Matchy - Matchy DIY - Budget Equestrian

I have been obsessing over matchy-matchy outfits for horse and rider lately. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the symmetry of everything looking cohesive? Or maybe it’s the colors. I love colors. Especially when they are vibrant, and compliment the horse.

So for the first time ever, I decided to put together my own matchy-matchy outfit for myself and Plezant.

My First Attempt

The first thing I wanted to do was find a color that would look good on Plezant. And with his dark color, the first matchy-matchy that I thought about was white. And this is mainly because I already have everything to go together for a complete matchy matchy outfit.

I have the saddle pad, ear bonnet, polo wraps, and even a white shirt for myself.

Boom. First matchy outfit completed.

Finding The Perfect Color

And once I was able to do this with what I already have, I decided to see if I could find different colors that would look good on Plezant. The first color that I fell in love with when I saw it was mulberry.

And Lemieux has a gorgeous mulberry set. I LOVE this set. It’s so beautiful! But it’s also really expensive. If I were to buy everything in the photo this is how much it would cost:

Ear bonnet: $34.77
Saddle pad: $54.83
Shirt: $51.53
Helmet cover: $29.02
Polo wraps: $32.18

Total Cost: $202.33 on Lemieux’s website. Which isn’t awful I guess. And I did go to their website and actually tried to buy a few things. But every time I tried to check out, I got an error message so I wasn’t able to complete my check out. This was a total bummer. I had made the commitment to buy the things, and then I couldn’t. So then I decided to try a company that I know, and has a great check out system. Enter Riding Warehouse.

Matchy – Matchy at Riding Warehouse

So I went through the same process at Riding Warehouse. And while they didn’t have the mulberry color in Lemieux, they did have this one:

This is the french rose color, and I thought it would look really pretty on Plezant. I went through the exact same process of picking out what I wanted:

Ear bonnet: $41.95
Saddle pad: $89.95
~~Shirt~~ Full zip jacket: $63.88
Polo wraps: $43.95
~~Helmet cover~~: $0.00 (they don’t carry this)

Total cost at Riding Warehouse: $239.73. And the reason this stuff is more expensive is that it is all the Loire collection. This is the higher end of Lemieux. And I do have the Loire pad in gray, and the gray ear bonnet too. And they are fantastic. This is my go to saddle pad for every day riding.

I love the memory foam collar around the wither are of the saddle pad. The Loire collection from Lemieux is the best of the best, in my opinion.

Matchy – Matchy DIY

With the cost of getting a matchy matchy set being really expensive, I decided to see if I could put together my own set of matching equipment for less. And I am happy to report, I did!

I was able to put together a set of matchy – matchy in mint green for just around $100.00.

I like the mint color. It’s pastel, and just happy. And Lord knows we could all use a little happiness right now. Am I right?

Amazon to the Rescue

Finding saddle pads, and polo wraps is pretty easy. So I will save that for later. But one of the most expensive items for a matchy matchy set is the shirt for the rider. And then trying to find it in mint green? Well, that was an even bigger challenge.

That is until I checked on Amazon.

This is a UPF 50 sun protection shirt. I’m sure you have seen these on equestrian websites for upwards of $65.00. But they have them on Amazon for $16.99! And they have LOTS of colors too.

There are short sleeve and long sleeve options in sizes from small to 22W. So pretty much sizes to fit all of us! Oh, and they have men’s shirts too.

Polo Wraps

And they have horse wear too. I was able to find mint green polo wraps from Classic Equine for $34.99 plus free Prime shipping.

If you are crafty at making your own polo wraps, you could make your own. But for me, it was a lot easier just to buy the polo’s. So that’s what I did.

Saddle Pad

Next was the saddle pad. I did try to buy the mint green pad at Lemieux. But every time I tried to check out, it wouldn’t let me. I was bummed. I really wanted this saddle pad.

But then I did a google search for the pad, and I found a similar one from Ride-Away Equestrian. And it was a great deal.

I was able to buy this pad for $28.00! But when I went to find it again for linking it to this article, they don’t have it listed anymore. BUT Amazon to the rescue yet again! It’s called the Woof Wear color fusion pad and it costs $45.45 with free shipping. I’m sorry I can’t direct you to the place where I bought it for $28.00, but hey, at least you can still find it right?

The color is a little softer than the Lemieux pad. But I really like it. If they don’t have it at Amazon, Riding Warehouse has it too.

Matchy – Matchy Ear Bonnet

Now this is where I was really having a problem. Finding an ear bonnet in mint green. Again, I tried to buy the mint green one that Lemieux had on their website. But I already told you what happened with that.

Amazon has this one for $28.98 and free shipping. And looking back, I should have probably gone this route. But I decided to see if I could dye a white bonnet mint green.

Dying A Fly Bonnet

First I had to find the dye. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find ‘mint green’ dye. But I did find a recipe for making mint green dye!

I went to the experts, RIT. They are the company that makes all sorts of dyes for fabrics. And they have a complete page of color recipes for you to choose from, as well as the regular dye, and the synthetic dye too. I chose the synthetic dye for my ear bonnet that I bought from Riding Warehouse. Which was on sale for $16.95. Now that’s a sweet deal!

But then I had to choose a color. I decided on dusty jade green.

And then I had to buy the dye. I had to buy the following dyes:

Each of the dyes cost $4.47 on Amazon. Which is less expensive than buying them directly from RIT when you account they are free shipping on Amazon using my Prime membership.

I know I have mentioned it before, but Amazon Prime is an awesome membership to have. Not only do you get free shipping on Prime items, but they typically ship it ultra fast. Yes, there is a membership fee ($5.99 a month right now) BUT if you haven’t tried it before, you should give it a try. The first 30 days are free if you sign up with this link! So give it a try, and see if you like it. If you make an online order once a month, you will get back the monthly charge with just one order. So to me, it is worth it. And I get my stuff fast too? Yep. It’s worth it.

Back To The Dye

Ok, commercial for Amazon over. Let’s get back to the dying!

Dying stuff reminds me of dying Easter eggs. It’s kind of the same process really. But I am coloring fabric, instead of eggs!

Ok, dying synthetic fabric is a little different than the traditional dying process. So let’s walk through it.

Directions For Dying an Ear Bonnet

Preparation

Start by pre-washing the ear bonnet to remove any finishes or stains, dust, particles, etc.

Dying

Shake each of the dyes very well before using. Be sure to wear protective gloves so you don’t end up dying your skin. Add water to a stainless steel pot and heat the water to about 200 degrees, or just below boiling. And you want to maintain that temperature throughout the dying process.

Add one teaspoon of liquid dish soap, then add in your dye and stir well to mix everything together.

Next submerge your WET ear bonnet into the mixture. Then you just stir the ear bonnet soup until you get the desired color. This process can take up to 60 minutes. So its not a set it and forget it. You need to be stiring and moving the bonnet around in the solution. I kept my bonnet in the solution for 8 minutes, and the color was exactly what I wanted. But as a precaution, I kept the dye concoction on the stove, just in case I needed to redye the bonnet.

Keep in mind that nylon fabric dyes faster. Also, the color looks darker when it is wet. So when it dries, it will be lighter.

Then you rinse the ear bonnet in warm water, or wash it in your washing machine. And then allow it to dry before putting it on your horse!

You can find directions for lots of different projects on RIT’s website. And I know have a lot of dye left, so I am going to have to play around with my remaining dye I think.

Matchy – Matchy DIY

All in for my DIY matchy – matchy set, this is what I spent:

Shirt: $16.99
Saddle Pad: $28.00
Ear Bonnet: $16.95
Dye: $13.41
Polo Wraps: $34.99

Doesn’t he look majestic? (#noblesteed) So my grand total was $110.34. Not too bad. And about half the cost of what I would have spent if I was able to make my purchase on Lemieux.

And I really like how this set looks on Plezant. He looks snazzy in mint green! It may not be a completely perfectly matched set, but I like it. And I’m pretty sure no one else has a set like it!