Sometimes it's the small things

She looks so good with her mane roached.  P.S. The spot in her right ear has been checked by the vet - it's a wart.  I was having heart palpitations for a while thinking it might be melanoma. 

Ruby has been ever so slightly cranky regarding her role change from pasture ornament back into riding horse.  It is to be expected, I suppose, considering her general hate for all things arena.  Still, other than the 'walk of sulk' when we are heading to the arena and an occasional lean towards the gate afterwards, she's been doing well.  Her trot has undergone a transformation for the better - it's rhythmic, much more rateable, and (omg) really balanced.  In the past, her trot (much of the time) has been extremely fast, unbalanced, and on the forehand. Not scary, but definitely not fun.  I thought what she needed was to figure out how to carry us both around but now I'm thinking maybe it had something to do with some of our tack.

Saddle pad: change to Skito with shoulder shims and laminated inserts.  The Skito inserts do not compress nearly as much as the Equipedic inserts do.  And the shoulder shims, though thin and nearly unnoticeable to me, seem to be helping me to keep my balance back a bit more - I have a tendency to lean too far forward, no matter the horse.  Last year, having my stirrups short enough to post properly also meant that at the end of a ride, my knees would be screaming.  Having them one hole longer, and no knee pain, meant that posting was really more like 'bouncing with rhythm'.  I did a lot of two-point last year.

I also recently changed her girth to a new Montana Cincha.  I mention 'new' because the design of the buckle guards is slightly different than the old one I have.  First, the buckle guard material is much thicker - on the old one, you can easily feel the buckles through the neoprene.  Second, the girth has velcro over the buckles; fastening the velcro pulls the neoprene around the buckles so that the neoprene edges aren't in contact with the wrinkles behind her front legs.  Warning: grainier-than-normal iPhone pics ahead.

Notice the front edge of the buckle guard.

And now, with the velcro fastened, the neoprene wraps around the buckles a bit.

Her trot is still fast, but just so much better. It may have nothing to do with our recent tack changes, but I'm thinking this is all a little too coincidental to just write off.  It's amazing how seemingly small these changes were to me, but may be having a big effect on Ruby.  Duly noted, Ruby. 

We're moving slowly and I'm realizing that I really don't mind.  We are mostly walking and installing/refining certain buttons.  No trail rides on the horizon for now but I'm crossing fingers that the hubby will able to work on the truck over the coming holiday weekend.

Slightly stretched out because of the water hose.  Notice the belly shrinkage!