Cut Back Built Up Saddle Pads

So here it is. The saddle. I wasn't happy with the way it sat on her as it was too close to the withers. I knew that as soon as I sat down on it I'd be crushing her. Not a good thing for any horse, but especially not a youngster that you're just starting. It'd do no good to have her sore and crabby before getting out of the driveway.

I'd wanted to return it, but the seller didn't return my phone call. Lack of common equine courtesy; most folks would be willing to refund your money within 24 hours for something like poor fit. The fit is just too important. They'd had a second saddle for sale, so even if they didn't want to refund money, a call saying I could try the other saddle would have been nice. But since they didn't want to play by fair horsemanship rules, I began shopping again. I didn't feel bitter, just as disappointed.

City Boy saw an Aussie listed in Marysville, so on Monday evening I started the trek back down in that direction for the second time in three days. On the way I stopped at some friends and told them about my saddle dilemma. Curt suggested I hang on to the saddle as it was well made and I'd gotten a good price. Since Jet is a two year old, he said, her withers and shoulders were going to fill out and that saddle would likely fit quite well, not to mention I'd be hard pressed to find a narrower one. In the meantime he suggested I pick up a saddle pad with cut back withers and built up support in the shoulder area to lift the swell of the saddle up.

I had no idea they were making built up saddle pads. I'd considered a cut back wither but didn't think it would be enough. But with the extra lift? Yes, that should do it. So I've got one on order. You can see how closely the saddle fits over her withers in this photo. And get a load of that orange paint! I've no clue what they were doing...perhaps they'd planned on painting the entire saddle for hunting season???

The weather was pretty good all last week, giving me an opportunity to saddle up and ride Jet nearly every day. What a wonderful feeling! It's been years since I've had my own horse, and even longer since I've started one of my own. Jet is the perfect step back into the horsey world; she's taking everything in stride.

I've been keeping the horses off the pasture for fear of them totally tearing it up, not to mention it needs some time off in order to grow back for spring. But after a week of work for Jet, and since it was a nice afternoon (and since they wouldn't leave me alone inside the paddock while I was cleaning), I decided a couple hours of play time wouldn't hurt. Jet and Sunny raced back and forth and had a grand time!
Quiet Storm got tired of their hijinx. She's not one to get involved with the silly games of other horses. She's a mosey-er, preferring to take life one slow step at a time. She's also jealous of camera time! There was no way she was going to allow me to photograph those horses playing all silly like when her stunning beauty was right there for the world to see. So she stepped in front of the camera to remind me just who the star of the show really is.

That's it; watch me do my runway walk.
I am beautiful!

If you've not visited the Wild Horse Rehab site yet, or if it's been a while, please pop in and let me know what you think. I'm also working on getting a sister site done which will be the Store...definitely still a work in progress, but pop in and let me know what you think!

Desperate Horsewife

Wild Horse Calendars now available!

Trot your horses, please, trot...

I rode Jet four times over the past week. Saturday I thought I'd try to get her to trot, but she wasn't real sure she could do it. A couple times her gait sped up, but as soon as I released the pressure she was back to her walk. Sunday I was determined to bump her up a bit. She finally took a couple of trotting steps, but they were almost like half-trot, half-walk. A tralk, I suppose.

Being the considerate, polite girl she is, I think she was just concerned I was going to fall off. No...really it was just a balance issue. Those first couple of tries at a new gate often leaves a young horse concerned that they're not going to be able to do it with a rider on their back.

Jet lifts her shoulders and tucks in her head in a manner I'm unaccustomed to with my quarter horses of the past. At first you get the feeling that she might buck, and unfortunately my reflexes were just fast enough to begin to react, which brought her to a stand still. You've got to appreciate a horse who stops when confused rather than running off in a bucking spree of confusion. When I realized what I had done, I made my self relax and just let her go. That helped, and I managed to get a few true trotting strides out of her.

The saddle is still a problem. I bought the Billy Cook, but it doesn't fit. The seller never called back when I left a message asking if they'd allow me to return it; I guess that's a no. So now I've got a perfectly good saddle and a perfectly good horse, but they don't go perfectly well with each other. Which leaves me with the small saddle that barely fits and puts me in the market for a saddle once more. I've got a call in to someone about an aussie saddle. I've no clue what I'm looking for, though, with that type of saddle. It helps when you've seen several and can get a feel for what's good and what's bad :)

Desperate Horsewife
Wild Horse Calendars now available!

Saddles, Riding and Rescues

I've only been whining all over the internet these past couple of days about not having a saddle that fits. The one I've got I purchased at a yard sale years ago. Nothing fancy, it held me on and that's about it. Perfect for training with, but with my weight in it, it doesn't fit Jet in the least.

So saddle shopping I've been.

Last night City Boy hollered from the other room to come and look at something. An ad had just been placed on CL for a Billy Cook. A wee bit more than I'd wanted to spend, but it was a brand that I liked, so I called and today I get to go look at it. Cross your fingers and say a prayer for me!

I rode Jet around the pasture the other night for about ten minutes. Sure wish there was someone nearby that I could to riding with; I'd take her out to the tree farm right now for a ride. The pasture is slick, so I don't really want to do much in it. Maybe I should call Cheryle and see if she'll let me use her arena for a month (never heard back from the about using theirs.) It won't take much to get her beautiful mind ready for short rides.

Darling helped me out a bit last night with some fun stuff on Photoshop. What do you think? I've been trying to come up with a logo or something for T-shirts for the rescue.

Desperate Horsewife
Wild Horse Calendars now available!