You're all being spammed today. I have several posts I've been thinking on.
This is Mikey and my first couple jumper classes, from 9/20/2009. We'd evented and done hunters up until this point. Ah the days when I was thinner! Gotta figure out how to get back to that.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Mikey and Blaze Orange
Well, blaze orange is not Mikey's color. I promise I will get more navy blue items for him to wear after hunting season! He was not in the mood to be photogenic.
And then here's my two other fuzzy children inspecting a pumpkin my husband and I got from a farm that does a very high tech corn maze (it's cut into the corn using gps!). The pumpkin is in great shape and big, and was only $10. We're going to carve it closer to Halloween.
Nickels is our first cat that we got when we were still dating and had just moved in together. He's about 3 1/2 years old and has well outlived his life expectancy (he's very sickly and possibly has FIP, but my husband and I doubt this). He's very light on his feet, and is very light in general- around 6.5 lbs. He has a chronic upper respiratory infection that we can't get rid of. We've tried 4 different antibiotics, a couple steroids, and several natural remedies. If anyone has something else that might help, please share!
Penny is our second cat and about a year and a half old. She has food allergies (no grain, fish, or chicken- good luck finding a food without those!) and I finally found a food that works for her, and luckily Nickels will eat it too. She's a little tubby (around 11 pounds, could use to be 10.5 or so), but that's my fault for leaving free range food out since Nickels is so thin. I wanted him to be able to eat whenever he wanted! I don't do that anymore though.
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| "Mom, I look like a pumpkin." |
I did find another fly bonnet that was blaze orange with a cute horse print and a fabulous price from dontshootme.ca. It only took a week to ship to me from Canada. I won't be able to take it out to try on Mikey until this Sunday at the earliest, but I wanted to share it!
And then here's my two other fuzzy children inspecting a pumpkin my husband and I got from a farm that does a very high tech corn maze (it's cut into the corn using gps!). The pumpkin is in great shape and big, and was only $10. We're going to carve it closer to Halloween.
 |
| Our two shelter cats: Penny is the calico Manx mix on the left, Nickels is the tabby on the right. |
Penny is our second cat and about a year and a half old. She has food allergies (no grain, fish, or chicken- good luck finding a food without those!) and I finally found a food that works for her, and luckily Nickels will eat it too. She's a little tubby (around 11 pounds, could use to be 10.5 or so), but that's my fault for leaving free range food out since Nickels is so thin. I wanted him to be able to eat whenever he wanted! I don't do that anymore though.
An Eventing Side Note
As many of my readers (if I have any!) may or may not know, the USEA is looking at a rule change that will increase the size of a maximum of two show jump fences (a vertical and an oxer) for BN-T and increase the speeds and speed penalty times for BN-T. For readers who do not know about eventing, these are the basic current rules:
Beginner Novice:
-Equivalent to a training level dressage test
-2'7" max height in show jumping and cross country (brush fences up to 3' on xc)
-XC spreads 2'9" at the top of the fence
-XC speeds of 300-350mpm, XC speed fault time of 420mpm (training level speed)
-SJ spreads of 3'3" oxers, 3'11" triple bars
Novice:
-Equivalent to a training level dressage test
-2'11" max height in show jumping and cross country (brush fences up to 3'7" on xc)
-XC spreads 3'3" at the top of the fence
-XC speeds of 350-400mpm, XC speed fault time of 450mpm (training level speed)
-SJ spreads of 3'7" oxers, 4'3" triple bars
Training:
-Equivalent to a first level dressage test
-3'3" max height in show jumping and cross country (brush fences up to 3'11" on xc)
-XC spreads 3'11" at the top of the fence, 5'11" at the base
-XC speeds of 420-470mpm, XC speed fault time of 520mpm (prelim level speed)
-SJ spreads of 3'11" oxers, 4'7" triple bars
Just to note, rarely do BN and N max out their widths on SJ or XC. At the horse trials I've been to, they keep the jumps in SJ fairly square (not as in a square oxer, but the width rarely exceeds the height), but you will see a handful of jumps on XC that are wider than they are tall. What I do see most often however is optimum time (you must complete the course between OT and the speed penalty time, otherwise you get penalties for going too slow or too fast) is usually set at the top of the pace range for the level.
The new proposed rules for speeds and jump height:
There are more proposed rules that basically allow more difficult combinations of jumps on Beginner Novice and Novice cross country as well, but in the interest of not making this post a million pages long, you can check them out here.
_________________________________________________________________________________
To whom it may concern,
One thing I could support are standard championship level classes having a fence or two that are bigger in SJ, and combinations and questions on XC at the current level’s height, but the next level’s difficulty. If you’re going to a championship (area championships or the AEC), you’re probably bringing your A game and are a competent enough rider to handle the next level. That and it is a championship. Championships aren’t supposed to be hand holding events, they are a test of skill. Create a championship series at lower levels that allow the more difficult questions for riders who are looking to move up to the FEI levels eventually and the world stage.
Don't punish the backbone of the sport: the juniors on ponies and adult amateurs on their tried and true horses or adult amateurs that are nervous and just want to have a bit of fun. The professionals will continue to train their horses as they deem appropriate and move through the levels, but the thing to note is that they are professionals and it is their job to be better than the rest of us. They're the ones that will handle the changes the best. I know most lower level riders will probably be ok riding the changes. But in doing so, you've ruined the safe and fun environment that the lower levels create, as well as isolate and exclude the riders who pay the professionals.
Beginner Novice:
-Equivalent to a training level dressage test
-2'7" max height in show jumping and cross country (brush fences up to 3' on xc)
-XC spreads 2'9" at the top of the fence
-XC speeds of 300-350mpm, XC speed fault time of 420mpm (training level speed)
-SJ spreads of 3'3" oxers, 3'11" triple bars
Novice:
-Equivalent to a training level dressage test
-2'11" max height in show jumping and cross country (brush fences up to 3'7" on xc)
-XC spreads 3'3" at the top of the fence
-XC speeds of 350-400mpm, XC speed fault time of 450mpm (training level speed)
-SJ spreads of 3'7" oxers, 4'3" triple bars
Training:
-Equivalent to a first level dressage test
-3'3" max height in show jumping and cross country (brush fences up to 3'11" on xc)
-XC spreads 3'11" at the top of the fence, 5'11" at the base
-XC speeds of 420-470mpm, XC speed fault time of 520mpm (prelim level speed)
-SJ spreads of 3'11" oxers, 4'7" triple bars
Just to note, rarely do BN and N max out their widths on SJ or XC. At the horse trials I've been to, they keep the jumps in SJ fairly square (not as in a square oxer, but the width rarely exceeds the height), but you will see a handful of jumps on XC that are wider than they are tall. What I do see most often however is optimum time (you must complete the course between OT and the speed penalty time, otherwise you get penalties for going too slow or too fast) is usually set at the top of the pace range for the level.
The new proposed rules for speeds and jump height:
There are more proposed rules that basically allow more difficult combinations of jumps on Beginner Novice and Novice cross country as well, but in the interest of not making this post a million pages long, you can check them out here.
_________________________________________________________________________________
To whom it may concern,
I have not evented in several years, but when I did, I had
no plans of ever moving out of Novice, if I made the move up successfully. I
mostly did not want to move up because the jumps were 2’11” high and wider than
I was comfortable and I am not the most confident jumping rider. I made the
switch to dressage because I wanted to keep moving up and getting better, but I
just wasn’t confident enough to jump the higher jumps. I can now ride the
Advanced Dressage tests. If these new rules had been implemented when I was
eventing, I probably would have quit because I was having enough trouble as it
is.
Here is a rule my trainer has: if you want to show BN (which
is 2’7”), you need to be schooling Novice show jumping and cross country
questions at home (2’11”) so when you get out in public, none of the questions
at BN surprise you. In changing even just one fence to 2’10” tall and 3’5” wide,
you’ve blown the 'schooling a level above' rule to hell because that’s almost
Novice dimensions. Now I’d have to be schooling Training heights (3’3”) to make
the rule work, just to show BN. I don’t know many perpetual BN riders or riders
with very green horses who school Training level on a regular basis. If you
want to jump higher, either move up to the next level or do the hybrid
divisions so you can jump higher in SJ. That’s the point of having different
levels. When you’re comfortable and willing to jump 2’10” in public, you move
up to Novice.
As to the pace, why aren’t we forcing riders to learn the
pace appropriate for the level and jump height? I have a thoroughbred who when
we started eventing, I couldn’t get him to make the optimum time (we were slow)
because I couldn’t keep a consistent pace because I was afraid of the jumps and
just letting my horse settle and do his job. I wore a watch, I walked courses
with a wheel, I found where my minute markers were, and those helped me find
the right gallop (more like canter). More experience helped too. Yes, as we got
better and steadier with our pace, we started covering more ground. I was able
to find my pace because I was able to stop worrying about the height and width
of the jumps. When I rode my first novice mini trial, I figured out my markers
simply by guessing as I walked without the wheel, and because I had learned to stay
out of his way and just let him canter, I was well under the optimum time. I
was close to the speed penalty time, but at no point was I pushing my horse to
gallop and I never circled. The track was simply a flatter track that
encouraged a big rolling stride that was set at the bottom of the Novice pace
range (as appropriate since it’s a schooling horse trial). I shifted my seat to
slow him a little in the back half of the course and all was well. Riders need
to learn to adjust their pace. If that’s difficult to do so on their horse,
they need to learn to do it anyway because as combinations get harder, you
can’t be “balls to the walls” galloping at the jumps or yanking on the horse’s
face to slow him down because you couldn’t rate your horse and never learned
how. The horse needs to be adjustable, and it’s the rider’s job to figure out
how to make him that way. Whether it’s a trainer that teaches the horse to be
more adjustable and then puts the rider back on to teach the rider how to
adjust, or the horse and rider learn together, it doesn’t matter, it just needs
to happen. As for riders who want to ride faster on a BN course to practice the
pace for a N course in public, let them and penalize them for going too fast.
We can all make a choice to slow down and get a solid experience and slow time
faults, or speed it up and get the speed time faults.
Additionally, the recognized events I've gone to usually have their optimum time set for the top of each speed range, or near the top. Increasing the speeds will allow course designers to use the new top end as their pace, forcing riders like me to ride faster than they're comfortable with just to make time. That's not allowing a nice experience since the rider is not free to trot a spooky jump or section of the track with bad footing. If anything, the speed fault time for BN should fall somewhere in the Novice range, not the training level range. We're jumping 2'7", not jumping down the head of the lake at Rolex. No one at BN needs to be allowed to go 520mpm (preliminary speed for jumps 3'7").
Additionally, the recognized events I've gone to usually have their optimum time set for the top of each speed range, or near the top. Increasing the speeds will allow course designers to use the new top end as their pace, forcing riders like me to ride faster than they're comfortable with just to make time. That's not allowing a nice experience since the rider is not free to trot a spooky jump or section of the track with bad footing. If anything, the speed fault time for BN should fall somewhere in the Novice range, not the training level range. We're jumping 2'7", not jumping down the head of the lake at Rolex. No one at BN needs to be allowed to go 520mpm (preliminary speed for jumps 3'7").
As for this part of the new rules: “The
change of speed at which speed faults are calculated is to have one meaningful
speed that competitors can learn and remember.”
Seriously? Riders that are capable of remembering dressage
tests, show jump courses, and where that next jump on cross country is hiding
are surely capable of opening the rulebook and looking up the new speed penalty
time, if they even have to look it up at all after the first glance through!
Please don’t insult your riders. They’re not stupid. Part of riding the next
level is looking up what are allowed questions and speeds and learning what to
expect on that next level. And why on earth should a BN rider and T rider have
the same speed fault time? They’re competing at almost a foot in height
difference, and more than a foot in jump widths. That is not making the speed
appropriate to the jumps.
I don’t think raising the jump height and max allowed speed
is in the best interest of the horses and riders. If a rider wanted to jump
higher, or stop getting speed penalties for going too fast on XC, they should
either learn to ride the level as required, or move up. If moving up is not
within their ability, then they need to learn to ride the level as required. If
riders don’t have the ability to move up, why change the level to force the
move up? If the rider simply has no desire to move up, or a horse is simply not
capable of moving up, why change the level to force them? Why should a rider
who complains they get speed penalties because their horse is hard to adjust be
allowed to move on? The levels don’t get easier. Make your horse’s pace match
the size of the fence. Don’t make the size of the fence match the horse’s pace.
I also have an issue with the new rules about what is allowed on cross country. It seems these rules are to retroactively make already existing questions OK. Hold your TDs and course designers accountable for fences that are deemed inappropriate by the riders instead of adjusting the rules to allow for inappropriate jumps. For example: Beginner Novice is the starting point for most horses and riders who have little to no experience. The rules will now allow for a jump to be before and after the water crossing. How often have you seen more experienced horses (at say training level) jump a jump before water and then suck back and go, "whoa, there's water here!" They are surprised by the water elements still. How is a Beginner Novice horse supposed to react? How will a Beginner Novice rider (who has not competed above BN) convince a horse to jump the jump before the water when he's staring at the water? It's asking for a fall. Why are you asking the green horses and riders to navigate obstacles that are set in spooky and "gotcha" ways? Right now the most they have to to is steer to the next fence and keep their leg on, and have a good, safe experience. If a rider is bored with a level, they need to move on to the next, plain and simple. Don't adjust the levels so bored riders don't have to move up.
I also have an issue with the new rules about what is allowed on cross country. It seems these rules are to retroactively make already existing questions OK. Hold your TDs and course designers accountable for fences that are deemed inappropriate by the riders instead of adjusting the rules to allow for inappropriate jumps. For example: Beginner Novice is the starting point for most horses and riders who have little to no experience. The rules will now allow for a jump to be before and after the water crossing. How often have you seen more experienced horses (at say training level) jump a jump before water and then suck back and go, "whoa, there's water here!" They are surprised by the water elements still. How is a Beginner Novice horse supposed to react? How will a Beginner Novice rider (who has not competed above BN) convince a horse to jump the jump before the water when he's staring at the water? It's asking for a fall. Why are you asking the green horses and riders to navigate obstacles that are set in spooky and "gotcha" ways? Right now the most they have to to is steer to the next fence and keep their leg on, and have a good, safe experience. If a rider is bored with a level, they need to move on to the next, plain and simple. Don't adjust the levels so bored riders don't have to move up.
One thing I could support are standard championship level classes having a fence or two that are bigger in SJ, and combinations and questions on XC at the current level’s height, but the next level’s difficulty. If you’re going to a championship (area championships or the AEC), you’re probably bringing your A game and are a competent enough rider to handle the next level. That and it is a championship. Championships aren’t supposed to be hand holding events, they are a test of skill. Create a championship series at lower levels that allow the more difficult questions for riders who are looking to move up to the FEI levels eventually and the world stage.
Don't punish the backbone of the sport: the juniors on ponies and adult amateurs on their tried and true horses or adult amateurs that are nervous and just want to have a bit of fun. The professionals will continue to train their horses as they deem appropriate and move through the levels, but the thing to note is that they are professionals and it is their job to be better than the rest of us. They're the ones that will handle the changes the best. I know most lower level riders will probably be ok riding the changes. But in doing so, you've ruined the safe and fun environment that the lower levels create, as well as isolate and exclude the riders who pay the professionals.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
One of these things is NOT like the other...
One of these things should die alone... I mean, should be returned to Amazon. Sorry, I have a Big Bang Theory problem so I had to steal Amy's line.
That brown cloth in the little plastic bag is the "peach" ear net I ordered. I'm sorry Amazon, that is brown. I didn't expect blaze orange, but I did expect orange! Especially when the picture looked like this:
It's too bad the net is the wrong color. It does look like a lovely net, and if it was in navy or black I'd keep it even though it's the wrong color. Maybe I'll exchange it. Mikey's blue net is almost as old as he is! I bought it in 2001 for trail riding the little gray quarterhorse I was leasing at the time. Though at a second glance, the ear hole looks like it's pony sized. Of course it's in a sealed bag so I can't open it to find out, knowing it's the wrong color and I will be returning it.
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| Note the blaze orange saddle pad and the brown cloth in the other bag. |
That brown cloth in the little plastic bag is the "peach" ear net I ordered. I'm sorry Amazon, that is brown. I didn't expect blaze orange, but I did expect orange! Especially when the picture looked like this:
 | |
| Note the chestnut horse. The net is a lighter color than said horse What I received is darker than every chestnut horse I've ever seen. |
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
The Great Feed Collection, Part 1
Why yes, 9 bags (360lbs) of alfalfa pellets fit in the trunk of my car! And it still drove home!
The Great Feed Collection, Part 2 will be in a couple weeks when I bring another 21 bags (970lbs) of feed home!
The Great Feed Collection, Part 2 will be in a couple weeks when I bring another 21 bags (970lbs) of feed home!
Friday, October 3, 2014
Blaze Orange
My husband informed me this morning that archery season starts tomorrow and I was not to "traipse through the woods on Mikey anymore" (His exact words). Ha. So I ordered an orange ear bonnet and orange saddle pad for Mikey and an orange mesh vest for me from Amazon Prime and will have them Monday or Tuesday next week. I asked him if that met his approval for traipsing through the woods on my horse and he said yes. Ha, like I need his approval to wander in the woods, but they are all things I really should have ordered a long time ago since I trail ride all year round and have been out in the woods when hunters are going deer crazy in Dec-Jan.
Next on my list is an orange helmet cover and maybe an orange fuzzy girth or maybe I'll buy fabric from the craft store and make a mesh quarter sheet or something. Maybe I'll buy orange fleece and make my own fuzzy girth cover and some covers for my 5-point breastplate. Just a little more orange.
Today's damage:
We rang in the New Year this past January (yes 10 months ago) by 6 of us taking horses out for a trail ride on New Years Day through the Christmas tree farm next door, by the big power lines, and down our rural road. Halfway through, hunters started shooting like crazy on other hilltops. None of us had heard shooting that close while out on a trail ride before. One horse was upset, but everyone held their ground because we had a couple horses that just didn't care. Mikey was somewhere in between. When he gets truly scared he freezes while he evaluates and you can hear his heart beating and see his body pulse. I am not kidding. It's the freakiest thing. If he ever has a heart attack when doing that, I would not be surprised. But anyway, he did that a couple times, but stayed quiet. Horses can be stupid individually, but you gotta love herd mentality (in this case). When the herd doesn't run and you wedge the scared horse in between quiet horses, no one falls off and no horse bolts. Everyone got home ok, and we're able to laugh about it now.
Anyway, enjoy your fall trail rides everyone, and stay safe!
Next on my list is an orange helmet cover and maybe an orange fuzzy girth or maybe I'll buy fabric from the craft store and make a mesh quarter sheet or something. Maybe I'll buy orange fleece and make my own fuzzy girth cover and some covers for my 5-point breastplate. Just a little more orange.
Today's damage:
We rang in the New Year this past January (yes 10 months ago) by 6 of us taking horses out for a trail ride on New Years Day through the Christmas tree farm next door, by the big power lines, and down our rural road. Halfway through, hunters started shooting like crazy on other hilltops. None of us had heard shooting that close while out on a trail ride before. One horse was upset, but everyone held their ground because we had a couple horses that just didn't care. Mikey was somewhere in between. When he gets truly scared he freezes while he evaluates and you can hear his heart beating and see his body pulse. I am not kidding. It's the freakiest thing. If he ever has a heart attack when doing that, I would not be surprised. But anyway, he did that a couple times, but stayed quiet. Horses can be stupid individually, but you gotta love herd mentality (in this case). When the herd doesn't run and you wedge the scared horse in between quiet horses, no one falls off and no horse bolts. Everyone got home ok, and we're able to laugh about it now.
Anyway, enjoy your fall trail rides everyone, and stay safe!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Relaxing... and a bit of shopping
I have not been up to much, however I have a bunch of little things. Mostly Mikey and I have been relaxing and not working. We're going to work hard all winter so we're both taking some down time. Mikey seems good with it, he's walking over to me in the field when I go fetch him after work. Not that he was a hard horse to catch, usually I have to walk to him, he doesn't just offer himself up.
I went to a schooling show at the end of August, got similar scores as my rated shows. I did get to be the "big fish in a small pond" as the only rider riding above 1st level out of 8 hours worth of show. I know I shouldn't crave attention, especially for the mediocrity I'm putting out at 3rd level, but it was nice to have strangers come to the ring and fill the bleachers just to see me ride, and they even clapped for me at the end of my tests. After a kind of disappointing summer at 3rd, it still felt nice. I also feel out of place at my event barn- I train alone usually and I don't go to the shows and outings with everyone else. Partly because I don't really jump anymore so hunter shows hold zero appeal and events are out of the question, and partly because my schedule doesn't work well for me to go xc schooling with them on Wednesday afternoons when they're starting while I'm still at my desk. I've tagged along to those in the past, Mikey and I still enjoy hopping over logs and milling around with the group and being lead pony for young things that are afraid of water and jumping off banks. So all I'm saying was a little recognition in my own world was nice.
I'm not one for new gadgets that promise to 'free your horse's back, let him stretch, and cure cancer!' (as a side note, I love my Micklem bridle and will peddle it anywhere!) But I am allowing myself to indulge in a $125 Total Saddle Fit Shoulder Relief Girth once Mikey is at his winter home. At my last lesson with my trainer, she was happy with his collection but commented on his trot and half pass being correct, but lacking the grandeur up front that gets the extra point in dressage. She had an OTTB like him that had a very average trot, great walk and canter (let's look at the facts, a thoroughbred's first and foremost job is run as fast as he can on the flat which doesn't involve trot). She ended up putting slight wedge-like pads on his front feet (he still needed to be able to navigate 3'9" xc jumps) to give him a tiny amount of extra action and said we might want to do something like that next year. I also saw the German Riding Master last week and asked to work on collection and engagement because that's where I'm losing points all around and the work isn't getting easier. We worked on getting to half steps in prep for thinking about passage/piaffe, and he said he was very happy with the action and engagement behind, but Mikey's front end just didn't match the action. I figure I'm going to try to rule out shoulder tightness with this girth (it apparently frees the scapula) before I change his very simple, straightforward, and cheaper shoeing. Mikey's saddle fits him very very well so I doubt that is a problem, and he doesn't complain when something doesn't fit, but he does reward me when I get something that fits him a bit better. At a 110% money back guarantee and 30 day trial period, I can only lose out on some shipping. I also may spring for their 6-Point Saddle Pad sometime in the future. Mikey likes his sheepskin and has massive pointy whithers. It is the only pad that makes sense to me as true whither relief. I don't need the shims, but it's nice to know they're there if I need them. It also comes with the same return policy. Nifty.
I also allowed myself a bit of fun and got these from Amazon. Also if you shop at Amazon, please look into Amazon Smile! Portions of your purchase price will go to your favorite charity, horsey or otherwise! :-) My charity is a local animal shelter that we got one of our cats from. Not much goes, something like half a percent, but I figure I buy a lot there because we have Amazon Prime, a little will add up over time.
I'm always writing my own numbers on the backs of old bridle tags so Mikey has a number on his halter and bridle at all times, none of this switching them or anything. This seemed like a classy way to do it and I can stop hording old numbers on the whip rack in my trailer. It hooks onto the browband like a regular number, but there's a leather strap with snap that goes around the cheek pieces that really holds it on.
And last but not least, we finally went out to find my trainer's secret creek crossing spot that she takes horses to that need to learn about crossing water. It's a great spot, very wide (24' at least), and easy to navigate. Where you enter it's a good beach with flat rock under water that is only hoof deep, then you can walk upstream or downstream where the water gets deeper in places.
I went to a schooling show at the end of August, got similar scores as my rated shows. I did get to be the "big fish in a small pond" as the only rider riding above 1st level out of 8 hours worth of show. I know I shouldn't crave attention, especially for the mediocrity I'm putting out at 3rd level, but it was nice to have strangers come to the ring and fill the bleachers just to see me ride, and they even clapped for me at the end of my tests. After a kind of disappointing summer at 3rd, it still felt nice. I also feel out of place at my event barn- I train alone usually and I don't go to the shows and outings with everyone else. Partly because I don't really jump anymore so hunter shows hold zero appeal and events are out of the question, and partly because my schedule doesn't work well for me to go xc schooling with them on Wednesday afternoons when they're starting while I'm still at my desk. I've tagged along to those in the past, Mikey and I still enjoy hopping over logs and milling around with the group and being lead pony for young things that are afraid of water and jumping off banks. So all I'm saying was a little recognition in my own world was nice.
I'm not one for new gadgets that promise to 'free your horse's back, let him stretch, and cure cancer!' (as a side note, I love my Micklem bridle and will peddle it anywhere!) But I am allowing myself to indulge in a $125 Total Saddle Fit Shoulder Relief Girth once Mikey is at his winter home. At my last lesson with my trainer, she was happy with his collection but commented on his trot and half pass being correct, but lacking the grandeur up front that gets the extra point in dressage. She had an OTTB like him that had a very average trot, great walk and canter (let's look at the facts, a thoroughbred's first and foremost job is run as fast as he can on the flat which doesn't involve trot). She ended up putting slight wedge-like pads on his front feet (he still needed to be able to navigate 3'9" xc jumps) to give him a tiny amount of extra action and said we might want to do something like that next year. I also saw the German Riding Master last week and asked to work on collection and engagement because that's where I'm losing points all around and the work isn't getting easier. We worked on getting to half steps in prep for thinking about passage/piaffe, and he said he was very happy with the action and engagement behind, but Mikey's front end just didn't match the action. I figure I'm going to try to rule out shoulder tightness with this girth (it apparently frees the scapula) before I change his very simple, straightforward, and cheaper shoeing. Mikey's saddle fits him very very well so I doubt that is a problem, and he doesn't complain when something doesn't fit, but he does reward me when I get something that fits him a bit better. At a 110% money back guarantee and 30 day trial period, I can only lose out on some shipping. I also may spring for their 6-Point Saddle Pad sometime in the future. Mikey likes his sheepskin and has massive pointy whithers. It is the only pad that makes sense to me as true whither relief. I don't need the shims, but it's nice to know they're there if I need them. It also comes with the same return policy. Nifty.
 |
| "The girth" image from Total Saddle Fit's website. |
 |
| 6 Point Saddle Pad, image from Total Saddle Fit's website. |
I also allowed myself a bit of fun and got these from Amazon. Also if you shop at Amazon, please look into Amazon Smile! Portions of your purchase price will go to your favorite charity, horsey or otherwise! :-) My charity is a local animal shelter that we got one of our cats from. Not much goes, something like half a percent, but I figure I buy a lot there because we have Amazon Prime, a little will add up over time.
And last but not least, we finally went out to find my trainer's secret creek crossing spot that she takes horses to that need to learn about crossing water. It's a great spot, very wide (24' at least), and easy to navigate. Where you enter it's a good beach with flat rock under water that is only hoof deep, then you can walk upstream or downstream where the water gets deeper in places.
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| I swear he's not this scruffy looking. And my disgusting saddle bag saddle pad came along for the ride because I needed nippers to trim some thorn bushes that were trying to take my face off! |
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| Love my big red horse. |
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| Mikey walking with his new best trail buddy Ed, who at 18 hands has a big enough stride to keep up with the walking speed of an impatient Thoroughbred. |
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