2 Week Overview (Lesson, Trail Rides, Clipping, Browband Bling, Chiropractor)

I promise I haven't fallen off the Earth. I've been super busy at work, busy with Penn, tired of working 7 days a week, and haven't felt like writing, nor really had time to. I'm trying to keep up with everyone else's posts! But things have gone on:

I had another lesson where I struggled with my seatbones. Very discouraging, I didn't bother writing about it. We focused on different ways of trying to get my seatbones working properly, but at this point I'm overthinking it and overdoing it.

Queen Penny and her court jesters, Sophie and Felix.

I took Penn for some long over due walks.

Pretty scenery... but we somehow missed the fall leaf change. The leaves went from greenish to dead and off the trees.

Trail ride at Trainer's when we hauled over to see a new chiropractor. (details below)

Penn got clipped almost two weeks ago. He was a gem this time around- clipping his whites all summer really helped desensitize him to clipping. I still can't cross tie him, and I had to wedge him against the wall and ground tie him, but we got the job done! This is the first time I've fully clipped my own horse- I've fully clipped Trainer's but I've always left the face and legs unclipped on my own horse.

One last look of his pretty mahogany color. I braided his mane, tail, and forelock to keep them out of the way.

Part of the pile of fluff. #notpoop

So pretty! (Except that mane- I was halfway through pulling it)

I really like the no-hair look! I did a poor job with the saddle patch though. It doesn't match side to side and it is a bit big, but whatever. I can fix it when I clip a second time this winter.

Penn was such a big boy about me clipping his face, I was very happy with him!

I also finally finalized the Dark Jewel Designs browbands I won from EventingSaddlebredStyle's Olympics contest- I'm so totally smitten by the one, so much so that I haven't even taken a picture of Penn wearing the other!

Black/Gray/Clear ombre with tanzanite spacers.

LOOK HOW PRETTY

I was completely distracted by it when I went to hang the bridle in my trailer- the sunlight really caught the tanzanite spacer's color.

It has merited a lot of looking- sometimes the clear beads catch the light, sometimes the black. It never looks the same and I love it!

I also got a gorgeous gray and navy one, which I'll post when I get a pic of it!

Penn looking at the trailer when I pulled it up to haul him over to Trainer's barn last Wednesday.

And Penn made a big trip to the land of NQR last week. He's not lame, but his right hind is not willing to step up and under. It's always been weak, but this was beyond normal for him.

Trainer called a halt to lesson as soon as she saw it when we warmed up last Tuesday. I told her we'd been struggling in general, and I had long lined him Sunday to try and work on his canter. He had bucked into the canter numerous times, which is completely unlike him, and he struggled to the right on the lines. She had me trot/canter each way, then lunge him so I could see what it looked like and so she could see if it was better or worse without a rider.

He was much worse without a rider (no wonder I feel like I'm holding him together again, it's because I am). It's not visible in the walk, it's barely visible in the trot, and it was horrible in the canter. To the left, it was like he completely forgot to bring his right hind along with him. It was barely coming up even with his hip. To the right, it was like he was bouncing on his hind legs instead of striding properly.

He was about 2 weeks overdo for chiropractor work, and we had been working hard at flying changes, more collection and extension, and more lateral work. We're hoping it's a mix of fatigue and overdue for bodywork. I'm upset I didn't notice it riding him, but it seems to have been graduallying getting worse so I attributed it to something going wrong in training.

I had already scheduled Penn to be adjusted by a traveling vet who does chiropractor and acupuncture injection therapy (B12 injections). He has quite a following and came highly recommended- he travels over half the country to just do chiropractic work on horses. Luckily, that appointment was the next day after lesson. I hauled Penn over and we went for a gentle walk before he was adjusted (it was a gorgeous day!).

This vet was very concerned about Penn's lumbar/SI area/hips- more so then his regular chiropractor. He was quick to point out that Penn's right hip was considerably lower than his left. It's been that way since last winter, and his regular chiropractor had been working on it. I figured what was left was poor muscling on that side since he didn't really want to step up and under with the right hind... apparently not. He said he thought it had been like this for a long time, is probably from an injury long ago, and it would take him a few visits to get it fully worked out. He also pointed out how the lower lumber region wanted to turn to right (and I could actually feel it- he showed me where). The vet was surprised I had just reported that Penn had just started bucking this week- he thought Penn should have started bucking long ago.

Let me say that Penn did not enjoy getting adjusted. The vet did a quick check all over, adjusted his shoulder, then worked on the problem area in his hips. He showed me how stiff Penn's back was before, and then how bouncy it was when he was done. It was very neat. He used a bit of force in his adjustments, and Penn decided he had enough and moved away sideways... so we reset him and he decided to try walking away... so I held his head and shoulder, Trainer had two hands on his right side as the vet worked on the left side to release the right (very interesting). Penn did reach around and pin his ears and snap a couple times, so I did feel bad for him... But I know when I'm worked on effectively, it does hurt, but I also understand what's going on so I don't bite my chiropractor. Towards the end, he started stomping his right hind- something vet said is from his back releasing and it creating a tingly feeling down his leg.

He then popped in 6-8 needles in the SI area and one on his right shoulder, and injected them all with B12. I think the B12 is supposed to help the adjustments stay longer. The vet said to give Penn at least one day off with normal half day turnout- I said he'd get 4 days off because I simply couldn't make it to the barn again before Monday.

Holy shit though, Penn's hips were extremely close to level when he was done. When Penn's regular chiro adjusts him, his hips still look the same. I was floored. I've never been able to see physical results of the work... and this guy is only $15 more expensive than Penn's regular chiro. After hauling him home and finishing up there, one of the other girls at the barn noticed Penn being willing to stand square behind, instead of his usual pose of the right hind under or resting while the left holds up his hind end. Interesting.

Penn is, of course, on this vet's schedule for next time he's through this area (about every 8 weeks- the guy likes every 6 weeks but finds he can't get all his clients seen within 6 weeks for the correct rotation, so it's 8 instead). I do believe Penn has a new regular chiropractor.

I'll see how he is tonight! I'm hopeful that this NQR will be gone with that big adjustment and time off. Our Very Exciting Event is next week and I wanted to make Penn's second level debut at a show the weekend after Thanksgiving! Both are up for cancellation depending on how Penn is this week.

Lists!

Today's theme is lists. This weekend is the finale horse show of the winter dressage series (it's big ass ribbon time!), and our plans got a little scrambled, so I have a lot to do before Saturday morning and I can't do any of it right now because I'm at work. Making lists is how I cope. So this post is going to be in list form!

1. So I've been riding all week:

• Tuesday: Honestly, I don't remember what we did. Penn must have been OK. I remember he was NOT keen on doing the haunches in exercises again. He kept losing his forward and threatening to rear. Silly horse. I think we jumped a cross rail.
• Wednesday: Also not productive, other than having a good time. I think he started well, was still not cooperative to the haunches in exercises, but was good enough. We jumped! A little cross rail was up, so we jumped that a few times, then we jumped Penn's first ever line of jumps! Two itty bitty tiny verticals that probably don't count as jumps. The last time through the line, he cantered the last fence. Penn's first canter jump! *tear* He was so good, and so proud of himself, haha.
• Thursday: Penn got patched. The Patch Lady found some extra tension in his hind end on the right and in his barrel/flank area on the left. That goes along with the haunches in exercises we'd been doing- the right hind lags. He was all licky and chewy and sleepy after he got his patches (he was very up and alert before because horses were moving around and a new horse came in and there was a lot of activity). We had a great ride after during which he cooperated with haunches in and half pass. Soft haunches in and while not stellar, it was a more agreeable half pass. His regular work was wonderful and he really responded when I got my act together (ie: thumbs up, elbows pulled down so I feel the stretch across my collar bones). He had two absolutely gorgeous shoulder ins, one each way, down the length of the outdoor, without a solid rail. Steady, consistent, soft, supple, flowing. Like, I could have taken it in a second level test for sure and earned excellent marks. He worked for about 15-20 minutes and I ran out of things to do because he was so good. So we jumped the cross rail again then stood around and watched some of the kids ride and jump.

Very mellow, post-patches, pre-riding.

2. Earlier in the week, I renewed my USEF/USDF memberships... and signed Penn up with his lifetime everything... goodbye to my share our tax return:

• Human USDF Membership: $75
• Human USEF Membership: $55
• Penn's Lifetime USDF Number: $95
• Penn's Lifetime USEF Membership: $200

I know I could have saved money by just doing the yearly membership for Penn ($75), however I do plan on having him for at least 3 years, so it makes sense to just fork it all over now and never pay for him again.

3. I chatted with the girl at the barn who works for Dover and got some recommendations for things I want/need. She yelled at me for using glycerin soap on my tall boots (apparently glycerin soaps take the dye out), and shoved two products in my hand from her own personal stock that won't pull dye out. I asked about using them on my Micklem because I have trouble getting the dye to stay on (guess what, it needs done again!), and she said the cleaner is safe for the bridle, but she wouldn't use the conditioner on it, but a leather balsam would be fine. The new list of items from Dover:

• Davis Splint Boots - For turnout. These are a need because Penn is chewing up all four of his legs.
• Circuit Sheepskin Square Pad - For shows. Making this one a need because my current white pad doesn't fit my saddle and I can't take it to recognized shows like that (which are coming up soon!)
• Sergio Grasso Boot Cleaner - This is what she recommended because it removes salt and sweat, but won't pull dye out. Need, if only because dying my Micklem every year is SUPER ANNOYING.
• Der-Dau Boot Conditioner - A want, because balsam will do just fine and I have some of that already. But man did it do a good job on my boots last night. Perfect shine without attracting dust.
• Effax Lederbalsam - A want, and one I will most likely indulge, because I already have balsam but I prefer this brand (I've used hers a couple times, and I love it).
• Effax Leder Combi Leather Cleaner -  A want, and one that can't go without the Effax Lederbalsam. They must be used as a pair. I'll probably pass on this one for now, because this list is getting very expensive very quickly and I have a lot of cleaners already.
• Warendorf Dressage Saddle Pad - A want that I might indulge to reduce the wear and tear on the Circuit pad listed above (I won't be able to bleach it to get it white!). Since I travel to trainers and they travel to me, I want to dress for lessons (white saddle pad, Penn's fancy white boots, good helmet, hairnet, etc). The white with black trim would match very nicely with Penn's white with black fleece boots!

Basically, this list amounts to $304.92 before our 7% local tax, which is amounts to it all costing way too much money. Can't justify all of the expenses. Removing just the Der-Dau Boot conditioner and Effax Combi just doesn't take the bill down enough. Maybe I'll hold off on the Warendorf pad even though I love it and do another round of shopping later in April or May for the rest of the stuff. Spread out the cost, you know?

4. Plans for today (Friday), include:

• Continue washing the long list of items that need to be cleaned (8 loads of laundry in two days, human and horse, because none of it can be washed together of course). We have a second washer because one came with our house (we haven't gotten around to selling it). I should really have gotten husband to hook it up so I could wash two loads at once!
• Scrub a water bucket that somehow got soap in it. Pray that I can get the soap scum out.
• Make dinner.
• Put gas in the truck.
• Locate(!!) and pack everything that needs to go with me this weekend.
• Make sure I have everything all set and organized so I can load and go Saturday morning.

Our plans got scrambled a bit because Hawk and my ride times are at 9:20ish Sunday morning. It's a 3 hour drive to the show, so we're hauling over Saturday and staying overnight to avoid waking up at stupid hours of the night to leave in enough time Sunday morning. Did I mention we have lessons Saturday too? And I'm doing my usual Saturday morning work? #toomuchtodo

I have a list for everything- human needs, horse needs, what goes in the truck, in the trailer, in my show trunk. I have a daily list of human needs because I've forgotten changes of clothes on more than one occasion. I have 11 different lists right now. To do lists, lists of what I'll need each day, then packing lists based on those lists! I do pack lightly for these things now, but I can only get it done with detailed lists of what I need! Plus they help me cope when I can't actively work on any of them. Maybe that's why I never save any of these lists to a computer to print out for next time.

Shamelessly stolen from a Google search because it fits too nicely!

In the slew of Type-A dressage queens out there, I can't be the only list-crazy person... right?

Buying all the Things I Convince Myself We Need

I was off work yesterday due to the holiday (yay!) but due to a high of a mere 14 degrees (boo!) I ended up not riding. I know for some of you that's still riding weather, but it's warming up this week back to above freezing, and with me still coughing, I felt no need to freeze and ride. Instead, I drove a couple hours away to a tack shop!

I normally buy online from this shop, however, I needed some items more quickly than I was willing to pay to ship ($25 to have a $30 item here in 3 days? umm...), and the standard shipping had my stuff arriving in almost a week and a half (not cool when the place is 2.5 hours away).

What did I need? More blankets of course! Haha. I am a blanket hoarder.

Penn's SmartPak blankets have not been working out well for him in the heated barn overnight. Yes, it's only heated to 45 degrees, but heat dumps directly into his stall, there's no wind, and the barn doesn't radiate cold because it's heated 24/7. My brain says: 45 degrees? Medium weight blanket! But I've tried that, and he ends up sweating by morning. The lightweight isn't much better, only because I'm finding the Ultimate Turnouts not very breathable- I guess that's the trade off you make. They're tough for sure, but the price of tough is that they're not breathable. BO was concerned he might end up with a respiratory infection or coughing (he already is doing that, sigh) with the amount of heat he builds up in the barn and then goes out into the cold- the temperature changes all the time will end up too much for him to handle.

She recommended an Irish Knit Anit-Sweat Sheet that this tack shop sells. It was on sale for $29.99, so I was willing to give it a try. Unfortunately, the only color is white (which will never be clean again of course). (I'm unwilling to let him be without clothes in the barn, he IS shaved after all).

Bright white blanket and a brown horse and background means pictures don't turn out so well, haha.

He'll wear this layer all the time- they'll put his outside clothes on over it for turnout. Even if it doesn't work out, I'm happy with it because I've been having trouble getting him to dry after working him. His blanket clip prevents a lot of the sweat, but he's still sweaty under the saddle and girth. My Rambo Whitney striped fleece is too warm to let him dry properly. It wicks great, but overheats him and he starts sweating again. So now I have a heated barn appropriate way of drying him!

Which means I of course had to buy a second one, because what if it gets wet in turnout, or it is damp from using as a cooler, or I need to wash it? Unfortunately, they only had a single Irish knit in his size, but luckily this fancy blue plaid Cashmelon sheet of similar make and feel was hanging right next to it in the store, and was on sale for $34.99! And I bought their last blue one in his size, haha.

Derpy "Hi Mom!"

I figure I can swap them out to wash, and then have something clean, pretty, and unstained to take with me to horse shows (the sweating is a big problem for me at this winter series I've been going to- the barn isn't heated but there's enough horses in the barn that it heats up pretty well).

"Mom, didn't you hear? They're feeding us right now!"

Of course I didn't drive a couple hours to just stop for five minutes, so I ended up paroozing and picked up a small cheap set of Andis clippers. I have a big body clipping pair from Andis that I love, but they aren't quick and easy in a pinch when I need to clean up whiskers or a bridle path at a horse show (that may or may not have a plug nearby!). So enter this guy:

Tiny clippers with blade guards I'll never use!

It wasn't my favorite pair of tiny clippers (I don't like the camo color)- I actually preferred a Wahl pair instead that was the same price because they came with an extra T blade and a travel bag. The biggest thing that got me was that these Andis clippers came with a 5 year warranty (and a blade guard for when not in use!), where the Wahl's came with a 30 day guarantee. Umm, hello ugly camo clippers!

I'll use them to continue teaching Penn about clipping. I think they're a touch loud, but for $15 I'm not going to complain too much. It's not like I'm going to be shoving them in his ears or anything- this is a whisker/beard/bridle path clean up pair.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Sigh. I didn't think Penn needed anything else... he has everything already! No more buying horsey items for a while!

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!

DSB & Saddles, Part 2

So I ordered new Dressage Sport Boots from Riding Warehouse a couple weeks ago- and my second pair finally came in! Patent/Glossy Silver with Black fleece...

Silver with Black Fleece.

And meh. I was so excited for them, thinking how awesome the contrast was, etc. And I hate them. I love the black fleece. The silver part... well it wasn't the quality I was expecting. My navy boots have a wonderful look/feel to them.

The super awesome navy boots. I love them. Everyone else loves them too.

Because the silver boots are a patent/glossy finish, they don't have the same durable leather feel to them that the navy ones do. They have almost a plastic feel. It kind of feels like cheap pleather (sorry Riding Warehouse!). I feel like they would glow in the dark or as Husband suggested, they would be great safety reflectors. Not really what I'm going for.

It took me a while to decide I hated the silver boots, and even now, looking at pictures, I'm second guessing myself. I love the contrast of the silver and black. I love the black fleece. I love that they're a little different. But I don't like how they don't work on Penn. Maybe it's his lack of glossy coat (dumb winter hair). Maybe it's because his socks are dirty, they look extra dirty compared to the shiny silver.

I pulled one of the ladies aside, told her I was on the fence about the boots, and asked what she thought of them. She was like, they're kind of "in your face" when you look at him. Too noticeable. So much to my trainer's delight, the silver with black fleece DSBs are going back. The lady and I agreed though, on a black horse, or a gray horse, they'd probably look stunning, just because of the high contrast.

Now, I do want another pair of boots so I can mix it up and have something nice for clinics and schooling at shows, so I'm trying to decide if I want to give the patent black with black fleece a go, or the plain black with black fleece. I don't like the way the patent boots feel, end of story. But I do want a little fun in the look! The black on black seems so... plain. But I know it will look good. Riding Warehouse is great, I asked them if I can exchange an exchange because I'm not sure I like the patent look, but I wanted black and black. They were like, "Yes! No problem! You can exchange and exchange!" So yay, but I don't really want to continue exchanging things because that's crazy.

And now I'm thinking, "Hmm, he might look snazzy in white with black fleece."

Thanks to a quick run in Paint, the Silver boots are now white.

Which lead me to this.

May as well make black boots while I'm playing in Paint.
I didn't want to pick pure black since in pictures and in life they won't be a pure black, so I pulled a black off his leg and it came out a little blue, oops.

Which brings me to liking the white with black fleece better. They look sharp. And they'll be clean when I use them, so they'll be bright white.

I'm thinking the glossy Black/Black is out of the picture (as a fashionable co-worker put it- cheap looking pleather will always look cheap no matter the color). Not that it's a cheap quality product, but I donno, compared to the plain finish boots... well the finish makes them look cheap.

So... Black/Black, or White/Black?! FYI, I'm liking the White/Black more and more. Help!

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On the saddle front, my tack shop has acquired a Euphoria saddle! Size 17" seat and a C/30cm tree. I'm picking it up tonight to test out over the weekend. I may not ride in it, but I at least want to see it, sit in it at the tack shop (not looking for fit for me, just see where everything hits me and if it's an option for me to ride in), take it home so I can see how the bigger tree fits Penn, and then see if I like the Euphoria better than the 1894.

I'm curious about the shoulder cut outs in the Euphoria- which is the main reason I'm entertaining this one still because I loved the 1894. If it sits well on him, and the cut outs are in the right place (the Toulouse I tried had them up too high), and I like riding in it, I'll probably change my order to a Euphoria. Either way, there will be pictures.

More Saddles!

I was continuing my Harry Potter reread the other day and Penny decided she wanted an up close and personal snuggle.

Penn had quite the adventure two weekends ago- a little hunter show and a hunter pace. And it showed. He was TIRED, so he enjoyed a week off. I did take him for a quiet walk Wednesday and he was happy to go out for a ride, but his butt was still a little tired.

Penn and his new "cheap" blanket. The Mio Lite Turnout Sheet from Dover. Nomming happily in his stall.
Also: Muscles!!!

It was just as well that he was on vacation. I wanted some time away from the barn to do normal life things. Like get my hair cut and clean the house.

Husband was away for the weekend on a camera trip with some friends, so I went to the tack shop! Ha! I called my mom and asked her to go with me so that I wouldn't take any saddles home. She was like, "Deal!" The local tack shop has a saddle room upstairs that has probably over 150 saddles in stock (dressage, jump, western). She does a lot of saddle business, both used and new, and I sent 5 of my saddles there on consignment (I know, saddle hoarding problem) and they all sold quickly and in the time frame allowed (3 months while my Jaguar was being made). I had priced them to sell, but still. They all went and I didn't have to sell any to her directly!

I went up there bright and early so I could catch her before anyone else roped her into their saddle fitting adventures. I told her about Penn, what didn't work, and what I'm currently riding him in (Pessoa's XCH Forward Flap XC Saddle on the X-Wide tree). She just about had laughing fits about me flatting and doing dressage in that saddle, haha. She knows it well, and doesn't restock it anymore because she doesn't get many people that are long enough hip to knee to need that forward flap.

I sat in about 20 dressage saddles, and we set aside 5-7 to revisit again. I eventually settled on these two (thanks mom, you didn't stop me from taking some home... and you let me take 2!!! love you!)

M Toulouse Wilamina Pro Series Dressage Saddle
Stubben 1894 Dressage Saddle

I was surprised to like sitting in the Toulouse. I can't stand the leather quality. They made a new Professional Series saddle that has soft flexible flaps, which were super nice actually. It's still poorly made (glue smeared across the bottom flap from where they preglued it before stitching it), and the leather still looked a bit beat up for the saddle being new (no "new saddle" gloss). The saddle has an exposed block (hate) but it hit me well (unfortunately liked). It also has shoulder cut outs on the front panels (yay for Penn!) and comes in the Genesis tree. The tree is neat- it can be adjusted by the millimeter instead of using plates. We all agreed that it would probably work very nicely for Penn and his changing back.

The Stubben was more a "I loved sitting in it" type thing. It's on loan from her Stubben rep, and I'm super interested in the Stubben Euphoria, so I wanted to sit in this one just for funsies and it became a "hmm, this is super comfy!" Plus it was so pretty! It has some patent leather, teehee! I guess I'm not so conservative anymore! The tree is the B tree, which is basically their MW, which would be fine for comparison to Penn's back. Basically, the 1894 model is a stripped down, no frills model to get into a lower price range (under $2k). We chatted about the Euphoria too. I had asked a week or so ago if she could try to get one in and she said sure. Fast forward to this weekend when I saw her and she said there is one wide tree test ride Euphoria in the country right now, and it's in CA and that rep is NOT giving it up. Those saddles are selling like hotcakes apparently. She was debating ordering one in the size I needed and if it didn't work out, she'd keep it just to have it in stock! Very thoughtful of her :-) She said another shipment of them is coming into the country this week, and she's going to try to get her hands on one of those.

Anywho, so off I went to the barn. I tried the Stubben first because I was dying to sit in it. People had commented that I set the Amerigo too far up on his shoulder, so I REALLY tried to keep that in mind when I tried these saddles. It's a habit I have from Trainer, sorry! I'm always paranoid that I'm going to be sitting it too far back and I'll do damage to his kidneys.

So thrilled to have saddles on and off him again.

I thought the front to back balance was a little off- the cantle was a bit low for my liking, but definitely not bad or terrible. Just a hair low.

This part fit quite nicely actually. Maybe a hair low.
I like that the D rings are set above the skirt and not under it. All the better to attach my grab strap for extended trots.
I just noticed that huge screw right on the front of the saddle. Umm, weird?

It looked much better balanced when I girthed it up.
My tack shop is awesome and has approved, prewrapped stirrups that can be borrowed for saddle trials. Love.

I opted to try it with the half pad only because, realistically, I will use a half pad with my saddle. Partially because it's habit. Partially because both he and Mikey enjoyed having the fleece direct on their backs instead of the saddle pad (obviously not how I've set it up here). Partially because I just plain like it. I know, if the saddle truly fits, the half pad will make the fit worse and it won't help at all, blah blah. Just give me this one, ok?

Photo fail. He's so good about standing where I leave him. Except when I'm trying to get a picture of him. Urgh! Haha.

I took him down to the outdoor, and I don't know if it was the construction going on (a lean to for tractors and farm equipment) or what got up his butt, but he was just nervous.

The first thing that became super obvious was how he connected himself to the bridle. I took up contact and added leg, and he said, "Yes ma'am! I live here!" Connected, through, light in the hand. Underlying tension for sure though. I asked for some trot work and he stayed connected, but then started hiding behind the bit, which made me nervous because I'd add leg and he wouldn't move off as promptly as I'd like. I couldn't tell if a) he was just nervous, b) being off all week had messed with him and maybe he was feeling a little naughty, c) he actually liked the saddle and was waiting for it to bite him.

I spent some time in walk, and he offered me a lovely stretch. I have never been able to get him to stretch to the bit. He's always held himself up and has been reluctant to truly seek the bit out and stretch through his topline and neck. We'd encouraged it of course, and he'd give a couple steps before going giraffe. I figured it's a learning curve and that would be where he might be weakest. Nope, he offered me half of what I would like for a free walk. Not good enough for the ring, but quite a bit of progress from where we were last time I actively worked on it.

I went back to trot and he had that same tight feeling, yet he was still so loose under me. No rush, no hurry, no tempo problems. Hard to describe. He gave me a smidge of stretch in trot and then reverted to hiding behind the bit and then the incessant chomping begin.

Chomp chomp chomp chomp on the bit. Over and over and over. I was panicking. What happened to my lovely cooperative relaxed horse?! This was not his usual behavior. Maybe I was riding differently because of the saddle? Maybe he hated it? Maybe it was just a bad day?

I decided to end the test ride of that saddle. Back to the barn to try the Toulouse.

Looks balanced front to back, maybe a little low in the front, however it just didn't sit right on him. He barely had any spine clearance, and the shoulder cut outs didn't go far enough back to make a real difference, so if I tightened the tree it would have squeezed his shoulder.

I took some pics of the front, but they didn't turn out well. The afternoon sun really didn't help.

I didn't even bother trying to ride in it. I hated how it looked in general, and then it just didn't sit right. Instead, I put his jump tack on and took him back to the outdoor, ready to push him forward and out of that curling BS. Only he didn't do it. He was happy as a clam to giraffe his way around the arena and be quick and heavy in my hand when he wasn't giraffing. Walk, trot, canter, no big deal. ??????

Sunday was beautiful. I went on my weekly trail ride date with A, fully decked out in orange. Archery season started last weekend, and while it's Sunday and we're on private property, we're far enough out in the country that less conscientious hunters may be out anyway. The barn owner said she's been out on the trails, come across hunters and told them to leave because it's private property, and they've said "Oh, we got permission from the land owner." and she goes, "Really? I don't remember giving you, or ANYONE permission to hunt on my property."

"Mom, every time you do something like this to me, I die a little inside."

No worries Penn. Mikey felt the same way.

We had a lovely gentle walk, and then I asked A if she'd mind coming with me down to the outdoor, and if before we do that if I could do a quick saddle swap to the Stubben. She said sure. She hadn't been down to the outdoor in ages and said she'll trot Leader around a little. He's quite the spry guy for a 22 yr old OTTB with Cushings! He still jigs when he knows we're going home!

Penn was great. Looking for the bit, stretching, relaxed, good tempo that I didn't have to monitor 110% of the time. A very good basic Intro/Training level horse. Nothing fancy, and when he stretched he tended to fall on the forehand, but that's just training. Mikey did too when he learned. A commented on how lovely he looked. I cantered him around and he was great. I think he really likes that saddle. I'm sure a 45 min walking warm up didn't hurt either, but he had all of the lovely from the previous day with none of the hiding or chomping.

I have a lesson tonight, and I'll bring the saddle for Trainer's evaluation, plus some peeks at the left lead canter and why it's been such a fail.

If everything goes well, I'm going to ask the tack shop to order me the 1894 in an 18" seat (she may be able to get one immediately from the Stubben rep). This one was a 17.5" and the thigh blocks didn't hit me just right, and I think the extra half inch will do it. I'm also going to ask them if they'd be willing to order a Euphoria in the 18.5" B tree, only since she was considering ordering one just to have anyway. Then I'd pick one when they came in. The Euphoria had shoulder cut outs and what looks like slightly smaller thigh blocks, which are the only reasons I'm still interested in it.

Penn had a little bit of a meltdown in the crossties when I was putting everything away Sunday. He'd been super quiet, but all of a sudden he freaked and backed until he hit the end of the ties. I got him to step forward and unhooked him (no reason to remind him that he can break them), and he just became super dumb and spooky. A and I were both like, wth? When he freaked out I had been putting my boots back in their bag, and I offered him a boot to sniff and he just wanted none of it. No idea baby horse. At that point, I just wanted him not to leave the barn!

I did manage to get Mikey's BOT Mesh sheet out and tried on Penn. It's a 78" and doesn't fit him that poorly. A hair long, but not enough to make me want a smaller size. When I'm ready to order the quartersheet I mentioned in my last post, I'll get the 78". I figure if they said to order the same size as the horse's blanket size, and their own size 78 doesn't look horrible on him, so a 78 in the quartersheet shouldn't either.

Ignore the lead rope wrapped up funny and on the ground. He ground ties very well 90% of the time. It was actually super helpful having it over his poll when he tried to leave the barn and the poll pressure kept him from rearing.

A Smartpak Order

Thanks to Sprinklerbandit's last post about show shirts, I ordered some new ones from Smartpak this morning. I'm super pumped, people had really good ideas in the comments, so I took a look. I'm hoping one of the ones I ordered will be right, and then I'll send the others back.

I currently have a long sleeve cool max Romfh shirt with mesh on the underside of the sleeves. I love it- its stretchy but see through, so I wear a white tank top under it, but it stops my very sweaty self from sticking to the inside of my coat. To be honest, I feel cooler riding with long sleeves under my coat than I have with any of my short sleeve shirts. But, it's not very flattering without the coat.

Behold! The white whale (not a dig at my weight, just the sheer amount of white!).
Not helped by my too low boots and hair coming out of my hairnet! Both have been updated.

Even small amounts of striping and a thin black sparkle belt don't work. I still need a wide sparkle belt!
Can I also say that this is one of my favorite counter canter pictures of Mikey?

So at one person's recommendation, I looked at the Essex Classics Talent Yarn Shirt - Shortsleeve shirt. They recommended the long sleeve, but I have a long sleeve shirt that I like, so I ordered this shortsleeve version with a blue/tan grid pattern inside (now sold out).

A Plain Jane White Shirt. But not see through and it has short sleeves.

I think it'll fit me alright, but it's not really what I'm going for. I don't want to look like a white whale on my horse. This just doesn't have anything to break up the white, but it'll serve in a pinch if it's a bazillion degrees and I have a 2pm ride time. I melt in the sun and heat. It was something Mikey and I excelled at together: melting.

I continued my search on Smartpak's website since I'm already going to be ordering one shirt, may as well order another, and came across this beauty, the Equine Couture Sportif Technical Shortsleeve Shirt.

Love love love! No white whales!

I love it. It comes with Navy or Tan side panels, and it comes in sizes bigger than I need! Holla! Sorry, big boobs and riding don't mix well. I ordered this in two sizes, both with Navy panels because it will match my ear bonnet:

Mikey got to sport his fancy ear bonnet once in public.

I know if you show without a coat at a recognized show, it has to be a solid colored shirt... so I'm hoping this shirt will be ok. It is only white and navy, but it's color blocked, but the color is under the arm, so I feel like it's still conservative enough. I think I've seen similar shirts at recognized shows without coats. And I think it will be very flattering on me. Plus if someone at the in gate deems it inappropriate, I can just toss my coat on over it, no bigger. Thoughts?

I also ordered Penn his customized show halter, the SmartPak Soft Padded Leather Halter. I wasn't going to take the plate off Mikey's, and Penn is already using Mikey's every day leather halter. Smartpak is having a 25% all Smartpak brand tack, so the $97ish padded halter became $75ish. Not a huge win on price there, but enough to make me order it.

I ordered the Havana/Havana color, with a plate, in Cob size.
Penn might be able to wear a horse size on the smallest settings, so I decided to try cob instead.

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Ohhhhhhhh I found a vest I like! And it comes in a size I can wear! And is PRETTY!!!! So, anyone have $190 laying around? And does anyone know if vests like these are legal in USDF/USEF competitions? If they are... well, umm, I'm sending back all the shirts and buying this.

ARISTA MODERN DRESSAGE VEST

I want the vest. It has a bit on the lower back where it "pulls" the fitted shape. Drool.

Tack Shops and Lesson

One of our local tack shops is going out of business and is selling their stock off at 50%. I didn't really need anything, so naturally I had to go check it out.

I got: 1 pair of FITS performax full seat breeches in Stone with Black patches, 1 pair of FITS tights (with the pebbles instead of the full seat deer skin patches) in black, 1 pair of zocks that remind me of a pink giraffe.

Penn got: a 44" double elastic synthetic/gel brown girth (I've been using a 46" that belongs to trainer for my jump saddle, I hate double elastic but they didn't have a 46" that I liked), new web reins for the jump bridle (we haven't used it on Penn yet, but my current reins are rubber web and awful), fly spray, and tack conditioner.

What I really needed was the Pessoa XW saddle plate for my jump saddle. Penn is filling out so much- he's outgrown the wide plate I had in for Mikey. But alas, this tack shop never carried Pessoas, so they didn't have the plates.

So what to do? Well it meant I needed to go to my usual tack shop! I went there Wednesday afternoon. I picked up a plate and another set of black web reins. Penn so graciously chewed our current reins when I wasn't paying attention at cross country schooling... They're not in danger of breaking, but they're ugly looking now (plus they were missing a rein nub anyway). My usual shop had them marked down for some reason (owner didn't know why either), so they were a great price. So now I have a set for shows, yay!

A Stubben rep was in the store yesterday, and I talked to him about the Euphoria saddle and asked if he had one with him (he didn't) but he can send the shop a trial saddle when I'm ready to shop for a new dressage saddle. Which, by the way, is super annoying because I love my Jaguar and it's in pristine condition. Yet Penn continues to defy his mostly Thoroughbred breeding and is filling out so much that the Jag is too narrow for him in the shoulder. It was meant for a thoroughbred type with high whithers and a broad back. Penn has the broad back, but his whithers have filled out and it just isn't sitting right on him anymore (not that it ever did). I can alleviate some of the fit problem by using a fleece half pad to lift the whole thing up and then I can slide my hand under the front panel easily. Come March, I'll be saddle shopping. Yuck.

I'll look at the Euphoria saddle, and then talk to CWD. Trainer has a sponsorship with them, so the rep is out anyway. I'm really only interested in monoflap saddles, and nothing that promises to "hold you in". The only thing that should be holding me in is my bra! Anyway, so I got used to nice things... so we're of course looking at $$$$ for a new saddle. I know now that the Euphoria isn't a monoflap, but I like the description anyway.

Monday night, Penn and I visited Mikey's  grave.
I told him that his big brother is there, keeping an eye on us.

I was able to lesson and go to the tack shop because Sophie got spayed last Wednesday, and because of the drop off/pick up times, I needed to take some time off work... so I just took the whole day!

Sophie mewing in the car when I picked her up. She was ready to go home!

Penn was really good in our lesson. Trainer asked what I wanted to work on, and I asked her about the canter. I hadn't touched on it that much because it was either balanced or running and motorcycling and I was having trouble fixing it.

We started with spiral in and out in trot from a 20m circle to 10m and back. I had to pay attention to how much I held with my inside hand... I had a hard time getting my inside leg on him at the girth to get the bend when the circle got down to 10-12m. It's easier for me to do in sitting trot, but Penn isn't strong enough for that yet.

When Penn would find his balance and bend, he'd fill the rein properly and the contact would become very elastic. He's actually able to hold that for more than two steps, and the spiral in and out helped him. We'd spiral out 2-5m each time I asked for it, in a move over NOW step and then hold it steps.

We did a couple in and out each direction before touching on canter. We added canter by spiraling in to 12m or so, finding super bend and elastic contact, spiraling out slowly, then as soon as we hit 20m, strike off in the canter.

What became immediately apparent is you can't apply inside leg to outside rein to get bend, it just makes him run off at this point in his training because he doesn't understand. That and his outside hind leg kind of goes off into la la land. He doesn't understand how to balance himself on the circle and keep moving. I forget how my trainer phrased it, but she basically said someone just tried to slow him down and never balanced him in canter. He doesn't move that fast in canter, he just has a BIG canter.

To the left: Think straight on a curved line to fix the balance issue, then spiral in and out between 15m and 20m. This is his worse direction. Change the bend from straight to true bend and back again every few strides, and spiral in and out.

To the right: Same thinking of straight to true bend, but hold it to an 18m circle or so. This is his better direction and it mostly needs balance and strength.

I'm not supposed to spend much time cantering on a full 20m circle, only because since his motion is so big, his outside hind leg is off in Siberia, and those things combined make him tend to fall out on his circles. I knew this from his videos- he was being ridden in a 20x60m indoor arena, yet his rider seemed to find 25-30m circles to canter him on. He needs the 18m circle to remove the wall aspect of the arena to force him to find the outside hind and stand up.

We only did one canter each direction. By that point the half hour was up and so was most of Penn's butt muscle power.

I rode him again Thursday night and did a 15-20 min repeat of lesson. He wasn't quite as on as he was in lesson, but he was a little distracted by another horse lessoning and I'm sure he was tired still from the day before. He was still good. I ended up sitting a trot spiral to the canter because he was getting speedy and counterbent and tucking his chin into his chest/shortening his neck. I helped him get his trot work together, found elastic contact, asked for canter and had the best left lead canter yet! Pats for the good boy.

I learned a couple things about him this week: He really doesn't like other horses near him when being ridden- he pins his ears and snakes his face out. He's such a pushover the in field, yet he's willing to bite other horses while under saddle! He isn't bothered by other horses leaving the outdoor and ends up left by himself. If anything, he's much better riding alone than with a friend! He also enjoys going for his rides in the morning rather than evening (tough luck buddy, I work 5 days a week!). I don't think that has to do with leaving his friends in the field, he's quite happy to come with me. I think it just has to do with the time of day/shadows/sounds etc.

Speaking of happy to go with me, I had to leave him in the cross ties to check out the tractor for this weekend (I'm the help on Saturday), and he stood very quietly and we never heard a sound from him, until I walked back into the barn aisle and he saw me and nickered at me. OMG, all the feels and love.

First successful horse and human selfie. I never was able to get Mikey in one!
Plus my helmet hair. Should have put my ball cap back on.