I had our saddle fitter out recently, she came for a couple of other riders but I needed her services too as it turned out. Charmer went fro being a mild mannered easy going fellow to one that told me to ##$#@!$ off, refused to trot, dropped his back, flipped his head up and swished his tail. All of which told me that there was a problem, checked everything that I could.
Turns out that while the last couple of months off were good for him mentally, it wasn't so good for him physically. He dropped some muscle tone in his back, which caused my saddle to drop down onto the muscles below his withers. That hurts.
Saddle fitter helped me to get it fixed, just need to add a little bit of cushion there for a few weeks/month, just until the muscles build back up. Thank goodness it was an easy fix. But I did talk to her about looking for another saddle, as a traditionalist, I would prefer a leather saddle. I like the Wintec Isabelle but it doesn't fit me very well and I hope that he isn't going to be spreading out in the back too much more.
Saddle fitter suggested a couple of brands, and I went looking. And boy did I find one that I liked. Black Country Eloquence is the name of it. Built for those widebacked warmbloods, which I don't have but I do have widebacked paint. My only problem is the saddle sells for $3000, which given how nice the saddle is, is not such a bad price. Now to figure out if I really like it enough to buy one. Need to find one to sit in and get my hands on so that I can see if I like it as much in person as I do in the photos.
Buggs is doing really well, we had to put him on his winter rations. Had lost a little too much weight over the last month or so, added rice bran to his senior smush. He might be 29 but he looks great, good warm fuzzy coat and bright eyes. Bossy as usual too. His left hock is so swollen though, not sure what else I can do about. Vet said that there really wasn't much to do, just to keep him comfy. The bute helps with the pain but hasn't done much to bring the swelling out of it. Was thinking about maybe getting some IcyHot, and rubbing that on it to see if it would help. Maybe will call the vet before I start slathering stuff on it. I was using DMSO but it is frozen and will stay that way until spring, it freezes at 65 degrees.
School is almost over for the semester, got 2 classes left. Finals are the week after next, got to get to studying. Or should I say studying more. Spring semester should be about the same as this one, one hard class, 1 sort of hard and then 1 not so much. With the end of this semester I have 2 left before I graduate with my BA in Anthropology. Then on to grad school for another 2 years. Oh joy, but if I want to be able to get into the field that I want then I need that upper degree. It should be fun and hard at the same time.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
5 November 2010
Going to a clinic tomorrow with friends from the barn, am so excited about it too. We are going to be spending the day listening to a dressage God, Walter Zettl. He is so wonderfully talented and quiet with the horses, it is going to be an amazing experience. Hopefully we will get some photos.
Charmer lunged really well on Wednesday, my lesson canceled on me so I put that time to good use. We have been working on the canter up transition. I want to make it more comfortble for him to pick up the canter. He did so well, the transitions were so smooth and fluid. I am very proud of my young man, I hope to get back into riding him next week. The weather is supposed to be really nice and I really need to get back in the saddle. The butterflies are still made of iron but they don't seem to be quite as fluttery. They are still there but I hope that I can manage them better and learn to ride Charmer's canter. It is so nice and uphill and the few times that I was able to get him cantering was very easy to ride.
Buggs is going to give me the guilt trip tomorrow for sure. I didn't realize it was going to be quite as cold as it is supposed to get tonight so all he has on his sheet. Mom called a little bit ago and said that it was lightly snowing at home. I am so going to get it tomorrow when I see Buggs. I will see if I can't make it better by getting him an apple or a bag of carrots. Yes, I know it is bribery but if it works then I am for it.
Charmer lunged really well on Wednesday, my lesson canceled on me so I put that time to good use. We have been working on the canter up transition. I want to make it more comfortble for him to pick up the canter. He did so well, the transitions were so smooth and fluid. I am very proud of my young man, I hope to get back into riding him next week. The weather is supposed to be really nice and I really need to get back in the saddle. The butterflies are still made of iron but they don't seem to be quite as fluttery. They are still there but I hope that I can manage them better and learn to ride Charmer's canter. It is so nice and uphill and the few times that I was able to get him cantering was very easy to ride.
Buggs is going to give me the guilt trip tomorrow for sure. I didn't realize it was going to be quite as cold as it is supposed to get tonight so all he has on his sheet. Mom called a little bit ago and said that it was lightly snowing at home. I am so going to get it tomorrow when I see Buggs. I will see if I can't make it better by getting him an apple or a bag of carrots. Yes, I know it is bribery but if it works then I am for it.
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