The Bay Brigade

Where else would I be on a warm (35 degrees!) sunny Saturday afternoon but at the barn!  Lucky for me, several of my fellow boarders felt the same way. Given the opportunity for a little group ride, I decided to take Cricket out for a spin.  He is such a joy to ride, but he does not go out by himself.  At almost 28, this is just a facet of his personality that he is entitled to have.  I won’t fuss about it, but it does mean that I have to jump at the chance to take him out when I can.  With Kristi (brown jacket) & Cody and Karen (red jacket) & Duke, we formed a trio of bay geldings for the outing. 

We headed west out the driveway and continued about a mile out, encountering some newly cleared area with logging equipment and a brush pile burning, crossing a paved road, and continuing to the top of a small hill before heading back to the barn.  I’m quite sure that Cricket has no idea how old he is – tack him up and mount, and he suddenly becomes a proud prince and all Arab.  Ears up, forward, and prancing into the lead was his favorite place to be today.  He is so proud of himself when he is out for a ride J  And I’m told I wear a silly grin the whole time.

Cricket & Duke enjoyed some socializing, 

and Cody showed off his fancy saddle pad.  

Back at the barn, I spent some time adjusting Rhio’s new beta biothane tack (from http://www.runningbear.com) – an endurance racing bridle with snaps to detach the bit and thus convert into a halter (called a halter/bridle).  These are great for competition because you never have to change headgear on your horse during the ride – you can go from the trail in a bridle to the vet check & back to the trailer to eat & relax on your hold in a halter.  I typically ride Rhio in a hackamore, which I have on the neon lime green “add-on” bridle, which slides on easily & clips to the racing bridle for stability.  I used to place this over a simple rope halter, but I want the option to use a bit (instead of the hackamore) so this new set-up will be perfect.  Right now I have Red’s bit on Rhio’s bridle (I ride Red in his rope halter all winter) while I’m trying to decide what bit to get for Rhio.  I also have a new matching beta biothane breast collar, but he’s not modeling that here because I didn’t saddle him today. 

 

Folks who know me well may think it odd that I chose black.  One of the fun things about biothane tack is that it comes in all the colors of the rainbow (and then some!).  Red's bridle is royal blue with white overlay, and he looks smashing in it (thanks to the famous Secretariat, also a shining chestnut, for color inspiration - he raced in blue & white).  

Well, since I already had the neon lime green (and also matching saddle bags) - I figured that was plenty of color.  Also, what really matches neon lime green?  Not much!  Rhio's saddle is black, so the black breastcollar ties in well.  I do feel slightly conventional with my color choice, but I have to admit that a white (well, technically gray) horse looks spiffy in black.  If only choosing a bit were as easy as choosing a color scheme!