Geocaching on Horseback

Carmen came to visit, adopting barn kitties Max and Maggie for her barn.  She happened to introduce me to geocaching (there's a cache at the town hall, 0.17 miles from me! Who knew?!) and now I'm hooked!  Being a fellow endurance rider, of course we made time for a ride.  What better to do than to combine riding and geocaching?

Objects in mirror are closer than they appear!  See Red in the mirror?  Yep, we "ponied" him from his barn to mine. 

Red is thoroughly unimpressed with this mode of transportation. 

We plotted out several potential caches to ride to, loaded up the coordinates into our GPS units, and got the horses ready to ride.  Carmen had brought her Specialized saddle along for me to try, meaning she was going to get to try my Synergist.  I am still trying to sell my second Synergist, the one that no longer fits Rhio, and I'd like to replace it with a Specialized when I do.  This was a great opportunity to ride enough miles in a Specialized to really get the feel for it.  To sum up briefly - I loved it!  Of course it took the first mile or two to get used to it, but after that I just felt comfortable and no longer was conscious of it being "different" than my saddle.  I was very secure in it, and best yet Rhio seemed to like it also.  We moved out, especially on the way home, using all three gaits, and he & I felt good in every gait.  I hadn't done any shimming or adjusting of the saddle, and I did have a little bit of dry area on either side of the spine behind the withers - it was just a teensy bit too wide for him - but that would be easily adjusted with the saddle fitting system Specialized uses.  Best of all, Carmen liked my Synergist as well!

Carmen and Red made a great team!

Now to the riding and the caching.  Carmen rode Red, and they spent a little time getting used to each other in the outdoor arena.  That was successful, so we headed out down the road.  I hadn't realized that a major road nearby was closed, and so the route we rode had a lot more traffic than normal. It also has pretty narrow shoulders and the ditch is swampy - so probably not the best choice of places to ride, but we survived.  Luckily my boys are traffic safe, but with the excitement of a fast ride going home, both horses got a little goosey with the big trucks whizzing past.  Carmen is a great rider and handled Red's excessive enthusiasm very well.  It was NOT a ride for the faint of heart, that's for sure.

We did make it to the normally quiet gravel road which had 2 geocaches along it we could hunt for.  The gravel road wasn't quiet at all, with many vehicles passing us.  Geez!  Talk about bad karma in the traffic department!  The horses were both happy to move out, and Red can out-trot Rhio by a mile, so I spent some time eating Red's & Carmen's dust.  Rhio didn't seem to care, though he usually much prefers to lead.

Our GPS units told us we were getting close to the first cache, and the description had said it was back in the woods, so we dismounted and led the horses into the woods, then tied them to trees and set off on foot.  I love having horses that I can tie to the trees in the woods and walk away from!  They would have preferred a grassy meadow to eat in, but they patiently waited for us to return and didn't get into any trouble.

That fly mask kind of makes him look like he has mule ears, don't you think?

I love this look as he peeks around the tree at me.

Finding the cache didn't turn out to be the successful portion of our ride, unfortunately.  Number one rule of geocaching in northern Minnesota in the summer - bring bug spray!!!  It was a bit difficult to concentrate with all the slapping and hopping around (oops).  We found the indicator marker and decrypted the clue to finding the cache, but were ultimately unsuccessful.  Boo!  You'd better bet I'll be going back there later in the season, hopefully with fewer bugs and more time, and finding that darn thing!

Looking at our timeline, we realized we didn't have any more time to spend searching, headed back to the ponies, led them out of the woods, mounted up, and headed home.  It was such a fun ride, despite its challenges, and I was so happy with the saddle.  I wish Carmen lived closer so we could ride together more often!!

Best of luck to Max & Maggie in their new home, and thank you Carmen for coming to visit me :)

Even Cricket got in on the action, see him half in the corner of the shot? I love that Carmen & I are both kind of cocking our heads the same direction, obviously responding to Becca who took our photo, while the horses are all focused on each other.

32 Miles

Got treats?

It's begun!  The roads are clear enough to do some serious conditioning, and my endurance season has officially begun.  Our first ride is MnDRA I on May 7 & 8, a mere 5 weeks away.  I always plan on riding Limited Distance (25 miles) at that ride, because our spring weather is so fickle here in the Northland.  It's hard to predict how much conditioning I'll actually be able to do in preparation for this first ride.  So, I plan for the first ride to be 25 miles of conditioning, and a really fun time catching up with everyone I haven't seen since Point Chaser in October.

We've had a great week of rides.  Rhio and I did a total of 32 miles this past week, in rides of 9 miles, 9 miles, and 14 miles.  Our first 9 miler was Tuesday, 3/29.  We have had lovely afternoons for riding, with temps in the 40s and sunshine.  We set off with Kelso, heading toward our closest significant training hill with the intention of doing a little hill work and heading home.  Just as we turned to head up the hill, here comes Jodi & Rana down the hill toward us.  Well met, pretty mare & fine friend!  The horses were both in full spring mode, spooking and trying to race, and we rode up & back along the clear portion of road (hemmed in by shady/icy sections and paved roads without good clear shoulders) enjoying each other's company and lamenting together about the fact of riding spring-fresh horses.  Rhio had been pretty unmotivated riding out alone, but of course as soon as we met up with a buddy, he was overwrought with energy & the inability to disperse it efficiently into useful forward motion.  As a result, I was riding a stiff board of a horse with a rock-solid neck jutting up in front of me, head-tossing & neck-snaking his way along at a stilted canter, hooves slapping the ground and jarring my internal organs in a most unpleasant fashion.  I have to say, the experience really wasn't all that enjoyable.  But, it was fairly reminiscent of the start of an endurance ride, so in its way it was a useful training situation.  He did not buck, rear, bolt, or lose his mind.  In past years, it would not have been unthinkable for him to do all those and then some in a situation like this.

Still a little fancy footwork required to negotiate the remaining icy patches on the road, but it's totally doable!

Our second 9 miler was two days later, and Gesa & Paco joined us for more road riding.  This was our first time booted for the year, and also we attempted to use the heart rate monitors.  I never got a good signal on Rhio's monitor, but Paco's worked pretty well.  I presume that the still-present winter fuzz was preventing good contact with the electrodes.  I usually just wet my electrodes with water upon application, and rely on my sweaty pony to keep them sensing well.  With all the extra coat, I should have used some electrode gel (which solved the problem perfectly on ride #3).  The Gloves are still working nicely on his hinds, and I used fetlock boots as well to prevent any interference wounds.  The Renegades on his fronts actually seemed a little tight, and I'll have to figure out how to loosen the cables before I use them again, I think.  I did not notice as much forging as he usually does in boots (well, he does it all the time, but the boots seem to make it worse, though it may just be more noticeable).  We had a nice ride, mostly covering the same ground as I had with Jodi on Tuesday, though we also ventured through the softening snow pack on the closed portion of the road.   The boys did wonderfully together, as they always do; we did not have to contend with race-brained, spring-crazy horses and allowed them to set the pace as they chose.  Rhio led 99% of the time, as he prefers, and Paco followed, as he prefers.  The horses clearly have some lines of communication which are a mystery to us, as they nearly always put themselves in the same positions and are completely at ease with one another.  Rhio can be really reactive to other horses (especially mares) when we are riding in groups, and we tend to do a bit of skittering around as he tries to keep a "safe" distance from the other horses' bubbles of personal space (whether they are projecting obvious "get away" body language or not).  With Paco, there is none of that.  Our average pace per my GPS was 5 mph for this ride - not too shabby considering we had to walk the whole snowy section, and found ourselves walking & chatting a bit more than we sometimes do (although we do it, it's not as easy to carry on a shouted conversation at the trot).

Muddy legs, muddy boots, and muddy Kelso in the background 

Just mounted up for ride #3 and they're both smiling :) 

Our third and longest ride of the week was Saturday April 2.  Gesa & Paco again joined us, and we planned to attempt the big loop ride, which is mostly road with about 2 miles of snowmobile trail.  I had Plan B worked out in case we couldn't negotiate the half-melted, slushy/icy snowmobile trail and had to turn back, but luckily we were able to complete the whole loop.  Our plan was to increase distance to at least 12 miles (we did 14), but maintain approximately the same pace as our Thursday ride.  Um, apparently the horses didn't get that memo!  Rhio was fired up and ready to go, setting a nice forward pace and moving along on a loose rein right from the start.  That boy was all business, moving along eating up the miles, and occasionally stopping for a refreshing sip from an icy puddle.  Ahhhhh!  Now this is the kind of ride I've been longing for since the snow first fell 6+ months ago.  We had an absolutely fantastic ride for the first 9.5 miles.  Then I landed abruptly on my backside in the snowbank.  Uh, what?!  Ok, turns out poor Rhio had a fright and just disappeared from beneath me (a.k.a. Arab teleporting) - Jodi and Rana popped up over the crest of a ridge in the gravel pit to our left, which was slightly screened by some trees, and Jodi shouted a greeting.  None of us knew they were there, but I expect they heard our hoofbeats on the road.  Anyway, it wasn't a big deal and it was the softest landing I've had, ever.  The worst of it was hopping around on one foot emptying the snow out of my boots before my socks got too wet.  Successfully remounted, Jodi & Rana joined us for a few miles of road work, and again the horses got racy, competitive, and hard to handle (well, mine did at least - Paco had the sense to stay back out of the fray and I don't think Gesa had as much trouble with him as I did with Rhio).  It's like the energy level just shoots up and Rhio can't emotionally cope with it.  I again had the stiff, fighting, crazy horse beneath me.  Not fun.  Again, he didn't do any of the explosive behaviors that I know he is capable of, and we even started to make a little progress backing off the pace and staying behind and he began to be able to listen to me a little bit.  Hopefully Rhio is learning to listen to me even when he gets emotionally overwrought (for that's what it seems to be to me).  We split off from Jodi and headed home, ultimately finishing our ride with an average pace of 5.6 mph.  Yep, we committed the cardinal sin of conditioning, increasing both pace & distance at the same time, but both horses did extremely well and handled the work load easily.  Rhio's heart rate monitor showed completely normal working heart rates for him, and both horses were still full of zip when we turned in the driveway.  The horses drank 4 or 5 times during the ride, which is something Gesa has been working at with Paco, and we ended the day with cold beer & steak on the grill (thanks to Gesa's husband Mike).

Posing on the still-snowy snowmobile trail

I am amazed (and a little jealous) at how quickly Rhio gets back into shape.  Obviously, he wasn't "off" all winter, but the kind of riding we can do in the winter is very different from endurance and our early rides showed me his reduced condition, especially in the hill work we did on the snowmobile trail.  Already he is feeling nearly as fit as he was at the end of the season last year, and ride #3 last week was his best by far for energy, enthusiasm, and drive.  (It's just not fair!  It's taking me WAY longer to get back into my jogging program.)

Argh!  See that white area up by his shoulder/withers?  It's not sweaty because there's too much pressure there from the saddle, not allowing the sweat glands to activate.  This is NOT GOOD! 

The major issue I see cropping up is saddle fit (yet again).  After all three rides, he had dry spots behind his withers on both sides, with the left side being slightly larger & more obvious than the right.  His back is not sore, he is not moving differently, and he is not exhibiting his averse-to-tacking-up behavior (which has been the major indicator of saddle issues in the past), but I am not happy with the less-than-perfect sweat pattern!  More investigation to come on this matter....

Saddle TLC

My saddle got really soaked at Point Chaser, since it rained pretty much the entire 30 miles on Sunday.  I'm always amazed at how bad my saddle looks after it has been wet, and then dried.

The saddle appears dull and dry.  

It sat in the living room to dry, then I cleaned it.  I use a weak Murphy's Oil Soap solution and a rag to clean it, per instructions from Synergist when I bought the saddle.

Dirty water after washing the saddle - Ewww! 

Once it's dry from cleaning, I start oiling the leather.  I use olive oil, since that is what Synergist recommends.  Plant-based products are apparently healthier for the leather than petroleum-based products (plus better for the environment!).  

Really, it doesn't need to be organic olive oil - this is just the bottle that I have that is only for saddles - don't like to mix the kitchen with the tack room (too often). 

I lost track of how many coats of oil I put on, but suffice it to say it was at least 3 days worth of multiple applications per day.  The leather soaks up the oil almost instantly.  I continue adding oil until it doesn't soak any more up (or until I'm tired of the whole process and just want to ride!).  

Shiny, happy saddle once again!  

Riding Rhio

Post-ride

Just a quick 5 miles today, since we only had an hour to ride.  Christine & Tomas came along for their 2nd official conditioning/road ride and did awesome.  Tomas wasn't all that thrilled to be leaving the farm, frankly, but he decided it was fun about 1/2 way through the ride.  

Today's ride really impressed upon me the differences between Red & Rhio.  Red is strong & powerful, and riding him gives me a sense of harnessing some awesome force.  I also have to really keep my eyes open to anticipate all the things he will shy & spook at.  Red's gaits are bigger and bouncier, and it takes more energy to ride him.  But, I also completely trust him and know that although he may dump me accidentally with a big spook (which happens all too frequently), he won't buck or rear or take off with me. Red loves to trot and once he hits his stride will maintain a steady pace without any reminders from me.  Red also prefers to travel down the center of the road, with deviations to either side as we have to swerve around the multitude of scary things (I expect people behind us think we are drunk.)

Rhio is light on his feet and riding him feels effortless.  His gaits are smooth, and it sometimes surprises me how fast we are traveling, since it doesn't feel as fast as it is.  He doesn't have as big an "engine" and hills are more work for him (Red flies up hills), but it feels as though he expends no energy while we eat up the miles.  I don't completely trust him, though, as he has bucked me off a few times.  He is very sensitive and pushing him too hard is a bad idea - I get bad behavior like bucking & rearing in response.  So I don't feel quite as confident with him when he starts acting up; head tossing is his #1 expression of discontent under saddle.  Rhio loves to canter, and typically has a lower heart rate at the canter.  Unfortunately, I don't like to canter on the hard gravel roads too much, so I require him to trot more than he would like (hence the head tossing).  Rhio spooks only rarely and never at the ground-surface irregularities (dark spots, lights spots, wet spots, dry spots, etc) that Red swerves away from - so I often begin a ride on Rhio micro-managing our path to avoid those things before I remember that he doesn't care.  He prefers to travel on the edge of the road, and travels in a very straight line.  

I love to ride both boys, but they are very different and require totally different things from me as their rider & partner.  

The lighter-colored almost circular area in the center of the photo is a dry spot on Rhio's otherwise sweaty back

Unfortunately, although Red's saddle seems to fit better than Rhio's own saddle, I am getting these dry spots on both sides of his withers after every ride.  Dry spots indicate too much pressure from the saddle, and in this case I think the saddle is slightly too wide for him.  He is not sore, but pressure points are not good.  I definitely won't be able to compete him in this saddle.  I am going to have to commit to a solution soon - either send his saddle back for refitting or buy a new saddle.  I can't afford a new saddle unless his saddle sells, and I haven't had any seriously interested parties.  I would like a new saddle, both to try something different and to get something lighter weight. So I wait...

Use Those Lurching Muscles, Ladies!

I rode today with friends & fellow endurance riders Jodi & Rhonda.  Jodi is starting a new horse, a coming 5 year old Arabian mare Rana.  Rhonda rides a cute gaited, spotted something, Snickers.  We met at Jodi's house and loaded the three horses (I rode Cameo, an Arab mare Jodi & I bought together several years ago in hopes of having a foal from her - that didn't work out, but she's a nice extra horse to have around for trail riding) in Jodi's little trailer for the quick jaunt to her in-laws property, about 5 miles away.

Rhonda performing the snowbank mounting feat we needed today.

Heading across the hayfield / runway  with dogs Cooter (cattle dog) & Ripley (hound) in tow

We set off through hock deep (on the Arabs - belly deep on Snickers!) crusty snow, with the horses frequently stopping and looking back to the trailer while clearly exchanging glances indicating how ridiculous us humans were for asking them to struggle though this snow.  

Heading into the woods on slightly firmer footing - a few snowmobiles had run over this area & slightly packed it, although the horses still broke through unexpectedly. Rhonda & Snickers in the lead and Jodi & Rana following.

Crossing the hayfield / runway (Jodi's father-in-law flies planes) was the most difficult portion because the horses couldn't really count on consistent footing, and traded off breaking trail several times.  The fact that you don't really see deer tracks in this snow at all tells you something - it's really deep & difficult going!  The deer stick to the roads, driveways, and snowmobile trails to get around.  We are all riding bareback (Rhonda & I with bareback pads, Jodi truly bareback) - which gives us nice toasty warm buns, but also requires quite a lot of balance & flexibility to stay with the horses as they lurch & lunge through the deep snow.  It is a workout for both parties for sure.

The trails in the woods are more passable, which allowed us a little trotting and even a spot of cantering.  Whee!

Turn-around spot

Making our way back to the trailer, coming around the far end of the runway, with tired & sweaty horses, though we only rode for about 1/2 hour

The horses sure got their cardio workout for the weekend!  Lots of strength (resistance) training, too.  We're already looking ahead to our endurance season & starting to get everyone in shape.

After returning to Jodi's, we each grabbed another horse to head out for a quick jaunt on the road so I could test Jodi's FreeForm Classic treeless saddle.

Shilo modeling the FreeForm Classic treeless saddle over a Skito Dryback pad.

I rode Shilo, an Arab mare & endurance mount, to try the FreeForm saddle.  I was very comfortable in this saddle!  It felt like a "real" treed saddle in terms of the support I felt for my seat & position, but was also very close contact and I could really feel the horse moving, too.  It was a very brief trial, but I liked this saddle.  I will continue to look into a FreeForm and keep it on my list of potential saddles.

Jodi rode her other young horse, Kiya

Rhonda rode another spotted horse, Gypsy - but this one's a lot taller than little Snickers!

After our two rides, I changed Rhio's bandage and started to think about other options to help him heal.  I plan to start acupuncture treatments tomorrow, and also to discuss shoeing with my farrier at our appointment on Wednesday.  I wonder if unloading the hoof wall below the injury will allow the coronary band to come back down into a more normal position.  The injury is no longer draining and looks quite healthy, but the coronary band is not resuming a more normal location and that is worrying.  I did let him run around the indoor for a little bit today, to blow off some steam, and he is perfectly sound again in all gaits.  Yeah! 

You can see how nice & clean & dry it looks now (Day 8) but that coronary band certainly isn't where it's supposed to be!

For comparison, here's the injury 8 days ago when I started bandaging & treating.

Rhio playing with the "pony pacifier" treat ball while I rebandage his foot.

A Little Bit O' This, A Little Bit O' That

My friend Gesa & I planned to meet & ride today.  Since it's February, that means using the indoor arena & her coming to my barn to ride my horses.  In the summer, we tend to trade off riding each other's horses when we can't organize a trailer to borrow to go somewhere (she has a truck but no trailer - I have neither.)

Since Rhio is on the injured reserve list, that meant I had to get Red over to the barn where Rhio & Cricket live, so I would have horse for her to borrow.  Luckily, Red's barn is just a mile through the woods and the properties abut each other.  Since both property owners have had some logging work done recently, the trails are fairly passable as long as you stay in the equipment tracks.

I saddled up Red with the bareback pad & bridle (this was a handy choice - see later!) and we set off through the woods with Kelso on our heels.  It was still quite chilly, around zero, so I was happy to have my Carhartts on - my bend-ability, however, was negligible & much ducking was required to negotiate the trails while avoiding as much of the inevitable snow-down-the-back-of-the-neck as possible. Also, I wore a backpack with a few things I intended to give/show to Gesa or needed for the morning (no saddle bags on the bareback pad.)  This turned out to be a more challenging prospect than I had imagined.  Even a light backpack really changes your balance!  Also, it was quite bouncy at anything more than a walk!  I don't think I'll make a habit of riding with a backpack.

We made it to the other barn with no major mishaps, although Red was snorting & blowing like we were on Mars.  I admit, with the logging, it did look different back there - but, really, come on silly pony!  I think he was just pissed that I'd taken him away from the morning hay.

Gesa saddled up Cricket with the Barefoot treeless saddle I'm borrowing, and I put Red's Synergist on him (so we could trade horses & trade saddles throughout the morning - trying each saddle on each horse.)

We mounted up in the indoor, and Gesa immediately got the "riding Cricket" grin!  He is a fabulous ride and absolutely everyone who climbs aboard can't help but grin ear-to-ear.  She really liked the Barefoot saddle, but had never ridden Cricket before, so didn't know how much was loving the horse (he has amazing soft gaits) and how much was the saddle.  We switched saddles, trying the Barefoot on Red and putting the Synergist on Cricket.  Then, we switched horses.  Gesa has ridden Red before and is pretty familiar with him.  She put him through his paces in the Barefoot & still loved the saddle.  Cricket & I puttered around and I became convinced that I didn't particularly care for the Barefoot.  It was quite interesting to switch back & forth between the 2 saddles, and on both horses - I think it gave us a good feel for each saddle independent of the horse effects.  

Red wearing the Barefoot saddle

Christine & Tomas joined us & the three of us played leapfrog (teaching the horses to pass & be passed while maintaining a steady pace - theoretically, anyway!) for several laps around the arena both directions, and Cricket gave me a marvelous little lope.  

Christine & Tomas, and Gesa & Red - illustrating what we were REALLY doing all morning - gabbing!

Kelso - reluctantly supervising while wishing the car was here so he could go sit in it

We decided to introduce Red to the soccer ball after we were done riding.  He took to it immediately, showing the most interest of any of the horses!  

Red nuzzles the ball while I adjust stirrups preparing to mount up & play - this was less than 3 minutes after he first saw the ball.

Yes, we're in the midst of kicking the ball!

Get that ball!

Once Red had demonstrated his soccer prowess (he was elected team captain, and so far sole member, of Team Edward) he was allowed to munch some hay in a stall while Rhio got his bandage changed. Today he was a perfect pony, walked right into the tack room, and his wound is looking slightly better. So far no trouble keeping the boot & bandage on even out in the pasture!


Finally, Red & I got ready to head home, leaving the backpack & Carhartt's behind. Rhio, Cody, & Winston took our walk through the alleyway by their pasture as an invitation to run through the deep snow behind us, revving Red up & setting the tone for the entire ride home. Red transformed into a fire-breathing dragon and about dragged my arms out of their sockets! I was thrilled to have chosen bit & bridle over riding in the rope halter today! Also I was glad to have ditched the Carhartt's because I was very sweaty by the time we got back to his barn. I think I did a lot of yelling, too - but I don't think it made much of an impression on him. Needless to say, there are no photos of our return ride because I couldn't let go of the reins to grab the camera nor would they have been worth looking at if I had - too much motion for still photography! I stuck like a burr to that bareback pad & managed not to get an eye poked out - so I guess we count that as a success :) It sure felt an awful lot like the start of an endurance ride - only we're not typically plunging through several feet of snow while attempting to beat recent Kentucky Derby winners and dodge overhanging, snow-laden pine trees.

First Ride in Borrowed Barefoot

I have such generous friends!  Tracy lent me her Barefoot saddle (I just realized I'm not sure which model it is - I'll have to check next time I ride it) to try on Rhio.  Yesterday I saddled him up with my Skito Dryback pad which fits the Synergist and is a little bigger than I would need for a saddle like this.  But, really, the saddle-pad combination didn't seem too bad.  Rhio didn't mind saddling at all and stood for mounting like a champ.  I sure like how light this saddle is (less than 10 pounds, I think)!  It is a treeless saddle, so has no rigid structure to it at all.  There is nothing to pinch a horse's shoulders or withers, as long as the saddle-pad combination maintain wither & spine clearance (i.e. the weight of the rider doesn't squish the whole mess down onto the horse's back).  We had withers clearance for sure; next time I ride this saddle I'll have someone help me assess spine clearance by looking & feeling while I'm in the saddle.

The Skito pad sticks out several inches behind the cantle of the saddle.

Off we went down the driveway to the road, and about 1/4 mile down the road & back at a trot.  We still have to be very cognizant of our footing, as only the shoulders of the road are soft.  The driving lanes are snow packed so tightly that it has nearly become ice.  Our recent sunny & warm days have made even this area fairly soft, but yesterday wasn't sunny and the damp east wind made it feel quite chilly. Hmmm,  something feels funny - back home to adjust stirrups.  Dismount, fuss with stirrups (rotated the buckles down to near the stirrup instead of up under my thigh, as would be traditional on an English saddle), and off we go again, this time along the trail between pastures on our way to the back hayfield.

There is a crew doing some selective logging & trail clearing out back, so the trail has been plowed down to dirt and we trot merrily along.  Rhio is totally unconcerned about the loud machinery off in the woods (which we can't see) and I have to laugh quietly at one of the crew guys walking along the trail - he never noticed a grey horse & a rambunctious Golden Retriever behind him.  Rhio is moving out really nicely in his super-smooth trot that I just sit - he does this trot in his Synergist, too, but often not until we hit a higher speed.  Every trot step he took in the Barefoot was free & easy, like it is in the bareback pad. I like that!

Wearing Red's Synergist - the Skito pad is a bit big for this saddle too.

Home again for a saddle switch, this time to try Red's Synergist.  It looks & feels like a good fit, so I mount up and head out west on the road this time.  Kilian joyfully accompanied us for the 3rd outing of the day - and Rhio didn't complain at all about leaving for the 3rd time, either.  We went about 1/2 mile before turning around (because I knew that east wind in our face coming home was going to be particularly unpleasant).  Wow, does riding this saddle feel different than the Barefoot!  I can feel the rigidity of the saddle - but also the support it gives me as the rider.  Also, I have English stirrup irons hung on the Barefoot and my usual wide trail stirrups (4" platform for my feet) on Red's saddle - and this makes a big different as well.

I only rode in the Barefoot for about 20 minutes, but I am looking forward to riding in it again.  I was pleased so far with it, but need to have more time & miles in it to know for sure.  It is the first of several borrowed saddles I will get to try over the coming weeks.  I did decide to put Rhio's Synergist up for sale, since Red's saddle is a reasonably good fit and can be used on both horses (and I can only ride 1 at a time, anyway!).  This means I'm officially saddle searching!

Rhio's Synergist, which is now officially for sale!  I find this saddle VERY comfortable for me, but my horse's comfort is my number one priority.

For Comparison

Here's Rhio when I bought him in 2006 as a 6 year old.  He was green broke and had been standing in a pasture for over a year.  He was slightly underweight and had no muscle development at all.

Look at that skinny neck! And you can see how prominent his withers are.

And here he is with the Equi Measure mold on when I first made it to send off for his saddle fitting.

And here are the recent photos of him - you can see that now he's a bit overweight (hey, it's January!) but also that his back has completely changed shape and he's gained a lot of muscle development.  He's been in regular work and just isn't the same horse anymore.  No wonder he needs a new saddle!

Window of Opportunity

Christine plays ringmaster to Tomas & Rhio.

We had a small window of opportunity today to do something with our horses, so we began with a little free lunging in the indoor. Christine did a masterful job of managing the boys while I tried to get good photos.

The Arab head-flip

Tomas works the trot

Good stretch!

Are we done yet?

Then we hopped on for a quick ride down to the “end of the block” and back – that wind sure was cold when we turned for home!  Tomas danced a little jig for Christine on the way home, but otherwise we had a relaxing little jaunt.

After our ride, I brought out the EquiMeasure (http://www.equimeasure.com) back mold, which I had done of Rhio’s back in March 2006. (See Mom, there really is a reason to keep EVERYTHING! You just might need it for something someday!) This was in preparation for having a custom made Synergist endurance saddle (http://www.synergistsaddles.com) fit for his back.  I noticed recently, after saddling him for the first time in a few months (because I’ve been riding in the bareback pad), that his little misbehaviors during saddling & mounting were gone completely with the bareback pad. But they returned the very first time I put the Synergist saddle on him – hmmmm….

EquiMeasure from 3/06 which very obviously doesn't fit his wither/shoulders at all - it is so narrow now it stands up several inches (it should be a perfect mold of his back).

He never complains under saddle and moves out well.  His back is never obviously sore.  But when saddling, he is evasive & scoots away from me.  And when mounting, he raises a hind leg at me.  I had chaulked it up to “just being Rhio,” but I think I’ve been missing a very important memo he’s been trying to send me for a long time!

 "No, this hay belly has NOTHING to do with why my saddle doesn't fit anymore!"

So now it’s time to consider the options: 1) redo the back mold and have the Synergist refit to his new shape 2) buy a new saddle 3) try Red’s custom fit Synergist to see if it fits Rhio as well (since Rhio's back looks a lot like Red's back now that he's filled out) then sell Rhio’s Synergist and ponder the options a while longer.  Luckily, I have some wonderful friends who are generously lending me various saddles to try as I begin the process of looking for a new saddle and weighing all the options.  Stay tuned for updates on each saddle as I try them!  This is my second "window of opportunity" of the post's title - I need to have this figured out by the time real conditioning starts (usually mid- to late- March).