Let’s dive into what makes colors so impactful, what certain colors can say without speaking a word, and how choosing colors for your apparel can change your mood. I also included some horse and art related references for good measure.
Fun (somewhat horse related) Facts about Color:
+When it comes to classic artwork that has horses in it-I found that white horses were the most commonly portrayed color. This makes so much sense, and I have noticed it before- and that is where color symbolism comes into play.
+Gandalt rode a white horse (Shadowfax) in the Lord of the Rings books.
+The Bible even mentions a white horse ridden by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
+In Native American cultures, a white horse is seen as a symbol of purity and spiritual grace.
+Unicorns are white. Pegasus, the original Pegasi is white too (although his offspring can be of varying colors).
+Lady Godiva by John Collier uses much color symbolism- it depicts a gray horse adorned with red and gold. The red quarter sheet draped over the horse highlights that the rider has no clothes on, as well as showcasing her posture, a very purposeful point of the entire artwork.
+Racing silks are color focused and there is a great deal of history and meaning behind these garments. The origin of them dates back to Henry VIII, but they gained popularity in the 18th and 19th century as a way to be able to decipher who was who from a far distance, and crowded space. They became especially important as racing grew in popularity during that time.
+Even Eventing riders are known for their colors. I think branding comes into play here, but also athletes can be superstitious so I would be interested to know more about how each rider has chosen their color and how it changes depending on the event or location, etc.
+Color plays into our stereotypes or archetypes with horses as well: think red mare energy, and white hooves.
+Color plays an important role in different Equestrian niches-think coat colors in Hunters and “whites” in dressage. Recent rule changes have allowed for more creativity but many people love the idea of sticking to traditional colors in many niches.
+Color plays a role in what we wear based on the season when it comes to functionaliy-some people prefer dark colors in summer to hide sweat marks, even if they feel as though it makes them more warm. Others prefer not wearing a cooler color because of how it shows dirt-inevitable in our world for sure.
+Stock Ties- made of white silk were worn in the 1700’s. White pants were worn by men for riding from very early on, and that tradition (along with red hunt coats) still continues for many events today.
+Blue Horse I by Franz Marc is just that- a famous and beautiful painting of a blue horse, surrounded by purples, yellows and greens (and a little red). Interpretations of the art believe that Marc painted the horse blue because it conveyed a sense of wanting peace during the time of the painting, whereas others believe it was about spirituality.
Now some Non-equestrian color fun facts:+Researchers estimate that most humans can see around one million different colors.
+The first color used in art was red- from ochre. And the first known example of cave art was a red ochre plaque, which contains symbolic engravings, diamond shapes with lines and dated to over 75,000 years ago.
+Yellow was poisonous. Many of the early compounds that made up yellow paint ingredients (like arsenic and lead chrome) were especially poisonous. Later versions were less so, thankfully. Artists like Vermeer and van Gogh are known for their pairings of yellow and blue and yellow and purple, respectively.
+If it weren’t for black we wouldn’t have masterful paintings like Saint Joseph, the Carpenter, whose black creates the illumination of the candle light conveyed so beautifully by Georges de La Tour.
+Queen Victoria wore only black for 40 years after the death of her husband, Prince Albert.
+Where black and white meet, comes gray. Gray is known to evoke neutrality. Have you ever heard something bland be referred to as gray? It is common for gray to be seen as a boring color. But it’s much more than what we give it credit for.
+Gray plays a role in the history of clothing color. After the start of World War I when German innovation in dyeing textiles was blocked due to a blockade set up by the British, American clothing manufacturers were without the patented dyes they had used for years prior. One of the only colors that the US (New York, in particular was America’s garment manufacturing hub at the time) could make on their own was Battleship Gray.
+The 1930’s brought about a color revolution to the US, as more companies worked on creating dyes that lasted and were made with higher end ingredients. Everyone got in on the revolution with companies from General Motors to Sears creating colors to use for their products.
Now that we have some fun facts out of the way, how has color impacted what we wear?
+For a very long time, only the wealthy wore deeply saturated, heavily pigmented bright colors. Reasons for this included the cost of the ingredients that made up dye for clothing, with it being said that Cleopatra had a dress that required snails soaked for many days in order to get one ounce of dye for just one of her dresses.
+During his reign, King Henry VIII insisted on royalty being the only people allowed to wear purple. Purple has long been associated with royalty and status, mostly due to the cost of acquiring ingredients to make it but also because creating it was time intensive.
The most fascinating part of color and symbolism for me is that the emotional or psychological response of color is dependent upon the person. What that means for me is that adding color into your daily life or wardrobe in general adds a level of excitement.
It is important to note that gender, national origin and other factors mean that perception of color can vary. I find this fascinating and a lovely sentiment where we can have so many nuanced conversations around color and our wardrobe.
I also would like to (kinda) challenge the idea of color matching. Wear colors that make you feel a certain way, regardless of how they present you to the outside world. Send your intended message via color choice, and don’t feel pressured to accept that you don't “look good enough” to wear what colors bring you joy.
Here are a few tidbits about our favorite colors:
RED
For the Greeks, red meant heroism. It is the color of passion, blood and hearts. In Asia, red is the color of luck and it is also a universal sign for a stop. Women are typically drawn to more berry shades of red, whereas men who were given a choice preferred a tomato shade instead.
Red can increase heart rate, and its long wavelength makes it one of the first and most visible colors in the whole spectrum, a clue as to why it is used in so many important ways.
BLUE
Blue is the world’s most favorite color. Deep blues such as navy convey trust and intelligence whereas light blue is a color believed to evoke spirituality and serenity. Also worth noting is how our eyes view blue, which is different from how we view other colors.
YELLOW
The positive color psychology behind yellow is strong. It is the color of happiness, originality and excitement. But it also has been used in slang historically, as another word for cowardice.
GREEN
Green is seen as soothing and is associated with nature by many. It is a great color for relaxing and a great all season color if you prefer to stay within the realms of color seasonality…we encourage you not to, but it’s up to you!
So how do you choose a color for your garments and outfit choice?GO THROUGH YOUR CLOSET!
Look at what colors you currently have and how to build upon them, and take notice of what types of clothing it is that you have with bold vs subdued colors.
When shopping, make a point of remembering how certain colors make you feel. Think about existing items of clothing and how they would pair with a new item.
Most of all, if you are constantly feeling like you do not have anything to wear that you love, it might be as simple as needing to change up the colors of your wardrobe.
If you are trying out a product for the first time, choose a neutral color first to try on. This will help you see the garment more for the fit, comfort and tailoring and less from an emotional perspective such as loving the color alone.
Since so much of what we wear is based on how we want the world to perceive us, color can be a fantastic way to project how you feel inside, to the outside world.And remember, when it comes to riding clothes, you are absolutely allowed to wear what you want. Your skill level or abilities as a rider have no bearing on whether you should wear something colorful or not.
Gone are the days where a beginner rider or amateur cannot wear the same clothes a professional does. Only when it comes to showing does proper attire matter, and that is a totally different topic than what we are discussing today.
Go with your gut when it comes to buying something colorful. If there is a deep need or a strong reservation, listen to that. Use color as a way to amplify your feelings for the day.
Feeling strong and bold? Go with a power red, a bold stripe (shameless plug for our Charlie shirt found here).
Feeling anxious or feeling the need to be grounded? Look for earthy colors like browns and greens. Need some uplifting? Try yellow. Or even take a cue from Queen Victoria and wear your heart on your sleeve. Use color to lean into your feelings and help you.
Too much at one time? Go with an accessory that allows you to dip your feet into adding color to your life. We love socks, so these Dreamers and Schemers socks are a favorite: https://dreamersnschemers.com/collections/all-socks/products/downward-dog-retro-socks or these drool worthy socks that have a pop of color https://imogeneandwillie.com/products/the-dead-wrong-sock
Other creative ways to add color are through scarves (we prefer Wild Rags), belts and purses. Other items like sweaters or even hair ties, ribbons or clips also add color without you having to make large changes, purchases or feel like a different version of yourself. One of my favorite ways to add color is to wear a colorful coat with my all black ensemble.
Challenge ideas that certain colors can only be worn at certain times or during certain seasons. Color usage, the when and why is up to you. Want to wear pastels in winter? DO IT. Deep burgundy or all black in spring-YES!
Challenge color combination traditions if you are nervous of going too far from your typical all black or all neutrals outfit. If blue is how you want to expand color into your clothing, try blue and black together even though old school advice goes against it.
Still nervous? Add colors that use a traditional aesthetic like camels, tans and creams added to your black wardrobe staples.
No matter what color you feel like you want to invest in, choose classic silhouettes or styles that are complimentary to your body or are similar to already owned pieces. That way it is less of a trend focused purchase and more of a long term investment.
And remember, if a garment is comfortable and fits you well, color is icing on the cake. Use it to your advantage!
So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this post and I cannot wait to show you how we are taking this advice and adding color to our offerings this year.
]]>Life is a wild ride, right? While speaking with a business mentor today (shout out to Kelly at Avenue Equestrian) the realization that 2023 is close to coming to an end really stuck with me. It made me think of what is to come and how we got to where we are now.
The word that came to mind with this awareness is DESERVING. A lot of us are great at speaking kindly to and about our horses, speaking freely about the life they deserve for their contribution to our lives. What about ourselves? What about you?
****Once we accept our own basic worthiness we cannot help but see the basic worthiness of every other human.
You are deserving of quality friends, quality loved ones, and from our point of view: you are deserving of products that make you feel good. Products that bring value to your life, make you comfortable and aid your confidence in the saddle. Things that you can wear that bring you joy, that make you feel individual. Those are the types of products I am working hard to create, and continue with in the future.
We do not make products to sell you a spot in a dreamy, aspirational life. No.
We make products that make you want to live yours more fully, and be there with you for a long a time.
Why do I tell you this now? Well, the closing of 2023 means the closing of a year that was a grind for a lot of good people. Many of us or people we hold dear are not feeling themselves due to the state of the world and the last thing on their mind unfortunately is that they are worthy of the good things in life. For us here, the close of 2023 brings about change and new beginnings, lots of feelings about milestones met, goals that need recalibrating as well as curiosity of what the future holds. The end of 2023 contains more of what we think is deserving of your time-the debut of the Pinstripe blouse, and Wild Rags. The yet un-named garment is 1/4 zip black and off-white pinstriped, collared technical bloouse. The long awaited Wild Rags I have teased also make their first appearance.
The Wild Rags are made of imported 100% silk Habotai, a lightweight natural fiber known for its temperature regulating properties. The kicker is that they will be hand dyed using eco-friendly and non toxic dye here in the USA. As a partially made to order product, the lead time will be a few days, but 100% worth the wait.
In 2024, we have the Suede saddle seat cover arriving in the beginning of the new year, as well as a breeches restock in different colors.
The Off Course breeches were our stand out product this year, with the compressive but but airy technical fabric stealing the hearts of ammy's and professionals alike.
There may be leather full seat breeches in early 2024, too. Why not lift the lid on a few more-gloves, belts and chaps will show up for you in 2024 as well. There is one other product in the works, but the lid remains shut on that one ;)
Before 2023 comes to a close, I want to take the time to put out into the universe what I feel that you deserve. You deserve quality, valuable pieces that last season after season as much as I believe deep down that May Babes deserves to be the brand who brings those ideas to life for you.
Let us not play small in 2024, right? I want you all to join me in BIG moves. But not in the traditional sense. Whether that means scary challenges or no challenges, getting out there or staying where you feel safe, I hope all that you work toward is realized and you get what you want and need. Putting in work will be a theme that we take from 2023 into 2024, but that doesn't mean that your goals need to be the same.
I am constantly reminded in times of hardship, no matter minuscule or a mountain of the C.S. Lewis quote, "Courage, dear heart." So if recognizing what you deserve or are worthy of in this life frightens you, I implore you to see the courage and heart (again, not too differently than how we speak of our horses!) that resides inside of you.
Whatever it is, you are worthy of it.
xEm x May Babes Equestrian
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**I want to preface all of this with the caveat that I am not promoting rampant consumerism of meaningless things. I want to convey that while some things in life aren’t worth the purchase because they won’t provide a value or a sense of happiness or years of worthwhile use…other things will.. My (mostly) entire point of this is to show that there are so many aspects that we love within being a rider, and they exist together. To peel the onion and see why it is that we love horses and riding and everything associated with it is very interesting to me, and I think you’ll see it too. We love this life because the joy and layers to the journey are endless. This is just one of them.
Oh, and that if you love something that is a material object, that’s ok.
Here’s why:
I wear what I wore to my son’s class fairly regularly. I am a little bit of a Wenglish rider since we are country people, and own and raise cattle in our rural Northern California area, but I come from both a gymkana-barrel racing AND Hunter-Jumper background. For me, the worlds are definitely mixed on the regular. I selectively wear what is most comfortable for me to live and ride in. So as I put on my chaps, it got me thinking about where clothing and feelings align and what it means to dress for the barn.
There are so many things that come into play when deciding what to wear to ride. From the weather conditions to the length of your ride, those things are pivotal. But what about the spiritual, the cultural and the emotional portion of your riding clothes? It felt ceremonial getting dressed for my son’s class because instead of wearing my normal Bella breeches, I was wearing Wranglers. And instead of wearing a helmet, I put on my hat. But I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said that there isn't something special about dressing for the barn, despite the fact that I literally do it everyday, as I am sure you do, too. Do you ever put on your breeches just in case your kids or your life give you an extra moment to sneak outside or to the barn? Do you ever decide to wear your hair a certain way because you might just be shoving it under a helmet sometime in the afternoon?
What about preparation for a riding day- do you lay out your clothes the day before a lesson or plan in your head what you will wear? I do. I do it based on the weather (comfort related) and for how I feel. I want to FEEL GOOD when I ride.
Often I think about marketing since I own this tiny business. And in that marketing is how I can best convey to you all what makes our clothes different. Of the many ways I have worked this out and tried to get my message across is how our clothes feel on, the comfort, the functionality and how big those two things are within our business DNA. But recently I have been really thinking of the emotional and spiritual part of our identities as riders and equestrians as well as all of the other aspects of your lives that make you interesting people.
What I keep coming back to and what went through my head Halloween day, is the idea that while I wholeheartedly believe that what you look like outside of your insides-your world facing facade doesn’t matter and does not impact your horsewoman abilities, that what you wear does actually matter. Bear with me, because I don’t mean aesthetics.
What we wear matters to us. It just does. You might not care about color, but you have a favorite pair of boots. Because, they fit right, they allow your foot to flex or you don’t get blisters with them. So the pleasure of putting them on matters. Wearing those boots matters.
You might not care about how your hair looks, but you do care about having a hair tie that functions and holds your hair back. Your hair tie matters.
Recently, and due to the many motherly obligations that happen in the latter part of the year, I have been wearing jeans a lot more. I wear the Bella or the Ges 2.0 breeches EVERY. DANG. DAY. I am not exaggerating, as some other moms from my kids’ school can attest. It is the truth. So while having to wear jeans frequently, I have had to come up with something that is as comfortable for undergarments. I cannot find traditional undergarments that make me as comfortable in my jeans as I am in the seamless built in underwear of the breeches.
So, from my body’s perspective: even the tiniest parts of what we wear MATTERS.
Setting aside comfort and function, let’s go back to the ceremonial and the spiritual. Have you ever had an heirloom piece of clothing- a watch or a necklace that reminded you of a loved one? One that made you feel their presence or reminded you of being with them? That random piece of clothing or that shaped piece of metal or leather is not random to you. To you, that article matters. And if you wear it, that means what you are wearing matters. A necklace you touch might be a physical reminder of your relationship with God or another spiritual guide in your life.
Also consider highly superstitious sports athletes like Baseball players. The same gloves are put on in a particular way, always in the same order. Do those gloves make a functional difference? Yea a little, probably. But what they don’t do in actuality, they make up for in spirituality. What you wear matters if it keeps your mind focused or your heart at peace.
When I consider all of these things, it reminds me, The closer I am to my riding clothes, the closer I feel to my horse. Even when I am far away from them.
So maybe that sentiment is the truest reason as to why what we wear riding matters.
And maybe that is because the closer I am to my horses the more at peace I am. The closer I am to my horses, the more likely I am outside, breathing fresh air, taking in the sunshine. The closer I am to my horses the closer I am to building the relationship and life with my horse that I want. Maybe the closer I am to my horses the further away I am from other things.
So the next time you get dressed, even if you don't think that things like clothes have any significance to you or your life, maybe consider making that moment something you acknowledge and give some gratitude to. Give thanks for the ways that a piece of clothing- something so simple-can make you feel connected, accepted, aligned or at peace. And if your clothing doesn’t do that for you, change it.
This blog a work in progress. I might flesh it out more at a later date or continue it further or deep in the future. There are so many nuances to our decisions to invest in certain clothing, treasure items that bring us joy and find fulfillment in the act of dressing for our rides. It is endlessly interesting and love you all joining me in discovering and learning more.
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During my second postpartum experience and the ensuing recovery, I not only needed something to focus on that was outside of my new baby and family but one that also made me feel like I was moving the needle toward my goals of healing and getting back to intentional movement. The movement I happened to love was riding, and I knew if I was going to get back into the saddle I had to take my recovery seriously. This is where breathwork entered the picture.
After endless searching of what I thought my body needed, I found a breathing technique called Hypopressives. It was and has been a game changer for me. I took one-on-one lessons from various teachers, (I am more than happy to share contact information, if you reach out to me here: info@maybabesthebrand.com) and learned proper form and practices. I still practice to this day.
The definition of Hypopressives from the Hypopressives Canada website states: “The term ‘HYPOpressive’ refers to a decrease or reduction in pressure. This form of exercise reduces pressure to the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities, where traditional exercises, abdominal training, gravity, as well as the majority of our daily activities are HYPERpressive – they increase intra-abdominal pressure. It is not to say that doing these everyday activities are bad for us, in fact most of what we do - even walking - increases this internal pressure. What we need to address is how well our bodies are able to manage these pressures and prevent the onset of injury/dysfunction.”
Now, I was not dealing with pelvic floor dysfunction, but rather the recovery of a very long and arduous labor that left me feeling detached from my core, like my pelvis and core didn’t know one another and the natural reflexes that happen with things like breathing and engaging my pelvic floor were just not tracking. The breath practice of Hypopressives changed my entire healing process and connection to my body. It is a short practice of what is called apnea, or false breath combined with specific postures. All of these things leave you feeling energized, more aligned and I felt like my physical abilities were magnified just from a single thing. It actually helped me to move forward and have a way to function through all the basic physical therapy movements I was given to work on before returning to exercise after baby.
After I had been working on Hypopressives for about a month, I came across the work of physical therapists Julie Weibe and Dr. Sarah Duvall. Both were instrumental in helping me navigate returning to exercise post baby. For whatever it is worth, Sarah has an amazing all encompassing program called Core Exercise Solutions that is by far the most comprehensive program for moms who want to return to exercise after baby better than they left it.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that both PT’s highlight the importance of breathing in their work. Our breath controls our core, and in so many ways that affects everything we do in the saddle.
Nervous before a show? Breathing affects that. Stamina during long bouts of trotting? Breathing. Engaging your seat or lack thereof? Breathing. Trap muscles hanging out where your ears are? Check your breathing!
Other ways breathing impacts your riding-bracing or clenching your legs, arms or shoulders often means you're breath holding. Not into your seat as much as you would like? That is pelvic floor, the spring in your pelvis that expands and contracts and helps your seat give the aids you need. Remember our blog post and interview with Pelvic floor PT Kailie Denham? She mentioned breath quite a bit when it comes to incontinence or leaking while riding.
BREATH IS EVERYTHING.
I do my own breath work prior to working with one of my baby horses because for one reason or another, we have better sessions together when I use my breath to center myself before I engage. I believe breath work is that powerful.
We are meant to use our breath, and the sooner you see it as a tool that is beyond useful in the saddle, the better rider you will be. I had put in all of this work to breathe better but then I noticed it was harder to apply when riding.
Riding postpartum and how apparel plays into that could be considered the Magnum Opus of my life.
This is where our motto of comfort comes in and why I talk about it incessantly.
The extremely tight clothes we often see riders wearing is not always optimal for our bellies and lungs. Often tight clothes send a message, and that message can be constriction, it can mean altered breathing because we are uncomfortable or it can be the feelings of being self conscious of how we look or feel. It can actually remove how safe we feel in our bodies and our surroundings. We need to be able to fully utilize our bodies when we are participating in an athletic endeavor and riding is one of those endeavors! So why on earth do we just wear whatever everyone else is wearing and accept that our bodies require or should do the same?
We need comfort and functionality, first and foremost.
The nuances of comfort and safety when it comes to riding clothes is not lost on me, which is why certain fabrics and fit are important and design details matter when it comes to tops and bottoms in garments. It is why good products take time to develop.
One thing that is very unique to our Bella leggings is the waistband. The waistband is made with a very large panel that doesn’t constrict the main area of the belly, while the low seam that attaches the waistband is actually strategically placed so it doesnt rub on an area that is common to have a c-section scar from birth (and is, in turn, a sensitive area). When developing our Off Course and Ges breeches, we wanted to shorten the waistband since there are some riders who prefer a moderate rise to a high rise. We made sure that the waistband was flared out just a tiny amount more than industry standard measurements, in a very particular way, to keep from pinching your body’s canister-something we find is important physically as well as aesthetically. Mid-rise pants are particularly hard to make and not do this because of course, they are mid-rise. The band hits the middle of your canister. We made the thighs and through the hips slightly more compressive, to allow for the top of the waistband to have some give without making the breeches fall down.
Next up on the list is belts. Oh belts…you make us look so polished and professional. And yet, when cinched so tight we cannot breathe correctly you take away our athleticism! So, the same way you would adjust your stirrups when you realize they will impede your ride, please do so with your belt. No one benefits from a too tight belt and when you’re already nervous or taking shallow breaths during a show or lesson, honestly the belt makes it worse. Added to that is the desire to constantly want to brace or “suck in” our stomachs and that piles layers upon layers of work de-conditioning that from our mind-body connection. Ask me how I know ;)
While shirts play a lesser role than say, sports bras-it is still important that your shirts not be so constricting that it leads to a similar scenario as above-not so tight your body thinks it’s being encased in a recycled polyester wrapper and also so that you are comfortable from a feelings standpoint. I am not saying that a super loose top is always the best, particularly if you are trail or could get hung up on something, but the benefit of a bit less fitted top is huge. Our GG turtleneck was meant to be worn relaxed, as are our Sun Shirts. Technical fabric of course is a modern invention with advantages aplenty, one of which is spandex or stretch material. This gives some range in fit, and is helpful in shirts being less restrictive than fabrics-wovens and knits without stretch. All of that being said, we find that offering many sizes allows customers to size up or down to determine the fit that they prefer. We also made the arms of our newest shirt just slightly (slightly) fitted. This means the arms look tailored, while the body area can remain a little looser without taking away the polish of the top.
The trend that every body type has to or needs to be in clothing that might not make them feel good about themselves is a particular rub of mine. Like tight clothing? Does it make you feel good? Then wear what makes you feel YOUR BEST. But don’t shy away from what makes you most comfortable.
So with all that being said, make sure you shop for your body, and your own athleticism when buying riding clothes. We often look for things seasonally-be it breathable or moisture wicking or even purchase based on color or story of the particular item-by have you ever considered buying for how it will function when it comes to fit and movement? Or how your body will move AND breath in it?
When you can breathe better, whether it be through breath practice or through better clothing, your riding will improve.
I hope to do some more writing on breath work and practices in the future. In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you have any questions about anyone I mentioned in this post.
****None of this blog constitutes medical advice so please seek out a qualified trainer, PT or Dr. or health professional when considering taking on a breath work practice. All of my experience is my own, and does not represent anyone listed on this blog or qualify as medical advice from them.
]]>Each product will have its own timeline for development and how many prototypes are needed. For something functional like clothing and accessories like what we make for May Babes, the truth of a product will come out in the testing portion.
Nuances like fit are left for later on, while functional aspects like seam types, seam locations, and durability are best to try out early and continue with trying until the end of the sampling/prototype process. While fit plays a VITAL role in so many goods, if you realize later on a seam needs to be changed, the fit will change so much based off of that one part, so really you need to focus on the function as your first priority. Especially if you are making something not seen in your market, do this. We had to do this with our Bella leggings and it paid off.
In our example we used our saddle cover, so for this we needed to add a little extra suede in one portion and take a little away from another. While these things did not affect the functionality of the product, we were able to trial it while making those adjustments as notes first, and then take them into the second sample knowing that the function would remain, but the aesthetics would be better. Trialing it before makes the adjustments can make the adjustments more accurate. Another example of this could be pants. In a stand still, a pair of pants might seem to be ok, but you need to move in them and do what is intended to get a glimpse of what is working or not working. Always bring a measuring tool with you when you are trialing a prototype, and to help with where you want things to be. Pins help, but I also love to use crayons as they make marks that do not rub off the same way marking chalks do. Do not be afraid to alter a sample, and take COPIOUS photos before and after.
ALSO: Ask friends and family for help! When you have your sample made, take into consideration sizing. Before finalizing the sample, it would be helpful to give the sample to multiple people to trial. The more input you receive the better your product will be. Take considerations to heart, write everything down even if you do not agree with the feedback, and move forward without deviating too far from the mission or the idea of your product. But also take advice and feedback because down the road you can reflect on it, refer back to it and oftentimes, when you are further removed as time goes on and less emotionally invested, that feedback is really incredibly useful.
If you’re truly happy with the final prototype or pre production sample- make sure you double check all notes with your manufacturer prior to finalizing. This means that you reiterate all of the sample changes, make notes on what is expected and send a copy of that to your manufacturer so that in writing you have an agreement on the design and expectations. If you’re pleased with what you have, you can move into production. Production timelines differ between industries but from experience, you are looking at either scheduling months out or you sign up for immediate production. Typically half of production costs are due up front and the second half due when production wraps. Production: this is where your market research comes into play: you need to order sizes, colors and quantities. This is highly dependent on what your polls, conversations with friends and social media groups have shown you. It also takes a lot of input from your finances and a little bit of following your gut, because your sizes and overall quantity will be determined by sales expectations, what way you plan to sell (DTC or wholesale), what you can afford and the reorder time frame your manufacturer gives you (when more inventory would be finished with production if you ordered more).
THAT’S IT! That is the basics of how to bring an idea from drawing board to production!
Did you enjoy this post? Is there anything else you would like to learn about our process or inner workings? Let us know :)
]]>Ever wonder what our system is for building a product? Do you have an idea that you want to take from A-Z? Then this is the blog post for you. I firmly believe that sharing and being an open book is much more refreshing as opposed to the typical gatekeeping so many industries have set up to make it harder for others to succeed. I use this process in nearly every product we develop.
SO HERE WE GO:
Today I am going to share with you what the process was with our new genuine suede saddle seat cover. SURPRISE! This is our newest bespoke offering to debut this winter. Why make a suede seat cover? Well, the idea came to me when I was forecasting my desires for my business and what I wish was out there. I like silicone on breeches, but I also like leather a little more. While the progress for the full seat breeches has been slower than expected, I also realized the barrier to them being widely accepted again, was that breeches need to be taken off and washed after most uses whereas grip on your actual saddle would not be as often. You can use a lightly damp cloth to clean off the suede cover. So, lower maintenance is a positive but so is the protection that a cover would provide your seat. But what really got me to invest my time into developing the idea full throttle was when I rode western-I much prefer my suede seat barrel saddle to my slick seat ranch saddle. Lastly, and of great importance is the idea of developing fewer polyester based products as well as considering options for those who do not like silicone. One draw back to silicone is that even the best silicone only lasts so long, whereas suede can last for decades. All those points made me more excited by the day for developing this product. As with everything, I want you to get your wear from the products we sell, and have them last as long as possible.
Step 1: Ideation. This is the fun part, right? Typically I have ideas while riding, while watching riding videos on Instagram or while thinking about horses and riding, while talking to fellow equestrian friends (ahem, GG shirt). I also have ideas while I am doing other horse or outdoor related things (read: ALL THE TIME). The only time I do not think about ideas or thinking of solving problems is while grooming. Grooming is my time to focus on the energy of my horse and my energy for the time we are together. I always like to be present before riding or working so we can decide what adventures our time together will bring. I also love the scents of grooming, the method of it, the way everyone has a type of routine…grooming is awesome :) So, whether you have a fleeting thought or an idea hits you square in the face, write it down. Write it down and revisit it often. If you aren’t obsessed with it, it might not be worth your time. Consider what problem your idea solves. This can guide you in so many ways.
Step 2: Research. See if there is anything else on the market like it. When I made the Phoenix leggings back in 2018, (seems like an eternity and a lifetime of experiences ago), I just made them before looking to see if there was anything else like them out there. Then I wore them for a day and loved them so much that I decided to look-and found nothing. Nowadays I try to do my due-diligence and search the inter-webs. There are brilliant people in the universe and I truly believe that not one thought is original (for the most part). But I REALLY encourage you to realize this: YOU ARE UNIQUE. Your POV is unique, your experiences are unique. That is your advantage. Use it.
Searching the market for your invention or idea accomplishes two things: It shows you if the idea is something already being developed or sold, and it serves as a barometer of whether the market is ready for it or not. While this is an important step, you also have to go with your gut sometimes. When I made my first prototype and drawings there was nothing on the market like it, so then I had nothing to gauge its need from. I did some focus groups early on with moms and that helped a lot. Nowadays you could poll your instagram, do a patent search, look at Facebook groups. But always do what you can from the angle that the answers of the questions are anonymous if possible. You’ll get more honest feedback that way. Also keep in mind that even if no one says they would buy it or use it, it is ok to be ahead of your time. Then, check the price point. Check the prices of the materials it will take to create your idea. Make as many financial related notes as possible. That will help you with talking to manufacturers down the road on what your spending will be, and that will help guide the pattern and tech pack process.
For my first product, I always had in the back of my mind just how much the Equestrian space is steeped in tradition, but I still had no idea the reality of it. I had an upward battle with a mix of dislike and confusion when I introduced breeches with built-in underwear. Always remember that you will find your people-no matter how long it takes, you’ll find them. So do your research, take notes etc. If there is something out there like it, test your design and function and make it superior. Better functionality and design will always have a place. Look at how many car manufacturers there are and how many varieties. Be relentless.
Step 3: Celebration time! You’re now at one of the hardest parts, haha. This is the PROTOTYPE stage. You either need to source someone to build your design for you or build it yourself. I have developed products both ways, and it really is design and function dependent. If you plan on patenting the idea or are worried about elements that are unique you can have those involved sign a NDA. All of those things should be run by a qualified patent attorney. Patent attorneys are expensive, but totally worth their money, even if you decide to not go ahead with the patenting process. When it comes to building your first prototype, no matter if it is a simple shirt or a complicated boot, make sure you really find someone who you jive with. This is where it becomes product dependent. If you have an item that is made from a textile, you'll need to have a Tech pack made. Tech packs are the bread and butter of how to make a garment or item and are a digital framework. They take the project from A-Z. The first step in this-past the drawings you've made, is a pattern. I suggest you have a pattern made first. The reason I say this is because as you develop your idea, the textiles, colorways, packing instructions, might all change and you'll be potentially wasting money having a tech pack made that needs adjustments. Make sure if you buy services from an independent consultant that you buy the source file! If you go the route of Tech pack but it needs changing then you won’t need to have it remade, just amended.
You’ll also save money if you find out that when you thought you needed a pattern but really needed a CAD drawing or if you have a one size item and you do a tech pack and end up paying for size grading when you didn’t need it. You can do a tech pack at first if that is what you want or the person you hired wants you to do, but that can be done at a later date as well.
A good manufacturer can steer you in the right direction for your specific product. If you want a particular type of seam or fabric, who you hire matters. They will know what will work or not, and when in doubt I highly encourage you to try what you want. Another thing to note is that you are in charge of the project. You hired them, not the other way around. So if you think flatlock seams would be better or YOUR item, request them. It is your money.
You can find pattern makers and seamstresses online, but honestly my advice is to find someone as local to you as possible. Collaborating in person is a wonderful experience and a true way to get your POV across. As with all physical goods, seeing and touching it physically yourself while in the process of making it can make a huge difference. I realize this is not possible for everyone, so websites such as Upwork can be really useful. While taking an idea to a manufacturer for them to make into a pattern and a sample/prototype can be helpful due to ease of timing, there are some possible drawbacks-often a manufacturer employs their pattern makers and those who do tech packs, so they charge a premium. Likely, the price difference is to cover overhead and other expenses, so there is nothing wrong with the higher price tag. But when testing to see if an idea can even be done, these fees add up. Am I suggesting not hiring the best? Absolutely not. But I want you to know ALL of the info, and then you can make the nuanced decisions on your own.
The benefit of hiring a pattern maker through a manufacturer or someone they recommend, is that these individuals normally have a great deal of industry experience. So if the design is complicated, perhaps the process goes more quickly if you hire a person recommended. It truly is trial and error. Thankfully reviews exist online, and you can research the work of companies and pattern/prototype makers, manufacturers, tech pack developers, all of it.
Make sure that if you feel like your idea is falling on deaf ears or that if someone says your idea cannot come to fruition you RUN away from that, and keep pursuing what you believe can be made. Any manufacturer worth their weight can look at a poor prototype or terrible sketches and at the very least give you feedback or advice. I am so fortunate to have worked with a woman owned manufacturing company here in the US for many of my designs. A stellar manufacturer will be a combination of advisor, encyclopedia and mentor. But prior to meeting with anyone, buy some books or do some research so you know a little about what you speak of. This industry loves to take its time on things, and if people are busy, they won’t respond to queries timely. So make sure you present yourself as serious, dedicated and obsessed with your project.
If you put in the time to develop a relationship, it benefits everyone. Likewise, my project manager for our overseas manufacturing partner has been equally wonderful as our stateside manufacturer. FIND YOUR PEOPLE in design and manufacturing from the beginning of the journey, and it will change everything. This was a hard one for me, so trust me when I say I kissed a whole lot of toads before I found people who were invested in me. Be really honest with yourself and if you don't jive with the person or they have non constructive advice or opinions, find someone else. Life is short, and since projects take so much time-don’t waste precious time of yours on people who don't appreciate you or your business.
For our saddle cover, I sought out a leather company specifically. Thankfully, between the breeches I have created with leather incorporated, combined with my keen interest in leather it was an easy navigation on explaining what and how I wanted the suede used. From there I sent drawings and photos of saddle seats and measurements. I try to be as succinct as possible, and have everything I need in easy reach. Take photos of your sketches or drawings, hypothetical or real measurements, types of seams you like, fabric or textiles you prefer, even add things like weight, hand feel and opacity into your descriptions. For the saddle cover I wanted to make sure the drape was good, but it wasn't too thin. So I included the selected mm of suede thickness I felt ideal, and let the project manager and pattern maker test and try on my behalf based on their experience. I also asked about pricing-this can be tricky. Until a product is truly exactly what you want, it is hard to nail down firm pricing, which can also be determined by the quantity of items you order. That being said, this is not the time or place you want to skimp or try and save money. Make your product out of the best materials available to you first, and if it doesn’t pencil, then you make the needed changes. If you don’t start with what you really want to use or how you’ve envisioned it, you'll always wonder what the final product would have looked like or functioned like if you went high end first.
Now, take all of those files, notes and ramblings and put them in a Google drive folder for ease of finding.
Due to the length of this post, I will be continuing PART II of this blog next week. As always, thank you for reading, and if you have any questions about anything, please feel free to reach out and ask me. I am an open book ;)
xEm and May Babes
]]>In the interview we cover breathing mechanics, working on your weak and dominant sides, leaking while riding and how what your body is doing today doesn't mean that is the way it will be forever. Kailie is a wealth of knowledge in her field and has dedicated her professional life to helping women.
****As with any health related article, we must include that this is not medical advice and you should speak with your Dr. or Physical therapist before embarking on any treatment plan.
The article discusses topics like pelvic floors, continence, bodily functions, sex, and aging.
Emily: So the first question is, how does our breathing affect riding? I think that this is a really cool question because it's pretty broad within any athletic endeavor that you get into. Breathing is something that's really important, and I've noticed that finally there's a little bit of a tide change or people are realizing that your breath is pretty important in all that you do.
Kailie: Yeah. So I was talking to you like, Oh, with the equestrian's only, but then you said ‘athletes' because equestrians are athletes as well. When we're talking about breath, we're talking about this pressure change that happens when you inhale and then you exhale. When you inhale, you increase abdominal pressure because your lungs are filling up with oxygen. Everything just has to move down to accommodate the oxygen in your lungs. There's more downward pressure onto the pelvic floor, the abdomen, all of your internal organs with inhale. I want to say something: When I see clients in person or even virtually and consult them, a lot of women inhale in reverse of what is supposed to happen, which is interesting. Back in the day, I think I just intuitively thought you inhale and everything comes up, and that's when you button your jeans. You inhale and suck in. But when you inhale, it's important that you're thinking everything needs to move down. When you exhale, there's a decrease in pressure as you exhale all the CO2 out of your lungs.
Your abdominals, your pelvic floor, all of that, they're tight, the pelvic floor is lifting. It's all to help with this breathing. If you're breathing incorrectly or the timing isn't right and you're doing this inhale up instead of inhale down, and then you're breath-holding, all of that will increase pressure when it's not supposed to be increased. That's huge when it comes to prolapse (and pelvic floor function problems like continence) and it’s because of these pressure changes that the pelvic floor muscles are not strong enough. The pressure of the pelvic floor muscles around the pee tube (urethra) is being maxed out from up above. It's from things that we're doing that are behaviors. Breathing is so important that you learn that coordination of inhale, everything moves down, exhale, everything moves up, and not breath-holding because that's what our go-to is, is we're going to hold everything in and just hold our breath, and then we're increasing pressure while we're holding our breath. And then we wonder why we're experiencing leaking or other problems.
Emily: Yeah. Well, and that makes total sense because if you have... If it's an equestrian or an athlete and you are nervous, then you're tense and you're holding your breath waiting for either the next moment of something to start or a test or a jump or something like that, you're anticipating and then unknowingly, you're creating actually more pressure down on your pelvic floor. And I think that's super common. But I also feel like a lot of moms that I've talked to-even though this is not geared just to moms, but I do think that a lot of moms that I've talked to, we all have joked around about how we breathe weird or we hold our breath all of the time! Do you think that that's because of the space that a baby can take up when you're pregnant and it changes your behavior?
Kailie: It changes your behavior, it changes your posture, and then all of a sudden, you're just postpartum in your body, your diaphragm is really high. Your diaphragm is really high, your ribs are flared open, your back is really tight, and your body just is like, “Where are all these organs going and settling?” A lot of times moms will say, “I just can't take a deep breath.” Just teaching them how to breathe again efficiently and teaching them what their pelvic floor is doing when they breathe. When you inhale, the pelvic floor is lengthening, and then when you're exhaling, it's contracting. This breath-hold or this shallow breathing all the time, your pelvic floor isn't able to go through its full range of motion. You're only really using a very small amount of your pelvic floor. When you go to a jump or you go to do something that requires a big inhale or a length change of your pelvic floor, your pelvic floor has only been strong right here and it's never been allowed to lengthen and then contract again.Just teaching women how to get to their pelvic floor by taking a really big breath is huge because a lot of times it's as though, “Do you know where your pelvic floor is?”
I ask patients, “can you contract it? Do you have an awareness of what it's doing?”
When you're riding a horse, that's so hard to feel that, but knowing that you're controlling your pelvic floor through your breath, you can feel that breathing, and that's something you could think about, and it might be enough to just distract you from holding your breath.
Emily: I noticed that when I take a deep breath, you can, I think that you've given me a visual before that's similar to this, where you feel yourself expand. And I can tell that my seat changes when I take a deep breath, because it's almost like everything takes a moment to relax. Everything is not so bound up. And it just is interesting because I think that that's why breathing is so important if you want to do something that is athletic. I feel it's like when other moms I've talked to said, they won't leak at all and then all of a sudden they'll laugh. And then they'll leak when they laugh. And is that a similar thing where all of a sudden your muscles are used beyond that range of motion that you've trained?
Kailie: It is like laughing and coughing more. They've actually studied that, using coughing as an exercise for the pelvic floor. But because you can't sneeze on command or anything like that, but you can cough and figure out things such as, “I don't leak when I cough once, but if I leak, I leak when I cough three times” or something similar, and you find out where your limits are, just like if you are doing weightlifting and you're trying to find your one rep max or something like that, you're finding that weakness. Or with running, and you run for 10 minutes. But you only leak when you get past that 10 minute mark. You're trying to find that spot where you're not strong, and then you're trying to strengthen that and move the dial, so to speak. There's so many different methods to improve function. I was just talking to my other PT about this. Leakage, urinary incontinence is so multifactorial. There's so many different factors for why somebody leaks. That's one reason for the physical exam and I'm sure we're going to get to it, but the physical/internal exam to help find out for you: is it the squeeze pressure around the urethra that's not strong enough to withstand the pressure from above, or are you breath-holding? Or is your pelvis in a really weird position that it's putting extra pressure down onto the bladder? But it's all about that squeeze pressure. How do we get that stronger? How do we get that pressure to increase so that it can withstand riding or jumping or coughing or sneezing or any of that? There's things that you can do with just pressure changes, with breathing and not holding your breath. There's things you can do with pelvic position and rib position. There's a lot you can do to check some of the boxes, and then it's like, Well, we need to look at the pelvic floor, see what else is going on.
Emily: Yeah. So it's not just the pelvic floor alone. It's a whole system that reacts to one another.
Kailie: And as demands change, it changes.
Emily: Yeah, that's really interesting. So going into our next question that I received, which is similar: Are equestrians likely to have tight pelvic floor muscles. Why does somebody have a tight pelvic floor?
Kailie: Yeah. I was trying to look up some research articles. There's not a lot on the questions so equestrians have while riding. But I have heard that equestrians can have tighter pelvic floors or more tension in the pelvic floor. I did see something that was talking about it; they tested some female equestrians, and they were looking at the pressure, the pelvic floor tension. They noticed that as you went from standing still on the horse to cantering, the tension in the pelvic floor increased the most out of cancer. Which makes sense because you're going faster, you're having to hold more with your inner thigh muscles. I think that's probably part of it. Your inner thigh muscles attach to your pubic bone and your pelvic floor muscles attach to your pubic bone, and they share a lot of the connective tissue. If your inner thigh muscles are squeezing, which they have to, so if you stay on course, it makes sense that as you go faster and have to hold on tighter, that the tension in the pelvic floor would increase and increase and increase. I think the important part with that is to know when to squeeze tighter, let's say with the canter, and then if you're just walking and knowing what that feels like. And being able to tell, Oh, I'm squeezing extra tight when we're just standing here and not moving or just walking, and I shouldn't be doing that.
Being aware of, “Oh, I am clenching right now when I shouldn't be,” and the canter is when I should be bringing on that pelvic floor tension because the pressure is changing and things are going up and down. I thought that it was interesting that, yeah, during different cycles of the horse's gait, your pelvic floor muscles will tense more. I have only ever ridden Western, and so it was always like a lope instead of a gallop. They were talking about a two-point canter and something else. Can you explain that? Because it was saying the two-point canter is the one where the pelvic floor tension increased the most. I was like, Oh, what's the difference? Are there different canters?***Edited to add: Two point position in the canter was what the study referenced
Emily: But that's really interesting to me because going back to the tension part during any gait is that most riders can tell when they're gripping too much, too high or low through their calves. So if you're really gripping with your thighs and really gripping with your seat, your horse reacts to that and is not as loose.
It makes sense that the appropriate thing to do with your pelvic floor would be being able to have enough body awareness to adjust that tension based on either the speed, like a gallop as opposed to a canter, or the particular movement even. So if you're a jumper, you're adjusting your tension in a similar way before you go over a jump, or maybe even a stride or two before you go over a jump. Or if you're a dressage rider, when you're getting into a more advanced movement like a piaffe or a passage, that you would have ideally the ability to adjust, just like you would adjust your hands, or adjust your ankles, or anything like that that you would adjust your breathing and notice your pelvic floor. And maybe that's what a lot of people think when they adjust their seat. Maybe they're not in tune enough to know that it's their pelvic floor, but maybe it really is their pelvic floor when you think of your seat. And I know that there's certain practitioners that are bringing some of this into the equestrian world, which is really cool. So there's the Franklin method where you ride on things that are inflated or water filled balls, but that you can use that can help you correlate your brain with where your body is and make those adjustments.But I think that it's like anything else where seeing a PT like you would help, you can help tell me if my brain is actually making a specific area do what i am telling it to do.
Kailie: I think that's so important because you can say, Relax your pelvic floor. But most women don't know what that means. It's as though, Relax your pelvic floor and think. I'll say, “Think about spreading your sit bones wide or feeling more of the chair or the saddle.” Because if you contract the pelvic floor and the glutes, you would naturally raise up because your sit bones come together and everything moves, it'll move you up. Feeling the similar, “I'm going to melt my sit bones wide on that saddle” and notice how you lose some of that height. Then if you tighten, then you're going to get higher. Being able to feel the difference between that, I think would be important for equestrians. Then what are you doing with your hands, your toes, all that, because the pelvic floor will respond to that, even clenching your teeth. Trying to get this whole body relaxed and the horse responding to that can be key because if you're gripping the reins versus a light hand, then you know your pelvic floor is going to respond to that.
If your jaw is more relaxed, your pelvic floor will respond and be more relaxed. If your toes aren't clenching. It's this full body mapping. Okay, is my jaw relaxed or my hands relaxed? Is my seat melted on the saddle and then my toes? Kind of this whole thing.
Emily: Can you explain why the jaw is related to the pelvic floor or why there's that? Yeah. What makes that a thing?
Kailie: Yeah. There's- There's fascia connections from the jaw all the way down to the arches of your feet. Actually, they've studied this, in TMJ problems and plantar fasciitis. If you have those, a lot of times you're going to have a tight, overactive pelvic floor because of the fascia attachments from the ground up. A lot of times when you are giving birth, you're going to be told, Relax your jaw, relax your hands, relax your toes, don't clench, because they know that it will help relax the pelvic floor. These fascial connections, those little things that can just be enough to be like, “Oh, I do clench my jaw, or “my toes are always curled,” can affect the pelvic floor. Just these small behaviors that we're doing.
Emily: That's really interesting. Is there something that… If you have a tight jaw, do you suggest rolling out using a ball? I use yoga tune up balls for this quite often.
Kailie: Yes, you can literally massage those tight muscles. You could take your thumb inside your mouth and massage in there or on the outside of your jaw. And then for the feet, taking a ball and rolling your arches. Roll your arches! And in so doing this body care before you even get on a horse or do whatever activity you're going to do can be a game changer. If you know you are a jaw clencher and your pelvic floor is on the tighter side, you can do some of this body care beforehand to influence the pelvic floor.
Emily: That's super cool. Rolling your feet out could make your seat better...cool. I think that's really helpful for a lot of people too, just to see what the response by the body is by doing those things. And then if they notice a difference, then it's even more a reason to go in and see a PT like you and get an assessment and get on the right track on getting everything squared away, just on maintenance. The older you get, the more you have to maintain. But it does keep you feeling good. So for me, it's worth it. If it takes me 10 minutes to roll out my jaw and the arches of my feet and I wake up feeling good every day, then that's a good use of time.
All right. So the third question that we have is a two part question. We've covered it a little bit, but the third question I received was about incontinence. I think that the most positive thing that you can take away from practitioners like you and physical therapists in general, is that the baseline thought is that you can do so much to heal your body, help your body out, that something that is happening today doesn't mean it's going to be happening in two months or two years or whatever. But I did get a lot of questions about leaking. So one was specific about leaking over jumps (as a jumpers rider).
Kailie: This goes back to that first question of pressure control. The pelvic floor muscles don't actually squeeze. What they do is they kink. They push against it. But we just say squeeze. But they are contracting. It's just not around. It's more of a push this way.
Emily: Oh, okay.
Kailie: That pressure, that urethral pressure has to stay higher than the pressure from above. There's been studies on this. The pressure increases from when you're sitting to when you're standing to coughing to jumping to going over a jump, all that stuff. It's figuring out quick things that you can do, such as, are you holding your breath as you take flight? Because that's going to increase pressure onto the bladder. One thing that I would say, and this is for any athlete that I have, if there's something that you do where you know you hold your breath, whether it's a lift, a jump, anything- mounting the horse. Whenever you notice that you have a breath-hold and a leakage, I say time your exhale for that moment. Because when you inhale, the pelvic floor comes down and it lengthens eccentricly, so that's a contraction. Then when you exhale, it shortens and lifts. If you're going to breath-hold, that's just going to put more pressure down onto the bladder and maybe you're leaking because of that. I would say, can you time your exhale for the take-off or whenever you're leaking in that jump and see if that doesn't change your leakage?
I would do that first-time the exhale with your jump. You're going to maybe, let's say it's right at take off. You're going to inhale right before and then you're going to exhale as you jump. Then you're not just going to hold your breath after the exhale. You're going to go right back to inhaling and then exhaling. Maybe you have to bring it down to just going over some ground poles that and see if you can get that coordination down of the exhale timing. Because I guarantee you're either breath-holding or you're doing maybe an inhale when you should be exhaling or something funky. But I would go there first and see if we can just take some of the extra pressure from a breath-hold off of the pelvic floor so that your pelvic floor muscles can be more than the pressure from above at the bladder. Be aware of things. For me, I think about the laundry I need to do. Because that's, I don't know, I guess that's just where my brain goes. But I'm sure there's other moms that ride that are out there that probably, who go to the other life responsibilities in the moment. And that affects your breathing and your body awareness a ton.Something else that made me think of if you go from a canter to a walk, it's like this boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Just like some women have trouble going downhill, walking or running, there's this extra piece to it, you contact the ground or you contact your saddle for that moment, but everything internal is compounded. It's like this domino effect. It's the exhale, but making sure that you have an idea of what your pelvic floor is doing. Is it so tight that there's no give? The pelvic floor should be like this trampoline. It shouldn't be so tight that you're going to hit it and blow through it, so to speak. It should have this give on that. Making sure that the pelvic floor has a little bit of back and forth give from the breathing will help because the pelvic floor will respond to that. Then it's, do you have enough pelvic floor strength in the sphincters around the urethra? Because some of the pelvic floor muscles they push on the urethra, and some of them lift the bladder.
You need both to happen because if your bladder is not being lifted up high enough, then you're not going to get a good squeeze, so to speak. That could be from different things, ie birth, delivery, where your bladder is hanging a lot lower in the pelvis than it should. That pressure from up above is actually supposed to help kink the urethra. But the bladder has to stay high enough. You want the pelvic floor muscles to hold the bladder up so that when you have this high pressure from up above, like a cough, a sneeze, a jump or something like that, that it does this hug to the urethra. If the bladder has lost that lift, then maybe you're hugging it up high and it's just enough pressure to overcome the pressure, squeeze, and kink of the pelvic floor muscles that are kinking it down below. That would take a pelvic floor exam and somebody who knows how to differentiate that. But a lot of times that lift is the backside, so it's the deep layer of the pelvic floor muscles. A lot of times the cue is stop yourself from passing gas. Use those muscles.
That's easy for everybody. That's the one I always go to. When you're doing the canter to the walk or wherever that is, that's the second thing that you could try, is pretend like there's a microphone at your bottom or something, and you're going to stop that toot from coming out as you're exhaling, which is going to be a good coordination test to see if you can figure that out. You're going to lift that backside and keep the bladder up high and see if that does or doesn’t help.
Emily: Yeah, but I think that this is really good because as with any sport, if you look at the best athletes, a lot of times they're very much in the moment, or they're very internally focused. And I think that that's a testament to when you are, whether it's riding or weightlifting or running, you're there either out of enjoyment or, I guess it doesn't matter, necessity or enjoyment, you are there putting in the time and the effort because it means something to you. And so it's beneficial to just be in that moment and to take the time to realize what your body's doing, because at the end of the day, it's going to make you a lot better. And it's that all those little steps adding up to something really big. You can take five minutes to do work on transitions and your brain and focus on that. And I think that the reward for it will be huge. You don't have to spend your entire hour riding or your entire lesson time doing it, just small steps.
Kailie: If you put in 10 minutes here and there, I think that it would be really beneficial for everyone, especially for people that are dealing with any dysfunction or pain.
And just like anything that you try that's new, it's going to feel so weird. But the more times you practice it, you're trying to build that that reflex that happens. It's supposed to happen automatically. And a lot of times it's postpartum. In postpartum, that coordination and that reflex doesn't happen like it should. You're retraining it to happen. Here's something else I was thinking of. My horse growing up was a half Arabian, so my saddle wasn't that wide versus a horse like a Fjord. They are so wide. Think about jumping jacks or women who have trouble with jumping jacks. The vulnerable position is that spread leg. Something that you can do out of the saddle is work on however wide your horse is. You need to be able to utilize your pelvic floor muscles in that wide, vulnerable straddle. Being able to get into that position or have your pelvic floor PT check you in that position and see what your pelvic floor and body are doing, plus if it's wide enough, you're in a full stretch, which is going to tense the pelvic floor. You might have to do some work on your inner thighs, like rolling them, because just that full stretch is going to make your pelvic floor tight and tense. But you can figure that out.
Looking at the whole fascia system and the connections, anything that you can do to free up some movement is going to be helpful for the pelvic floor, especially the inner thigh muscles, so roll those out! We talked about your arches, but go into your calf, go into your inner thigh all the way up to your pubic bone and free that up. If you have a really wide straddle when you're on your horse it could be very helpful.
Emily: Yeah, that's great advice. That's really something that I don't know that I've ever even considered, but it makes sense that you test in the environment or as close to that environment as you can. So like you said, having your pelvic floor PT check you when you're in that position because that's the position you're in when you are either, like you said, they're tight or or leaking or anything.
Emily: Okay, well, we'll move on to the next question. I wanted to find out, I think this is super important, what does a virtual appointment with the PT entail? So you do both in person. I know you see a ton of patients in person, but you also, I've done a virtual appointment with you before.
The person who asked me this question did so because they do not have a public floor PT that's even close to where they live. I mentioned they should try a virtual appointment, and they said, I didn't even know that that exists. I thought we would talk about that.
Kalie: I think virtual appointments or consults are so great for the rural community because, like you said, pelvic floor PT may not be close to them. A lot of what I do anyways in person is education, just like I'm doing right now. The more you know about, Oh, I didn't know the pelvic floor did this when you breathe. A lot of it is education. The biggest part is the education and triaging like, Oh, yeah, I think education and you trying these helpful tips or rolling out this or that would be helpful. Then, no, I think you need to find a pelvic floor PT who can do an internal assessment. It's that triage and getting them that education right away of what's going on and practical helpful tips they can do right now today. That's a lot of it, is the education and some practical, general tips like I'm giving you right now. And then go see. And sometimes that's all it takes. That's pretty much all I do virtually. But I think that is so key, the education piece and then, hey, I'm looking at your posture. How about you try this type of posture, or roll out?
I think that we don't realize that the positions that we're in all the time every day affect us so much until you go to roll out and you realize, Oh, my gosh, the back of my neck is really tight. And then you roll out your neck and you think, Okay, well, then maybe my shoulders are okay. And you roll out your shoulders and your shoulders, you can feel the points that are sore or tight. And then all of a sudden you go down your whole body and you realize that your whole body would benefit from being more consistent with the rolling out. Well, it's so easy. It's that education piece of this is why your body is just remembering this position and you've got to get strengthened. You need to get the stuff that's really stretched out, tighter and stronger and the stuff that's really tight, lengthened and open.
Because of where our organs are as well, like most people have a tighter right side than their left, just because of where organs are placed.
Kailie: So visceral means organs, the viscera. Those are organs like your heart, your lungs, your liver, your spleen, your intestines, uterus, all that. And then mobilization is movement, getting things to move. Something that I've been trained on as a visceral mobilization specialist is from a physical therapy standpoint. The way that we move and we see bodies as muscles and joints and you're going to move this way or that way, it's not just muscles and nerves and bones affecting that, it's your organs also have to move. They've studied this and they know that, for instance, when you inhale and I was saying everything moves down, they know that the kidney is supposed to move down three centimeters. That when the kidney is not moving well because maybe you've had a kidney infection or you fell on your back multiple times off of your horse.
The psoas, the hip flexor muscle is really close to the kidneys and it will protect all major organs. If you have blunt-force trauma, it's the liver, it's the spleen, it's the kidneys, they're on your backside, and the psoas will wrap around and protect because if you lose one of your major organ, you die. What can happen though is afterwards, the psoas is staying tight. I'm taking the kidney, for example, isn't allowed to move down the 3 centimeters as it's supposed to. What I will see when I'm testing this on my clients is a lack of hip extension because the kidneys can play a big part in that ability for you to extend your hip. That's what we were taught in one of our classes, is to check hip extension. If you know there's a history of a fall or kidney infection or something like that, and maybe they haven't responded to traditional physical therapy where they're ruling out musculoskeletal things, then I can perform visceral mobilization to the kidneys. What is important to know is that you're connected via fascia over all of your organs.
There's visceral fascia and connective tissue. Unless you've been cut open, it's continuous and there's no beginning, there's no end. Just like if you were cutting the skin off of chicken, there's that white stuff that's connective tissue. We're using the major organs as a handle. All the organs have ligaments and connective tissue and they connect to each other and they slide and glide and move over each other. We're just checking to see if the movement is there or not. We're trying to restore the movement of the attachment of ligaments and connective tissue from the organs onto each other. A lot of them hang off of the diaphragm. Like the liver hangs off the diaphragm and that weighs 2-4 pounds. That can affect breathing and the kidneys roll over the liver. The right kidney rolls over the liver when you do a forward bend and touch your toe. There's just these movements that happen via the ligaments and these heavy organ attachments. If organs aren't moving well, then a lot of times they're not getting good blood flow. With organs, they have referral patterns.
Emily: Oh, wow.
Kailie: They have referral patterns to the frame of the body. The most common one is when your heart is not getting enough blood flow, it refers to your jaw, to your shoulder, your arm, your scapula. When you have pain from the organs, it's very broad in general. It's like, I hurt here versus if it's muscular or something, it's like, I hurt there, and you touch it and you can reproduce it. With kidneys and liver and all that stuff and the heart, they refer to the body. We call it the somatic frame, so the joints and the muscles and stuff like that. But the most common one and the most famous, I guess, is the heart. When it's not getting enough oxygen and blood flow, it refers to the arm. But the liver refers up to the right shoulder and neck. The colon, the large intestine can refer to the SI on either side. If you're constipated and things aren't moving there, you can have sacral pain, you can have back pain because the large intestine goes right along the back, the spine on either side. Rib pain could be coming from stomach or liver or intestines that are right underneath the skeleton or the rib cage.
That's how I'm doing visceral mobilization and how I was taught as a physical therapist is to look at, Oh, you're having right hip pain or shoulder pain or SI pain, and you've gone to a physical therapist and they can't quite get you all the way, I'm looking at the organs and why they're being protected by the brain and therefore not moving. And usually it's because there's a fall in the past.
Kailie: You're just going to lose range of motion. So there's going to be an asymmetry right to left. I'll check the left hip and the right hip for extension. And you're like, Oh, that left side moves a lot, and this right side is being protected and it's not moving. Where is that coming from? Oh, you had a fall on that right side or whatever. You're trying to find out where the body is protecting and see if you can get… My instructor said you're just having a conversation with the brain. If the brain thinks that there's danger, it's going to protect that area. We're just having a conversation saying, There's no danger. We need this kidney to move on the right side, and then all of a sudden you get this of hip extension, for example. It can be that fast. Wow, that's cool. Or if you've ever ridden Western and you come down onto the horn, there's a lot of groin injuries that have happened, and then there's going to be this protection. Maybe you think it's like ovary pain or ovulation pain, but it's coming from a uterus that's not moving or endometriosis in your past or something like that.
Emily:So adhesions or anything like that.Kailie:Yeah.
Emily: That's where my mind went-I know a lot of people and myself included that have had a C-section and I know that that fascia impacts that, or that impacts the fascia. And this wasn't one of our questions, but the one that I've seen in mom groups that I'm in is the C-section scar, pain with with it, or burning, or itching. It just seems like it's very common that there's something about the rigidity of their scar that really bothers them.
Kailie: Yeah, and that's one, or like a patient with two C-sections and a hysterectomy, and they've never been touched, that incision has never been touched. And then there's all these areas right around that aren't moving well, and it's just angry tissue that's not getting blood flow, it's not getting movement. Movement. You can have C-section scars or abdominal surgeries, you lose a lot of that trunk extension. So being able to come backwards just because you're being held really tight there. So doing a lot of mobilization to that area. The bladder is right under that C-section scar. It's just important that that is worked on afterwards so that you don't have any bladder urgency, leakage could come from there, just the bladder not moving well, the uterus not moving over the bladder. If you do have a uterus, as the bladder fills up with urine, the uterus is supposed to come up and off the bladder so that it can fill up. If you have a sticky uterus that's not moving nicely, then you're not going to be able to fill up the bladder as much. You're going to be having increased frequency to pee, maybe some urgency every time your bladder fills up because this uterus, that C-section it's tacking down the uterus and it's not moving well.
That's another thing that a visceral mobilization therapist can do.
Emily: That's really cool. I actually know quite a few C-section moms that have said that... Well, there's two things that I hear that I've heard the most with C-section moms-where it feels like they have to go to the bathroom a lot, like their bladder can't fill up. And then the other one was painful sex. And is that because of the uterus not being able to to move is that- Yeah.
So it makes a lot of sense as to why there's some things that can happen after you have a C-section. I know that there's different things that can happen with modes of delivery, basically. But it does seem like the majority of people that I know have had C-sections, those are the two issues most commonly.
Emily: And that makes sense that things might be a little sticky from the surgery. I mean, it's again, our bodies are really super smart, and it sounds like they're just trying to, at the end of the day, protect us from further injury. Okay, so we are close on time, so I want to make sure that I... get the last question that we have is: “I'm worried about how menopause is going to affect my pelvic floor, so my riding, and my athleticism. Is there anything I can do?”
Kailie: Well, menopause and then early postpartum, you lose that estrogen. And estrogen causes plumpness and things to stay up and lubricates things. When you lose estrogen, you lose the plumpness. What happens to your face is happening down in your vagina. With menopause, what you're going to see if you don't have estrogen on board is going to be decreased lubrication of the vaginal wall. You're going to have less blood flow to the area as well. That blood flow is important because it helps with the kinking of the urethra, so leakage increases. The urethral wall and mucosa, I don't have another word for that, but just the lining changes because there's not estrogen. Your risk of UTI’s or bladder infections goes up. You're going to lose lubrication in the vaginal wall, and so sex could be painful. When you lose that lubrication and plumpness of the vaginal wall, you may have always had a prolapse, but it's that raw feeling and the change in the lubrication from the estrogen and the plumpness of the vaginal wall to where prolapses are being felt felt or that heaviness or fullness or feeling like your insides are coming out is being felt more down there because it's like having really chapped lips.
Let's say chapstick is the estrogen, well you would never open your mouth really big if you're so chapped. But down there, that's exactly what's happening if there's not that chapstick, so to speak. It's painful. It hasn't been moisturized from the estrogen. Then you're just going to feel more prolapse-type symptoms. I know there can be a lot of debate about topical estrogen, but I think it's something to consider is a topical topical estrogen, so discuss with your doctor about that. It's topical, you're getting it right where you want it. It's not going systemic and through your body. You may not need estrogen. There are other things, there are other hormones that you can put on there topically that can help with the bulkiness that estrogen will give, the lubricating effects. That's the reason why in menopause, all those changes happen. Not only bone loss and loss of muscle, but just estrogen does a lot for the continent system, so helping you not be incontinent, and the pain that can happen with sex because it's like, Oh, you're not fertile anymore.
Those are things that are happening specifically to the pelvic floor and the organs down down there. The things that you can do right away or right now to prevent some of that is the strengthening of your pelvic floor because you do lose muscle strength every decade of your life starting in your 30s. So the stronger you are, the better. And impact will help with bone density, so walking and running and jumping and stuff like that really helps you maintain strength.
I think that if you're in menopause or close to it, that means that you not only do some strength training outside of your riding, I mean, you continue your riding, but you add on a routine that keeps your muscles and bones engaged and as strong as possible.
It is overall keeping a base level of strength is what will help you maintain over time your, I don't want to say, fountain of youth, but in terms of if you have a strong base or a strong foundation of all the other things, we can face the challenges that come with life. We can't avoid avoid menopause, it’s just nature and and biology, it's one of those things where the more you know, the better.
We know that every decade of our life, starting in our 30s, we're going to lose muscle. So for women, it's important that we have a strength training program. And it doesn't have to be these ridiculous weights. You just need to be lifting some weights. I'll say functional weights, whatever you need to lift, a bale of hay, a dog, dog food, those are functional weights that you're going to be lifting. Just continuing to do that because it's coming.
Emily: That was a very interesting question because I'll turn 40 soon (at the time of this interview). And I'm not planning on having any peri-menopause or anything yet, But it's almost like the missing thing in women's health that nobody talks about right now. And it frustrates me because if you look at women in their mid 40s, 50s and 60s, we're at the highest income level. We are a huge part of the equestrian community. We have, I think I said income, but disposable income. And I think that that's really broad across a lot of other industries, is that we have the ability to do a lot of things and make a lot of change. And the older you get, the more you almost disappear. Nobody talks about menopause. And I think it should be something where it's like, hey, these can be like really great years of your life. You just have to take care of yourself. You can be the equestrian that you want to be when you're in your 40s and 50s, you just have to advocate for yourself and take care of your body. In some ways, I'm a better athlete now than I was in my early 30s because I actually have to take the time to dedicate myself to it, and I'm more responsible about it.
But menopause is still not talked about or even perimenopause. And it's just like, okay, well, if you're lucky, if you're blessed to live that long, then you're going be affected by it. And I got the question, I thought, Oh, yay. Because I hadn't thought about asking about menopause and how it relates to somebody that sees themselves as an athlete.
Kailie: Yeah. And I worked in the nursing home and geriatric population for nine years. And I could count on one hand how many of the older ladies didn't wear a brief or a pad. They all leak it's just this given like, “Oh, well, you had babies or you're a woman,” But in the geriatric population, the number one reason for them not being able to stay in their own home and having to go into a nursing home is incontinence. What happens is they fall on the way to the toilet and they break a hip in the middle of the night, and then they can't go back home after they have their hip replaced or whatever. It's not just like this funny thing that we're chatting about. This is the future. This could be our future. Working on it now, working on strength and balance, the one test that all geriatric people should do is to get out of a chair with very minor use of your hands. If you can't do that and you're older, that increases your risk of fall substantially. It's just these little things that we're talking about like, Oh, we're in our 40s now.
Can we just maintain athleticism? But what we're talking about also, when we get into that geriatric age group, we're talking about independence and being able to live at home. And so it goes much deeper than just our athleticism changes as we get older, and it's just daily activities. Being able to get out of your chair without using your hands. We take that for granted now, but the statistics are we lose that as we age. I just find that mind-blowing. We lose the ability to stand up out of a chair without our hands, and that increases our risk for falling. Falling. And that could be the difference between having to go to a nursing home or not. I know that's a big tangent, but.
Emily: No, I love it. I think it's ust if you want to be independent, if you're an animal owner, if you want to be able to live at home for a long long time, with your pets and take care of them on your own, or if you want to be one of those people that rides your horses like Queen Elizabeth when you're really old, you better work to keep your strength. If you're an equestrian, you're active, cleaning stalls, stacking hay etc. We have to maintain that.
Kailie: Speaking of stacking hay-figuring out what your go-to is, what your go-to strength is, your dominant strength, and doing it the opposite. Bucking that bail with my left foot, with my left knee coming coming up, the more variety you have and the more strength you have, if you lose that right leg strength or whatever for some reason, if you've already been training the other side and you can do things five different ways, that's only to help you be harder to kill. I've heard that. I heard that statement. It's like the more variety you have, you only have one way to do everything, then you're screwed if you lose the use of your right arm or something. Having variety is something that I'll tell my clients to figure out because it will be working on your weaknesses. I love working on my weaknesses and figuring out what I'm not good at, because then it just makes me stronger and more resilient in the end.
Kailie: I think you're spot on that if you train both sides to be proficient in certain life things, then it's going to end up being beneficial for you with that strength in the end. And a lot of people who have a dominant side, that's their dominant side and it functions better. So if the horse spooks and goes to your non-dominant side, then maybe you're going to be off your horse that way easier. It just makes sense because you don’t want to be saying, my horse can only go this way because I'm really on my right right side. It's going to take that one time that it's going to go the other way and you're completely weak on that side. Train both sides. I like the functional aspect of it, and especially if you live on a farm, bucking bales is great or carrying gallons of water. If you always put it on your right side or always use your right leg to buck that bale, do it on the other side and that's your exercise.
Or raking or mucking things. Raking. Are you only doing it with one side as opposed to two? It's completely awkward and it's not efficient. But if you're like, Okay, I'm going to do this section with my left side, you get rotation, you're getting different abdominal muscles, you're getting a different side of your brain. Just make it so that you don't have such a blaring, weak side. It's only going to help you for the unknown. When your horse spooks and it goes to the left and I'm off the horse because I am not as strong on my left side.
Emily: That is a very interesting point. I would love to know if that's the thing, and now I'm going to be thinking how often riders fall off on their non-dominant or weaker side.
Kailie:I bet you can figure it out because as you're going forward, make the horse go right, side step right really quick or something, make it left. Which side did not feel comfortable? Train that side. Rotation is always the weakest for postpartum women. It's going from the side while vacuuming. It's that rotation that’s your weak side and you can figure it out.
Emily: That's very interesting. If somebody does find out that they have a weak side, say their weak side is they notice it in their abs or in the core. What's something that somebody can do if they notice they collapse (in the hip or shoulder) one way over the other?
Kailie: Because I was talking about this earlier with the way the organs are, most are going to have their left side be weaker. The one exercise I love giving is a plank on the left side, which means your left side is closest to the ground. Side plank on your left. There's a statistic, but most people are going to be be weaker on their left side because of the way the organs are in your body. Doing a left side plank where your left side is the closest part to the ground is going to be very helpful for you.
Emily: Okay, cool. That is very helpful. Well, I think that that was our last question. Thank you so much, Kailie. I appreciate it.
Kailie: I love talking about all things pelvic floor.
Emily: How can people reach you if they want to either make a virtual appointment or if they want to follow you?
Kailie: You can directly DM me @herphysicaltherapy on Instagram or I have my website herphysicaltherapy.com. I can also help if you think that you need an internal exam, I can help find you a PT or the closest one in your city and look through and see if they have what you think that you need.
Emily: Perfect. Thank you.
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Wash clothes inside out, preferably with cool or cold water (for our thoughts on stink treating-see next slides). If heavily soiled, warm will be ok, but the biggest take away is that heat wears down technical clothing.
Washing inside out helps to keep decorative pieces (think glitter, branding and silicone!) safer from the act of washing.
Washing inside out means the agitator of your machine will clean the inside of the garment-the area closest to your skin ;)
Wash with “like” fabrics. This will help with pilling on seams of constant friction. This also helps because some fabrics shed more than others, and are attracted to their seams. An example of this: wash poly and nylon/spandex blends together, but avoid mixing with cotton blends. Wash cottons and denims together. This also helps with fabrics that bleed on the first few washes (like denim jeans).
Sometimes liquid detergent can leave a film-so make sure you test and try brands. Also, avoid detergent pods-the film that encases the detergent (the "pod") is a micro plastic that doesn't go away, and doesn't truly dissolve-it breaks down into smaller pieces not seen to the naked eye!
For spot treating, always test an area not seen at first.
For oil based stains treat asap by rubbing liquid dish soap into the stain and rinse with cold water.
BLOT stains when they occur (I.e., don't rub them in). Wash the garment and test to see if the stain is out PRIOR to washing. Heat can set stains.
Use white vinegar on sweat stains. You can soak the entire garment or use a brush or dropper to apply. Soak the fabric with white vinegar thoroughly for an hour. Rinse with cold water.
We recommend you or lay flat to dry the majority of your May Babes equestrian garments, as well as other athletic wear brands for longevity.
If you want to dry, make sure you know the trade-offs:
+Heat breaks down Spandex/Elastane, meaning you WILL shorten the lifespan of the garment.
+Heat can seal in smell and certain stains.
+Make sure you clean the lint trap if you are drying after use with 100% cotton or cotton blends prior to drying to avoid small fiber pick up that can cause piling.
Drying can affect the adhesive on silicone grip, iron on decals and shrink leather and certain leather alternatives.
Drying can spread oil and silicone stains (hello hoof oil and mane and tail detangler!).
If you don't like the crunch of clothes not dried in a machine, after they are dry, place them in the machine with no heat. Sometimes the fibers just need to be moved around or fluffed.
If you find seams pilling, take a sharp flat razor to gently remove the pilled thread as you gently lift it with a tweezer.
Every few washes, do an extra rinse cycle. Modern detergents leave a residue that can trap odor.
If you feel like your polyester & nylon clothes have an odor- try soaking them in cool water with 1 cup of vinegar for 30 minutes prior to washing. We DO NOT recommend the popular practice of stripping your technical clothing.
If a zipper breaks or button cracks-call your local dry cleaner. They often offer minor tailoring/mending!
Unless you have an extremely trustworthy Iron where the low setting really means low, do not iron tech fabrics.
For light colored show shirts, consider purchasing under arm pads to take the majority of sweat and deodorant residue & to prevent yellowing. Even with moisture wicking tech fabric, it can happen. This will keep your lucky showshirt in your closet for years longer than normal!
Never use fabric softener on clothing with spandex/elastane. Not only does it coat the fibers of the fabric, it is possible for fabric softener to make the fibers more rough; it also leads to the breakdown of the materials after frequent use.
There you have it! While no one set of instructions can answer all the questions or be the definitive guide to caring for your technical clothing, this is what we have gathered and learned over the past 5 years of May Babes.
When in doubt, follow the manufacturer's instructions on your clothing label. And if the clothing label is gone or worn off, reach out to customer service of the brand or ask your local dry cleaner for help. OR email us! info@maybabesthebrand.com
Is my north star my breeches with built in underwear and my GG shirt? Two weeks ago I would have answered a resounding yes. Today, I sit here thinking of my customers and realize that they have always been and always will be my true North. My products are what I can do for them- what I can create in my brain only, and my goal is to add to their life.
]]>But I didn’t share my whole weeks’ events with everyone there, and I think it would be a nice time to do so now; in space that isn’t only your inbox.
Social media is a bear. I will be honest-if it wasn’t for the customers I am fortunate to speak with through the platform, I wouldn’t be there much. I finally had this discussion with myself last year as I grappled with how to handle social media as a business owner that has a lot of moving parts to manage alone as a one woman show. I decided to start having weekly themes to make it so that I had a plan, and it was something tangible my customers hopefully felt as well. I say all of this because last week, on Sunday evening I decided that Evolution would be the week's theme.Well played foreshadowing, with a tip of the hat to the higher powers as well.
So, as you know by now, I had a rough week. Aside from my son flipping a go-cart and spending an evening getting him checked out in the ER (he’s fine, thankfully) and the breeches’ built-in underwear graded incorrectly, there were many things that sent my universe into a bit of a spiral.My filly Charlie had her patella lock up on her earlier in the week-3 times. While it is not serious, I did learn the art of putting it back into place ever so gently. For a coming two year old she is a wonder, and handled it all like a day’s work. We have started some exercises that build up the quad muscles that keep that from happening, so in my mind after this occurred, it was “mission accepted, and back to normal” but that was only the beginning.
A day later (of course in the late evening) she decided to cut the same leg, close to her hoof (heel bulb). It bled quite a bit but I was able to make sure it was ok and she will be fine. Alright universe, I am starting to listen….to what I am not sure. I remember asking the universe what sign I was missing. I thought perhaps it was to slow down. But I did feel like every sign was pointing to stopping a ball from rolling downhill, an idea I thought was not feasible.Then the Off Course breeches (at the time still named the Ges 2.0) were stuck in customs. For no reason really they told me. I had the correct paperwork, they just needed to be cleared by a person on a computer and it wasn’t until I called for the fourth time and spoke with an amazing woman (I wish I had asked her name!) that she pushed the hold through. That made me feel like my week was going to improve, but THEN my son rolled the go-cart. After a long night and not much sleep, the next mid-morning the breeches had been delivered, but by noon (and after I had sent out an email about them being in stock!) I noticed the flaw in the sizing of the built-in underwear while taking inventory. This all happened by Wednesday.
Life is like handling a horse, you're only under the illusion you have absolute control.
What I did next was something that I have not been good at in the past, but I am learning to do more of: I reached out for help, and asked my friends and asked what I should do. I talked to the Gelders Gals-yes the two phenomenal women who I named the GG shirt after- yet another reason I am blessed they’re in my life. I talked with my friend Cortni, who showered me with humor and kindness and made me feel less shitty. She also told me (something along the lines of) there are no rocks to crawl under in Kentucky, but that otherwise I was welcome to visit. I text my best friend Nica, who gave me grace to experience mistakes and accept them. And I spoke with Jaya, a radiant friend who felt compelled to use her extra time to call and give me hope that all was not lost.
What happened then and also later is an exercise in gratitude. It has also changed my business forever. I had an outpouring of support from a Facebook group I am a member of thanks to friends there, that I was just not expecting. Through gratitude I accepted I had control over so many things, but ultimately things happen. I think my biggest worry in life is that people won’t take me seriously, or see me as legit. I don't know where it comes from, but somehow mistakes and my abilities as a business owner are closely tied together, no matter if it's my fault or not. I don’t mind my life appearing as a menagerie because it is- I have kids, a business, 7 horses and we own cattle, but I also don’t want to be seen as a mess. I can simultaneously not give AF what people think of me and also be sensitive to every word.
The people who have supported my business in one way or another, showed up last week. It didn’t erase the challenging week that occurred, but it forever changed the way I will look at business. The most important revelation of last week (aside from seeing I cannot control all things all of the time) is that it showed me what my customers want more of. I try my best to keep my head out of the sand, but also have some blinders on in an effort to remove too much comparison.However, I do not want to be someone who doesn’t grow simply because I cannot get out of my damn own way. I will be making more breeches without the built-in underwear. Full stop.
My love for my invention, the story behind it, the YEARS I have spent working on it and how it is intertwined with who I am cannot be undone just because I offer another particular product. I am happy to provide what I created to those who welcome it. I am also incredibly grateful for the customers who have shown me that they believe in my vision, but are not ready to yet take the leap. Maybe they will someday, maybe not. Is that what really matters- now I think not. Both sets of customers provide me joy, clarity, and gratitude. Plus they gift me a very unique thing I only noticed last week: an opportunity for evolution.Prior to choosing evolution as my weekly theme, I had a different one in mind. I thought really hard about it, almost as if there was really no other option but to choose that word. It has been on my mind this year.. When you’re a business owner with two young children at home with you for the entire summer, lots of things swirl in your brain. Every year my children grow, develop and change. I’ve had to grow to be accustomed to that being my reality, truly. These two beings that are experiencing the world on their own with their own reactions to it, can be a challenge but it is also a blessing to experience it with them. How could I always want to evolve to be the best mom but not look at my business the same way?
And with that one transient thought, the universe started sending me things daily that reminded me of what needed to be done, but even as I saw them, I dug my heels in harder to avoid it. Kelly from Avenue Equestrian recently did a thoughtful Instagram post about branding. She spoke about branding being a wonderful and beautiful thing, but one that sometimes we jump into when our business is young. Then things change and we grow and in turn, have to rebrand. Is rebranding really a euphemism for evolving in business? Or maybe just one of the tiny parts of what evolution means as a business owner and person?As you can see, the past week did a number on me. It changed what I think the trajectory of the business is and will be, and it makes me want to lean in, rather than be afraid of it. The reality of the matter is that evolution can be both negative and positive, you just have to test and try to determine where our north star resides.
Is my north star my breeches with built in underwear and my GG shirt? Two weeks ago I would have answered a resounding yes. Today, I sit here thinking of my customers and realize that they have always been and always will be my true North. My products are what I can do for you- what I can create in my brain only, and my goal is to add to you, my cusomer's life. But your value to me and my value to you goes beyond that.
But the customers, you, are my direction and my path forward. If I hadn’t had such a terrible week, I might not have evolved enough to see that.
EB
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It is hard to describe what we mean by built in underwear, and unless you've seen them in person, it is REALLY hard to imagine what hasn't been created before now.
I hope that by watching this video, you gain some insight into why the riding leggings with the built in thong are so comfy, and why they eliminate bulk, chafing and worrying about distressing panty lines and underwear that rides up. I hope you enjoy and thank you for watching!
xEm
]]>It is hard to describe what I mean by built in underwear, and unless you've seen them in person, it is REALLY hard to imagine what that encompasses.
Because the May Babes story began in 2018, sometimes I forget that it is a novel idea that isn't seen anywhere else.
I hope that by watching this video, you gain some insight into why the riding leggings with the built in thong are so comfy, and why they eliminate bulk, chafing and worrying about panty lines and underwear that rides up.
I will share a similar video in the coming weeks of our brief style built in underwear that are in our Phoenix leggings and will eventually be in our riding leggings as well.
CLICK THE PHOTO OR THE LINK BELOW IT :)
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We wanted to start a blog because our products are different, which means our customers are different. You're an information person, a gatherer of knowledge. We know this because if you weren't you wouldn't have multiple types of hoof abscess treatments lined up in your brain ready for distribution at all times for your fellow equestrians. You wouldn't remember who your top 5 childhood riding idols were, if you didn't store facts in that brain of yours. We are the same. We also- above all else- want to be connected to you, and share with you the inner workings of May Babes.
We are always pushing the envelope for customers. Feedback from our community stirred back into the mix of design and development. We care about the comradery and gratitude within the unique relationship of customer and company. We hold in esteem both the opinions AND support of our believers and promise to always stay true to evolving our apparel and design work. Our greatest joy is in the hard work of listening to what you, our customer, needs and feel is missing from equestrian apparel.
We seek out the best materials for our products, the best hands for creation and the best hearts to get our message into the world. We’re the expert in our products, but we are also eternal learners.
Our products (as of this moment, black riding leggings and what we call pull on riding breeches) are made with a few things in mind: To save you time and energy on the little things (like undergarments!) and not so little (comfort and function) that add up to a lot within your busy life. Our mission is to bring about the evolution of change within the equestrian anthemic apparel realm for women.
We want an open dialogue, and a way to share with you what is happening, what is being developed, created and dreamt up.
Please email us, we love to hear from you.
So there you have it.
We are for the horse lover, and we appreciate you all.
For fun, here are some old photos from the past 4 years of design and development and patent work: