How Interesting! Productive Saturdays!

It was SUCH a gorgeous day on Saturday. Hot and sunny, but with that nice breeze that makes everything perfect. All day long I just felt like I was radiating inner peace and gratitude for the day. I adore that feeling.

I slept late, needing to catch up after being up til midnight on Thursday from seeing Wicked and then having to work at 7 the next morning! Wicked was definately worth the lost sleep though!! So I slept in, then I got up, still lazed in bed with perfect kitty Cairo. When I finally got up, I ate breakfast then sat down to finish reading my Savvy Times magazine, which I have been putting off due to being absorbed in two really great books back to back. Really good Savvy Times though!

When I finally finished that, I got ready to go over to see Mo, and I brought Dakota's Wintec Wide saddle, just to test. I feel like Mo's regular Wintec with the white gullet fits her, but something is missing. I feel so disconnected at the canter, and I cant help but wonder if it is the saddle. The way the Wide is built, to me its closer to a Close Contact seat style, being more open, compared to the more cradled closed style of the regular Wintec. I like both, I think both are ultra comfortable. But the key is which does Mo like better.

So I brought Mo in, brushed her down, fly soaked her and tested the saddle. Hmm How Interesting! In the last year [I used to have a Wide for her to, but she just wasnt.. well... wide enough!] she has filled out enough to be able to 'support' the Wide decently well, without the theraflex. When I added the saddle pad, things actually looked doable! Some digging in the tack room produced an old cob-webby dressage girth [ that is leather and I have now drenched in neatsfoot oil and its super pretty] that actually fit Mo, so that was a plus.

Saddled up, I brought her out into the back yard to graze and watch what her back looked like in the saddle. I hadnt decided that I was going to ride yet. I just wanted to hang out with Mo, just to be with her. I let her graze while I soaked up some sun, lying in the grass. Then, me being the rider addict I am, got up and tightened the girth a little to test. Cob-webby girth has no elastics, so tightening is ... fun? I have top wonder though, is wearing a girth with no elastics like a person wearing a corset? Is it still comfortable for the horse? I will have to think on that.

Mo kept grazing this whole time, until I asked her to move around - which she did with astounding enthusiam [not] When I got the girth as tight as I thought I needed it - saddle wasnt moving when I pulled on it - I asked Mo to keep her head up and attempted to mount. I say attempted here because as soon as I put weight to jump up in the stirrup, the saddle slipped sideways. Doh! Mo had let out a big sigh because I wouldnt let her graze anymore, subsequently loosening the saddle! No big deal, I just reset it and tightened it again before trying again.

Success!! This time the saddle didnt shift an inch! Which is interesting, because when I used to have it on her it ALWAYS moved. Yet on Dakota [whose saddle this is] it never moves, its like its glued to his back. How interesting! So, I settled in and let some more air out of the pad since I felt perched still. It felt a little odd, being back in the wide saddle after so long in the 'skinny' saddle - not really all that skinny on Mo, but comaratively, in the twist its a big difference between ones legs...

I like this saddle, I really do. In the beginning, I found it sooo much more comfy than the regualr Wintec. Now I dont notice so much since I ride in the regular all the time. I remember now that I liked it a lot, a wide flat seat is super comfy! I shifted around for a while , just adjusting to the new feel, and letting Mo feel me before tying my 12' in reins and heading off down the trail.

I know, I know, I didnt do any ground play, but Mo was in a fabulous mood, and we played in the barn while I played with the saddle, and she just felt ready to ride. And I was right. We went off at a nice slow trot down the trail. We meandered around the trail at a trot, going up the hill and trotting down the galloping trail and back before trying the big test - the canter! This was a really interesting experience for me - and the whole basis for the title of this entry - the canter, that I usually have trouble being fluid with was gone... I was completely able to keep my butt in the saddle and be fluid and comfortable and have no issues with losing stirrups [newest delveopment] or gripping with my knees [which causes the stirrup losing] What a different experience!

Me, being me, I just had to test this out more. So Mo and I proceded to canter, gallop and trot everywhere, doing transitions to every gait and within gait to see if everything still worked. We even went halfway across the river for kicks. Everything felt great. Mo seemed happy, but nothing spectacularly more so than usual for her ' out on the trail' self. So I decided I would have to play with it some more. So the plan is to use that saddle in my next few rides to see how it goes.

While I was walking Mo out from our beautiful sunny ride - for which she behaved IMPECCABLY!- we ended up walking down the galloping trial and coming back down the laneway and passed the gate to the pasture. I dont usually use that gate, but I was feeling cramped on the trails [ crazy right?] so I jumped off Mo after ascertaining we couldnt possibly reach the rope tying the gate shut without my being on the ground, and let us into the pasture and remounted. We continued our walk around, doing the whole tour of the pasture, visiting the other horses and whatnot until we came to my tree... well not mine, but A tree. A fallen tree that online Mo loves to jump, and undersaddle I have always wanted to jump.

I thought why not, Mo is super confident today, and why not try jumping in the 'new' saddle. So we tried. We trotted up to it...and stopped. Hmm... the mind wasnt on the other side, so I backeed her up slowly and softly [phase two tops, and she was backing so steadily and straight!!] and we reapprached at a trot. Hmm... she stopped again, but her mind was considering going over this time. We repeated the exercise a few more times until her mind was DEFIANTLEY going over and she was leaning her head and neck over before stopping. On the last one she started to put a foot over so I just sent her a little more energy and she clambered over the tree, stopped and licked and chewed a TON! Hey, cool!

We just walked around some more after that, me trying to put the idea in her mind to pick up her head a little. On the trail her head is up - not UP right-brain-up, just up looking around, and she feels so much better to ride! So I am going to try to convince her that its a comfyer way to travel.. I hope. We shall see.

When I brought Mo up to the barn to dismount, I played with our new routine of put-your-foot-in-or-on-the-tire, which went well. When I jumped off and gave her a big hug Mo was licking and chewing a lot, which was neat. In the barn I just untacked pretty quick and brought her back to the yard to graze while I absorbed some more sun and thought about everything that just happened. Also, for whatever reason, I just felt amazing. Totally complete and happy and content with everything. Mo was perfect, the day was perfect, the weather was perfect, I was happy. It was such a wonderful feeling.

About forty sleepy minutes later the right ear bud in my headphones gave out [tear] so I went to my [messy] truck to try and locate the spare pair I got when I thought they died before - but revived! No dice, couldnt find them, but I DID clean out my truck - which needed it AND found my CAMERA CASE that I lost almost a year ago now when I went to pick up Indy! It was jammed under the passenger seat, between the centre console, chair and floor. Yea. Go figure. No headphones, but I was tickled pick to have finally found that case, so it doesnt really matter. I grabbed some new three dollar headphones at WallyWorld yesterday, so all is well.

After cleaning out my truck I put Mo back in the pasture and ran back to giver her more treats twice. Its really good practice for her!! She gets all excited and happy instead of afraid now when I run at her - I am just hurrying up to bring her tasty things!!!

At home I had decided to put my round pen back up. Last fall I moved it in an effore to make what would be a spring paddock to keep the horses off of the pasture come spring, but it ended up falling down and being knocked over by a rogue hayshed caught in a breeze. My horses all went to my aunts for the winter anyways, so no big deal. Since then all the panels have just been laying up against the fallen tree. So I set to lugging the panels over to the place where the round pen was last year. At least the circle was still in the ground, so I could guesstimate pretty well as to panel placement!

It was quite the endeavour to drag all the panels out - since they arent light! My dad made the pen home made from steel because he is a mechanic, so its extra tough. When I finally got all the panels over - even the HEAVY gate - I got to figure out how to put them up... with just me... The first panel has two 'feet' so it technically can stand on its own, but where I put it was bumpy so it kept falling down.... enter jumps standard - another dad special!- to hold it up by standing in the middle. So, by some small miracle I was able to get the first two panels up and together!

Of course that was when I realized I had layed the panels down all backwards and needed to flip them all before continuing... DOH! So I did that, by litteraly flipping them and somehow got the whole thing put up save the gate [got help with that later] The best thing about this whole shananagin though was Dakota. By panel #3 he was there, sniffling the ground in the 'ghostpen' and following me around, wanting his nose in everything. I just.. I couldnt stop hugging him! I am so beyond relieved that he is finally ok, finally back to normal that I cant even adequately express it. When he lost all that weight so fast in spring it scared the bejesus out of me, and it took him alllllll summer on tons of grain and pasture ornament status to get back to normal. I rode him bareback on Friday for ten minutes when I got home from riding Mo because I was so energized by her awesomeness and I almost cried because his back is all filled in at the appropriate couchy locations again finally. He doesnt look all wasted away anymore! Even though the weight loss wasnt anything I did via lack of feed - he basically wouldnt stop running and chasing horses, exhausting himself - I felt horrible and I am beyond relieved that he is better.

So me and my panel buddy put up the rest of the pen, Dakota didnt even leave when the panels were being flipped end over [12'] end and clanging on each other - which is a big deal for my big yellow chicken horse. I was so proud of him, and he was so happy and curious!! It was just... such a great addition to my perfect day.

When I was done outside I went in to get supper, watch Pirates of the Caribbean and upload music to my laptop. When I went out later to give Kota his supper he came running over to say hi. What a great great GREAT day!!

:-)
S