After Thoughts

Well...there you have it. Gem was almost a rock star, minus that whole bucking-throwing-me-in-the-dirt thing, for the entire trip up and back. Me? I had mental issues, but fortunately I worked through them and managed to have a great time and make some new friends. Would I do it all again? You bet!!!

I didn't completely follow the golden rule of not trying anything new on race day. Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way, but all in all I am very, very pleased with how things worked out. Some things do need tweaking for the future, so here is my list of what went well versus what didn't.

Things That Worked

The absolute best thing I did all day was use Body Glide on Gem. In the past, I have battled girth rubbing and someone suggested I try it. I had never tried it before and thought it couldn't hurt, so I lathered up her armpits and the front edge of her girth area before the ride and at every hold. 50 miles later - not a single rub, sore spot or lost hair. Yippee!!!!

A sports bra. I'm not particularly well endowed and I've always gotten away with just my usual bra for rides, but for some reason I grabbed the sports bra before leaving home. In as much as you can love a vice grip on your chest, I liked the feel of it during the ride and will not go sans sports bra again.

The Camelbak was perfect for me and since I had the fleece vest and then a higher collared long sleeve shirt for the entire ride, I had no chafing issues. I drank the entire 2 L bladder the first loop and then split the next 2 L on the last two. I was never thirsty and I completely avoided the post ride headache I typically get.

Nature Valley Chocolate Pretzel granola bars were a life saver out on trail. I shoved one in my Camelbak and made myself eat it at the 2 hour mark each loop. It had just enough sugar and salt to go down easy and perk me back up, plus it was satisfying enough to last until camp. I will have to remember to bring these along again.

Gem's saddle, girth (cleaned and much softer), Reinsman pad and halter/bridle.

I am always amazed at Gem's hooves and this ride was no different. It was rocky with those palm sized rocks that fit perfectly for a sole bruise and yet 50 miles later she didn't have a single off step, chip or crack. In fact her feet looked as though I has just trimmed them to perfection. Ssshhh....don't let on that I don't ever trim or rasp her...ever...last time the farrier was out was in February.

My Irideon tights got destroyed after Biltmore and I waited entirely too long to replace them. In fact, the exact model I had was a special addition for Rolex that year and are no longer available, so I picked the Issential line and went for it. They arrived the day before I left and the first time I wore them was for the ride. They fit well and were super comfortable for those hours in the saddle.

Gem gobbled down her grain all day which is the reason it gets on the "worked" list. I'm just happy she ate anything since in the past she refused.

My eating was pretty much the best yet too. I ate the shaved rotisserie chicken breast which was easy to eat one handed, sat light in the stomach and provided needed protein. The granola bars count here too. I drank a ton of water (see above) on the trail and supplemented with Coconut Water at the holds for elytes and sugar. I was never hungry feeling, but also never felt tired and full.

Things That Didn't

My reins. The reins came with the halter/bridle and are a lovely nylon webbing in black and red. They provide a great grip and I have never had her pull the reins out of my hands. Unfortunately, they created a massive blister that extends from the distal to middle joint of the ring finger on both hands. It hurt badly enough that I stopped at the Running Bear trailer to buy a set of biothane reins at the first hold. She only had rubber reins (looked more painful than mine) or biothane reins with nylon webbing, so neither would work.

Snaffle bit. Gem is definitely getting herself a Kimberwicke over the winter.

Her grain  goes in this category too because while she ate it all hungrily, it was dry and didn't help the hydration issues we had. I was so pleased she ate anything that I happily let her go, but now that I know she will eat I am going to slowly get her used to some mashes.

I've never had an issue with her hydration before, but even though she drank a ton that first loop we were behind the 8 ball, so to speak, beginning with the first loop. I bought new elytes after the second loop, but by then it was too late. I think I will return to the Finish Line brand I used up north and had worked really well. Also, in the future I will bring a tube along with me to use on those longer loops if she decides to fall behind. I don't want that salty mixture sitting on an empty stomach though, so will probably only use it on trail if I know there are plenty of opportunities for grass.

Things I'm On The Fence About

Crew spot. I made the decision to walk back to camp for several reasons. One it would be easier for me to get things done if she was in her pen and I had two free hands. Two I would have complete access to everything I brought with me, so I could easily change things up if needed. Three she tends to be a royal PITA at crewing when there are a lot of horses around. She walks all over the place and tears down the tent and pays more attention to everything else and less to things like eating, drinking and resting. This crew area was much less frantic and she might actually have settled down well. The downside to going back to camp was the 12 minutes it ate up each hold walking back and forth. It made her move more and rest less, so in the end I really don't know what I should do. If I had crew I would lean more towards staying fi she looked content and chilled, but when I fly solo it is hard to hold her and get anything else done (like eat, pee or refill my camelback bladder)


Overall, I am thrilled with her and the ride. She gained strength throughout the day, pulsed in amazingly well and even behaved at the trot outs. Her feet were like concrete and without steel we actually slipped less than most out there. I think our conditioning was adequate for the task and those trails were not beginner friendly in any sense of the word I have ever known.

I would recommend the ride to anyone though. The ride staff was amazing and once I stopped to smell the roses, the trails were superb. She most likely will hold it again next fall and even hinted at a possible spring ride. Get your entry in early though - camping is very limited.

Project...and product review Cashel Organizer

Gem rides around in an Eclipse 2 horse straight load aluminum trailer. Is it absolutely perfect? No. But I actually really like the trailer and it fit all our needs at the time of purchase. I have no plans on selling it ever and after owning it for 3 years it was about time to personalize it a bit.

My only real issue with the trailer is that the tack area is also the walk through/emergency door for loading the horses. It is a decent size, but most things were stored in a large muck bucket on the floor and I tended to trip over or step on items. The last straw was two weeks ago when I tried to open the trailer vents (with the trailer being so ridiculously tall, I have to stand on something to do this) and stepped down and tripped landing on top of my brand new bottle of fly spray squishing the bottle and popping the top off. Fortunately, I was able to attach the nozzle of a different bottle to pry this one back into a straight position and get it working again. But I had had enough.

Enter the Cashel full door groom organizer:

I had ordered it with the new chaps, but had run into a small complication with using it and so it sat in the trailer being useless and taking up yet more essential floor space.

What was the complication? The trailer is aluminum to cut down on both the annoyance of dealing with rust creating steel as well as weight. That's fine. But the door and walls themselves are fiberglass (I think...well they are something other than metal of any sort) and that limited the ability to hang the above contraption since the width from aluminum post to aluminum post was too wide and the length was too long. I really wanted it on the door and low enough that I could reach everything from the ground.

We needed to do something to safely hang the unit and so we stopped at Lowes and picked up some pieces of wood to go from end to end of the door at whatever height I wanted. Then the hardware for the organizer could be hung onto these and voila!

So we got the wood, but it was boring wood. I happened to walk past some decorative wood meant for something I suppose...maybe a railing or something. Anyway...much to the hubby's annoyance I grabbed a piece of that too to make it look prettier. Then...having pretty on the brain...I looked at staining options. Everything I have horse related is red and black. There was one staining option that was red looking and so I grabbed a can and headed to the paint department to get it mixed up.

I chose Antique Red because it was a little darker looking and in 5 minutes they had it ready. The person didn't offer to open the can and I was already taking too long for a quick 10 minute stop (30 minutes later :) so I grabbed it and headed to the check out. You can guess where this is going, right? It was 5 pm Saturday night and I wanted it stained and dry by morning. I got everything ready and opened up my can to see....purple stain. Umm? It wasn't even anywhere close to being red or reddish or pink or any shade/hue close to red on the color wheel. Darnnit!

Back to the store I went worried they wouldn't take it back. But they did without a question and I grabbed another can of base and headed to the paint department. I chose a new color (China Red) in case the other color recipe was messed up and I ended with purple again. The guy (same one as last time) handed it to me and I asked him to open it this time. It was red!!

Back home and I put W to bed and headed out to stain the wood. It really didn't turn out quite "red" more of a terracotta color, but it is red enough for me.

Sunday morning I had the hubby drill holes into the aluminum (ick...I guess the trailer is ours now!!) and he hung the board up across the width of the trailer door at a height reachable for me from the ground. He then tacked on the pretty top boards (the picture we have it crappy but it has a vine and leaf pattern running the length of it) and then the hardware for the organizer.

It works perfect!!! I holds all my fly spray bottles, grooming brushes, belly balm, hoof pick, her ear bonnet, etc... There are two hooks as well and I used these to hang our bits up off the floor. The plastic zipper pouch velcros on/off and I put my AERC card and coggins papers in there. That way I can just grab it and go to the vet in keeping it all organized.

I am sooo happy with it. The trailer looks so much better and everything is super easy to reach. I can't wait to really use it. Next time I make it to the barn I will grab better picks!

I'm In trouble...

Have I mentioned that I hate malls and shopping? I do. I can't remember the last non baby shopping trip I made. Most of my clothes have been either a Christmas or birthday gift which is great.
What I do love is presents. Shiny, bright presents. Just seeing a box at my door when I get home puts a massive, little girl on Christmas morning style grin on my face. Just ask the hubs. I ravenously tear into packages even when I know it just contains mundane things like supplements. I don't care. If it is a box I must open it. Now.

I recently stumbled upon a website:

www.tackoftheday.com

This site posts two items every day that are relatively super cheap. Usually it is in only one size or an odd color. Mostly these are all out of season or over stocked. All highly discounted.
I've been checking it every few days. It is addicting. Really truly addicting. I really want to snag some winter blankets cheap on there and saw a nice offer today, but it only was available is size 84". Gemmie is a 70 or 72 and Pete is 80. Darn.

But as I shopped online I remembered that I needed new chaps. Mine are horribly falling apart. I can't complain though. I bought them my 3rd year of medical school, so that would be in early winter of 2008. 6 years of pretty hard use out of leather (well suede and kinda sorta leather) non brand name half chaps that cost me somewhere around $30-40. Not too shabby. They are still semi serviceable so they will continue to be used for most conditioning rides to save my new ones.

I've actually done a little research on half chaps. Most people seem to really like the Ariat Terrains but 1) they've been discontinued for a better (read more expensive) newer model and 2) when I tried them on back in 08 they didn't fit. One size was super loose but correct length and the next size was fitted to the calf but too short.

I ran into Just Chaps at the AERC convention and really liked the feel of them. They are a neoprene mesh which should be nice and cool in the summer and prevent rubs. I checked online and there are models I really like. One is the mesh and the other is called an endurance model and is all solid neoprene. Being who I am and attracted to shiny things I immediately gravitated towards the all neoprene because they came in red and black. But then I saw the company is in the UK and international shipping is expensive. Only one place in the states carries them and they only have the black (or awful bright blue) mesh ones. So mesh I got. I'm in between sizes still so I got a small because I just can't believe I could possibly be an extra small.

The red and black solid neoprene version. Aren't they drool worthy?

Showing the mesh. Boring black :(

Since I already had one item in my cart and saw that it was free shipping, I looked around online a bit. I've been wanting a better way to organize my trailer. The tack area is small and so far I've just been using a large black muck bucket to hold all my things. I've been wanting a bag to hang on the inside wall of the door to organize fly spray, Belly balm, brushes etc...to get it off the floor.
I saw this beauty and added it to the cart. I think I may end up needing to return it though. It needs to be secured with screws to the vertical surface. My trailer is aluminum and I doubt there are any support beams in the door. I will wait til it gets here but I'm not super comfy drilling into the trailer door.

The hubs wasn't too pleased with my splurging but actually really needed the chaps as mine are disintegrating. Fingers crossed they actually fit when they arrive.

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Clemson RnT Lessons Learned

To start with it was an absolute blast and really is a great blend of two fantastic sports. Gem seems suited for the job as well. She not only enjoyed going down the trail, but very quickly got used to being tied and left alone. I even caught her dozing off once! The nice thing about being last is not having to worry about others going past her and this allowed 8+ miles of being tied and left as training before adding in the other horses. Hopefully next time we will be more in the thick of things.

I learned a lot in just one outing and I think there were some things that went great and some others that could use some changing up.

The Start Line:
After talking with S about it, I think we should have had me on the ground to begin with. I was the faster runner and having me on the ground first would have kept us closer to the gang in the beginning. Gem is a good horse and S is a great rider so it would have been just fine having her up on Gem to begin with.

I'm not so sure about timing for the first tie. I went 5 minutes and was the first person to tie off. After that we never saw another horse, so I think it was really too soon. I think next time I would try a set distance of say 1/2 mile to begin with and then tie. After that go back to the 3 minute rule.

Ties:
 I royally stunk at this. It seemed so easy and common sense, but in reality I took way too long to do it. It was good that I went 5 minutes or else S would have caught me stumbling around trying to figure it out that first time. I did really like the rope though with the clips. Would change the clip on the halter to a locking one and make the rope 2 ft longer. That way we could more comfortably ride with it and still use it to tie without it being too long. I didn't see anyone else's horse tied the entire time to see what they were using. If we wanted to use reins, I would need to come up with a way to attach them to the saddle to allow us to leave them be but not slip over her head. Also, my fear of running past Gem was idiotic. If you can't see a big brown horse fully tacked up then a small strip of bright orange on the rope isn't going to help you. But it was fun to have it.

Running:
I wore my old shoes to avoid ruining my good ones on the sloppy trails. I shouldn't have. Good shoes are a must. The shorter distances were nice to allow you to push yourself harder. The whole key is to push yourself hard when you run and then push the horse hard when you ride. But man is that hard to do when you don't ever train! The time worked mentally for me. When S would pass me I knew that she would stop in x minutes. If I went faster then the distance between me and the sweet release from running would be shorter. So it caused me to push myself harder which is great.

Riding:
Gem was a rock star. She went well for a stranger and stood at the ties resting like a champ.

Gear:
This is the most important part of it all. Sharing a helmet was awesome because it was 95% humidity and 80 degrees out.. But I forgot to leave it behind a time or two and that makes me a bad partner. I would still share when able. It clipped easily to the saddle and that worked well.

See above regarding the reins/tie rope.

Saddle. If I am going to do more RnT (which I sincerely hope I do), I will be ordering a full sheepskin cover to include the stirrup leathers. That way I could ride in shorts with running socks that go up to the knee and be comfortable both running and riding. The people who did that looked so comfortable.

The water bottles in the cantle bag were a great addition. I was very thirsty out there. But in general I really like the least amount of stuff touching Gem as possible. I think next time I will be using a Camelback that I can drink from while on the horse and while running. It may slosh a bit on me, but I'd rather it slosh on me than on her loins.

Other than that I think the first outing was a success. I'm very glad I took the cell phone and kept it on me. Not only did I get a few pictures, but I also was prevented from running another 8 miles :)

Dare I Hope? Part 3

Why am I so excited? You would think that after so many trials that have gone bad that I wouldn't get so excited to try something new. But when the something new is very different than the something old, it gets me excited. Have I said the word "excited" enough in this paragraph?


So, other than great customer service (which goes a super long way with me), what are the reasons? So very many. My thoughts are quite jumbled, so bare with me if this gets a little sloppy.


1.) Not only is the saddle made in America, but the entire company was founded by Katee who couldn't find a single saddle to fit her Arabian and was frustrated. So she started researching and made her own saddle. That got adjusted and tweaked over time and now we have the Advantage saddle line. How great is that? I love the initiative and the passion she shows.


2.) I've worked with literally dozens of trainers, saddle fitters and companies. I have taken pictures and tracings of Gem numerous times. Each person/company wants something just a titch different. But in the end it is the same prinicple: have your horse stand "square" (all 4 feet straight and even forming a square) with the back straight and the head looking forward and relaxed. Ok. Makes sense since everyone does it. But...you end up with a saddle that fits your horse in this position. Now I don't know about you, but Gem very rarely ever stands in this position which is why it takes 2 people to do the pictures and tracings: 1 to hold her and make sure she does not move and the other to take the picture/tracing. So what happens when I get on her and actually want to ride??? Well, Katee asked this exact same question. SHE IS THE FIRST FITTER TO EVER ASK ME FOR MOVING PICTURES OF GEM.  I not only sent her the typical "square" pictures, but also pictures of her walking and trotting around. This really impressed me.


3.) The panels are wide and set like English panels, but the basic tree and seat is western. The spine clearance is even and wide down the entire chanel. No sitting on her spine causing pain. The panels also come in either foam or sheep skin. I haven't gotten into the nitty gritty on the pros and cons of each of these yet.


4.) The girth. The bane of my existenct. I fully and in probably way too much detail explained my saddle moving forward woes to her. She replied that she used to have the same problem which began her whole adventure. The rigging (or way the girth attaches to the saddle) is western based (although I am sure I could make it english if I asked nicely) and is on a system that allows it to move and sit where it needs to. Imagine a webbing and a ring. The ring can slide forward or back to allow the girth to sit where it needs to while keeping the saddle stationary. Once the girth is tightened, it does not move. Or isn't supposed to anyway. I'm a little skeptical since this has been my biggest enemy to date. On the blog where I found a review of the saddle, the lady spent some time talking about this. She said that once the girth was tightened she tried to move it to another place and it wouldn't budge. Looking at many saddle pictures online the girth can be very forward and so I am hopeful. The rigging being western will also allow me to ditch the buckles that come with english rigging and this may also help with the galls.


5.) I like that it is not fully custom, but can be easily customized. I can choose between many differnt leather colors for the main body and the seat. I can get a picture or design tooled into the leather. I can have western fenders or english leathers. It also comes with a lot of d-rings to attach equipment. Lots of options.


6.) Endless options for fit. Well, not endless, per se. Actually if I could remember high school math I could tell you exactly how many options for fit existed. But I'm 31 now and that was waaaay back when and I can't remember how to even begin to figure it out. Anyway...fit. Most other saddles on the market have sizes available for the width of the gullet. Some are not very forgiving and have average, narrow, wide. Or some variety of that. Others have exchangeable gullets (like mine) where you can slip one plate out and place a different size in to increase or decrease the width. These generally have more options: narrow, medium narrow, medium, medium wide, wide, extra wide. The newest have a turn dial where you place an allen wrench and can get infinite choices between a set narrowest and widest. But they only change the gullet width. Thats it. Her saddles come in narrow, medium, and wide (more on those in a bit). But in addition to those basic gullet sizes she has added three more components: shoulder, back, loin. You can get a steep, average or flat shoulder angle and loin angle and you cna get less, average or more rock to the saddle from front to back. Example:


Medium gullet with a steep shoulder, flat rock and average loin
Narrow gullet with a flat shoulder, lots of rock and steep loin
Wide gullet with an average shoulder, minimal rock and flat loin


See? Lots of possibilites so that the ENTIRE saddle fits and not just the gullet.

Dare I Hope? Part 2

Scrolling through the classifieds came up with a lot of saddles I had already once looked at. I was starting to think maybe I had looked under every stone possible. But then I came across a brand I didn't recognize: Advantage Saddles.






Hmmm...it looked like a typical endurance saddle, but the ad said to contact the maker with any questions and that she was amazing to work with, so I took a few minutes to google it.




If you have a spare minute I would encourage you to look them up: Advantage Saddles.






Well, it looks like a saddle...whats the big deal? A lot really.




Where do I begin??? I read through the entire website, clicking on every link and expanding every picture to read the captions. After I did that and was satisfied that I wanted to go a step farther with it, I googled looking for reviews. Unfortunately, I really didn't find much. Most of what I found was positive though. I read a blog entry from some lady who had a hard to fit horse where no other saddle would fit and she had great success with the Advantage she tried and eventually bought. I don't know if she is still using it or not, but that was promising.




Next step was looking for used ones. This is a catch 22 with me. I like the idea of finding a used one in good shape and at a good price and using that. I don't need a brand spanking new saddle. But I also get a little nervous when I see a ton of cheap used saddles from one company. It makes me think the saddles really don't work for horses or riders. I found 3 - all of which were on the Advantage website plus the original one on the classifieds. Not wanting to get fooled I filed this information under "neutral" - either nobody uses them in the first place or once they do they never give them up.




Next step was to email the maker and ask her some questions. This occured Friday night at 9 pm (she is in CA so it was 6 pm her time) and boy was it lengthy! As youc na tell, I can be somewhat wordy in the first place, but when it comes to talking fit I tend to go on and on and on. Why? Because I don't want any surprises. I want the person to know exactly where I've come from, where I am an dwhere I want to be. I want them to know my fitting issues, what has worked and what hasn't. I'm also upfront about price. These saddles are not cheap. I would need to sell mine before I coudl purchase a new one and I wanted her to know that up front so she wasn't upset if I tried the demo and didn't purchase for a month or so.




My email was very long and I went back to my weekend thinking I wouldn't hear back from her until Monday. I checked my email before bed and she responded at 10 pm (7 pm her time) on a Friday night with an equally lengthy email that not only told me she had read mine in its entirety but that she was passionate about her sadddles. I was in love.




We have been emailing through the weekend with additional information and questions and I have made the leap to get a demo. I am not sure when it will arrive as I just sen ther my money information to pay for it, so hopefully she gets back to me soon and I can get my hands on this thing.


Tomorrow I will explain why I am excited that this just may work and what makes this saddle so different from all the others.

Dare I Hope? Part 1

Ok, I have now written this post about 4 times and each time it is different and each time I am unhappy with it. Here goes attempt #5.


I ride because it is my stress relief. When I am on my Gemmiecakes I forget the world, I forget work drama and stress, I forget everything (except for my W who is always on my mind and in my heart) except the sounds of the woods, the view between her forward pricked ears and the feel of the wind in my hair (well, if it is a windy day since we all know how slow she is). I love it and I love being on her.


Lately each ride has become more and more stressful for me. Instead of relaxing and enjoying my time on her I spend it worrying about how far forward the saddle is, is the girth rubbing, is the girth too tight, too loose, is she in pain...etc.


It has to stop. I need to go back to enjoying my time on her. Part of the problem is that my focus has changed. Instead of being happy to just plug along in the arena, I want to get back into endurance. I want a goal that goes beyond getting through an hour in a fenced in arena. I want to point her down the trail and 50 miles later arrive at the finish line. I want more. In order to get there I need to worry more about things that you can't get away with on short, arena rides. Saddles need to fit. Pads need to be correct. Are her feet ok. Do I need boots or shoes or can she stay barefoot. What about her nutrition. I am fine with spending more brain cells on this, but what I am not fine with is turning my wheels and getting nowhere.


I bought my saddle back in the spring of 2011 when I had given up on endurance. I was planning to just do fun trail rides occaisonally, flat work in the arena and some small jumps. The saddle fit was ok for that and was (and still is) the best that I have found to date. If I continued with that plan I wouldn't have any concerns. But I'm not because I know we can do a 50.


So, it is with this in mind that I am looking for a new saddle. Again.


I started to look around online again on Thursday and Friday of last week. I've already tried so many darn models, makes and brands, but this is 2013 and there just has to be at least one stone I've left unturned. I began with the treeless forum on yahoo. I had tried a treeless saddle once before and did not like it, but that was a few years ago so maybe something has changed.


I found that something had changed. I was guided to the  Flexee saddle.  This saddle is neither truely treeless nor treed. It has a formed leather "tree" in it to provide more lateral stabilty. My main problem with the treeless was that when Gem decided to make a sharp 180 degree turn, the saddle slid off her side depositing me on the ground abruptly. This saddle claims to avoid just that.


Unfortunately, I have ruled it out without even trialing it. My main concern was if the leather would withhold many miles of riding or if it would eventually start to lose its shape. And this appears to be the case. After reading many reviews and discussing it on the endurance forum, my concerns were validated. It looks great in the beginning but in short order will start to spread open and then you have a saddle without a tree but without the structure and padding of a true treeless saddle as well. Bummer.


Not to be deterred, I next checked out the endurance classifieds to see if there was a make or model of saddle I hadn't previously come across.

Its Not You...Its Me

Dear Wise Cross Country Saddle,

You are wonderful. Your leather is buttery soft and has formed to my butt like it was custom made for it. You are very secure even through epic spooks, jump run outs, sudden dirty stops and 180 degree spins. Your knee roll fits just right under my knee allowing for security while still allowing it to slide under and into proper jumping position. You also have provided me with a calf block for going down hill and into sticky situations. I don't know how you've done it, but the placement of your stirrup leathers allows my leg to drape down in exactly the right position placing my foot in line with my hip without any effort on my part.

I love how light weight you are at only 9 pounds. 9 pounds! Every time I tack up I thank you for this as I can easily swing you over my mare. The special air flow holes keeps my horse's back so much cooler than other saddles which is a big deal on the trails in the summer. Her spine has plenty of clearance between your panels which have the nicest foam padding I have ever come across. You have saved me during many times when I otherwise would have kissed the dirt and looked up into my mare's smug face. Since you only have one flap on each side (monoflap saddle) I can feel at one with my mare with so little leather between my leg and my mare's side. It has led to a better communication between the two of us which has led to a better partnership.

In return I have kept you well conditioned and oiled. I have kept you in climate controlled rooms and under a soft, fleece lined cover. I have avoided riding in the rain or swimming with you on. In addition, I have purchased a nice custom made saddle pad to aid you in your job. I have nice, plush  stirrup leathers to avoid leaving marks on your flaps.

But, 2 years later I don't think this is going to work out. Trust me...it isn't your fault. You have done your job well and should be proud to know you are loved and spoken highly of. It's my fault. I can't keep you on my mare's back in the correct spot. I have failed though I do feel that I have given it my best shot. I have tried numerous girths of different construction, size and material all to no avail. I keep finding sweat patterns over my mare's shoulders causing impingement. While I would love to cross the 50 mile finish line proudly perched atop you, I feel as though this can not be. Maybe if things were different. If my mare's girth groove was farther back. If her back wasn't so broad and her ribs so well sprung. Maybe if your panels had a little more or less rock to them. Maybe a crupper would help. I don't know.

I just know that I can't keep trying anymore. All my spare money has gone into failed attempts to make this relationship work. Each time I tack up in my heart I know things are just not right and no gadget is going to fix it. I am slow to part with you. I feel as though a goodbye now would mean a goodbye forever. If I could I would keep you for another day on another horse. Or allow you to go on my husband's horse for a time. But I can't afford to keep you and have another. It would feel awkward and I would be embarrassed every time I passed you in the tack room begging me to feel the heat of my horse beneath you and the wind caressing your sides. No. I think it is better if you found another yourself. Someone you can make happy without needing to change. Without needing a point billet sewn on or D rings added to your back. Someone who will allow you to be what you were meant to be: a cross country saddle soaring over difficult jumps and turns safely cradling your rider and helping them to cross the finish line in style. Our dreams are much too different.

You will have a home with me until another home can be found who will treat you right. I will need you to stay strong and keep being you until I find another to take your spot.

Thank you for the last two years spent together and know that it wasn't you...it was me.

Ride Updates

"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing"

- Oscar Wilde

The good news: nothing uber exciting has been happening during my rides lately. The bad news: it doesn't give me much to write about. Collectively the rides over the last couple of weeks have been interesting enough, but not on an individual, blog worthy level.

I ride 3 days a week. Or at least I try to. Gem seems quite good at sabotaging my only long day at the barn. When she isn't doing it, the BM is (like Tuesday night when she decided to delve into my saddle fitting woes while I watched the sun slowly setting lower and lower taking my chances at a good ride down with it). I had originally hoped to get an hour long ride in during the week (times 2) and then a two hour long ride on the weekend. Reality slapped me upside the head though and I came to understand that asking that of Gemmie when we have not been up to a whole lot and she is still coming out of the pasture sweaty isn't very kind. I have now backed off to 30 minute rides during the week and an hour on the weekend. It seems to be working. She is already showing signs of decreasing belly mass and some muscling is coming back.

The arena work is still boring as anything. Around and around and around we go. If I could figure out a way to post my GPS information you could all have a good laugh at the ride picture. It looks like I gave W a nice big red crayon and he scribbled a big oval over and over again. She is calmer which is in part due to the work and in part her settling in. I even got a big "wow that looks nice!" out of the BM. Apparently Gemmie is changing her view of the Arabian horse. Way to go Gem!! Be an ambassador for the breed :)

I have been riding at night-ish lately. At first I was pretty worried about how Gem would react to the decreasing visibility. There are arena lights that I put on, but they tend to cast little pools of light with shadows in between. I won't jump after dark, but I do ask her to trot and canter and she is doing pretty good all in all. The darker it gets, the more tense she gets, but I expect after a long winter of short days she will improve. The best news is that it is September and still hot out. My friends in WI are starting to post about 40 degree days and needing sweat shirts. I am still in capris and a t-shirt. Have I mentioned how much I love the South?

I keep crossing the billets on my saddle, but I don't see that it is doing a whole lot other than putting a kink in my billets. I'm going to try it on a longer ride and see, but I think I am just going to go back to the normal way. It is less confusing. Some day I want to have a professional saddle fitter come on out and take a look at Gem. Maybe she can just alter some things and make it be magical. Doubtful, but you never know.

Normal billets

Crossed billets

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Tack Wars

 

Ugh. I mentioned before that Gem is a fitting nightmare. She is just off. Not only does she have the saddle fit problems I mentioned, but her head is awkward as well. A normal horse size bridle or halter is too big. A cob/pony size is too small. Her current set up fits the best of anything I've been able to find to date and believe me I've tried a lot of different things.

The last saddle fit issue was her forward girth groove. When I placed the saddle on her back in the proper place and tightened up the girth it looked just lovely. If we just walked it was fine. Trot and it began to move forward. Canter and it was all over. In the end it was halfway up her poor neck and bumping her shoulders with every step. Not good. The odd thing about it is she didn't seem to mind. No back soreness. No grouchiness when I tacked her up. Believe me, she wasn't just being stoic. There were saddles I tried that I barely sat in because she made it perfectly clear she was not happy with it. The saddle itself isn't really helping matters because the billets (part of the saddle the girth attaches to) are really far back.

Then, right before the move south, Gem started to show signs of unhappiness when tacking. She would pin her ears and even kick out when I tightened her girth. Not good. To the wonderful Internet I went and found numerous others with a similar issue. No matter what saddle was used, they all rode up the neck to some degree. The two main solutions I found were a) get a saddle fitter to add a point billet at a forward location thus allowing it to sit forward and b) get an anatomic girth. Since option A required both a fitter, which Wisconsin lacked, and a permanent change to the saddle, I decided to go buy a new girth.

Point billet example. It's the strap coming off the very front of the saddle.

 

Of course, Gem has to have a girth size few make and so my options were significantly limited. I didn't want leather, but that is all I could find in a size 20. I got it right before we moved and didn't get to test it too much, but it did stop about 80% of the shift forward and was well made and well padded.

Mine is brown

 

All seemed to be going well until my hour long ride last week. I did a lot of jumping and cantering. The saddle sat in a decent enough spot (still sits a bit more forward than I would like but her pudgy tummy isn't helping matters either and it definitely fit better when she was more fit) but when I went to untack her I noticed a rub. Not good. Sigh. Fix one problem and create another. To the Internet I went and found a fleece girth cover to help. Again, few came in 20 inch, so I bought a 48 incher a cut it in half so I could have two for the price of one :) oh....and it is a bright and obnoxious red to match our endurance colors :)

Isn't it lovely? I tried it out this morning and while I only rode for 30 minutes (tomorrow's post) there were no new rubs. Since it as been a week since my last ride, the old rubs have healed but are still hairless so if it was going to run I would have assumed it would be easier than on virgin skin with hair. So far, so good.

I am hoping to get to a saddle fitter this winter to get the billets looked at and maybe add a point billet. In the meantime we will be rocking out in black and red.

 

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