ww - scenic fall trail ride

Our trail ride this weekend was so beautiful. Only one TROT rider ended up coming, so our group included 3 horses - two arabs and a Tennessee walker. We covered a LOT of ground at a pretty speedy clip lol. 

The weather was perfect, the foliage (or what's left of it) was colorful, and the horses were all in excellent form. Isabel led the way out, and the other two horses took turns leading home. Such a relaxing and enjoyable ride! Please enjoy the photo spam :)

ho hum lesson

I wasn't really sure how our lesson on Saturday would go. Isabel has seemed a little off her game recently - kinda a big stressed mess. So we didn't ride at all this week, tho I came out for lots of brushing and treat dispensing and hand grazing. 

'um, i'm kinda busy at the moment, thx' - isabel

In fact, she got a really thorough grooming Friday evening then wore her sheet overnight. So I didn't need to do much more than pick her feet and dust her off for Saturday's lesson.

'ok, fine. i guess we can go. but only bc you finally found a cooler in my color' - isabel

Once at OF, I talked to P about Isabel's current state of physical and mental well being. She had a few thoughts, but that's for another post... 

Isabel actually warmed up and flatted quite nicely, considering her time off. And we got a few really nice canter steps where she felt light-ish up front, and was really pushing off her hind legs. 

'i am the queen of sheba' - isabel

To warm up over fences, we trotted a single on the diagonal - and Isabel made a HUGE effort over it. Jumped me out of the tack (tho fortunately I at least kept my hands forward and didn't yank on her), and trainer thought it was mighty lovely, if a tad unnecessary lol.

We came back to it again at a left lead canter (coming towards the camera in the above pic), then right turn to a diagonal line of unknown length that Isabel handled in a very tidy five strides. Good mare! 

Then the jumps went up and my eye disappeared AGAIN. Ugh. 

Trainer thinks I start out too tense for the first few fences. I think it boils down to getting preoccupied about fence height. Especially since P said if we completed the 7-fence course correctly we should continue to the rolltop and bend to the coop. 

So naturally I proceeded to chip in badly to the first two fences and wiggle down the 2-3 diagonal line to add a stride. 

Then 4-5 was a *short* three strides up the outside line (we did 2.5 ugh), and 6 was the caution oxer on the far outside rail, with a crazy bend across the arena to another oxer. We made it over the caution oxer ok, but missed the turn and had to circle to 7 (just outside the frame of the above pic to the right). 

So instead of continuing to the rolltop, I just repeated the first 3 again to try and fix them. And... kinda still failed. Ugh. 

So it was a pretty lackluster performance on my part. I don't know why, but as soon as the jumps go up I start rushing Isabel and chasing her past her pace, then grabbing at the last minute to get an ugly chip at the fences. She's a saint though, and still got us over everything quite neatly. 

'only bc you give me pretzels. if the treats ever stop, so will i' - isabel

on the forehand?

I've posted this pic a few times - most recently in this post where I thought it was a comparatively nice moment. 

My reasoning was that Isabel appears to be reaching forward, and tracking up nicely with her hind legs, and seems to have some lift in her neck / back / loins, and less (again, comparative here) tension and bracing.

But after watching the bio-mechanics and anatomy session (details here) I'm revisiting some pictures to reassess. 

So here's the trot pic again, this time blown up and with helpful highlighting along her cannons. 

My assessment here? It sure looks like both front feet are on the ground, and both hinds are off. Isn't that, uh, the *definition* of 'on the forehand'?? Or am I missing something?

Not sure if this is just a fluke or not (I highly suspect not...), but it's certainly a good reminder for me to look to the mechanical root of our movements, rather than just seeing a pretty picture formed by what really ought to be a by-product of correct motion. 

What do you think? What characteristics do you look for to determine if it's a 'nice picture' or not?

sunday shenanigans: barn cats

Today's agenda is actually pretty cool: we're going on a BIG trail ride, and some folks from TROT (Trail Riders of Today) are trailering in to enjoy our neck of the woods. Will try to grab lots of fun pics! I'll also have a lesson recap and some other goodies / updates (including a fun DIY project!!) coming along later this week.

But because it's sunday and I have limited energy and media to share at this precise moment, you're getting pics of barn cats for right meow. The internet loves cats, hope you do too! 

as you saw yesterday, kitty keeps my saddle warm. how considerate

half chaps are cozy too

no moment is complete without feline involvement

cats creepin on the grazing horses, looking for pets

cat is torn between sleeping on the saddle pad or the cooler. cat chooses to go halfsies

'i am immune to electricity'

'ooh, i could totes pee on this saddle bag'

'you don't like my music?? too bad.'

this cat keeps very serious watch while i enjoy a post lesson beer in the barn aisle

 'hahaha fotobomb!!!'

werkin on saddle fit

I've mentioned a few times that we've got some saddle fit issues. Arabs are notorious for their short backs and highly sprung rib cages - it's what allows them the lung capacity and physical sturdiness for incredible stamina and endurance. 

'this seat is taken'

But it makes it a PITA to fit a saddle to them. So far, this beat up old wintec has been mostly getting the job done. But it's not perfect. These first two pictures show the saddle with no extra padding - this is how it lies along Isabel's back unaided. 

no padding

My concern here is the lack of contact between the rear panels and Isabel's back. This leads to rocking - especially when we're jumping. If we get a wonky distance, it's almost guaranteed that the saddle will jam up into the hollows below Isabel's withers. 

I used DIY foam shims to accommodate this, but they got nixed by my chiro. You can see them in the below picture: two shaped pieces held together by a strap that fit nicely into place under the saddle front. I liked these shims... but still felt like they weren't getting the job done (as evidenced by Isabel's worried expressions when it was time to saddle up). 

i really wanted to like you. but alas, no such luck

A few people recommended a rolled up towel, but (the sloppy look aside) I thought the towels got squished too easily. My trainer recommended no-bow bandages (esp since they have a foam core), and another blogger agreed that it was a good quick fix. 

So here's the saddle with 14" no-bow bandages folded in half across Isabel's withers:

corrective padding

Just on looks alone, I think it's an improvement. The seat is more level, and the panels have much more contact across Isabel's back. Plus, the saddle doesn't rock any more. 

the secret weapon

all put together

I guess the proof will be in the pudding, so to speak - and I plan to test this out in today's lesson (we haven't really ridden this week - Isabel was a bit stressed after all our recent shows and needed a breaky-break). 

But I'm interested in hearing any initial thoughts or opinions from any of you (esp since I'm nowhere near expert when it comes to this stuff). Does this look like an improvement? Or is the padding maybe too thick?


And in other news, I stopped by the consignment shop to use up my credit before it expires (yay for selling nice TS show breeches that didn't fit any more!!). Picked up some fun stuff - but will write about that later. Also spent some time ogling the saddles just cuz. 

Hm... this one is a little strange looking - looks maybe custom?

Wait, wow, that's REALLY tiny - the normal sized pen is almost the same size as the seat!?!!

Annnnddddd wow, this one is even tinier! Granted, that's a pony blanket it's sitting on, but STILL. 

These saddles are absolute works of art and appear to be completely functional (including billet straps and stirrup bars and hardware), with everything to-scale. Except, what on earth are they actually scaled for??? Wild...

Love & Horses Blog Hop: what pets do you have?

NBOHL from Love & Horses wants to know: Other than your horse, what pets do you have?

Well. I have cats. Two of them, right now. Probably so many more eventually lol. 

I adopted Martini this past spring. He's 2, and was more or less homeless before bouncing around between a few shelters and foster homes. He's a good boy - very bold and likes company, but a tad rough around the edges. 

He loves to play - but plays kinda rough. It was clear that he needed a friend of his own to occupy him (my ankles needed a break!!). 

'plz to have real friend!' - martini

Neighbors found OG as a 7 month old stray and posted pics of him online. I was immediately taken, and brought him home a few days later. My primary concern was that he'd be big enough and have the right personality for Martini - who we've already established is a bit of a bruiser. 

Because it turns out that OG is kind of a huge cuddle bug. 

I shouldn't have worried tho. They hit it off immediately, and have been pretty much inseparable ever since. Yay for cute kitty friends!