2020 Updates

Hello everyone! Long time no post. I've been suffering burnout from work since sometime late last year, and it hasn't let up this year. I've had zero desire to get on here and write anything after spending my day frustrated and staring at a computer. Put that on top of it being a bit of a dark time mentally for me, then pile on COVID-19 madness, and you don't have a good recipe for blog writing. Plus like... it was mostly low content times.

I hope you and yours are safe and well in this pandemic, and your life hasn't been turned upside down to an unmanageable point. I'm one of the lucky ones- my husband and I are both working at home 100% since mid March (expected through at least September, if not the end of the year) and it's BAU for us. I fall into a few of the health risk categories, so I'm extremely grateful to be able to work from home.

Our barn didn't close, but we did excessive cleaning with social distancing rules. Social distancing is getting easier as the weather warms up. I still feel safe going out there because of all the precautions I take personally and the precautions the staff takes. I wipe down my trunk, locker, and stall front when I arrive and before I leave. I keep a halter and lead rope for my personal use and leave Eli's regular halter and lead for staff to use. I tack up in my stall using a personal set of cross ties so that I don't have to share community cross ties. I wash my hands when I get there, at least once while I'm there, and before I leave. I use paper towels to open doors. Most of the other boarders do something similar.

This set up actually did a fabulous job of teaching him he's ok alone in the barn. I found he was a lot less worried about things when he was in his "safe space." It also taught him to stay in his freaking stall instead of running out!

As a barn, we've been using the TeamUp app to note when each of us will be at the barn so we can spread out throughout the day. There were some minor tweaks I had to make to my barn schedule, but I'm still getting out there 4 to 5 days a week.

I'm also on staff at the barn, so I participate in cleaning high traffic surfaces as well as the gator, pitch forks, wheelbarrows, brooms, and dust pans. The barn lounge was closed almost immediately to discourage loitering, and was staff only up until recently. Knock on wood, staff and boarders have all been healthy so far and we're going out of our way to protect ourselves and everyone else.

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Eli and I have been trucking along, taking everything slowly because I'm mentally struggling (but getting better now). Instead of seeing the good in each ride, I was only seeing what I hadn't done or wasn't doing because of fear. It made horses not fun, and I didn't want to go to the barn or ride. I wanted to sell everything and be done with horses, but I didn't know what I'd do instead.

I took GP trainer's advice back in March and got in contact with the sports psychologist she used several years ago. The program I was using got me in the saddle and going with Eli, but wasn't enough. I'm still in the early phases of the new program, it's hard but it's working.

It took an obscene number of pictures to get one with his ears semi-forward. He was gorging himself on grass and looked unhappy about it. 🤣

I got to have a great virtual lesson with Megan at the end of March! She really helped me to start bringing Eli's hind legs closer together so he engages better, but we also went over the cues for shoulder fore, and teaching a young horse how to respond properly. Breaking it down into attainable steps really helped in other aspects of riding too.

I also figured out back in April that a lot of my trouble with Eli taking over and pulling me out of the saddle came from him physically pulling the bit forward in his mouth and then leaning hard on it. He's gotten his tongue over the bit a bunch of times doing that trick. I wasn't trusting myself to keep my own balance so I was using his mouth for balance (I know, bad!), so this trick was really effective at destabilizing me.

When I ordered his bridle after he came home, I got a plain cavesson and a drop noseband. I swapped out that plain noseband for the drop. What a difference! He fussed with the bit, trying to take it from me, had a slam on the brakes tantrum when he couldn't pull the bit forward, and then settled into really steady work. Steady in tempo and the contact.

Link to YouTube

I've been able to pick the fights, and win them quickly, over not leaning, giraffing, or rooting. When Eli can't pull the bit forward, he doesn't get his balance lurching around, which means I have core to spare, so I can shake him off my hand and put my leg on and use a seat based half halt to put him back in contact seeking mode.

I also found a trainer in my area to take lessons from. She's been around for ages and finished her gold medal last year. We've been lessoning every other week since the end of March. Lessons revolve around self carriage with suppleness for Eli and correct position for me. GP Trainer P is forward into the contact and not pulling the horse into it, and she's been very understanding about my fear issues and Eli being a new partnership. (the video above was from our 3rd lesson, the two below are from our... 5th? on 6/5/2020)

Link to YouTube

Link to YouTube

I made a few other tack adjustments in the last 2 months:

Changed the bit from a HS RS Dynamic Loose Ring Lozenge to a Nathe. Eli has never been great about bridling (tall horse becomes a giraffe). In fact, I have to be careful he's still tied to something because sometimes he'll turn and leave as soon as he knows the bridle is coming! Penn was never difficult to bridle, but he gobbled up the Nathe like candy. When I put him in a double to take pictures before he went to his new home, he refused to take the bit the next day until he realized it was the Nathe again. I was at a loss of what to do bit wise for Eli. He had a hard, dead mouth, wasn't thrilled about meeting the contact, and evaded being bridled. I tried a cookie after taking the bit to encourage him to go along with it, which helped at least keep him in place, if not head down. He didn't seem... happy. I was afraid I wouldn't have breaks with the Nathe, but I got so fed up one day I just popped it on and thought, "I can always dismount if he's not listening."

Uh, for the first time ever, I had real direct rein steering. I didn't realize it was missing. He wasn't afraid of the contact, in fact he went right to it. We kept it and haven't looked back! He's been much, much happier in the contact. The amount of BTV curling has also been reduced. Sure it still happens sometimes when I get too heavy handed because I've lost my balance (sorry Eli), but he lives on the vertical for the most part.

First or second ride with a new-to-us saddle!

Put Penn's Hastilow Concept Elevation on consignment with the saddle fitter and found a used Black Country Bellissima. GP Trainer mentioned she first saw Eli that she didn't think the saddle was a good long term fit for Eli, but I didn't get a new one at that time because I figured he'd be changing shape and Penn's fit well enough for now. Fast forward to the end of April. Penn's saddle had been reflocked twice, and I'd widened it once already. Suddenly, the panels weren't sitting right and it was both pinching the very top of the whithers causing pressure bumps while being too wide at the bottom points (meaning it was too wide). Making the tree narrower only made the bumps worse (so it's also the wrong shape). When I stuck my hand into the gullet, I found the left panel under the twist was sitting on Eli's spine ever so slightly. I put Penn's old Stubben 1894 on, which is several CM too small, and Eli preferred to have his back squeezed than whatever was going on with the Hastilow. I suspected that he also disliked the flex-tree in it- he seems to enjoy steady, non-chatterbox tack.

After what seemed an age, (ok not really, 3 weeks and one homemade saddle pad later that relieved the spine interference for the most part), my previously scheduled appointment with the saddle fitter came and we settled on the Black Country Eloquence. I test rode a padded up WXW to see if Eli liked the tree (he loved it) and if I liked the feel (I did not). The main hang up was the saddle I was trying was a half size too small, which made everything feel off. Saddle Fitter did not have an Eloquence in stock in an 18.5 that I could try, and Black Country was still closed from the virus. We talked about having something custom made because I didn't like how the seat felt and we thought I'd enjoy a slightly forward flap dressage saddle (thank you Mary Wanless), but I also wasn't prepared to spend $4500+ on a new saddle. Instead, we did some internet scouring during my fitting and found a few 18.5 MW candidates that allowed trials, and I reached out to them. I took the WXW on trial so I'd have something to ride him in and to make sure he kept liking the tree. I actually found the saddle winner the next morning- a very well used Bellissima. The Bellissima is the same tree and saddle as the Eloquence, but is the luxury model.

From the tack shop's website

I called the tack shop selling it first thing when they opened and it was on its way to me that afternoon! I was super nervous about it not fitting Eli since it looked a little narrow to be a MW, but it fit Eli like it was made for him. It also felt like it was made for my butt! It encourages me to keep my pelvis tilted up, thigh rolled in, core engaged... all those Mary Wanless taught ideas. I still think I'd like more forward flaps, but it will work for now. If/when Eli outgrows this saddle, I'll order a custom Bellissima (because in truth, I love calfskin seats). I just have to save for it!

Eli has felt like he was about to buck for 90% of the rides I'd had on him up to this point. I'd check in with other people riding with me and they'd say, "No, there is no buck in his back." It made me nervous to put leg on or really ask Eli to do things. My friend that rides Eli sometimes didn't register the feeling because her mare feels like that all the time (very high internal pressure mare who does often buck when she feels she's been wronged). That feeling is gone!

Monty Robert's Dually Halter over the bridle with a second set of reins hooked to the rope nose as a sort of emergency brake.

Eli can also walk downhill under saddle. I started trail riding with a Dually Halter safety net and the idea that simply getting into the woods was a victory, even if I got off and led him. The major problem I had was his inability to sit down to go downhill. He'd flail and try to trot off, stumbling and running into the horse in front of us. With the Bellissima, that is gone. I didn't make some miraculous training adjustment overnight... I changed the saddle and he sat like he's supposed to. He likes it better!

Link to Youtube

Thanks to the change of saddle, I had this first successes on 5/26/2020, when I just "went for it" and cantered outside because Eli felt safe. Sure, I'm super freaking handsy and using him to balance myself, but to get less handsy in the canter I need to practice the canter.

I made the change official on Memorial Day when I drove to the fitter's office to drop off Penn's saddle for consignment, return the trial saddle, and have them vet the Bellissima for soundness. I took a bunch of pictures of it sitting on Eli and of Eli's back without it so they could evaluate balance and his musculature. The saddle needs to be reflocked, but with a shim it'll do until the fitter can get out again.

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In other news, the beauty of the internet has also led me to some incredible strangers. Through Instagram, I found someone who managed to get SoloShot to replace her arm tag because she was sent a faulty tag. I tried to get a new tag under warranty back in Oct 2018 and got no where with them after a month of pestering. This lovely individual, who was a stranger to me and we had nothing more in common than a love for horses and broken SoloShot3s, used her connections to get my inquiry to the right people at SoloShot. I got a new tag about a month ago, and my Soloshot3 has worked almost flawlessly since! It has had a couple goof ups in tracking where I'm not sure what happened, but it has worked well enough for 95% of my rides because I keep it on medium view instead of tight... so videos on the blog will end up a bit zoomed out, sorry! But the bright side is... I'll have new media regularly!

Link to YouTube

6/20/2020 We love a super boring canter these days :)

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As for the blog, I'm certainly not closing it. I'm also not going to be updating it as much (heck, I've only managed... 3 times this year?). I'll probably do a bit more updating now that the Soloshot3 is working again!

Link to YouTube

We started cavaletti Sundays back up this past weekend. We stopped them when Eli started bolting through this same exercise and I had to use the 90 degree turns to trip him up and help him not anticipate. I did a bunch of cavaletti on the long lines to let him figure out cantering trot poles like a wild man was not a safe thing to do. Ever since, knock on wood, he's been good!

Big Boy Saddle

I never wrote about my lesson weekend on 3/10-11, which is the precursor to this whole new saddle episode, lol.

Who's a happy rider? ME! Because I did my homework SO DILIGENTLY that Penn progressed more than GP Trainer anticipated in the 3 weeks between our February lessons and March lessons!

Overall, GP Trainer was thrilled with the progress I had made in just 3 weeks on my own at the end of winter. She rode him first like she did when I visited in Feb 2018, and commented, "This is a completely different horse!" He was holding himself up more consistently, he was lifting his shoulders, all was awesome and we had a great weekend of learning, and I started getting quiet clean changes without a lot of fuss. The ability to shake him off the bit (aka not leaning and Penn has to hold his own head up), completely disrupted his ability to bolt or leap through the change. Go figure right?

Everything was awesome until we got home that is. I noticed Penn was exceedingly touchy. He didn't want to be brushed ANYWHERE. His neck, arms, girth, back, hindquarters, gaskins. He was extremely grouchy. I was sure he was bodily sore, but I opted to call the saddle fitter that helped us in January to make sure his Stubben still fit well enough... because it looked sketchy to me.

We had decided in January that she could get his Stubben 1894 to limp along, but it wasn't an ideal fit for either of us. Luckily, the Fitter was coming the following weekend (3/17) and had time to see Penn.

She immediately confirmed what I feared- Penn had packed on a lot of muscle between January and March, mostly the lifting of the neck, shoulder, and back kind. The fit wasn't terrible when he was standing, but as soon as he lifted his back, the saddle needed to be the next tree size up and pinched him. She couldn't shuffle the flocking in the front panels either- if she removed some, the front of the saddle would sit on his whithers.

I hadn't asked the fitter to bring any saddles with her because I was hoping we could still salvage my Stubben. We talked about options and budget, and she wanted to see him go in a Concept Tree. She happened to have a 17.5" Hastilow Concept Elevation dressage saddle (with royal blue patent piping and other royal blue patent) in her car for another client to try, so we popped that on Penn just to get an idea of how he felt about it.

The darn horse LOVED it. He was freer in his shoulder, happily lifted his neck and back, and maintained his self carriage. He gave clean quiet changes left to right, and early behind changes right to left with some exuberance. He went easily forward at the canter, and came back beautifully. He had a clear 3 beat rhythm at the canter, something he struggles with.

I also loved it. We talked about how seat size doesn't necessarily go off of how big your butt is, but rather how wide set your hips are (seatbone to seatbone). Femur length plays a small role, but the blocks you need are based more on that. I didn't find the 17.5" saddle uncomfortable at all. It has a deep seat, which allowed it to also have the narrow twist I like. The way the seat is shaped also made me really sit. It didn't tip me forward or drop me back, just encouraged me to sit way up and down. It also let my thighs and legs hang down, and I easily put my entire leg on Penn, thigh to ankle. I can only describe it like sitting in a bucket that supports you in front and behind your seat, encouraging you to sit up in the shoulder and down in the seat. The leg just hangs nicely right out of the bucket, falling against the horse's side with ease.

Unfortunately I couldn't have the 17.5" (the fitter did think I'd find the 18" more comfortable, plus the 17.5 was in the car for another client to try), so I had to make another appointment with the office. There was a lot of stress with that- huge travel fees for me, dodging lessons and weather (uh, hello 8" of snow that week), but we had an appointment the following Friday (3/23).

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I rode exactly once between that wonderful ride and the next saddle fitting. Penn wasn't as happy, I struggled to sit up, and we fought each other. The only good thing that came out of the ride was this pretty video clip (courtesy of my SoloShot3, which has been having issues since I updated it... sigh.)

Link to YouTube

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She brought 3 saddles:

• a Hastilow Concept Elevation Monoflap with red piping
• a Hastilow Concept Elevation with custom ordered styling: patent touches, white piping, and Nubuck leather seat and thigh blocks, with an extra deep seat
• a plain new Hastilow Concept Elevation (same as I tried the week before, just an 18")

I was terrified at first- what if none of these worked out?! A side note, all of these saddles have adjustable trees and are wool flocked. Best. Combo. EVER. Probably the closest I can get to custom without actually doing custom.

She took new measurements of his back before we got rolling. I compared the tracings from this visit to the visit in January. While the whithers themselves hadn't gotten wider, his back did. She takes two tracings further down his back (I'm not sure where exactly) but they were both bigger than they were in January by a half inch or so on each side.

Of course I have no pictures of the saddles. Sigh. Bad blogger.

I rode in the monoflap first, and hated it the minute I got on. The thigh blocks didn't hit me right (because of the monoflap design). They pushed my thigh out, which took my knee off the saddle, and I rode around like a beginner rider with my knees straight out and heels on. She had to change the tree in the second one, so she said keep warming up and we'll switch when the tree was swapped. I just walked and trotted, but I fought the saddle. In spite of that, Penn floated along, happy as can be. The fitter said that the Fairfax Monoflap she wanted to bring rides in a very similar way, so I'm not missing anything (they didn't have an 18" seat in stock that I could try).

I rode in the custom styled regular flap one next. That went slightly better, but I hated the Nubuck leather. I already had full seat breeches on, and nubuck is very similar to suede. It was grippy in all the wrong ways. This saddle was also supposed to have a deeper seat, but it felt flatter and I felt more prone to left/right rolling. I struggled in the canter, and Penn had a very low quality to the canter and 4-beated most of the time. It didn't give me the same ability to sit that the one I tried the weekend before did. I did ask for one change, but it was difficult to set up and perform, and Penn struggled with it too even though he seemed happy with the saddle.

Finally, I tried the plain unadorned new Elevation. Ahhhhhhh. I was super worried it wouldn't work out, because then I'd be saddle-less. I sat down in it and was like, "ohhhh this is better." I had the same bucket feeling, and we went on to do a bunch of quiet changes and his first canter zig zag! Left lead half pass, change, right lead half pass. It was far from perfect, and I had trouble starting the left half pass, but in the final try, he did an ok left half pass, to an ok change, to a nice right half pass.

Hastilow Elevation

We talked prices and fit and trial period, etc. She adding flocking to it and told me in 30 hours of riding time, she'd have to come out and check the fit and probably add more flocking since all of this fresh new flocking will compress.

Since getting the saddle, I noticed Penn is easier to maneuver laterally and is more uphill. I've found it's easier to sit the medium trot when the saddle is helping me sit up and absorb it, and it reminds me to sit the heck up with my shoulder and sit my butt down and back, which helps lift Penn up. He's much happier to do his changes.

Link to YouTube

Of course all of his schooling is on hold while Penn is rehabbing, but he finally got his big boy saddle!

Now with a prolite concussion pad! And new Ideal leathers... the first new leathers I've purchased in... 8 years?

Saddle Fitting!

Two of the ladies at the barn recently had a saddle fitter out- one bought a new saddle, and the other had her County completely reflocked. They both gave glowing reviews, especially the one who had the saddle reflocked. I called the company up, gave them some details, and scheduled the fitter for 1/6/18. This fitter is not associated with any brand in particular, just British made saddles in general. She is a fan of brands that have scientific testing behind their product (like Fairfax and Prolite), and so it was super neat talking to her.

All of the pictures in this post are from days AFTER the fitting.
I was a bad blogger and didn't take any pics that day!

I had been putting off looking too closely at Penn's saddle. I knew it wasn't fitting him like it used to... and it shouldn't. I got it for him in late summer 2016 when he was a solid First Level horse. It's been a year and a half and he's a somewhat competent Third Level horse. I didn't want to get him a new saddle- I think he has more growing to do (muscularly, I don't think he'll grow in height anymore). He's been especially grouchy- he bites at the cross ties when I put his half pad on, then again with the regular pad, and even more with the saddle. Obviously that continues as I get the saddle and pads in place and put on the girth. I've evaluated him for ulcers, body pain, everything. The only thing I had left was saddle fit. It didn't appear his saddle fit him too badly.

Still growing muscularly was a key thought in picking a saddle fitter. I didn't want someone to write off my saddle and sell me a new saddle (of their brand). I wanted someone to fix my existing saddle to the best of their ability (within reason of course- if there's no fixing it, let's shop!). I was super pumped when I realized my saddle (18" 31cm Stubben 1894) could be reflocked. I don't think I've ever had a saddle that could be, and I've gone back and forth on the flocking vs air vs foam vs adjustable tree etc. I was just happy this time around we could see about reflocking!

Of course the day the fitter came out, we were in the middle of a "cold snap" and the high that day was a balmy 9F. We were worried she would cancel (there were 4 of us on the list to see her), but luckily she didn't, and luckily we have a heated barn so it was a wonderful 45 degrees inside. #spoiled #nevergivinguptheheatedbarn

High reaching front panels.

The first thing the saddle fitter (we'll call her SF) did was groan when she saw I had a Stubben. I forget exactly how she phrased it, but apparently she doesn't see many horses that fit Stubbens well. She's not the first person I've met that doesn't like them- Event Trainer hated the old Stubbens because their panels usually didn't sit properly, but was happy with how the more modern ones are being designed. SF was pleasantly surprised that the fit wasn't horrible, but it wasn't ideal either.

She didn't like how the front panels came so far up Penn's whithers (it's basically a full shoulder squeeze I guess?) She also didn't like the clearance over the whithers and spine. She asked if I used a half pad with it, I said yes, every ride. She liked the fit much more with the half pad, but thought we could do better. She thought all of the panels looked very flat and probably needed reflocked about a year ago. The balance on the saddle was ok, albeit the pommel was a bit low. The flat front panels were allowing the saddle to sit too low up front and the back panels weren't meeting Penn's back anymore.

The fuzzed hair of a saddle that isn't sitting on the horse's back.
(this pic is from a few days before Christmas)

She took tracings of Penn's back and then evaluated his R-L shape. He's very evenly muscled from right to left. His right hip is a hair lower, there's slightly more hollow behind his right scapula, and his left scapula is a bit bigger than the right (but there's nothing to be done about that, it's bone shape). She said it's been a long time since she's seen a horse as even R-L as Penn. The last one was a meticulously kept 3* eventer, and his shape didn't last more than 6 months. I'm hoping Penn's will last!

We chatted about the two possible solutions:

1. Reflock my current saddle. No promises on making it a perfect fit, and it may not make enough difference that Penn would be happy. She thought since at one point he was comfortable in this saddle, and the fit wasn't terrible, we could make him comfortable again. She warned me I might pay the reflocking fee and then have to buy a new saddle.
2. Fit a new saddle. This would solve all the fit problems for sure. She had some ideas about brands based on the science behind the brand (Ideal, Fairfax, etc).

I picked option 1 with the understanding it might be a waste of money. A better fit is out there, but she agreed that he hasn't settled in his "final shape" yet, and understood that I wasn't ready to commit to a new saddle. We did agree he would need a new saddle eventually, but maybe just not yet. Before he does PSG he'll get a new saddle for sure. I'm thinking sometime next year- Penn will be 10 in March 2019 and hopefully we'll be schooling PSG. I think he'll be physically mature enough for me to dump a bunch more money into a saddle that he should have for longer than a year or two!

Not my saddle, but it is Penn's first saddle.
Its panels are flat like Penn's current saddle used to be.
It's a 29cm, and looks drastically narrower than Penn's 31!

SF had to cut a second hole in the underside of my saddle to reflock it. It had just the one hole towards the back of the panels, which wouldn't give SF the right access to the front panels that needed the most restuffing. She wished the front panels were gusseted- I guess there's more she could have done with them if they were? There was a lot of information going around and I missed some of it, I'm sorry to say.

Watching the saddle get reflocked was so interesting, and I wish I had thought to get pictures because you could really see how flat and deflated the panels were. When she scolded me that it should have been reflocked a year ago, I just nodded and thought, "I'm pretty sure it's never been that puffed, but I'm just going to play along that I'm just bad about having it flocked."

Penn's saddle with newly stuffed panels.

She put the saddle back on Penn and was like, "This turned out better than I expected!" We popped the half pad on under it and she was happy with the end result. She said I shouldn't ride in it without the half pad because of how far the front panels come up the whithers, but overall, everyone was happy with the final fit. She said to keep an eye on it because the new flocking will squish and he might need additional flocking in 3-6 months.

But was Penn happy with the fit?

Better balance.

Yes! I think he's more comfortable in it than he's ever been (even new). I rode him directly after (with the NS Transform weymouth she brought, more on that in another post- SF also did a double bridle consultation with me), and he was wonderfully through his back. He had some other issues, but the energy stop I've been feeling under the saddle was gone.

I rode more thoroughly the next day with the snaffle bridle to eliminate any double bridle issues and it was wonderful. Penn was up, through, connected, light, and HAPPY. I'd ask him to sit in all 3 gaits, and he sat right away without pinning his ears or tail swishing too much. I could push the canter between working canter and pirouette canter, and he happily sat and then moved out and sat again. I was able to sit him down in the canter for a proper canter-walk transition. He lifted his shoulder much more in the walk-canter transitions too, but without getting stuck in the transition.

I decided to end the ride with an attempt at a flying change. I haven't done them in a long time because it was so difficult for Penn, and the last one I did he almost bucked me off (true story- I was on his neck in an ass over teacups mess and if he was a dirty horse, he could have ducked out from under me). I approached it the way Jenj told me Charlotte Dujardin does (she audited the clinic Charlotte did near her): 10m circles that make a figure 8, with the change of direction happening towards a solid wall (so the horse can't run off).

I picked up the left canter, sat him down, put him on the 10m circle (and he was like, do you want more sit?), asked for the change and had to do a double check that he actually changed. He never got out of his sitting position, but magically ended up on the other lead, smooth as can be. I have no clue if it was clean or not, but I really don't care. He sat and was exceedingly polite through it.

Post-pulse treatment of Penn's neck Wednesday night. Green bars means resistance was within tolerance, yellow bars that it was elevated beyond tolerance. Red bars mean there's a significant problem.
Penn's initial spinal test showed the tension in his back was almost completely resolved before pulse treatment, but he had neck and hindquarter tension. After those were worked out, his entire spine had very equal relaxation (all the bars were the same height), and then the same for his neck (shown above). The yellow lines are the pre-treatment evaluation.
Long story short: I have scientific evidence of the saddle fitting making Penn feel better.

Other pluses: Penn stopped being crabby when I take his saddle off. He used to pin his ears and bite the cross ties when I pulled the girth to fully unbuckle it and when I took the saddle off. He basically ignores me now when I pull his tack off. He's much less touchy about getting tacked up too- he still pins his ears when I put the saddle on and girth it up, but he doesn't pin his ears at the pads and has toned down the angry bitey face tenfold at the saddle and girth.

Penn is happy, so I am happy! And I would have this fitter back out, no question. She was easy to talk to and work with, and she's not pushing a particular brand. Her company is very flexible- they'll help you find the right saddle so you can used saddle shop for your final saddle (ie, pay for a fitting to find the right saddle, then you don't actually buy it from them). They'll evaluate saddles that aren't from their stock, and work on non-British saddles. A++!

This Week's Happenings

So you guys are getting spammed by horse show posts this month (this is not one). We're going away this weekend for a 2 day, 2 show weekend. But first, let's recap this week because there are some notables (pictures are only kinda sorta relevant):

Penn is spoiled rotten and he got a Mio flysheet from SmartPak.
This is his first time wearing it. He was super grumpy when he wore it in the field that night and ripped one of the straps from the webbing... I sewed it, so now it's patched... just like all of his clothes. #thisiswhywecan'thavenicethings

1.  Lesson 6/7

Trainer got to watch our 1-3 video before lesson, and she asked me, "If you could change one thing, what would it be?" I said the balance in the canter. It's so hit or miss for us, and all of the places we lost points were due to balance in the canter issues (in one way or another).

Trainer confirmed that we had all the scores we needed for championships, and our plans for the next few weeks, and then started tearing down our canter a little (full band-aid rippage will be after the last show this month, which is on 6/26, and then we'll build it back up for championships).

Basically, I do a lot of the balancing for Penn. I think that's pretty obvious. That is the biggest thing holding us back right now, so Trainer had me work on keeping him in a longer, lower frame than usual. Basically we need several "frames": Working (highest, most uphill balance), Training Level frame, lower than Training level, stretchy trot. Right now she want us to work a bit lower than training level, but not as low as a stretchy trot. We're working with such a low frame because that is the one place I can't help Penn's left/right balance. We're working to get me to do less (half halts with the shoulder and seat are still totally ok and needed), and to get Penn to start self carriage. He also needs to learn that while my right leg means turn left, it also means step up with the right hind and connect to the right rein. He needs to learn that my leg means all the things!

We started in trot first on a 20-25m circle, encouraging the stretch down. Penn is fairly balanced at this, so then while he was somewhere between long and low and stretchy trot, I asked him to spiral in on the circle. He immediately jumped off the bit, looking for me to help him (which I didn't). I put my inside leg back on and pushed him back out to the outside rein. Repeat the spiral in. As soon as he lost his balance or got to a 12m circle, I'd push him back out. Repeat.

Next, while still on the circle and in the same lower frame, I asked for shoulder in, haunches in, shoulder out, etc. All the lateral things. As soon as I asked for shoulder in, Penn steadied himself and sat down and lifted his shoulder, all from a very minimal cue from me. We flip flopped between lateral and straight on the curved line.

The final step in the trot: without shortening the reins, sit the trot, half halt and bring his balance back up to the Working frame. Once there and steady, push for more trot. Just a hair- it doesn't have to be dramatic. Half halt, post, stretch down again.

Holy shit guys, he held himself up! He was so steady. So pliable and responsive to faint cues! We changed directions from the working frame in a half figure 8 to the outside of our circle, and he just floated through it.

In the canter, things are a bit different. He can never stretch too far down in the canter. He needs to develop a stretchy canter. This was so hard for Penn. We moved out to a 30-35m circle because Penn couldn't balance himself on anything smaller. It took 4-5 circles for him to stretch down, and then another couple for him to really start balancing himself. I have to be careful I don't end up sitting into my left seatbone going left- he makes a hole there and I sink into it and am not longer effective. I need to keep my hips squarer so he can keep himself squarer.

After Penn got his act together a little, Trainer had me move his hindquarters around- push them out, push them in, push them out, push them in, STRAIGHT. Out, in, out, in. Then she said to find a countdown I liked (I picked 5 strides), and make a collection and uphill balance shift happen in those strides. The count is to make me make it happen. 1- start the shift in my shoulders with a small half halt, 2- small half halt, shorten the inside rein a few inches (stretchy canter let it out 8+ inches longer than I usually carry, much longer than the trot work), 3- small half halt, shorten the outside rein, 4 & 5- the biggest MFing half halt through my seat and shoulders and LIFT!  This all sounds very complicated I'm sure, but really it's not (and I'm not good at keeping to the exact rhythm, but that's the kind of thinking I go for because it all happens so quickly and it makes me get the job done). Hold that canter for 3-5 strides, stretch back down and hindquarters in/out/in/out.

My legs were exhausted! It's all worth it for sure though- I had some of the most divine canters! Before Penn couldn't hold his balance anymore and went past the bit in an effort to find my hand support that is. Just a strength issue since I've never made him carry himself this much. He caught on so quickly, it won't take long to master a stretchy canter and the transitions between working and stretch.

All of this work kept him moving to the bit, lengthening his neck, but not past the bit, and did away with any lingering hiding behind the bit he would do. It made him so much steadier in the bridle and on his own feet in the trot and canter.

This stretchy work is more basic work that should have been done a while ago. However, Penn came to us wanting to put his head between his knees and lean with very little balance of his own. He and I would have ended up doing somersaults like this roll cage car, just sans roll cage.

I'm supposed to do most of my warm up in this lower frame, and at home, most of my work in general until he gets his balance. I'm really excited to try this lower frame this weekend in warm up- I think it'll really sharpen up the tests as long as I can keep him connected from the warm up to the show ring. Maybe I should practice quick stretches in trot so I could swing past the judge, stretch down the long wall, shorten and collect, enter at A.

SO MUCH FLY PROTECTION. Just need boots.

2. Penn's new saddle is on order.

His current one is a Stubben 1894 18" 29cm tree. I ordered the exact same saddle in a 31cm Thursday morning. I made a quick trip to the tack shop Wednesday night because they had a 30cm saddle in stock (but 17.5" seat), and I wasn't sure I wanted a 30cm... considering Penn grew out of his 29cm in 6 months. It's a good thing I tried that saddle because Penn fills it completely and then some on one side, and it fits well on the other side. So if I ordered the 30, I'd be ordering again in 6 months, or it just wouldn't fit when it came in. Also, I realized his muscles aren't developing evenly. The new saddle should be here in about 2 months.

Anyone want his current saddle? I'm not actively trying to sell it until my new one comes in, but if you're interested, send me an email at codexdressage at gmail and I'll let you know when it's officially for sale! Obviously, it's still in excellent condition. I'll probably end up putting it up for consignment when my new one comes in- tack shop seems to be ordering a ton of these saddles, so I expect it won't be there for long since it's readily available.

I got this fabulous silver pad for $32 when I went to the tack shop! I love it. I could even use it at a show in a pinch too. I think I can use a seam ripper on the logo in the corner and it'll pop right off.

3. We're back to trying things for tummy problems.

Penn had horrible diarrhea on the 20min drive to Trainer's for lesson last time. Like, I washed his butt before we rode. It was bad. He had more cow pie like poop (and lots of liquid) this past weekend. It seems his diarrhea is back. Trainer is very concerned about him getting sick (I am too, don't worry!). She gave me the scenario we're going to face for Championships: an 8+ hour trailer ride where temp differences from start to finish are 20 degrees different. He's going to be feeling a little under the weather with diarrhea, which will compromise his immune system, and he's going to get very sick very far from home. We need to figure out how to 'stop him up' without drying him out and making him colic.

Trainer suggested Succeed, and I priced it and it's over $100 for 30 days. I'm not opposed to it since he'd be on it for about a week before shows, during the show, and for a few days after getting home. Except I haul him all the time- to shows, to lessons, to just go hack with friends at Trainer's barn. He'd need to be on it all the time! I also can't get it immediately. Other options include Bio-Sponge, Probios, Platnium's Probiotics, SmartDigest, etc. Most of these things I can't get before going away this weekend. I'm not eager to do Bio-Sponge- we tried that when he moved to this barn, and while I think it helped, it didn't take care of the problem.

The best I could do was go to Tractor Supply and get him Probios Soft Chews (they were on sale, more cost effective than the powder, easier than the powder, available, and had decent online reviews) and a bale of compressed alfalfa. I have omeprozole for this weekend already. He'll carry on with the alfalfa no matter what since it's just good to have more ruffage in his belly (I'll have to talk to BO about getting him actual bales because that's cheaper to buy than TS's compressed bales).

I tried U-Gard before, but I'm unsure how well it worked for his diarrhea. That was always hit or miss and I couldn't identify a trigger, other than he got in the trailer... which triggers it at seemingly different severity with no clue as to why each trip is so different. A 20 min trip with a buddy had poop in majority of his tail and down his legs. A 4 hour trip had clean hind legs with some in his tail, but loose poop all weekend and into the week after he got home. Another 4 hour trip with a buddy for part of the way seemed to be fine, only the usual small amount of poop in his tail. I'm not concerned about ulcers at this point- it's the diarrhea. Suggestions?

Edit: What about it being a possible training issue? What if I loaded him every time I was at the barn and fed him part of his dinner or some alfalfa or other tasty treat? He's obviously anxious about the trailer, yet still willing to get on, so maybe I can associate it with positive things like really good food?

5/30 Lesson + Horsey Products

I have no media from lesson, so the media in this post is from various days in the last week.

I worked from home from the barn last Wednesday (our barn is awesome and has excellent wifi). I could see Penn's stall from where I was sitting in the lounge, which enabled me to run away and snag a picture of him trying to sleep. BTW, doing my working remote day from the barn? Incredible. I took Penn for a spin at lunch and was home for dinner!

Hawk and I hauled to Trainer's house for lesson on Monday. Its been super hot here, and today was only slightly better than the weekend. (I know, 88 degrees is not hot to a lot of my southern readers, but hey, it's hot for us!)

Trainer and I caught up on the last horse show, Penn's abscess remnant (something I may eventually talk about on here, but I really don't have enough information right now- the only thing that matters is Penn is sound and comfortable), and issues that we need to work on. I mentioned that both judges nailed me for head tilt and a lack of balance in the canter- mostly in the corners where I either bounce him off the corner or bury him in it. I wanted to work on my halts, because he's generally fairly square, but I want to make those halts super square because of the extra halt in 1-3.

We went on a big group trail ride Friday afternoon. Penn is styling how to trail ride safely, and in style.
#don'tshootme #psofsweden

Another thing I've been playing with is a regular snaffle bridle with a flash. Trainer suggested it in our last lesson, but Penn immediately went lame and I never got to test it before our last show. I've been borrowing a regular noseband from BO since my only black one is in bad shape from a flash dragging it down Mikey's nose and is no longer usable with a flash. She suggested it because while the Micklem is great, nothing beats the steadiness of an actual cheek piece, and steadiness is something we've been lacking. I had mixed feelings about the regular noseband (it was a different feel to both of us), but he definitely went well in it, and he went REALLY well in it at lesson.

Close up of the pretty.

Trainer had me trot on, and then immediately pointed out that I'm shoving his haunches in. She had me play with a balance between how I use my legs (like keeping a soccer ball straight and even in front of me). Tracking left, she also had me post on the wrong diagonal to help my timing with the right hind. I found an interesting rhythm of bouncing him off the inside leg and supporting with the outside, and a lot of our issues cleared up (ie, head tilting, falling in the corners, unsteady steps). I spent some time just going around the ring and doing circles to figure out how to get Penn balanced properly without shoving Penn's hindquarters around.

Keeping that in mind, we did some lengthenings on the long wall, came back around and did some leg yields out on the next long wall. If Penn got fussy, I would sit the trot and kick him on using that same rhythm, just louder. The lengthenings are very small and basic because we're having this straightness issue, and he just isn't strong enough yet once he's straight. Bringing him back from the lengthening is easy- half halting through my core and shoulders, and he lifts right up and shortens his step. Very cool.

Trail ride ear shot!

We changed up the trot work to the left- leg yield into halt, trot off promptly, leg yield again immediately. This, ahem, pointed out how much I over use my left rein and made it click to me that if I bear down on it, Penn isn't going to let his left hind follow through into the halt. Penn did not like this exercise and tried to back out of the halt and threaten me when I asked him to move off. Eventually we got it a bit better, and it's something that will work for me when I'm alone and without a ground person. If I'm doing it wrong, he'll swing his butt and lose his straightness and not be able to trot off promptly. It's very clear when I'm wrong and when I'm right. I also ended up swapping to sit trot for most of this work- Penn just needed the extra help and it let me get after his fussy moments quicker.

We spent a long time working the trot. Penn was fabulous. Light, bouncy, through, and VERY steady in the bridle. I need to figure out how to make that steadiness happen at this weekend's recognized show without working the trot for a half hour plus. Keeping him balanced between the leg helped a lot, but I'll have to work the other trot work in too.

Nomming grass from the hay field.

As for the canter, each lead has it's own theory:

Canter right:

• Start in trot on a circle, do haunches in on the circle.
• Canter right lead, still in haunches in.
• Transition to trot, still in haunches in.
• Repeat until comfortable.
• Take it large and repeat the transitions on the straight lines.
• Eventually you want to be able to do 2-3 transitions to canter on one long wall.
• The short side of the arena really screws us up. I have incredible difficulty getting him back properly after cantering the short side because I lose the left hind or I overdrive it to the inside instead of bending around the corner.

Canter left:

• Leg yield right in trot from centerline to quarterline or quarterline to wall.
• Straighten, canter left, continue leg yield right.
• Transitioning out of the canter, leg yield into trot.
• The left lead transitions are all about keeping Penn busy, active, and engaged.

This lesson mostly focused on the failures of the left hind and it's unwillingness to keep up, as well as my enabling it to happen.

Oh yea, I had her look at my saddle's fit because I've begun to suspect that it doesn't fit Penn anymore... and she agrees. So I'll be ordering another Stubben 1894 (I like this saddle a lot and the shape is still good for Penn) and selling mine... I believe mine is a 29cm tree, I'll order the 30cm... good thing I logged which tree is in it when I posted about it in November!

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Alright, horsey product time!

Pretty. Yes? Please?

I'm shopping for a new snaffle bridle. My only black snaffle is in use as a double bridle via bradoon hanger, and while I don't need it to act as such, its noseband is not in good shape. Using a flash attachment (that I can't find), I managed to pull the top of the noseband down for long enough that it has trouble staying up on the nose where it should. The bridle is also too big for Penn. Cue shopping!

I'm looking at the Flexible Fit Equestrian bridles- I only want a headpiece, checks, and noseband which totals to $159 and change (plus $35 in shipping that I may be able to split with BO, plus some unknown amount from customs). I looked into buying just a noseband from elsewhere, like at Bit of Britain, and just that totals $90 before tax and shipping. And I'm just not excited about that noseband. If I'm going to spend over $100, I may as well (hopefully) love what I get!

• Flexi-Fit Gel Mix and Match Bridle - Headpiece and cheeks
• Anatomical Converter Crank Noseband with Silver Piping

When put together in the build a bridle, it's a bit less expensive than buying each piece on it's own. I'm not fond of the crank, and there is an alternative, but I don't like it as much. They're almost identical, but I can't put a finger on why I don't like it.

I'm currently going back and forth with reps from the company about the proper sizing (hint, I've measured Penn twice now), and I think their bridles run a little small when compared to American sized bridles (the company is in Australia).

Anyone have experience with these bridles?

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Anyone have experience with this product, or this type of product? I found a super scary COTH chain that gave some horrifying allergic reactions to either this product, or ones like it. I think I'm going to return the spot treatment to Tractor Supply, I'm just too afraid to use it. The chain is old (from 2009) but even the packaging warned about allergic reactions, that may happen without warning, even after successfully using the product, and may increase in chance with continued use. I wanted it mostly for ticks, but I think I'll just have the vet give Penn a Lyme vaccine instead.

The Stubben Has Arrived!

Last Tuesday, the tack shop called after my lesson and said my saddle was in! I picked it up on Wednesday and tried it out!

Modeling his new saddle!

It fits Penn like a glove, and makes excellent use of Penn's Total Saddle Fit girth- where it naturally sits the billets are behind the girth groove.

Yay saddle!

It's a very different feel than anything else I've ridden in- it has a very narrow twist that makes it easy for me to get my leg around Penn- I'm not fighting the saddle to get my leg on. It also puts my leg right at the girth, and it feels like a close contact saddle even though it's not a monoflap. Since I feel so close in it, I can tell immediately when my leg floats back (an annoying tendency that I can't seem to shake).

Anyway, I really like it, Penn really likes it, everybody's happy!

The rest of Penn's blankets came in last Wednesday too, yay tough clothes! They seem to be holding up well.

Working at the Farm, Lesson, and the Stubben Euphoria

I took care of the farm over the weekend while Trainer was at 4H states. 22 horses by myself? No problem. They spent most of the time outside, coming in for feed and going back out. That makes life a little easier, aside from walking that many in and out (hello leading groups of 2-4 at once). They're pretty super about it.

Some pictures:

Penn got to try out his new feed bag while I was around to watch him. He's a sloppy eater, the feed just goes everywhere. His old owner said he recently had his teeth done, but I'm inclined to have them looked at again. The feed bag works perfectly. No more grain  (or expensive supplement!) over the wall and on the floor for the dogs to eat.

Three of the geldings enjoying a good roll Sunday afternoon.

Ah! All three with 4 legs in the air going at it.

Anyway, I got to ride Cody again this weekend because he needed to go for a walk, and I rode one of trainer's new baby horses (ok so she's 8 or 9 and was just recently broke to ride). So I got some extra riding in, yay!

4* horse Cody is coming back from vacation this month and will be going back to work.
BTW, doesn't he look sharp in the navy DSBs? I texted Trainer this pic and said "Cody wants his own Navy boots."

I ended up taking Monday off of work because I wanted a lesson, the weather was going to be good, and I just wanted a day off. Penn had been super all weekend, but with the show next weekend, I wanted to address picking up the wrong lead with Trainer.

I told her that I had been keeping Penn on a three loop serpentine for most of my rides last week - the constant bending and changing of directions seemed to really help him (and me keep after him). Our best canters had been on the loops of that serpentine.

I had an aha moment - Trainer had me ride as if I was asking for haunches in, but not actually asking for it. It was just to get me to put my outside leg on and keep the outside hind stepping up. I told her when things seemed iffy this past week, I'd been putting that outside leg on to engage the outside hind, and I felt like that's something she's been telling me for years, and it's probably how I should have been riding Mikey all this time, and I'm sorry it only now just clicked in my head.

She laughed and essentially face palmed herself. Yupp, I finally understand the concept. I think it helped that Penn and I have little to no baggage together, so no problem on adding more outside leg. She once again pointed out that for every horse you bring up from nothing, you don't make the previous mistakes and you get better every time. So alrighty then. One mistake fixed, plenty more to come.

She had me switch between sitting trot/posting trot and "collected"/lengthened trot to help mix up what was happening on the serpentine to keep Penn's interest. Once again, she had me pay attention to how much pressure he put in the bridle in the transitions. She also had me work on softening my wrists - my fingers and elbows are soft, and my wrist is quite rigid which makes my fingers very mechanical in their movement when I use them. I had to think about someone pulling my pinky towards the bit in order to soften my wrist and get the funny break in it out. It's hard!

I had wanted to work on the canter transition a bit because I couldn't pin point where I was failing Penn in them- some days the left lead was elusive, some days it was the right, and some days it was neither!

We attacked the canter by first finding the good trot we had in the first part of lesson, paying attention to keeping my outside leg on, then just asking for left lead canter and seeing what happened. He was prompt, inverted and not running off, but not calm and cool either. Back to trot. Except when going back to trot, if he so much as added an extra ounce of pressure to the rein as he stepped downward, tap with the whip on the right hip to keep the right hind working.

She had me do at least two transitions to and from canter per circle. The point before was getting in canter and staying there. Now the point needs to be getting there and having what you get be a better quality canter. To the left, he never really missed the leads because I was good about my outside leg being back and supportive of his outside hind, and then my inside seatbone naturally sat deeper and he figured out the leads easily.

Something to think about, and I'm not sure where I heard it but: the step or two before asking for canter, slide the outside leg back without actually pressing it into the horse and asking for canter, half halt, and then press the outside leg and ask. This tunes the horse into the fact that a canter transition is coming and then they're ready. It was almost that kind of idea.

As we progressed to the left, she had me pay more attention to softening my rein in the upward transition and not holding him together. With the outside hind support, he quite naturally carried himself in a balanced canter and I never fought for my circle (something I always did with Mikey when we got the outside leg going). If he got leaning on me, she had me "take a tug" with the outside rein and tap the outside hip with the whip, but then give the rein back almost immediately so he had nothing to lean on. A couple of those and I had a neat little horse who was carrying himself nice and through in canter on a circle! The same idea applied in the downward transitions. Ask from the seat, very little to no hand, and if he leaned on me, take a tug and give and tap with the whip.

We repeated for a short time to the left, then went to the right. We only did a handful there- the right is much easier for him. I did get a couple wrong leads here, mostly because I wasn't clear enough with him about the outside leg/inside seatbone etc. She had me find a bigger trot (aka that elusive "more" that gets written on tests), and ask from that canter. What a difference!

We finished with a stretchy trot circle, which he rocked because we have been working hard on it. The only nit picking comment she had was more forward. He had enough stretch, but he needed to cover a bit more ground.

Overall, she was very pleased and is curious how he'll score on Sunday. She did warn me about him getting too much bend through his ribcage. He's short backed and short legged, and the amount of bend that he gets is a lot for him to get switched over to new bend on the serpentine. She said to give him extra straight steps so he wouldn't tangle himself up trying to get to the new bend. Right now he needs that much bend to make it super clear in the canter transitions which lead I want. And the thinking haunches in without actually doing haunches in is essential for a quality trot and a quality transition to canter, and a quality canter. I'm hoping that when it's time, I can take that super bend in canter, straighten it, and ask for new bend, and it'll be quite natural for the flying change to happen without a fuss. I can only hope!

She said he's like looking at two horses right now- the front end is developing nicely, but his hind end needs time to catch up. I told her that he's going to have a quiet November because with Daylight Savings Time ending, it'll be dark long before I get to the barn on week nights, and I'm traveling the first two weekends of November, so I essentially won't see him even somewhat consistently until the weekend before Thanksgiving when I have my Thanksgiving vacation. She thought that would be best for him- he's been with us for 2.5 months and I've turned his world upside down. Let him have a break after the show and just horse on his own. Let him have a quiet winter to put on some more weight and then come out rocking in spring. He is supposed to go for hacks and do ring work when possible (no more than 1-2 days a week of ring work), but the hacks are more important for winter. That all sounds good to me, he's been quite good and I want him to keep being good and liking his job!

I tried to be artsy and take this picture of us walking down from the field.

I finally got my hands on a Stubben Euphoria last week.

The Stubben Euphoria.
Not sure how it got a dirt smudge. I'm guessing it came with it considering I was the first one to bring it home.

The tack shop called and said they were finally sent one for me to try. I got out there Thursday last week to sit in it and pick it up. I ended up taking home that saddle and the 1894 again so I could compare the two on Penn.

The Stubben 1894.

Even though the Euphoria is a 17" seat, it sat very nicely for my big butt. Too small, but it didn't feel too small. I preferred sitting in it over the 1894, but there was something nice about the 1894's thigh block that I actually enjoyed. The Euphoria has shoulder cut outs. Instead of slicing off a cross section of the front panel like Toulouse did, they curved the entire front panel back under the thigh block. A neat idea for sure, if it hits the horse in the right place.

I tried the saddles on Penn again (no pictures, I forgot, sorry!). The 1894 fits like a glove. The Euphoria.... ehhh it fits, but the shoulder cut out is too low to be of use to Penn, and it fills in the hollow behind his should a bit too much. It'll be squeezing him in no time, or we might end up with enough squeeze that he never builds the muscle right there.

Then there was the quality issue with the Euphoria. When I saw it in the tack shop, I very much preferred the 1894's look. As you can see from the above picture... the panels have puckering on the seams. The pommel had similar puckering. The sweat flap between the horse and billets was tacked on, not sewn on. There was a funny nylon strap tucked under the thigh block for no apparent reason. Trainer gave it the worst comment of all, "It looks like an Argentinian made saddle." Eek. I had to agree with her. Neither of us liked how it looked. At all. Especially not for the over $3,000 price tag.

I liked sitting in the Euphoria better than the 1894, it had that free feel that I liked about my Jaguar. It also has a nice narrow twist (the 1894 does as well, but it's not so pronounced... which makes me wonder if the Euphoria could end up being a crotch biting saddle).

So in the end, I'm sticking with my original saddle order- the 18", 29cm/B Tree, Stubben 1894. I didn't even bother riding in either saddle- the Euphoria was just wrong, and there was no reason to put more wear on the saddle I liked since I had to return it anyway. My saddle should be here in 6 weeks though!