Girth update

My newest girth arrived yesterday afternoon and I'm ridiculously happy to report that Ruby seems to like it.  We rode for maybe 20 minutes this morning, but it was a very good ride.  She was happy and forward but not rushing. It should be fine - the only thing wrong with the other is that it's too long. Still, I'm sure to be paranoid about girth everything for the rest of my natural life, so we're going on a short trail ride tomorrow to really make sure before we start longer rides again.  Teddy at Running Bear Tack was awesome to deal with, for anyone considering ordering from him.

Ruh-roh, Raggy

You guessed it, the girth isn't going to work for us.  I hate being a pain in the vendor's ass but I'm going to ask how much it will cost me to trade this out for a 22" mohair.  Now I better understand how horse people get so stuck in 'my way is only right way' mode.  To add to this, I still have not heard a peep out of the 2-in-1 bridle vendor, though they state on their website that they will resize their products for you. 

PS. Teddy from Running Bear Tack is awesome.  In the time it took me to write this whiny post, he has already answered my email and agreed to exchange the Toklat for a 22" mohair (on a Sunday afternoon, no less!).  Maybe I'll be riding again by the end of the week. *fingers crossed*

Your first horse blog experience?

Which horse blog first caught your attention?  For me, it was Zephyr's Wonderful Wanderings & Wonderings .  I'm not sure how I first came across it but once I did, I was hooked.  I loved reading about their adventures together.  The author's ride stories were so detailed that it made me feel like I was there with her.  It was her blog that first introduced me to 'real' barefoot trims.  It was her blog that made me really want to try endurance - the bond that she and Zephyr shared was exactly what I wanted for myself and Karma. And treeless saddles - I had never heard of such a thing (in my admittedly very limited experience).   I actually ordered two of her Rhythm Bead necklaces for Karma, one of which she wore in the Veteran's Day parade in 2011(?):

My terrible riding on display for everyone to see - but look at how calm and purdy Karma is!

Anyways, Zephyr's mom made me really think that I could do this endurance thing -  and she made it sound like such an amazing adventure.  I was so bummed when she began slowing down in 2010 but I have come to realize that this is the way of most blogs.  Most of us post for a while, then move on to other things.  I hope she and Zephyr are well and are still tearing up the trails.

This week

Monday: went to see my pony then went to my first lesson with a new instructor.  She grew up riding dressage in Germany, then moved to the US.  She currently rides dressage and working equitation.  So far, I like her a lot - she has eagle eyes and a sense of humor.  Now about my riding: apparently, I go much better to the left.  I also have a tendency to tighten my lower back while posting (causing Ruby to 'go giraffe'), grip with my knees (no wonder they kill me after an hour in the saddle), and stiffen my shoulders.   For now, we are going to focus on developing an independent seat before we get into the fun stuff.  Another really great thing about this instructor - she did LDs for four years with her Paso Fino gelding before having children.

Tuesday: Ruby got a pedicure, a la me.  Usually she is very good, but on this day she was trying to snatch grass and kept moving every twenty seconds, grrr.  I had to tie her really short so that there was no hope of reaching any grass, then she got the hint and stood quietly.  The heels on a couple of her feet have cracks so I finally worked up the nerve to really bring them down.  I was so nervous about this that I took her for a walk down the street to make sure she was still comfortable.  Afterwards, I decided to take her for a spin and try out some things I learned yesterday.  When I went to put the bareback pad on, she tried to avoid it (insert irritated face here) but she did let me clamber up on her like a drunk monkey when I asked her to.  And, she was a very good girl for our ride.

Wednesday, I just groomed and visited with the Redhead.  By Wednesday afternoon, I'd received my new 2-in-1 bitless bridle.  The owner of Moss Rock is still out due to surgery complications, so I got antsy and ordered something similar from a relatively new vendor. 

Thursday: I decided to rig the bridle as a side pull first, since that's what we normally use.  I don't know why I didn't notice in the website's pics, but for the 2-1 bridle from this particular vendor, the side pull is not the usual style.  Instead of the cheek pieces coming down and splitting into two that then attach to the nose band, there is one solid cheek piece all the way to the nose band and they are sewn together.  Where they join there is a D-ring that the reins attach to.  I don't know about other folks, but I had no brakes with this set up.  I'm not sure if it was the beta biothane or the way that the bridle is set up. Now, I normally don't need a lot of brakes - Ruby will stop when asked, even though she oftentimes just tries to speed off as soon as she is given some slack. This time, I HAD to one-rein stop almost like she couldn't tell that I was requesting a stop.  I walked her back to the barn, tied her up, and changed the setup to the bitless bridle.  Unfortunately, the entire headstall may be too big for Ruby. The pieces that cross under the head keep catching on the bottom of the nose band.  I'm currently waiting for the vendor to get back with me - it's likely that I'm doing something very wrong.

Thursday - it's a beautiful blue!  Now, if I could just get it adjusted properly...

Friday: I didn't hear back from the vendor yesterday but I did do some research on how the bitless bridles are supposed to be fitted.  The nose band is supposed to be much lower (hackamore area), than the picture above, then it's supposed to be tightened to allow just one finger between the jawbone and the nose band.  This one is far too big for the Rubes.  I can take the nose band up one more hole, but then the end of the strap goes through the D-ring on the side of the nose band. This, obviously, interferes with the way the chin straps work.  I have sent another email to the vendor; this time asking if I can send it back to have it re-sized.  I would do it myself, but some of the straps will need to be cut as well.  Crossing fingers here.  More Ruby torture ensued as I hooked up to Lee's trailer and did some loading practice with her.  I don't know much about her background - for all I know, she's never loaded in a two-horse straight load.  She was not enthused.  The scariest part, of course, was backing off the trailer.  She was getting so worked up over backing off the trailer that she was making me nervous for her, sheesh.  We practiced, took a break, practiced, took a break.  I don't think we'll have a problem when/if Lee and I ride together next week. 

Thinking out loud

The last few weeks, I've been looking over the ride schedule for this fall and winter, attempting to figure out which rides I would like to take Ruby to.  The first ride is in September and is only two hours away.  It has an intro ride, so I could ride, then volunteer if I wanted.  The problem: it looks like the easiest way to get to the ride location is to take I-4.  For anyone not familiar with the area, I-4 towards Orlando is a nightmare to drive in a car. If I decide to go, I'll need to figure out another route.

Then there is SEDRA's next distance clinic which is being held in early October.  I went to their clinic last year (it was fantastic) but this year they have changed up the topics.  They also have a short practice ride which I didn't get to participate in last year.  But, it's so close to the September ride that I'll have to choose one or the other for spouse sanity reasons.  I SHOULD go to the clinic instead of the ride, but dammit I want to go to a ride already!  

I'm also tossing around the idea of participating in a CTR or two before our first LD.  There are multiple reasons for this, but it boils down to having experienced horsemen/women watching me and judging how well I care for my horse.  I don't have an extensive background in horses. How many times have I dealt with a serious illness or injury with a horse?  0.  How many times have I ridden horses long distances? 0.  How many times have I even camped with a horse? 0.  I wouldn't go expecting to place, I would go for the experience and the constructive criticism.  One possible issue: the average pace that an endurance rider needs to maintain to complete a ride is 5 mph, while a CTR rider needs a 6 mph pace to complete.  On paper, this doesn't seem like a big deal but from the reading I've done, it can be difficult for a new rider/horse team to set a 5 mph pace, especially on their first real ride.  We'll see how Ruby does when we start real conditioning rides.

All of the above is just brain vomit - thoughts that have been swirling around in my head for the last little while.  For any of this to happen in the first place, the stars will need to align: my truck is an '05, my horse is a '00, my family has to come to first, and Heather's trailer has a low spot in the floor that needs to be fixed.  Until then, I'll be thinking, dreaming, and planning. 

Pinpointed the problem

I went out to see Ruby this morning, and maybe ride her around at a walk.  As usual, she neighed at me when I walked around the corner of the barn, stuck her head into the halter over the stall door, and gave me goo-goo eyes while I groomed her.

'Whatcha doin' back there??'

She stood quietly for tacking, though she did flinch a few times as I placed the saddle pad.  I'm not actually sure what you call it, but I'm referring to that skin shudder they do when a fly has landed on them.  She sometimes does this, so I proceeded to place the saddle. I put more Desitin on the seams of the saddle pad and started tightening the girth.  I wasn't able to get the girth as tight as it needed to be for trotting, but it would work for walking so I led her into the arena.  As usual she stood stock-still for mounting and walked off when asked.  We walked over poles, around barrels, did baby leg yields and worried about what we couldn't see on the other side of the trailer parked in the arena.  She was great and I was thinking, let's just see if she'll trot over a pole one time with me riding.  But, if I wanted to trot, I needed to tighten the girth.  I hopped down and tried her left side - seemed tight enough.  I walked around to her right; this side could go up another hole.  I don't know how everyone else does it, but when I tighten a girth, I'm looking at the girth buckles and the holes in the saddle billets, not at the horse's skin.  This time, I noticed what must have been staring me in the face for the last several months...when the girth is fully tightened, it pinches her skin between itself and the edge of the saddle pad. 

Not currently pinching, but you can see how the Desitin was squeezed up between the edges

I noticed and mentioned to Heather that Ruby will sometimes pin her ears when we are trotting especially when I would ask her to turn. I had Heather watch me because I assumed it had something to do with my position, whether it be my legs, hands, or seat.  She never saw anything that might cause a negative response so I assumed Ruby was just a horse that only wanted to trot when it was her idea.  Or maybe she didn't see the point of running around in circles.  I figured that as we worked more and got to know each other better, she'd work out of it.

Wow, do I ever feel like a jerk.  I've thought several times that I should go ahead and buy a shorter girth but I've never needed to tighten beyond the billet holes closest to the saddle.  I figured another girth was something that I didn't actually need, as my current one wasn't technically too long.  I also worried that if I got a shorter girth, the buckles would place pressure directly on a massive vein that runs from near Ruby's elbow to her belly on both sides.  How wrong I was!  It is unreal to me that this mare has never attempted to buck, rear, bite, or otherwise throw or harm me considering that she has been getting pinched!  She had every opportunity and honestly would have been justified.  Ruby is a freaking saint. 

Saint Ruby just before untacking

I untacked her right there in the arena, gave her a huge hug and a thank you and let her graze to her heart's content on the 'special' (ungrazed) grass of the arena and the barnyard. 

Picture from Poker Ride

Photo courtesy of Poker Ride for Kate Facebook page