So Much

Where do I start. So much has happened in my horsey world since we last checked in. I got a new horse trailer, new (to me) truck, officially started riding, started jumping, rescued a horse, and Pippin went for another ride. Here is a brief recap. 

This is Hermione. She's a 2001 Ford F-350 7.3l diesel. She's the exact engine I wanted with the perfect number of miles. It just happened my friend was selling. 

Dickie is modeling the new pony mobile. It's a new 4- star 2+1 model. It is 7'6" tall and had two straight load slots in the back and a slant box stall in the front. 

This is Lucky a skinny mare we picked up when my favorite rescue had room. We didn't know she would be skinny and she wasn't healthy enough to make the 3 hour trailer ride. My friend ended up keeping her and she's already putting on weight. 

Dickie and I have been hitting the trails to get fit in time for shows later this month. My legs have forgotten that two point is a thing and are yelling at me every day. 

Pippin is as cute as ever and more confident everyday. Trainer hopped on him and he was a rockstar. He's been long lining like a champ. And he doesn't wear a halter in the pasture anymore. He walks right up and puts his halter on like a normal horse. 

Saddle Talk

Last year I bought Dickie a used Black Country ricochet. I love it so much. My leg feels stable and my hips were happy even on my worst days. Everyone who rides in it wants one. The only issue is the flap could be more forward. My hips have kept me from jumping so it hasn't been a problem but I had it in the back of my mind I might want to sell it for a larger one down the road. 

This is the color of model of my current saddle: 

Now I have two horses who both need saddles. They will often be ridden at the same time so it's not feasible to use the same saddle on both. Dickies saddle actually fits Pippin better so I decided to bite the bullet and get the saddle I want now. 

I went with another Black Country ricochet. First I sent the tracings to Trumbull Mountain saddlery. The ricochet works better for the tall withered pointy roof backed horses. I picked the color and leather combo above. I love the look and durability of buffalo leather on the flaps. The seat/knees have what's called reverse doe which is nice and grippy. Dickie's tack is all dark brown so now it won't clash. I didn't love that my saddle is lighter than the rest of my tack. 

I decided to try serge covered panels because they are lighter and cooler than leather panels. My saddle fitter said its also easier to change stuffing with it. I was worried about durability but people give excellent reviews. I've seen photos of older serge panels and they look great. 

She looked at photos of me in the saddle and thought my seat sized looked perfect. They were able to do a more forward flap on the saddle so I can get my stirrups up. Then I added in the totally frivolous request of silver welt. That's the little light colored piping you can see in this photo. 

Black Country and Trumbull are amazing to work with. Asking for customizations aren't extra. You could even go entirely custom by having the tree made to template. If you like a Ricochet seat but the quantum tree fits your horse better Black Country will mix and match.  The only extra fees were for the buffalo hide flaps. I love that I can get an essentially custom saddle for the same price as buying off the rack. Can't wait for it to arrive. I've never owned or even ridden in a new saddle!!

I ordered it over a week ago. The wait is anywhere between two week and six weeks. I hope I'm able to ride enough to enjoy it by the time it arrives. 

Pippin Torture Continues

Pippin continues to be the cutest little bugger around. He's still jumpy when something comes up behind him, you toss a saddle pad on his back, or a rope over his neck. However, deep down I think he's a pretty unflappable guy. He's not worried about normal scary things like horse eating plastic bags. And if you do something scary he never panics. He just takes a step back and wants to look you in the eye. 

The week before last we lost a little ground so no riding happened. My friend Frankie and I were busy so Pippin got loves but we didn't have time for anything serious. Last week I added back in saddling and torturing him by wearing weird stuff. He remembers quickly and seems to thrive off the attention. One of my other good friends comes on Sunday's and played with him. She can do all the stuff my hip won't allow like trotting in hand. She took this great photo of the boys practicing tying. It's a big deal for Pippin because he gets worried about stuff happening behind him when he can't swing around and give it the direct stink eye. It's a big deal for Dickie because he thinks standing in place for too long will in fact kill a horse. I need him to be able to stand all day at the trailer without causing a scene. 

We've been working at the mounting block quite a bit. This accomplishes a few things. It gets him used to me being above him. From the mounting block I can get him used to me smacking him on both sides, touching him on the flank with my leg, swinging the rope over his back and all that fun stuff. It also creates a horse who will stand stock still at a mounting block to matter what. Human lines you up with with tall thing, horse stands there and doesn't move until human says so. Dickie learned this when he was two long before he couldn't handle standing still at the cross ties. 

Pippin also had the lovely experience of being hosed off. My friend took care of that fun milestone for me. It's hard enough for me to get in the wash rack with my bad hip let alone manuever a worried horse. I can't wait to get back out and play with his cuteness. 

I Didn't Sign Up for This

Sorry for the double post. The other one should have posted yesterday 

 

Pippin was saved from the slaughter pen two years ago. Since then he's lived a life if leisure. Other than a short trip to the trainer he's spent the last two years living like a king. Treats, love, lots of hay. Then he moved to Oregon. 

At first it seemed like he would continue his life of royalty. All he needed to do was take his ladies for walks in the park and he would receive full body massages by multiple women at once. Little did he know that the crazy ladies were cooking up a plan to RIDE HIM!

I've been putting all my weight on his back without a saddle. He's worn a saddle around the barn and learned how to stand at the mounting block. Blue's mom has been spending time with him whenever I'm not there and she helped me get on. She led us at first while I figured out what he knows. He doesn't remember much but was an angel considering he hasn't been under saddle in over a year. I couldn't have asked for a better boy. 

We walked around a bit and as soon as he understood "hoa" and "walk on" we were done. He's really smart so that only took five minutes. From now on I won't be the one riding because I really shouldn't be in the saddle yet let alone on a green horse. Luckily I have two friends who are spending lots of time with him so he won't have strangers getting on. We also have a ton of ground work to do so he can be more successful under saddle. I'm so proud of this guy and how hard he tries for his people. 

Pretty dang good for a horse who started his journey my way as an unhandled stallion waiting for to be shipped to slaughter. Thank the heavens that Pony Up Rescue for Equines saw his potentional. 

Going Places

For those of you who haven't followed long, Dickie has loose stifles. His quads are weak so his stifles are wobbly and in extreme cases the patella can lock up. It isn't an injury but is disconcerting to the horse becuase the patella locks up when you are riding. It tends to get better as they mature and get their man muscles in. The prescription is too keep them in steady hard work. It went away over the summer then he spent six months just hanging out. 

Bringing him back to work was a bit of a pain. He really needed five days a week but I can't do that nor could I afford to have trainer do it. Horses with this issue need heavy quad work (poles, backing and hills) but we didn't really have that at old barn. The hills were too slick and poles were used in jumps. 

New barn has been perfect. There are options for hill work no matter how muddy. There are poles that can be left out. And I'm well enough to back him and hand walk over poles several days a week. Progress has been slow but now Dickie is looking fantastic. 

We took him on a trail ride to the top of the hillside and he was rarin' to go the whole time. I think he's going to be in shape just when I'm allowed to start pushing myself in the saddle. My good days finally equal the bad and I can imagine all the fun things we will be able to do this summer. I'm looking at schooling horse trails later in the summer and they actually feel possible. Bring it!!

The Little Things

It's funny how quickly you forget how much goes into teaching a horse the details of good horse citizenship. I just went through it with Dickie and I already blocked out how much time was spent on the little stuff. Pippin is much further a long than Dickie was. He's also much more receptive to rules. There are still a million things he needs to learn. Leading from the offside won't kill you, mounting blocks don't eat horses, horses don't run from blankets, when people trot horses trot, and humans are allowed to touch horses anywhere. 

Dickie was a hard horse to train because he couldn't stand still (still struggles with this). If you poked him to move over he would protest with pawing front legs and bucking tantrums. But he was pretty fearless and could care less if you put a tarp over his head. Pippin will move away from you with just a touch and is happy to stand with you all day. For the most part he's not spooky. He doesn't care about hoses or mud puddles. However, if there is a human attached to the hose he thinks it might eat him. 

He was already started under saddle but we are treating him like a blank slate to make sure he trusts us. Last week my friend came out to play with him since I don't have as much stamina. She took him into the outdoor and worked on leading from the offside and trotting in hand. He let it be known that there is only one side to lead horses from and attempted to teach her. He also thought for sure she lost her mind when she asked him to trot in hand.  Normally you can just swing the lead role behind you and give the horse a smack to get a horse trotting. Pippin is super sensitive so swinging anything his direction means he side stepped away, at a walk. 

By the end of the session he figured out if the human goes fast it's ok to go fast with her. He still looked at her like she was insane but he went along with her. He thrives off of "good boy" and will try anything as long as he gets praise. 

She came back Sunday and couldn't resist having Pippin time. I had already worked with him but he seemed happy to come out with the people again. He's one of those horses who picks up better than you left off. He acted like leading from the off side was no big deal and trotted in hand like an old pro. We love us some Pippin!! He's so fun. Can't wait to see what he does this week. 

Grounded in Paradise

I've had to move a few times in the last few years but I've been really lucky to find great places for the horses.  I believe strongly that getting out of the arena is good for the equine mind and body. This is no exception. There are miles of wide open trails. There are a few slick spots now but it is fine for walking and some trotting. In the summer it will be perfect for cantering and galloping. 

Last weekend my friend (Blue's owner) wanted to go for a ride with her BFF. Dickie needs long slow trail miles so it was perfect. You can see his spotted butt just in front of the camera. Everyone at the barn said he did great. I guess he jigged a little to start then settled right in. 

I'm so jealous. I can't wait to go for a ride. I love getting out on the trails. Trotting and cantering on uneven ground is the best for getting in shape. In a month I'm cleared to ride surgically. My leg pain seems like it might be a herniated disc rather than the piriformis but that does tend to get well on its own. Slowly. Way too slowly. 

I might not get to ride like the other kids but at least the scenery is amazing. For now I'll just putz along at a snails pace and work on my tan.