Catching up

I had a crazy week last week and this week isn't much better. I've been working alot of overtime and even with all of that, I'm going to blow a deadline. It isn't crucial, but I really wanted to deliver this project on time. I can't say it was all my fault, as a co-worker had over a month to do her part and she hasn't even started yet. Anyway, I've been tired and grouchy. The DARKNESS and the SNOW aren't helping.

This time of year is probably my least favourite - I find the six weeks leading up to Christmas are often stressful with family expectations and obligations on top of the crappy weather.

Anyway - enough boo-hooing - I got something that cheered me up instantly. The lovely NuzzlingMuzzles gave me an award!!!

That little bouquet of virtual flowers put a big smile on my face. It's nice to have some new friends out there - even if we may never meet in person. I'm going to wimp out on handing out the award since I can never decide on just two or three people to give it to...

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I haven't been to the barn since Sunday - I feel a bit guilty, but not much I can do this week. Rusty is well cared for and a few days off won't hurt either one of us. I had a great ride on Sunday, he was being pretty good. He has been acting a bit silly on some of my other rides. He always tries to canter if we are trotting and I give him a little squeeze of leg - most of the time he just tries for a step or two then goes back to the trot. It gets kind of annoying after a while. I have been working on learning to flex and counter-flex him to help straighten him out. When I combine those rein aids with keeping my leg on, he thinks it means canter. Usually I just ride it out and we are working on being consistent with the aids. When I rode on Sunday, I thought if he wanted to canter, well then he could canter. After a lap around the arena, he didn't think trying to canter everytime I touched his sides or moved the reins was such a good idea! Ha-ha, silly (lazy) horse.

It is interesting working with an older horse - you often come across "buttons" that you didn't know you had. He came from a dressage barn, but he has had a lot of western training. He will canter if you raise your inside hand and put the rein on his neck, along with a squeeze of the legs. I'm not sure if that is an english or western cue - or a bit of a hodge-podge. Any opinions? He will also canter with the outside leg back and a bit of rein to tip his nose to the inside. He is also trained to trot with a click and canter with a kiss. Kind of interesting how training can be "layered" over the years and they still remember - when the want to, of course!!

Not sure when I'll get a chance to post again - probably not consistently until mid-December. Gotta work hard and keep Rusty in the style to which he has become accustomed! I'm still reading everyone's blog, but not always commenting as much as normal.

Hope all of my friends in the US have a nice Thanksgiving!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

A few shots from my day today...I took the day off. It was sunny and crisp outside -what a treat to be outside while it was still light out!

Western saddle troubles and lesson update

Things with Rusy are going pretty well. My new barn owner just loves him and spoils him at every chance. He gets to stay in at night if it is cold or raining and she convinced me to order him a cute new blanket. She even started feeding him peppermints! Spoiled, I tell ya!

As much as I joke about him being spoiled, I'm very happy with my decision to change barns. He is getting alot of attention, good food and good living conditions. Since he is older (17), it is nice to know he is as well taken care of as possible. I want to keep him going for as many years as I can.

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Lessons are going well - we have been just working at the walk and trot for now, trying to get Rusty to relax and take the bit more. He tends to ride behind the bit with his neck all scrunched up. We have been doing alot of consistent trot work and that is starting to help. My riding is smoother and he is starting to let go of his old habits. I find I'm still a little strong with my aids and corrections sometimes, so that is something I need to work on. Often I'll feel him starting to break from the trot and I'll give him a little too much leg and he will blast off and surge forward.

I was pretty sure my western saddle didn't fit him 100% and started experimenting with different saddle pads to try and get the saddle up off his withers. I couldn't get any fingers in between the withers and the saddle, so I'm sure he wasn't too comfortable. I have started doing some research on a new saddle, but it is hard to find western saddles for high withered horses. Although Rusty has high withers, he is fairly broad in the shoulders and back - kind of like a triangle. Luckily my barn owner has several saddles she is letting me try to see if we can find a brand/model that is higher in the pommel to accomodate those withers! This photo doesn't show quite how low it sits, but you can tell how low it is. With a rider's weight up in the saddle, you actually can't get your hand under the pommel at all.

Tonight, we tried a very low tech and budget conscious method - a fleece pommel pad and a piece of foam cut out to level the saddle. Normally, I woudn't try and use all kinds of padding to make a saddle fit - I would get a new saddle. The foam and pommel pad did not work AT ALL - it was quite the ghetto setup. We then tried a lami-cell pad, that had a wither cutout and some built-up areas. On top of the special pad, I just used a really thick western blanket. That seemed to do the trick enough to keep the saddle in a better position. I'm going to go out and buy one of those pads - much cheaper than a new saddle right now.

I did call a tack shop a few hours south of here (none of the local shops were much help) and the lady was super-helpful. She rhymed off several saddle brands/models that might work. They even ship for free. I will probably take that avenue in the spring to find something that works. Right now, I'm reading up on Billy Cook, Circle Y and Tucker saddles. Circle Y and Tucker are in my good books because they offer a short fender option for those of us that are vertically challenged! Anyone else have any suggestions???

In my research, I came across Double J Saddles, based in Texas. Have you guys heard of/seen these? They are extremely fancy and blinged to the nines. A little out of my price range, but fun to look at all the same. Check out the barrel saddles - Cdncowgirl and BECG - you guys need these for your barrel events!

Got mints??

I got a blog award!

The lovely Lisa at Laughing Orca Ranch was feeling generous and gave me a little blog award.



How cool is that? lol It is the "million dollar friend" award.

Now I get to pass it on to some more great bloggers. I'm not sure if there are any rules for how many blogs to pick - but who cares? Rules are meant to be broken, right?

Cdncowgirl
Stephanie
Brown-eyed Cowgirls
Sidetracked
Mrs Mom
Denise
AOHCM
Nuzzling Muzzles

I wanted to give this to everyone on my blog list, but I thought that others could have some fun picking blogs too...

I'm working on a post about Rusty and saddle fitting - hopefully I'll get around to finishing it this weekend. I need to go out to the barn and take more pictures!

Tack malfunction (with photos!!)

I was out riding again today and actually managed to get some photos this time around. It helped that I had my assistant with me.

I've been lungeing ol' Rusty a bit before each ride, just to give him a chance to work out any little kinks he might have. It's a good chance for me to gauge how he is feeling and acting before I get on.

These two ponies are Rusty's pasture-mates. They were looking on as we rode. I dubbed them the peanut gallery. Shorty, my crush was in a a different pasture today, so no chance to pet him... I was doing a fair bit of trotting with Rusty and I'm doing alot better than when I first started riding him. We are starting to smooth out some of the rougher spots in both of our riding. Although, today, Rusty seemed to want to canter every time I put a bit of leg on him. Silly horse. I worked on slowing him back down and only cantering when *I* asked him to. He can get a little snorty when I start doing that and it used to make me nervous. It's mostly funny to me now.

After about 20 minutes of riding, something interesting happened - I went to pull on my reins and there was only air... (Sorry for the happy face on the picture - I had my eyes closed and was making a really weird face!)

Here is a close-up of the tack malfunction - the chicago screw on my left rein let go! I didn't have any spares, so Rusty got out of the rest of his ride. I'm going to have to go buy a package of screws tomorrow - my luck they will only come in boxes of 500 or something! I laughed when this happened and I realized how lucky I was to be in the ring and not somewhere out on a trail!

Is an update on not much of anything an update at all?

Well...it's been awhile since my last post. I have been riding my horse, working, sleeping and eating and that is about it. How exciting!?!?!?!

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My lessons have been going well - I'm pretty much starting from ground zero and filling in all of the holes in my riding. I'm hoping the learning curve speeds up a bit as we go. I'm already feeling more confident and my legs are getting stronger, so that is all good.

I've been riding western and we have been working on slowing Rusty's trot down alot. I wouldn't say we have a jog yet, but we are well on the way. It won't be an AQHA jog where the horse is in slow motion, but we will have a jog. I have also been working on walk/trot transitions and that is going alot better so that makes me feel like we are making some progress.

I have been writing down all of the drills/exercises that my barn owner has me doing and trying to do some of the exercises when I ride on my own. You should see all of my funny little diagrams and notes - I feel like a kid in school!

I've been meaning to take some pictures, but I always seem to be there alone and I have a hard enough time handling gates while trying to manage longe lines, tack, helmets, and a horse that I haven't managed to add taking pictures in. There are always people around too, so I feel a little silly trying to take pictures.

Rusty is turned out with three ponies. I totally have a horse-crush on one of them. He is a little chestnut paint and his name is Shorty. He nickers and trots over to the fence every time I come out. I can't help but give him a scratch. He is under 14hh and has the cutest little belly!

That's about all that is going on here - hope y'all can handle the excitement! :-p