It is New Year's Eve and I hope everyone out there had a great Christmas and that your goals for 2013 have been met.
I didn't have many goals in 2013 for Gem and what little I had kinda went to the crapper pretty quickly, but in the spirit of the last day of 2013 lets have a little recap.
January: Little Mr. W was in our life and it was bitterly cold up north in the near arctic land they call Wisconsin (speaking of which it is supposed to be -43F there tomorrow morning at 8 am for our friends running races to kick off 2014, so glad we moved). Gem had the month basically off and used it to get plump.
February: More of the same as Jan, but I was also out of town on job interviews a lot of this month. Landed a job down here in the land of the sun and warmth and then sent the hubs to find one of his own. Rode Gemmie about once every other week.
March: Cold and wet continued, but I managed to ride Gemmie more often = once a week. At least it was staying light a little longer.
April: Turned 31 (where does the time go??) and continued as in March. Gem continued to get plumper and the weather stayed cold.
May: Finally found a house to rent and a barn for the horses (Crabby Acres) and life settled back down a bit. Was getting out to ride at least weekly but some weeks I even sneaked in a second day. She began to get grumpy with the Ovation fleece girth and I began to search around for others to try.
June: Passed the oral board exam for my license down here in the South. Preparations to move 3 cats, 2 dogs, 2 horses, 2 adults, 1 baby and 3 cars were in full swing. Wanted to get out to our favorite trails one last time, but that never happened. Instead tried a solo trip to the experimental forest which was a disaster and then got out once with the hubs for a short time. Ordered the delfina anatomic girth which arrived right before we moved. Moved down south and got settled in before the month ended. Never reached above 60F the entire time we were up north.
July: Decided I wanted to start hitting the hunter paces down here and try endurance once more. The people down here are so ridiculously friendly it makes me want to join again. Thought through things and decided to ride Gemmie 1 hour 3 times a week. It was hot. And humid. And she was sweaty before we even began. Decided to do 2 30 minute rides and 1 60 minute ride a week. Succeeded mostly with this.
August: Continued trying to ride Gemmie in the evenings as much as I could and got some decent rides in. Rode around the property with Gem building confidence and working on some hills. Had fun but kept getting talked to at the barn for things I was doing wrong that I didn't know was wrong. Planned to hit the first pace of the season in September.
September: First hunter pace was cancelled due to wet conditions which was fine because I wasn't able to go anyway. Missed the second one as well. Things at Crabby Acres kept getting worse. The hubs and I hit Butch Kennedy and Isaqueena trail systems for the first time and had fun. Its great that they are within a half hour. By the end of the month we had the new farrier out who was ok and we reached our limits with Crabby Acres. We moved to FS Farms at the end of the month.
October: Got settled in at FS Farms and have loved it ever since. Went to our first hunter pace in Landrum and fell in love both with Landrum and with the hunter pace series. We came in 4th although my ribbon has yet to materialize. Gem and Pete ere fire breathing monsters and so we cut their grain back significantly. Finally decided that this saddle just isn't going to work and tried the RP which went really poorly. Also tried a new girth - the County Logic girth which was also disappointing. Went back to the drawing board again. At the end of the month I began riding Gemmie up at Butch Kennedy solo.
November: Our second pace which was great fun and we came in 4th again. This time my ribbon came in the mail :) Gem ended up with incredible raw spots even with a fleece girth cover and I called it quits with this set up. Continued with solo trips to Butch Kennedy to try to get some conditioning in, but she continued to have saddle issues and was slow, slow, slow. Tried a mohair girth which was too small and couldn't be returned. More wasted money.
December: Hunter paces got cancelled due to wet conditions which was fine because I called a hiatus until tack could be figured out. Researched saddle options that I hadn't tried before and found the Advantage saddle. Got it on demo and fell in love with the fit. Weather has been very wet and the trails sloppy, but riding as much as possible to try out the saddle.
Well, that takes us to the present. Tomorrow is 2014 and I have some hopes and dreams to put on paper and only time will tell what I will be writing this time next year!!! See you all in 2014 :)
December 31, 2013
December 28, 2013
Demo Saddle Trial #2
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| My favorite saddle pad and no fenders, just the leathers. EZ Ride stirrups |
Tuesday I was off all day and the hubs got home around 12 so we headed to the trails to test this saddle out on the hills.
Gem was a stinker about getting on the trailer, but eventually she was loaded and off we went to Butch Kennedy. I knew it was going to be wet out since it rained the previous two days without a lot of sun in the meantime to help dry, but I didn't care if we walked the whole thing. I wanted an hour on the hills in the saddle.
I decided to give my old favorite trail pad a try and it was a little short, but not too bad. This pad is thinner than the one K sent me with the saddle. I kept the fenders off and lengthened my stirrups one more hole. Mohair cinch was used.
We headed down the hill to the trail head and I noticed the saddle was very loose, so I got off and tightened it. We continued down the hill and I noticed that I forgot to trade my warm winter beanie hat for my helmet. Turned around, went up the hill again, got off, put on helmet and started back down. By this time the hubs, W and the dogs were out of sight down their own trail enjoying the hike.
Back down we went, over the bridge of doom and into the woods. The ground was very slick. This clay soil doesn't absorb water very well and there was about an inch of standing water randomly on the trail. We picked our way carefully down the trail.
The first big down hill Gem started to slowly pick her way down. I kept my eyes glued to the front on the saddle watching for signs of it moving forward. About half way down Gem stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at me. I swear she was looking a little confusing wondering why the saddle wasn't hurting her. She then continued down.
The second hill was a similar situation, but the third hill she moved down straight without zigzagging and with her ears forward :) I was thrilled. The saddle stayed put exactly where I had placed it too. Not even a tiny shift forward!!
We went on down the trail and trotted a little where we could which wasn't much. The clay is sooo slick when it is saturated. I didn't want to risk her slipping and getting hurt. About 40 minutes later we turned around and headed back to the trailer. She hates turning around and I promised her that someday we will come out alone in the morning and ride the entire loop even if it takes us 6 hours to do it.
I stared at the front edge of that saddle expecting it to slide forward on every hill and it just stayed put. Actually, when we went up a steep hill it slid back a bit. I was shocked. No saddle has ever slid back before. I don't ride with a breast collar because all my saddle have ridden forward and the breast collar would end up loose, but I think I may add it to this rig.
We trotted more on the way back since I knew where the dry spots were and how long they would last. I dislike asking her to trot just to pull her back up a second later due to the trail. We made it back and I snapped some after shots which the above picture is. It didn't move forward at all.
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| She sure looks sharp in it, doesn't she? |
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| Left sholder |
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| Right shoulder |
In the past, an hour of walking would make my left knee ache something fierce. I was surprised to find that this wasn't the case. I think the longer leg and the nice wide stirrups played a part in that. I want to get out in the arena again with a lot more trotting and cantering to see if it bothers me then.
I've been spoiled with my current English saddle. The seat is the most comfortable seat I've ever sat on and this one is not so cushioned. I can order one with more foam in the seat, but I think I will just get a full sheepskin cover instead. that way my butt will be very happy.
After an hour in my current saddle, she would have had raw spot by the girth. Nothing here. This is in part the beautiful mohair cinch, but I think more to do with the western rigging. The buckle is so high up that it is nowhere near her elbows which was my problem with the English rigging.
I sent off these new pictures and my trail ride report to K and got another quick response. She truly is amazing.
I have 1 week left on the trail period. She said as long as nobody else wants to demo saddle I can keep it longer. That's another first for me. Most people are screaming for the saddle back before the trial has even ended. Have I mentioned that she is amazing??
So....I'm very, very happy with everything with this saddle. From the customer service to the fit on Gem to the fit on me. Everything. There are some minor changes from the demo that will be made: a steeper shoulder angle, smaller seat size, something with the cinch ring and the full sheepskin cover. I am now trying to figure out the logistics of placing an order.
She required $600 up front to start making the saddle. I can come up with that, but the problem is obviously the remainder is due upon receipt of the saddle. I don't have the remainder and won't until mine is sold. But...it takes 6-8 weeks for it to be made. I don't want to wait until my saddle is sold to place the order because that's 6-8 weeks out of the saddle and Gem will lose any of the conditioning I have put on her and my hope for a 50 in the fall will be smashed. If I order it now and put mine up for sale and it sells before than everything is hunky dory, but things never go that smooth. Hmmmm.....well I know for sure I need to clean it one last time, get some nice pictures and figure out how I am going to sell it.
December 24, 2013
Advantage Response
Man, I am really liking K over at Advantage. She is amazing. Very quick to reply with an answer that shows that she not only read my entire, lengthy email but has put some thought into what I said.
I emailed her Saturday night with my overall impression, some concerns and about 15 pictures. She responded that same night with her first impressions.
She agrees that the saddle overall fits well, but the shoulder angle should be a little steeper to decrease the pinching in the d-ring area. Since Gem moved out great without complaints, the pinching isn't too big of a problem, but if we can resolve it easily, why not?
The ruffled hair was apparently expected from her due to the loin lift that is present in the demo and that Gem doesn't need. When Gem moves her back becomes flat like a table and the rock in the saddle will cause it to move. This is why every other saddle I've tried on her always causes this same ruffled fur in the same spot. Thank you K for finally explaining the cause to me!! The saddle I will order will be flat through the seat to prevent this.
We discussed potentially switching to a narrow tree instead of the medium. It tilts down in the front slightly when I cinch it up. But it overall fits so well the concern is that we would cause more of a problem. The little tilt can be fixed with a proper pad and adding a shim to the smaller left shoulder. When I originally emailed her to begin this process I mentioned my concern over spending a lot of money on a saddle to fit Gem who is now 17 and then having to sell it once Gem is officially happily retired. She remembered this and said that to keep a medium and add a pad is better in the long run since the medium fits 80% of horses out there. This way I have the best chance of keeping the saddle for a new horse once I come to that point in my riding life. I like the fact that she remembered that.
So it seems like the problems on Gem's end are easily resolved with a few minor changes which is what I was thinking the case would be. Yay!
My problems are more difficult. I will definitely be ordering a 15" saddle and I wanted a full sheepskin cover anyway which will make it fit more snugly as well. She was not surprised that it was too big and apologized but the only demo she had was a 16". That will help my leg position since my whole body will be in better position overall. In addition a pad that lifts the front slightly will prevent the feeling like I am tipping forward. Good.
The cinch ring is a whole other ball of wax. She mentioned the possibility of using bronze because it is thinner without any edges, but I don't think that will make much of a difference. She also mentioned a buckle instead of a ring which sounds like a better option. She is a little concerned that with my short stature I may not find any combination in the western style all that comfortable. She has an English style as well and has had to use that for shorter people in the past. In fact she said she can really do almost anything that I need and all at no extra charge! We can play around with the seat and the flaps as mush as we need which is just plain awesome.
So.....trial so far has been a wonderful success. I am so very happy. I need to clean my WISE saddle and get some good pictures to put that sucker up for sale so I can get ordering my new one!!!!!! :)
I emailed her Saturday night with my overall impression, some concerns and about 15 pictures. She responded that same night with her first impressions.
She agrees that the saddle overall fits well, but the shoulder angle should be a little steeper to decrease the pinching in the d-ring area. Since Gem moved out great without complaints, the pinching isn't too big of a problem, but if we can resolve it easily, why not?
The ruffled hair was apparently expected from her due to the loin lift that is present in the demo and that Gem doesn't need. When Gem moves her back becomes flat like a table and the rock in the saddle will cause it to move. This is why every other saddle I've tried on her always causes this same ruffled fur in the same spot. Thank you K for finally explaining the cause to me!! The saddle I will order will be flat through the seat to prevent this.
We discussed potentially switching to a narrow tree instead of the medium. It tilts down in the front slightly when I cinch it up. But it overall fits so well the concern is that we would cause more of a problem. The little tilt can be fixed with a proper pad and adding a shim to the smaller left shoulder. When I originally emailed her to begin this process I mentioned my concern over spending a lot of money on a saddle to fit Gem who is now 17 and then having to sell it once Gem is officially happily retired. She remembered this and said that to keep a medium and add a pad is better in the long run since the medium fits 80% of horses out there. This way I have the best chance of keeping the saddle for a new horse once I come to that point in my riding life. I like the fact that she remembered that.
So it seems like the problems on Gem's end are easily resolved with a few minor changes which is what I was thinking the case would be. Yay!
My problems are more difficult. I will definitely be ordering a 15" saddle and I wanted a full sheepskin cover anyway which will make it fit more snugly as well. She was not surprised that it was too big and apologized but the only demo she had was a 16". That will help my leg position since my whole body will be in better position overall. In addition a pad that lifts the front slightly will prevent the feeling like I am tipping forward. Good.
The cinch ring is a whole other ball of wax. She mentioned the possibility of using bronze because it is thinner without any edges, but I don't think that will make much of a difference. She also mentioned a buckle instead of a ring which sounds like a better option. She is a little concerned that with my short stature I may not find any combination in the western style all that comfortable. She has an English style as well and has had to use that for shorter people in the past. In fact she said she can really do almost anything that I need and all at no extra charge! We can play around with the seat and the flaps as mush as we need which is just plain awesome.
So.....trial so far has been a wonderful success. I am so very happy. I need to clean my WISE saddle and get some good pictures to put that sucker up for sale so I can get ordering my new one!!!!!! :)
December 23, 2013
Advantage Saddle Trial Day 1
First let me say that I think....think....I may have finally found something that works. I am so thrilled I can hardly contain myself!!! Poor K over at Advantage saddles keeps having to deal with my massively long emails, poor descriptions of what I am thinking, and multiple exclamation marks and smiley faces. I sure hope she has a wonderful Christmas, she deserves it after dealing with me.
I came home Friday to a nice large box on my porch. I was excited to tear into it. I opened it up and my first impression were:
1.) The saddle was much lighter than I expected
2.) The leather was of nice quality and was smooth and soft
3.) Even with all the wear and tear a well used demo saddle gets, this one was still in very nice condition
With the saddle was a nice pad with a non slip underside, a mohair cinch, western fenders, EZ ride stirrups (which was great because they are on my "want list" and I have never had a chance to try them out before), and shocking of all a return shipping label. I have never, through all my demos in which I said I would be returning them , ever received a return shipping label with the saddle. I was impressed.
It being dark out I wanted to wait until the next day to try it out. The hubs worked in the morning and we headed over to the barn after W got up from his nap. I knew there wouldn't be time to hit the trails in it, but it was smarter anyway to try it out in the arena just in case she started a bucking fit like in the RP saddle I tried last.
Gem ran like a mad woman all over the pasture when I showed up. To the point she was heaving and lathered in sweat. Silly mare. I think she has been looking for an excuse to move those legs while on her mini vacation the last 2 weeks. She eventually calmed down and came trotting over to me.
I tried the saddle on her without the pad first to see the fit. It actually fit pretty darn well. The loin area has lift built into it for a more swayed horse and K warned me that it would lift off her back a bit. She said it wouldn't mess up the overall fit or ride though so when I put it on her and cinched it up and the back raised up about 2 fingers width I wasn't overly concerned. I tucked the leading edge of the saddle right behind her shoulders and hoped with everything in me that when I cinched it up it would stay. I snapped a ton of pictures, but most are blurry. I am not very good with my cell phone.
I ran my hand between the saddle and her body and it was pretty smooth. There was one area on either side of her wither pretty much right at the d-ring you can see in the upper right picture that was a little tight. Not super, pinching, painful tight, but tight enough that I made a note of it.
Next came the pad and then I cinched it up. I was really nervous as I tightened the cinch. First, I had to remember how to tie a western cinch knot, but that came back to me like riding a bike. I watched closely to see fi the saddle would pull forward, but it stayed put. Test #1: passed.
I led her out to the arena and watched carefully to see if she would react at all. Nothing. I called the hubs over to watch so he could see if she was moving weird in it.
I got on up and we went off at a walk. She hates the arena. Have I mentioned that? There are pigs out by the entrance and she has seen them before but for some reason she decided she hadn't ever seen them and that they were very scary. So were the barrels in the corner that have been there since we moved in. And the hubby in the center of the arena. And the gate on the opposite side leading out. Sigh. Anyway. It was a good test to see how secure I was in the saddle. While the fit for Gem is of utmost importance, if I am going to fall off at the slightest movement or am really uncomfortable it still would be a no so I paid attention to me as well.
First thing I noticed was that the saddle was ginormously too big for me. If I sat back in the leather padded seat, my legs were way out in front and I was shoved into a chair seat which was neither comfortable nor secure. If I slid up so that my legs hung below my hips, I was sitting on the hard middle leather and was not comfortable. I made a note of that. We walked a lot and she settled in and I got more comfortable with everything. The fenders were on the shortest hole and were still too long, so before I trotted I got off and switched them out for my English leathers.
I immediately realized that my stirrups were set to jockey riding length in this saddle and so after much fussing about I finally got a decent length although they were still a bit short. We trotted some and she went along with ears pricked forward and never a care.
I looked down and noticed that the saddle had not moved at all. It was still nicely tucked behind her shoulders. I then asked her for a canter which is the gait that always made every saddle in the past shoot forward over her shoulders. We cantered right, we cantered left, we spooked, we made tight turns. I looked down. The saddle was still firmly behind her shoulders where I had put it!!!!! This is the first saddle to EVER stay put. Test # 2: passed.
I then noticed that my tiny regular English stirrups were cutting into my foot pretty badly. I had not noticed this ever before since it was all I knew, but I had spent the first half of the ride in the EZ stirrups that have a huge wide foot bed. Once out of them I noticed the difference, big time. So I got back off, lengthened the stirrups one more hole and changed out for the EZs. I got back on and we rode for another 30 minutes or so, mostly cantering.
Once I was satisfied that I had been on her long enough to break a sweat (it was 65 and humid out) I got off and we went back to the barn to untack and see the damage. I had been on her for an hour. This was long enough in the past to cause bloody, raw girth rubs so I was anxious to see how she fared.
I lifted the saddle straight off her back and saw this:
I came home Friday to a nice large box on my porch. I was excited to tear into it. I opened it up and my first impression were:
1.) The saddle was much lighter than I expected
2.) The leather was of nice quality and was smooth and soft
3.) Even with all the wear and tear a well used demo saddle gets, this one was still in very nice condition
With the saddle was a nice pad with a non slip underside, a mohair cinch, western fenders, EZ ride stirrups (which was great because they are on my "want list" and I have never had a chance to try them out before), and shocking of all a return shipping label. I have never, through all my demos in which I said I would be returning them , ever received a return shipping label with the saddle. I was impressed.
It being dark out I wanted to wait until the next day to try it out. The hubs worked in the morning and we headed over to the barn after W got up from his nap. I knew there wouldn't be time to hit the trails in it, but it was smarter anyway to try it out in the arena just in case she started a bucking fit like in the RP saddle I tried last.
Gem ran like a mad woman all over the pasture when I showed up. To the point she was heaving and lathered in sweat. Silly mare. I think she has been looking for an excuse to move those legs while on her mini vacation the last 2 weeks. She eventually calmed down and came trotting over to me.
I tried the saddle on her without the pad first to see the fit. It actually fit pretty darn well. The loin area has lift built into it for a more swayed horse and K warned me that it would lift off her back a bit. She said it wouldn't mess up the overall fit or ride though so when I put it on her and cinched it up and the back raised up about 2 fingers width I wasn't overly concerned. I tucked the leading edge of the saddle right behind her shoulders and hoped with everything in me that when I cinched it up it would stay. I snapped a ton of pictures, but most are blurry. I am not very good with my cell phone.
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| Isn't it pretty? Fits her pretty well. |
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| Left shoulder (her smaller one) |
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| Back pre cinched up |
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| Right (larger) shoulder |
Next came the pad and then I cinched it up. I was really nervous as I tightened the cinch. First, I had to remember how to tie a western cinch knot, but that came back to me like riding a bike. I watched closely to see fi the saddle would pull forward, but it stayed put. Test #1: passed.
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| With pad and cinched up tight. Still in a good spot |
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| Look how far forward the girth can be!! Any farther and it would be in front of the entire saddle! |
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| When I cinched it up the back tilted up. |
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| All cinched up. Look how her girth is in her armpit, but the saddle stayed behind her shoulder :) |
I got on up and we went off at a walk. She hates the arena. Have I mentioned that? There are pigs out by the entrance and she has seen them before but for some reason she decided she hadn't ever seen them and that they were very scary. So were the barrels in the corner that have been there since we moved in. And the hubby in the center of the arena. And the gate on the opposite side leading out. Sigh. Anyway. It was a good test to see how secure I was in the saddle. While the fit for Gem is of utmost importance, if I am going to fall off at the slightest movement or am really uncomfortable it still would be a no so I paid attention to me as well.
First thing I noticed was that the saddle was ginormously too big for me. If I sat back in the leather padded seat, my legs were way out in front and I was shoved into a chair seat which was neither comfortable nor secure. If I slid up so that my legs hung below my hips, I was sitting on the hard middle leather and was not comfortable. I made a note of that. We walked a lot and she settled in and I got more comfortable with everything. The fenders were on the shortest hole and were still too long, so before I trotted I got off and switched them out for my English leathers.
I immediately realized that my stirrups were set to jockey riding length in this saddle and so after much fussing about I finally got a decent length although they were still a bit short. We trotted some and she went along with ears pricked forward and never a care.
I looked down and noticed that the saddle had not moved at all. It was still nicely tucked behind her shoulders. I then asked her for a canter which is the gait that always made every saddle in the past shoot forward over her shoulders. We cantered right, we cantered left, we spooked, we made tight turns. I looked down. The saddle was still firmly behind her shoulders where I had put it!!!!! This is the first saddle to EVER stay put. Test # 2: passed.
I then noticed that my tiny regular English stirrups were cutting into my foot pretty badly. I had not noticed this ever before since it was all I knew, but I had spent the first half of the ride in the EZ stirrups that have a huge wide foot bed. Once out of them I noticed the difference, big time. So I got back off, lengthened the stirrups one more hole and changed out for the EZs. I got back on and we rode for another 30 minutes or so, mostly cantering.
Once I was satisfied that I had been on her long enough to break a sweat (it was 65 and humid out) I got off and we went back to the barn to untack and see the damage. I had been on her for an hour. This was long enough in the past to cause bloody, raw girth rubs so I was anxious to see how she fared.
I lifted the saddle straight off her back and saw this:
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| Supper roughed up hair by the withers, left shoulder |
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| Left shoulder |
Hmmmm....I made a note of that. The interesting part was no sweat. At all. Her chest was white with lather. He butt was lathered. But not a single drop under the saddle. I was not too happy with the roughed up hair though. I pushed everywhere on her back and she was not sore at all. She had moved out nicely without any complaint whatsoever and the saddle stayed behind her shoulders. Yay!
So....overall impressions from my first ride:
1.) Saddle is way too big for me. It is a 16" and I am hoping a 15" would be small enough. I also would like to add a full seat sheepskin cover which ends up taking up more space as well.
2.) I didn't like the fenders at all. Once reason I had switched from western to English in the first place. I like my leg on my horse, not on leather. With the fenders off and just using leathers it was great. Super close contact feel.
3.) I need to relearn how to ride with a longer leg. I ride with such short stirrups in my english saddle and I never realize it. It was always comfortable. A lot of endurance riders ride with a longer leg position and I think I need to spend time getting used to that.
4.) The girth rigging is amazing. It was so far forward and allowed the girth to sit where it wanted to without moving the saddle. I am so pleased with it. the downside is that the ring on the rigging that slides to let the girth sit where it wants to is now put directly under my knee. It rubbed after only 20 minutes and became sore after an hour. No way it would work for endurance.
5.) Gem moved great in it. No complaints. No fits. Nothing. She wasn't sore anywhere. Oh, and no girth marks at all. The rigging allowed the buckles of the girth to be up higher and away from her elbows. It was great!
6.) I don't like the messed up hair at the front.
I shot off an email to K Saturday night and received a quick reply. Quick as in timely, not as in short and useless. The woman is amazing.
I will fill you in on her ideas tomorrow. I plan to try to hit the trails in it on Tuesday afternoon after the hubs gets off work and see how it fairs on the hills.
December 17, 2013
The Rider You Deserve
If it is true that I now have the horse I deserve (see yesterday's post) I think it is also true in a way that Gem has the rider she deserves. I know, I know...I should ride every horse perfectly no matter what is going on, but I am not a professional rider or even a nearly professional amateur rider or even a well trained rider. So I do what I can.
When I first got my Gemmiecakes I was still pretty much a solid passenger. Oh I could steer and what not, but in general my alpha pushy mare figured she could call the shots and get away with it. And in the beginning she could. And did so very often. But as time passed and I grew a set I started to toy with the idea that maybe, just maybe, she could go where, when and how I wanted. Along the way I have learned a ton from her.
What type of rider has she made?
Well, for starters a very attentive one. She pays attention to me. If she feels even for the slightest moment that I am not paying 100% attention to her, she makes sure I begin to. Usually by ducking down and over and depositing me on my feet next to where she had been. The smug look on her face lets me know it was 100% pre-conceived and thought out to prove a point: pay attention or I don't deserve to be on her. So, I do. During the entire ride I am checking and rechecking my status, her status, our trail etc... My legs are solidly on her sides letting her know I am there and ready for anything she sends my way. It does get a little tiring to be so on guard all the time. I can't imagine doing it for an entire 50 miles/10+ hours. I hope my brain doesn't burn out!
Along that same line she has made me a very defensive one. When I first began to jump her (over little 1-2 ft cross rails and verticles) she was a runner. She would get very close to the base of the jump, decide she had no interest in going over it, and run out the side. When I was just learning my own seat and technique, this usually resulted in amusing gymnastics on my part as I tried to stay on her on not go flying over her side. When that failed to work she would try the dirty stop: get as close as possible to the jump, act like she was going to go over and then slam on the brakes. Again, this resulted in either me making it to the other side of the jump sans horse or clinging to her neck. Over time, I have learned how to get her over jumps without these antics and now we can do a small course just fine. But....it has taught me to be very defensive. I tend to stay behind her motion a bit anticipating her not going over the jump. I am also very defensive on the trail. Her past spooky behavior (oh look! a shadow! lets turn around and run away!) has made me very aware of everything on the trail and when we get to something new or that caused a bad reaction in the recent past I get tense and prepare for a spook. If I rode a horse that actually did jump anything put in front of him (like Pete) I would probably annoy the crap out of him with my defensive attitude.
But she has also made me a have a much, much more solid base of support. My legs now wrap around her sides instead of dropping off my waist uselessley as this did before. I can jump without seeing my life flash before me. If she runs out, dirty stops, turns 180 degrees and runs on trail, I am ready and able (for the most part :) to stay with her annd move with her. We are much more a team now instead of two individuals.
She has made me become a braver rider. I do not claim to be brave in general, but through everything I've been through on her my confidence has soared. I am now riding solo without pictures of being flung, trampled and left alone running through my head. I can work her int he arena without just running amok, but in a more orderly way.
I am also more thoughtful when I ride which is the biggest difference she has shown me of all. Instead of just going with the flow, I now plan well ahead of time. "We are going to go to the first fence, turn right, stop, walk a little, then trot again" Or on trail "We will trot to the top of the next hill, then I will get off and run down the other side and get back on to trot the flat section". I plan because if I don't she will take advantage of it. I can't just go around the arena willy nilly or we will end up in the center doing nothing much at all. If I have a definitive plan I will make her do it and not get away with her little tricks. And believe me, she can tell the difference when I'm just hanging out on her versus having a plan.
And last, but not least, she has taught me patience. With Gem, no amount of yelling, getting angry or being forceful will work. She justs gets more tense and then holds a grudge for a long time about it. I can't honestly remember the last time I raised my voice at all with her. If she does something bad, I ignore it and continue on doing what I had wanted to do. If she spooks, I ignore it like it didn't happen or I laugh and pat her and we move on. You can't tell Gem to do anything. You have to ask. And when she answers with a "no" you have to go about it in a different way.
So thank Gem for training me as much as I have trained you. We are in this together and after 4 years we deserve each other. I hope for many, many, many more adventures with her in the future. :)
When I first got my Gemmiecakes I was still pretty much a solid passenger. Oh I could steer and what not, but in general my alpha pushy mare figured she could call the shots and get away with it. And in the beginning she could. And did so very often. But as time passed and I grew a set I started to toy with the idea that maybe, just maybe, she could go where, when and how I wanted. Along the way I have learned a ton from her.
What type of rider has she made?
Well, for starters a very attentive one. She pays attention to me. If she feels even for the slightest moment that I am not paying 100% attention to her, she makes sure I begin to. Usually by ducking down and over and depositing me on my feet next to where she had been. The smug look on her face lets me know it was 100% pre-conceived and thought out to prove a point: pay attention or I don't deserve to be on her. So, I do. During the entire ride I am checking and rechecking my status, her status, our trail etc... My legs are solidly on her sides letting her know I am there and ready for anything she sends my way. It does get a little tiring to be so on guard all the time. I can't imagine doing it for an entire 50 miles/10+ hours. I hope my brain doesn't burn out!
Along that same line she has made me a very defensive one. When I first began to jump her (over little 1-2 ft cross rails and verticles) she was a runner. She would get very close to the base of the jump, decide she had no interest in going over it, and run out the side. When I was just learning my own seat and technique, this usually resulted in amusing gymnastics on my part as I tried to stay on her on not go flying over her side. When that failed to work she would try the dirty stop: get as close as possible to the jump, act like she was going to go over and then slam on the brakes. Again, this resulted in either me making it to the other side of the jump sans horse or clinging to her neck. Over time, I have learned how to get her over jumps without these antics and now we can do a small course just fine. But....it has taught me to be very defensive. I tend to stay behind her motion a bit anticipating her not going over the jump. I am also very defensive on the trail. Her past spooky behavior (oh look! a shadow! lets turn around and run away!) has made me very aware of everything on the trail and when we get to something new or that caused a bad reaction in the recent past I get tense and prepare for a spook. If I rode a horse that actually did jump anything put in front of him (like Pete) I would probably annoy the crap out of him with my defensive attitude.
But she has also made me a have a much, much more solid base of support. My legs now wrap around her sides instead of dropping off my waist uselessley as this did before. I can jump without seeing my life flash before me. If she runs out, dirty stops, turns 180 degrees and runs on trail, I am ready and able (for the most part :) to stay with her annd move with her. We are much more a team now instead of two individuals.
She has made me become a braver rider. I do not claim to be brave in general, but through everything I've been through on her my confidence has soared. I am now riding solo without pictures of being flung, trampled and left alone running through my head. I can work her int he arena without just running amok, but in a more orderly way.
I am also more thoughtful when I ride which is the biggest difference she has shown me of all. Instead of just going with the flow, I now plan well ahead of time. "We are going to go to the first fence, turn right, stop, walk a little, then trot again" Or on trail "We will trot to the top of the next hill, then I will get off and run down the other side and get back on to trot the flat section". I plan because if I don't she will take advantage of it. I can't just go around the arena willy nilly or we will end up in the center doing nothing much at all. If I have a definitive plan I will make her do it and not get away with her little tricks. And believe me, she can tell the difference when I'm just hanging out on her versus having a plan.
And last, but not least, she has taught me patience. With Gem, no amount of yelling, getting angry or being forceful will work. She justs gets more tense and then holds a grudge for a long time about it. I can't honestly remember the last time I raised my voice at all with her. If she does something bad, I ignore it and continue on doing what I had wanted to do. If she spooks, I ignore it like it didn't happen or I laugh and pat her and we move on. You can't tell Gem to do anything. You have to ask. And when she answers with a "no" you have to go about it in a different way.
So thank Gem for training me as much as I have trained you. We are in this together and after 4 years we deserve each other. I hope for many, many, many more adventures with her in the future. :)
December 16, 2013
The Horse You Deserve
First to clean up some loose ends:
I read somewhere recently that after two years of owning a horse you have the horse you deserve.
This is a very interesting thought. I will have had Gemmie for 4 years as of Jan 1st (I bought her right before Christmas, but she came to me on News Years) so if this is true then everything she does now has long since been on my head. I understand where the saying is coming from. For example: Gem does not stand still when I get on her. She immediately starts walking away. Why? Because I have never asked her to stand still. I don't mind it enough to put forth the effort to teach her that she needs to stand still. So, yes that ones on me. Or on the good side: Gem loves her ears being scratched (the inside of her ears to be specific). She wouldn't let me get near her ears when I first got her, but now she lowers her head, tilts it to the side and makes the cutest face and grunts while I give her ear a rub. I taught her that. Go me.
But is everything that she does my doing? I'm not a trainer (as if you didn't surmise that for yourself over the last 100 posts) and everything we have been through has been learning on the fly. She is a smart cookie, if a bit opinionated. If I was a trainer or had been working with one, I am sure she could do all sorts of things she can't do right now. If I had the know how and the gumption, I'm sure she could be doing flying lead changes, allowing me to open a gate from on her, jumping 3ft, doing dressage etc... So, from that point of view yes I do have the horse I deserve. Having not spent any time teaching her any of those things, she doesn't do them.
But...Gem has her own brain. Her own opinions and her own baggage. Am I responsible for that too? She is a slow poke solo on trails. Is that my doing? I keep pushing her to trot and maybe if I was more forceful she would be crusing at a gallop by now. But I have learned one thing form her (well, many things, but this one applies here)...Gem requires patience. If she doesn't want to do something because she is unsure of it (not because she is being lazy or stubborn, thats different and I have learned to tell the difference) and I push her and get after her, she will shut down and its game off. If I tell her she is doing really well and allow her to take a few moments to figure it out, she will do it of her own accord, be proud of herself and the next time we come across the situation it will be easier. So I ask for the trot and tell her she is good when she responds and we trot along. I've been working really hard with her solo on trails lately and it is paying off big time. Maybe I should have done this 4 years ago, but I seriously doubt I could have with the horse she was 4 years ago. She is a totally different animal today.
I think in the end I do agree that some things are my doing. Like the fact that she doesn't lunge in correct form, but instead runs around with her back hollow and looking toward the outside of the circle instead of being bent toward the center like she is supposed to. I don't have the foggiest how to make her do it, so when we do lunge (which is a rare event) she continues to do it the wrong way. Or how she has started to really enjoy exploring the woods with me solo. Those are my doing, for good or for bad.
But there are things inherent to Gem that make her Gem and those are all on her. She has a brain and she uses it, for good or bad. Maybe it is my fault for allowing her to do so, but even at her worst I would never wish for her to be a perfect "robot" horse that does everything I say without a thought. She has taught me probably a lot more than I have taught her. In fact, the saying should be "After 2 years you have the rider you deserve" for Gem.
- Hubby did great on his race. 54 grueling, icy, cold and rainy hilly miles in 12 1/2 hours! Way to go!
- My demo saddle ships today!!!! Can't wait to get it and try it out :)
- The hunter pace was post poned on Sunday, so I didn't miss it. I doubt I will have things sorted out for the 2 in Jan, but you never know. We may make them yet.
I read somewhere recently that after two years of owning a horse you have the horse you deserve.
This is a very interesting thought. I will have had Gemmie for 4 years as of Jan 1st (I bought her right before Christmas, but she came to me on News Years) so if this is true then everything she does now has long since been on my head. I understand where the saying is coming from. For example: Gem does not stand still when I get on her. She immediately starts walking away. Why? Because I have never asked her to stand still. I don't mind it enough to put forth the effort to teach her that she needs to stand still. So, yes that ones on me. Or on the good side: Gem loves her ears being scratched (the inside of her ears to be specific). She wouldn't let me get near her ears when I first got her, but now she lowers her head, tilts it to the side and makes the cutest face and grunts while I give her ear a rub. I taught her that. Go me.
But is everything that she does my doing? I'm not a trainer (as if you didn't surmise that for yourself over the last 100 posts) and everything we have been through has been learning on the fly. She is a smart cookie, if a bit opinionated. If I was a trainer or had been working with one, I am sure she could do all sorts of things she can't do right now. If I had the know how and the gumption, I'm sure she could be doing flying lead changes, allowing me to open a gate from on her, jumping 3ft, doing dressage etc... So, from that point of view yes I do have the horse I deserve. Having not spent any time teaching her any of those things, she doesn't do them.
But...Gem has her own brain. Her own opinions and her own baggage. Am I responsible for that too? She is a slow poke solo on trails. Is that my doing? I keep pushing her to trot and maybe if I was more forceful she would be crusing at a gallop by now. But I have learned one thing form her (well, many things, but this one applies here)...Gem requires patience. If she doesn't want to do something because she is unsure of it (not because she is being lazy or stubborn, thats different and I have learned to tell the difference) and I push her and get after her, she will shut down and its game off. If I tell her she is doing really well and allow her to take a few moments to figure it out, she will do it of her own accord, be proud of herself and the next time we come across the situation it will be easier. So I ask for the trot and tell her she is good when she responds and we trot along. I've been working really hard with her solo on trails lately and it is paying off big time. Maybe I should have done this 4 years ago, but I seriously doubt I could have with the horse she was 4 years ago. She is a totally different animal today.
I think in the end I do agree that some things are my doing. Like the fact that she doesn't lunge in correct form, but instead runs around with her back hollow and looking toward the outside of the circle instead of being bent toward the center like she is supposed to. I don't have the foggiest how to make her do it, so when we do lunge (which is a rare event) she continues to do it the wrong way. Or how she has started to really enjoy exploring the woods with me solo. Those are my doing, for good or for bad.
But there are things inherent to Gem that make her Gem and those are all on her. She has a brain and she uses it, for good or bad. Maybe it is my fault for allowing her to do so, but even at her worst I would never wish for her to be a perfect "robot" horse that does everything I say without a thought. She has taught me probably a lot more than I have taught her. In fact, the saying should be "After 2 years you have the rider you deserve" for Gem.
December 14, 2013
Good Luck Hubbybear!!!
First, good luck to my hubby. He is off today to run 54 miles up a mountain (well, half of it is up a mountain the other is back down) in a chilly 40 degrees and rain. Ick. But he has been training and looking forward to this race, so no weather is likely to keep him from making it. I think maybe a tornado or hurricaine would, but only maybe.
Second, I am waiting for a demo saddle to arrive. The fit won't be perfect. She has sold most of her demos or maybe she just never really has many, but she is sending me the one that is closest to what Gem would need. Thats one big con to this operation. Since there are so many choices and the saddles are built to order she doesn't have a great selection for demo purposes. I'm not sure but I think this is a one woman company fo the most part and keeping a bunch of demos around isn't possible. She wants Gem to try her medium tree and only has 1 medium demo to try. I'm more than alittle nervous about that. She did say that this saddle has more lift to the loin and it may cause it to sit up off her back in the back. I've had that issue before with western saddles. But she insists it won't be because the width is too wide in front (if it is too wide in front it will tilt down up front thus lifint the back) but because this saddle was made with lift in the back. She has assured me that it won't mess up the overall fit to her shoulder, back and girth resting place. We will see.
I was amazed that she said Medium. Gem has always been a wide. Her Wintec was a medium wide and became too narrow. But...again she assured me not to be concerned. She has completely made up her own tree sizes. Meaning her narrow, medium and wide have no correlation what so ever to any other saddle. Why? Because she started out just doing custom saddles for each horse. You bought custom or you didn't buy. Over time she started to look at the molds and the trees she was making and was able to group them into 3 distinct piles. These she named narrow, medium and wide based on what she saw, but you can't compare them to any other saddle. This medium may end up wider or narrow or the same as my current wide.
So, we will see. In the meantime I am sitting on the sidelines for a bit. There is another pace this Sunday, but we won't be going. She has a big old spot on her right armpit from the girth rubbing and it has healed since I stopped riding a week ago. I want to keep it that way. Lets hope this saddle arrives in a hurry or I just might go insane without riding!
Second, I am waiting for a demo saddle to arrive. The fit won't be perfect. She has sold most of her demos or maybe she just never really has many, but she is sending me the one that is closest to what Gem would need. Thats one big con to this operation. Since there are so many choices and the saddles are built to order she doesn't have a great selection for demo purposes. I'm not sure but I think this is a one woman company fo the most part and keeping a bunch of demos around isn't possible. She wants Gem to try her medium tree and only has 1 medium demo to try. I'm more than alittle nervous about that. She did say that this saddle has more lift to the loin and it may cause it to sit up off her back in the back. I've had that issue before with western saddles. But she insists it won't be because the width is too wide in front (if it is too wide in front it will tilt down up front thus lifint the back) but because this saddle was made with lift in the back. She has assured me that it won't mess up the overall fit to her shoulder, back and girth resting place. We will see.
I was amazed that she said Medium. Gem has always been a wide. Her Wintec was a medium wide and became too narrow. But...again she assured me not to be concerned. She has completely made up her own tree sizes. Meaning her narrow, medium and wide have no correlation what so ever to any other saddle. Why? Because she started out just doing custom saddles for each horse. You bought custom or you didn't buy. Over time she started to look at the molds and the trees she was making and was able to group them into 3 distinct piles. These she named narrow, medium and wide based on what she saw, but you can't compare them to any other saddle. This medium may end up wider or narrow or the same as my current wide.
So, we will see. In the meantime I am sitting on the sidelines for a bit. There is another pace this Sunday, but we won't be going. She has a big old spot on her right armpit from the girth rubbing and it has healed since I stopped riding a week ago. I want to keep it that way. Lets hope this saddle arrives in a hurry or I just might go insane without riding!
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