Testing

Today was the first test of saddle fitness on the trail. I encouraged N to take a chance and come check out the new places we have to ride. The wonder of this trail, resting just below the Flatirons, is enough to fill my soul with happiness. I thought she and Cali would enjoy it just as much. Our plan to get to the barn by 9:30 was only slightly delayed. 

 J and I hooked up the trailer, pulled it around, and Gustavo helped with the shavings. N and I loaded tack and when the trailer was ready, I brought Ashke out. The plan was to load him and once he was loaded, N would bring out Cali. Imagine our surprise when I walked Ashke up to the trailer and without even hesitating, he walked right on. I got him inside and then N came out. 

My trailer is a slant load with high slats. It's designed to allow air flow but to reduce the amount of wet that gets in while trailering. That's one of the reasons I got such a good price on the thing. The second thing about my trailer is that the partition between the front slot and the second is solid and high. This is good if you are trailering horses that don't get along or two horses that are far apart in the social hierarchy. It was not, however, the best choice for Ashke and Cali.

Cali walked up and put her two front feet on the trailer. Ashke heard her and went into his best stallion mode of communication. Blasting whinnies were followed by frantic nickering. It kind of freaked Cali out. N, smart woman that she is, walked Cali around to the window and let Ashke see it really was Cali. He settled (in comparison) a little bit then, and without much fuss we were able to load Cali. 

It was a quick ten minute drive to the trailhead and then we unloaded. We opted to walk both horses around to one of the cattle pens (Boulder Valley Open Space leases out a lot of their open land to local farmers to run cattle on to help manage the fuel load) and groom them in their, just to lessen the anxiety on the part of N. The trailer was parked in a way that would have made grooming them rough with the traffic at that parking lot. The pen was a good idea, because it allowed both of us to relax and take our time with the horses. The only drawback was the amount of walking we made J do, taking stuff back to the trailer.

Cali was pretty excited to be out on the trail and we did a bunch of trotting to start the ride. And a couple of canters up the hills (twice) which J complained of bitterly. (She enjoyed a very long and fast downhill though, so that made up for the steep uphill. One the second hill, J managed a series of pictures that captures the ride.

Letting my race horse race up the hill. This is the first time I just let him run as fast as he wanted to go. It was the first time I didn't feel scared about his balance or his ability. Or my being able to stop him if needed.

I think he was in shock at the release of control. He didn't bolt, but he definitely ran.

My horse with his head UP. Although, in our defense, I think most Arabians being ridden out of an arena, look a lot like this.

Not wanting to slow down

Not wanting to stop. Although he did bring his head down when we attained the trot.

Cali can canter and transition with proper form.

We had to stop to fix the saddle blanket. It kept slipping back. I was riding in the BOT, because this was our first trail ride in the Alta and I wanted to keep his back warm and loose.

Look at those haunches.

My little beefcake stopping for a photo moment.

Our first trail ride (for real) since the first of November

Wandering through the trees.

At one point we were wandering through the trees. There are a lot of downed branches and small trees in the grass. There was one that I thought would make a nice introductory jump of natural construction (you never really know what you might find on trail and I would like Ashke to be able to jump up to 2' without me falling off or jerking on his mouth). Ashke locked onto the downed tree (maybe 8" off the ground), jumped it easily without any fuss, and trotted away. Riding that jump in the Alta was the easiest thing I have ever done. I turned and watched Cali jump over it like it was 3' tall, with her legs curled up and her body all arched. I think N will probably try her at jumping at some point (but not alot because of the stress it puts on her joints).

Natural cavalletti

Temps in the low 70's. I love this series of photos in the trees.

I LOVE my saddle. Ashke LOVES his saddle.

Cali was so relaxed and N had a wonderful time. N is trying to let go of the "out of control" feeling that being on the trail elicits in her. She is trying to let go of her fear as well, which I think she did a fantastic job of, and just enjoy the ride.

Another series of riding towards J through the trees.

Ashke is getting more and more sure footed with every ride.

Most of my ride with Ashke was on a loose rein. He is getting really good at the neck reining thing, which I personally prefer when riding on the trail.

We can walk on a loose rein, but if we are negotiating terrain (like going down Doudy Draw) or trotting or cantering, he prefers more contact.

 My only complaint on the ride was the girth. I have ordered a Toklat Fleece Girth in bright blue. It should be here on Tuesday night. The poly girth pulls at his hair and makes him grumpy.

We stopped here and let the horses graze while we ate sandwiches.

 Happy horses.

 I love this picture. They are walking in stride.

Lunch Time

During lunch a couple of hikers with a white boxer came by. Ashke walked over and they greeted each other. The boxer really wanted to play and Ashke was willing to try. If they had been loose it would have been fun to see what they did, but it wasn't going to happen on the trail. It's just another moment in our relationship where his curiosity is so damn apparent.

We crossed four narrow rock bridges and although they weren't very high, they were kind of scary.
I think he was more worried about the rocks than the bridge.

Neither of them blinked.

Rocks are scary, you know.

Onto the next thing

 Coming down the trail toward the parking lot

 Still looking around at ALL THE THINGS

 Meandering down the trail.

 The point at which Ashke recognizes J waiting at the bottom of the hill.

Nice little 4 mile ride.

The saddle seems to have worked nicely on Saturday. The compression pattern seemed symmetrical and even. We didn't go fast enough or far enough for sweat. And on Sunday we got snow all day. I am planning on riding on Monday night, so maybe I will be able to tell then what the sweat pattern looked like. Overall, the first test of the saddle was an A. The saddle pad was annoying, but not awful. I have already ordered a fleece girth to replace the poly one. I do need to raise the stirrups, though, since when I stood up in them there was no discernable difference in my position in the saddle.

Finally!!!

Thank you, Lisa, for the great customer service in getting me my saddle. The Alta Esquela has arrived from Ludomar in Spain via El Sueno Espanol Saddles out of Missouri. El Sueno Espanol, http://elsuenoespanol.com/store/, sells a lot of saddles, bridles and bits from Spain and Portugal. They are designed for the short-backed Spanish horses like the Lusitano and the Andalusian. I have coveted one since I read Saiph's entry on her Alta. (Her's is much fancier, since she had it customized. I wasn't ready to do that, because it would have been impossible to return if I hadn't liked it. I opted for the smooth black leather one, flex wide tree, standard seat.) The wait was just a little over 2 months (which I knew about in advance) since they had to build one for me.

 

 My wait is finally over and it was well worth it. This saddle is luxurious. Several of my co-workers, who have been following our saga, came in to see the saddle. The first thing they commented on was the softness of the leather. It is super soft, like butter. I've always heard that comment, but this is the first time I have actually felt it. The stitching was clean and neat. The overall appearance of the saddle is of understated quality; function and form together.

 

It's here!!! And sitting in my office waiting for me to take it to the barn.

 

J, who was probably as excited as I was, came to the barn with me to test it on Ashke. Ashke was surprised to see us so late, but amiable to being fed carrots. He was nervous about the saddle. My Princess (and the Pea) got a bit testy in the crossties as I lifted the saddle onto his back. He puffed his belly out to inhibit the girth even reaching the billet straps, which when the girth was tightened was plenty long enough - it's just getting the girth to reach in the first place. The boy can expand by a good four inches.

Testing the fit along his back.

 

It fits nicely, leaving plenty of room for movement through his shoulder. I could slide my hand between the top of his wither and the bottom of the gullet. There was two inches of space all along his spine. The sides of the saddle fit the shape of his body very well, so that when the girth is tightened it doesn't bow out the panels along his back. It is a little looser in the left wither than the right, but that is an issue with his withers, not the saddle. If anything, I would look at a Mattes shim pad (ching, ching) so I could add just a bit of fill on the left. Or maybe I could make my own shim half-pad. I am going to give it a couple of weeks of riding before making that purchase, however. I am hoping that he will find it easier to become symmetrical now, and we will work on lateral movement and transitions to help with the development.

New wool backed saddle pad from El Sueno Espanol Saddles to go with the Alta.

You can tell from his ears that Ashke wasn't certain about the decision to try a new saddle.

 

The last two saddles we tried were not good on his back and he hated how they felt. The Wintec Isabelle, with the square plastic panels, elicited a massive spook and buck when I asked for any type of forward or collection. I can honestly say that was the absolute worse saddle we tried. The aussie wasn't much better. Ashke was unhappy with another saddle to try and got very tense in the crossties as I tightened the girth.

He got happier.

When we got the to indoor, I had to go to the bathroom. J took Ashke and led him around the arena to allow him time to get used to how the saddle felt on his back and how it moved with him. When I got back he had relaxed a little bit, realizing that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. 

 

 

 Moving quickly at the walk.

 

He felt very similar to how he felt when I rode him in the dressage saddle. He was really swinging at the walk. There is a marked difference in his movement when his shoulders are free. I've been feeling that hesitation or stiffness in his gait for awhile now and only felt it gone when we were riding in the Wintec (the first, not the Isabelle). Last night, he was powering forward, rather than feeling "stuck".

He was super responsive to leg pressure. Even the slightest tightening of my calf muscle was enough to move him away from my leg.

 

 

Working across the arena, with some lateral movement.

 

Moving in almost a sidepass at the trot.

Decent Lateral Movement

Cantering

 

The first time I asked for a canter, Ashke was uncertain. We trotted a lot before he got launched. He was stiff and bouncy. I realized it was because I had grabbed on with my lower leg and he was unsure what the hell that meant. On our second canter, I sat back, relaxed and just moved with him instead of trying to hold on. 

 

First Canter

We are levitating. He looks happy and comfortable there.

Such a swinging walk.

Moving his hind end out.

 

My first impressions are:

• The seat is very deep and incredibly comfortable. I was very surprised how deep it felt when I first sat in it. Additionally, the seat is very soft and forgiving. No pain to the seat bones in this saddle. I could see how easy it would be to ride for hours without getting tired of being in the saddle.
• It took three tries before I had the stirrup leathers the right length. They may still be a hole short, but they were decent for last night. I do want to lengthen them before I ride tonight.
• Once Ashke realized it wasn't going to hurt, his movement opened up.
• For whatever reason, whether it is the fit or the construction of the saddle, Ashke was so much more responsive to my leg, to the shift of my weight, and the overall communication between us feels more connected.
• I used my hand to check the fit of the gullet after we had been riding for a while. It fits a little tighter on the right, but there was no pinch point or rub while he moved. I could still get two fingers in, even after the saddle was girthed and I was on him.
• I am riding in a much better seat and leg position than I was. The even better part of that is that my back didn't hurt. I could see myself being able to ride without the BOT back brace.

My goal going forward is two-fold: I am planning on riding in the arena tonight and Sunday in the snaffle to see how well he does when asked to use his back. This will really solidify for me how well the saddle fits. The second is that I need to get some miles on him and see what the sweat pattern across his back looks like. I may need to have the flocking adjusted, but that will be hard to tell until I have ridden him for a while.



VCMBH: Right Here, Right Now

Viva Carlos is asking the question: What are you doing with your horse, right here, right now.

This is what our goal is right now: to ride as many miles as is physically possible during the summer under any and all trail conditions.

To that end, we are working on loading with improved success after two tries.

We are looking at extending miles.

I am working on gaining confidence at the canter. Sunday, we cantered every time the trail was smooth enough for safety, in my book. We also trotted some of the trail I thought might be too challenging and he did fantastic. The end goal is to increase our overall speed and increase our overall distance so we are riding farther in the same amount of time. This is prep work to see if we can actually do a 25 mile ride on 8/2.

Ashke is strengthening his back and butt by riding up and down all manner of trail, stepping carefully and cautiously over rocks and downed trees. (Natural cavalletti). He has shown himself to be very sure footed (much better than last year) and we only had two trips on our ride on Sunday. Both were caused by him craning his neck to look at something other than where his feet are.

He . . . he is pretty happy doing it. For the first time since I brought him home he is feeling strong enough, safe enough and happy enough to drop out of his sheath. I've even caught him completely dropped in his run in the sun. Something that was causing him anxiety or stress and holding him on edge is now gone.

Two

 Saturday:

 

J and I rode out from the barn on our typical ride on the Fairmont Trail. It was a lovely day, but with very little foot traffic on the trail.



I have no idea what the hell was going on here. I think I was asking him to stop and he was resisting.

 



 

When we got close to Tucker lake we took a detour up a path I have been curious about. Unfortunately, it was a feeder path through the neighborhood and didn't really lead any where. We wandered through the neighborhood and ended back up at Tucker Lake.

 



I wasn't done exploring though. We followed a new bike path up through these two neighborhoods and ended up connecting to a nice path that took us back to the main loop of the Fairmont, which we followed home.

Ashke had a great ride. We cantered four times on trail, with my confidence getting higher each time.

J seemed to have a nice ride. We stopped at about half way through and ate sandwiches and shared an orange. Ashke was allowed to graze during our stop. (And he kept snatching bites as we walked.)

 

We had a great time and the exploring managed to add a mile and a half to our ride.

 

 

 

 

A couple of ride notes: As we got back close to home there is a field we like to canter in. J asked me if I was going to canter and I said sure. I asked Ashke for a canter. He transitioned up nicely, took three steps and stopped. On a dime. If I had not been holding the front of his saddle I would have been off. As it was, the stop rocked us all the way forward and I faceplanted on his neck. Ashke then tried in a awkward and ineffectual way to jump the small stand of dried weeds that he stopped for. For some reason he does not think he can run through them.

 

Second, when we got back to the barn, Gina was there untacking her horse. She said that we can get to Partridge Park (one of my many goals) by turning right on the dirt track instead of turning left and going back to the Fairmont. We will try that some day next weekend. She offered to ride out with me, which I thought would be a lot of fun. I hope J and I and possibly T can do a couple of rides next weekend.

 

I washed him after our ride, fed him his mash and supps, then left him with two full buckets of Horse Quencher. The day was in the low 80's and I wanted to make sure he drank a lot. He emptied both buckets by 8 pm and they were refilled with fresh water for the night.

Sunday

 

 

On Sunday we trailered back to Dowdy Draw. J and T brought their bikes. Ashke was not certain he wanted to get on the trailer, so I didn't even mess around. I put the come-a-long on him (without any pressure) and walked him to the trailer. I let him think about it briefly and then asked with the lead rope without adding pressure on the butt rope (remember - I'm not trying to force him in, I am trying to stop him from pulling back and backing up.) He stepped on the trailer and waited fairly calmly for me to get the rope off him again. He called once and then was fine.

 

When we got to the parking lot the lot was full, but there were two different hikers who had just parked their cars in the trailer parking side. I kicked them out. The one guy, who was kind of snotty about it, demanded to know where the sign was dictating that the side we were on was for horse trailer parking only. I walked him over and showed him the four by six foot sign on the huge rock as you pull in. It was hard for him to argue with that. Both groups moved their cars and we pulled into the slot that they opened up.

 

When I got Ashke out of the trailer, he stood fairly quietly, waiting for me to get him ready. He wasn't interested in the grass, just in being on the trail. We got ready and out of the parking lot in pretty decent time. 

 

I have to tell you, this horse completely impresses me more every day.

He has no problem spending the day trail riding with J and T. He's not stressed or nervous and he was forward and willing on the trail.

Parking lot from the top of the hill and J and T by the fence.
 

We stopped a mile in to eat beef jerky and let Ashke graze. We really need to figure the food thing out. I had planned on packing sandwiches and sodas, but then we forgot to stop to get them. The snacks thing held us over, but the boy still got grumpy.

This is a fairly technical trail down off the plateau into the valley. It is really rocky and the first time Ashke has been asked to traverse something this "footy". He had a couple of missteps where he was gawking at something to his left, but other than that he was awesome!!

This trail feels scarier than it looks. The drop off to the right was pretty steep and even Ashke was snorting softly at it. T was worried he would lose control and tumble down the draw.

It switchbacks and then leads to the creek. The creek has a path on it that leads back up to the plateau and would be a stiff but direct climb up to the parking lot. That was the plan.

 

Still heading down.

You can see the creek in the background of this photo. It was washed out in the flooding last year and the crossing over it was hairy enough I got off and led Ashke. I was afraid of him slipping on wet rocks and wanted him balanced and able to scramble without my weight throwing him off. He was a rock star!!

Somewhat happy.

 

This bridge was about three feet wide with a small waterfall on one side and a fairly swift moving stream. Ashke walked over it without any issues.

I love my horse!!

 

 

The Flatiron Mountain Range.

 

The same mountain range we have on our rings.

 

 

So, instead of riding the community ditch trail back to 93 and then up to the parking lot, we had to go the long way. They are building an underpass under 93 for bikes, horses and people, but it's still being built, so the ditch was closed. T was not happy, but none of us wanted to turn around and go back up that draw.

 

We had to ride on the side of the road from the trailhead to where it connects with 93. Way in the distance starting up the hill is J and T. Ashke and I were a bit slower. At the top of that hill is a convenience store where we bought sandwiches, sodas and some Sweetarts (bribery for the boy). We all felt much better after eating. By this time we were all tired and sunburned. (And yes, I did have a DP. Don't judge me.)

 

 

Across the road from the convenience store was this.

 

This riding path has been on my bucket list for 20 years. This was the only time T had fun all day.

 

 

There was a lot less rock in this park and even the uphills were less taxing. The footing was pretty good and Ashke and I cantered quite a bit.

 

So beautiful when it's green.

 

 

Nice wide paths, with little rock.

 

 

There were a couple of bridges I got off to lead him across. I get nervous when you can see between the boards.

This is the community ditch trail and probably the best footing all day. We did a lot of cantering here.

 

 

The boy was not happy with the climb up to the plateau. He was so unhappy I offered to put him up on Ashke and I would lead Ashke and push the bike. He refused and stopped talking to me. This was the top of the plateau again. We rode down off of this and crossed the road to get back to where we parked the truck.

 

 

 

Back at the trailer Ashke drank down a full bucket of water with Horse Quencher and then ate some of his mash while I untacked him. During the untacking process I discovered that the toe of his front glove was gone. I need to order replacements. I also need to add powerstraps to the backs.

 

When we went to load him, J took the rope and walked him onto the trailer. No muss. No fuss. No hesitation, even. Just walked on. She's in charge of loading from now on. When we reached the barn I rinsed him off, checked his legs and put him away with another bucket of Horse Quencher.

 

The plan is to let him move a bit in the round pen tonight at liberty, to check his legs and make sure he is still sound. Then he will have time off until the new saddle gets here. I may rub his back tonight with Sore No More to help keep the muscles loose and to help with any pain.

 

18.7 miles in two days. Not bad at all.

Ball

J came out to the barn with me tonight and we pulled the trailer out for some trailer loading practice. We started with the helmet on, but I think he's going to have to trailer without it, since it blocks his vision. I wanted the practice to be low key and relaxes, so provided proper snacks in the form of some type of sweet feed. He walked up to the trailer, but refused to step on.

Cassandra came to try and help. She put her hand on his butt to encourage him to  move forward. He kicked her twice. That did not end well, but he still did not go on the trailer. I took him back from her and tried to take the volume down a little, since this was just to load and unload quietly with riling him up. He was having nothing of it and pulled back hard every time we got near.

I found my come-a-long rope and made the figure eight around his haunches and around the base of his neck. I tie it off there, so the rope doesn't slip, and thread the other end through his halter. He began kicking a lot. Every time there was the slightest pressure he kicked. I had had enough. He kicked, he got the long end of the rope across his butt. Once was all it took and he stopped kicking. He worked in a circle around me and then started to calm down. I walked him to the trailer and waited to see what he would do. He thought about it right at the edge. I gave him a minute and then applied just the slightest pressure on the come-along. He stepped on the trailer. I praised him and let him have some sweet feed as a reward. Then we turned and stepped off. He rushed a little bit, but not as bad as last time.

We walked away and then turned and walked back . It took a couple of times for him to figure out that he needed to walk forward, since pulling back or kicking resulted in working in a small circle around me or being smacked on the haunches. He walked right into the trailer and all the way to the front with out any issues. I fed him, praised him a lot and then walked him off. This time I paused at the edge of the back and asked him to wait. He did. Then we stepped off nicely.

I took him down and turned him loose in the outdoor arena with the lights on and then brought him his ball as a reward. I used the barn's compressor to fill the ball and as I was carrying it past the horses they were spinning and snorting and WTFing all over the place. As I was kicking it across the parking lot to the arena, Ashke saw it. His head came up and he trotted over to meet it as I kicked it into the arena.

Then this happened.

He let me know when he was done. We would have a hard time with a super long endurance ride, because the boy is afraid of the dark. I think the next time we try to play in the round pen he will be very happy.