To bling or not to bling, that is the question.  Well, not really.  It doesn’t matter to me whether you blingify your horse.  But, if you do, or were thinking about it, or didn’t even know there was such a thing — here is my introduction to bling.  Besides, it’s Sunday and we should talk about festive things!

In my bling travels, I have found different categories.  First, there is the Brow Band Bling.  That you can find all over Ebay or search Google.  Basically, some clever people have devised a way to weave or sew beads or crystals into the headstalls of various types of leather or plastic.  This seems to be more prevalent in the Dressage world but you will see brow band bling for the Western world.  Here are a few examples of Dressage Bling Bands that I found in my quest.  I was quite impressed with the volume of options presented by browbandswithbling dot com.  I think if you wanted some elegant Sunday Bests for your horse, you could find it here in this category.

Following Brow Band Bling  is the overall Headstall Bling.   Headstall Bling is the natural extension of Browband Bling.  The Western world has embraced this big-time.  I’ve attached a few pics of some selects I’ve chosen.  The first is a good example of the next level of Headstall bling (you can find them with less going on…).  I chose this artist because she has gone above and beyond with adding PAINT.  A new concept.  The other example is the full blown horsey bling attire – the total package.  I chose this one because it is so much fun!  I could see myself buying this for my horse for Christmas — like he’d care (*more on that later).  At this particular website, there are many full attires to chose from.  I particularly liked the Ed Hardy model.  It cracked me up.  I didn’t know Jon Gosselin had a horse…   Anyway, here it is in all of its glory!

Next we take a step back into “horse jewelry with a purpose” — or so they say.  This would be the Rhythm Bead Category.  Have you heard of these?  They are supposed to help you understand your horse’s cadence because you can hear the beat of the beads rattling.  They fit around the horse’s neck and fall around the chest.  Here is a picture.  You can find these rhythm beads on the Internet and I am listing an outlet here.  You can get just about any color and any design.  They range from $15 to a lot more.

I see that there is now a Rhythm Bead expansion category of Mane and Tail bling!  You can get clip-on bling and add it to those areas.  That seems kinda fun.  After all, the TWH people have been doing that for years.  Here are links to where you can find those in all shapes and sizes.

Lastly, I’m going to bring up my personal favorite.  This category I’ll call Bridle Tags. You’ve probably seen them before with either a simple I HEART MY HORSE or perhaps a I HAVE THE RIGHT TO RIDE IN HERE when the tag is for entry purposes.   But, this particular Bridle Tag goes to eleven for me.  It is unusual, hip and you can personalize it.  (They have dog collar tags, too.)  So, I present to you the Sweet Bird Studio Horse Bling. You can have your horse’s name engraved on it.  Or, talk to the artist and design your own from her wealth of found objects.   I bet you could have her do just about anything if you browse the human stuff on her site.  Very cool and all unique.  I like her human work for myself!   But really, isn’t it all for us?…  ;)

*I once had a horse psychic come out to speak to Aladdin because he was being very mean to my donkey (that story later…).  During the conversation, Aladdin piped up that he wanted a flashy bridle.  He wanted one that would sparkle in the sun like he had seen in the arena where he was boarded at the time.  Now, you may think I’m nuts, but I did go out and get him a headstall with silver.  And, I swear he puffed up the first time I put it on him.  He used to pout when I would tack him up without it.  And, now that he is retired, I can honestly say he nuzzles it whenever he sees it.  So, color me crazy, but I think they know what they are wearing.