepared for what they'll charge you. It's a percentage, but there's a cap so currently anything that sells for over $500 will be $50.
Paypal FEES: Paypal is owned by Ebay now so it's highway robbery because they are really charging you twice. There really is no other option for a safe way to send/receive funds, so you suck it up. It's also on a percentage. AND instead of Ebay taking the listing fee and final value fee out of the purchase price itself, Paypal charges you a percentage based on the final value, THEN you have to pay Ebay fees. They certainly have developed a money maker.

Shipping FEES: A little research can tell you how much it will cost to ship. I thought $75 was reasonable and I assumed I'd have to pay a little more if it had to ship far.

• Measure the saddle - I ship horn down, just like you set the saddle if there is not a rack available. The smaller the box the cheaper it ships and the less the saddle jostles around the better.
• If you do not already possess a sturdy box of that size, call the shipper or another box supplier to see what they have. I decided on a 30x20x24 $14 box.
• Weigh the saddle - they say add 2-5 lbs for box/packing.
• Call the shippers and get a quote. You'll need the zip it's going to (pick whatever is furthest away from you), the weight, and the box dimensions.
• Protect the saddle: I removed the stirrups (not the fenders), wrapped the stirrups, mock billets, horn, and the tack in bubble wrap and tape. Encase the saddle in plastic just incase the box gets wet. Put a layer of bubble wrap in the bottom. Pack bubble wrap/air pillows/whatever you've got around the saddle so it stays in place as much as possible. It's the rocking and rubbing that causes damage.
• The final box weighed in at 48lbs. I estimated the saddle itself was about 40lbs using the scientific method of weighing myself then weighing myself holding the saddle and finding the difference. (I swore that thing was 50lbs, but apparently I'm jus a wuss and the 8 lbs difference between that and my training saddle matters a lot.)

All told, the difference between the final value fee and my actual "earnings" was 205.72. This is still nearly $300 more in "earnings" than I was trying to sell it for locally, so everybody wins, I just wish I had charged $100 for shipping, but sometimes numbers like that scare bidders away, so you never know.

I am still pleased and now I can move on to a new saddle!

Saddle Search - Part I

There is a 1/8" to 1/4" of ice coating all of outdoorland right now so there will be no driving to the barn. Instead, I'm working on my saddle search. There are previous musings about this HERE and HERE and in other random posts.

Mission: to replace 2 Western Saddles of very different styles with ONE saddle that can be used for small local open shows, cowboy challenges, and trail riding. Must fit HIM, of course first and foremost, which also means the skirt probably has to measure less than 29" front to back, as the awesome Chiro pointed out my training saddle is too long for his conformation. I want a low horn, moderately deep seat. Not too fancy, but not too plain. Not too expensive, but not a cheapo one. Suede seat and/or fenders preferred. I think the medium to darkish oil will look best on Junior, even though that's not "in" right now. I do have a budget and can't buy anything new until the old ones are sold. I've found that Reining saddles are the closest I'm finding to what I want both visually and in functionality. They are more workmanlike in appearance which I like, but they are close to the equitation seat of the current show saddles.

Right now I have this:

And this:

Which is listed, as of this morning on Ebay because I found a similar but not as fancy saddle without the matching tack that sold for $1,300 and had 22 bids on it, so onto Ebay mine went. If Craigslist isn't helping maybe Ebay will. I sold a saddle on there once and miscalculated the shipping costs so I made very little $ off of the transaction after paying for the box and packing materials. I was avoiding the Ebay for that reason, but if I can get it sold then it's done with, and I am more informed this time.

I initially thought having two saddles would be a huge benefit but after a few years of it I have changed my mind. I don't like showing in a saddle that feels differently than when I'm riding at home - but you don't want to ding up a show saddle so you have to be careful. The show saddle is stiff and wide compared to the work saddle. And I never really fell in love with it. I don't really love the super-fancy contemporary show saddles you see now, either. They look like machines or medieval furniture or something. Example 1, Example 2. I used to drool over them, but now they look COLD and hard to me, I guess.

Here are some of the prospects I've mulled over:

This one is at a local tack store called Keith's, and as much as it has almost the perfect look I want, the skirt's too long and too expensive. It's a Billy Cook 16" reiner. Even with the trade-in they'd give me on my show saddle I'd still be over budget. It's a nice saddle. Good color, good amount of silver and tooling, very pretty and not too masculine for me, but not too feminine either.

This one is at the same store in their small Used section.

I think it's sort of hideous. It's a used Rockin' R Reining saddle and it's a 15". I sat in it and it felt kind of small but my 16" show saddle feels too big. Maybe I really do need a 15.5, but they are all different between brands. This one has a 26" skirt. It has about the right amount of silver but it's too light, basket weave and I am not a fan. I hope this does not end up to be my best option.

This one is at Rod's, but I haven't yet gotten over there to ask if they do trade-ins and to measure the skirt. It's also a Rockin' R brand. I've heard very good things about the brand for the price range. I actually like the look of it. There is a very similar one HERE that has the addition of some floral tooling accents. I even like that one better. The one at Rod's might be a teense too masculine, but at least it's not barbed-wire tooling like THIS ONE.



They also carry this one. It's a lot like the ugly Rockin R with more silver. The only thing about it I like is that it's a Silver Royal, the same manufacturer as my training saddle which I find comfortable, but this one is 27" in the skirt. It IS a show saddle, but it's still pretty basic and I like that it has rough out seat, jockey and fenders. This one is quite affordable if I order it from somewhere rather than buying it at Rods. I WOULD like higher quality than this.
I was looking at other ones of this manufacturer since I don't dislike my Royal King. Other than the above, the only thing they have that is close to what I want is also FUGLY and probably too big:

How can a company that makes such a contemporary looking training saddle NOT make the same style for pleasure/reining and instead make something that looks like THAT!?!?

I know the best option is always to get a good quality used saddle instead of buying new, but with something as pricey as a saddle I'd hate to get screwed on Ebay - yet here I am trying to be an honest seller of my own saddle on there!

I don't know where all the used saddles go in this town. There were only a small handful at Keith's, and I only have seen one or two at Rods.

Anyway, that's where I am now. The search continues...

Anybody want to buy a saddle? Or two? :)