Sticky Sunday

Hot and just plain ugly sticky - it was 75' at 6 am, and you could see the water hanging. I loaded Sunny and Thunder and headed over to ride with J & C, hoping for a repeat of Saturday's breeze.

See the haze hanging out there already?

Unfortunately, although there was a bit of air
moving it wasn't enough to cool anything off.

We were hoping to leave by 8 am at the latest, and we almost made it. C isn't a morning person. Although she gets some slack - her barrel run the night before didn't finish until sometime after midnight. But 15 minutes one way or the other wouldn't have made much difference anyway.

I wasn't really that serious after last week's ride when I commented that Thunder was so good, next time he could go along saddled. But... the thought was percolating.... And when he was so nonchalant about the saddle on Saturday, I decided to see how Sunday morning went, and if it looked reasonable, I'd go for it: I'd saddle him, too.

I tacked Sunny up first, to minimize the wait and fidget time, then Thunder, walked him a bit from the ground to make sure he wasn't hunchy, then hopped on Sunny and the three of us moseyed out.

The big question: how did it go?

Well, taken overall it was a gold-star day.

It was HOT, so we walked a fair amount, but we ran through the rest of the gaits a time or two, as well. We still didn't do any loping in a group - mainly were footing allowed we leap-frogged around one another every now and then.

We did the whole 8 mile loop again, only backwards this time. Thunder did crowhop once, about three jumps worth, when he finally decided to try loping instead of just trotting.

Dang, but that horse has a SU-PERB extended trot!

Bucking was pretty much a fail, since he didn't have that much leadrope to work with. He basically stopped pulling as soon as he encountered resistance, and that meant he couldn't really get his head down - I just reined Sunny in and tugged his face around. As soon as he softened, I let him have some slack back. Sensibly, he quit almost as soon as he'd started. I straightened both horses out and on we went with barely a bobble. At a guess, one of the stirrups clipped him and/or the cinch felt different loping than it had walking and trotting and gave him a bit of a start. Overall he did well - C said at one point that if she didn't know better, she'd assume he was a broke as the other three the way he behaves. Needless to say, that's not an assumption I'll be making any time soon - LOL!

Sunny gets a gold star, too - he's being an excellent example for Thunder. None of the stuff that Rufus looked at the day before rated an eye-roll or a snort. And he worked off my legs and responded really nicely during Thunder's little episode.

Both boys were much better with the hose post-ride, too. I think they've figured out that cool water feels pretty terrific when it's warm.

********************

Are you shaking your head over the fact that I ponied Thunder saddled after only a few minutes wearing a saddle and only one previous time along? Well, here's my thought process:

1. He's 7, not a baby: his brain is grown up, and so is his body.
   
2. He has been saddled a few times in the past, just not recently. On none of those occasions did he show signs of being broncy. (Any saddling worries were definitely more in my head than his!)
   
3. He was patently unconcerned about me flapping stirrups, squeakings and creakings and seat pattings, or any wiggling and tugging on stirrups I was doing - he was paying attention, sure, but not spooked.
   
4. Being ponied in and of itself obviously didn't phase him. He's respectful and responsive when led on the ground. Being ponied didn't change that.
5. I don't have a round pen or access to a good space to safely free longe him saddled (or unsaddled for that matter) to let him work the kinks out, and I didn't really want to run around and around the pasture with him, although I did trot him saddled in-hand with no issues.
6. At the trailer Sunday morning even in the semi-unfamiliar environment his overall demeanor was relaxed, not tense, anxious or irritated. Had he been, I probably would have worked on that for a bit, then just ponied him along unsaddled and called it good.
7. The two people I was with are both excellent horsemen - okay, one of them's female, but I'm sorry, "horsepersons" just sounds funny! - on solid, broke horses with calm, easy-going dispositions. Both of them have experience starting young stock. Either of them in a pinch would have been able to take over ponying and/or provide assistance if necessary. Had the combination been different, or had there been additional riders along, I probably wouldn't have risked it.
8. They were again considerate of my wishes in not doing any loping all clump together. That kept herd pressure to "race" down and minimized the risk of collisions or wrecks during any broncy moments. When he did decide to crowhop, I had all the room I needed to maneuver without worrying about running into or over another rider.

Add in the fact that Sunny is sensible, quiet, and generally pretty steady as well as familiar with the route we were taking, that Thunder is used to following his lead, and that it was hot and fairly calm weather-wise.... Well, taking the next step just felt comfortable to me. Thoughts?

In which a saddle is (finally) worn

What a weekend! I haven't had so much fun, or been quite so pleased with the boys in quite a while. ALL three of the boys :)

Saturday
I rode 8 miles on Rufus with J and C. The horses - well, mostly Rufus - were feeling energetic. It was hot, but not quite as sticky as it's been thanks mainly to a nice stiff breeze. Rufus was spotting potential "Arab-eating" monsters on all sides - not to a naughty extent, but he certainly did try to head off in all directions at once a time or two. Brainless moments aside (horse-eating cows??? Really? Rufus, you live with cows - sigh...), it was a lovely ride.

Oddly enough, the whole way these little bronzey-gold - as opposed to the hand-wide black and white monsters circling the ditches - dragonflies kept trying to land on the tips of his ears. Being buzzed by glittery bugs didn't bother him. Just the cows, the odd attack bush, a couple of obviously hostile frogs... Guess he was feeling good!

He loped out ahead of the group willingly, was able to stay back without too much anxiety when someone rode ahead - he's still wanting to slam on the brakes if someone else slows down when traveling at any speed, but I was prepared and for the most part managed to keep his forward momentum up. He's getting a LOT better but I have to say, I'm looking forward to the day when he's a bit less effort! We finished hot, but relaxed, with plans to go again Sunday, but earlier so as to avoid still being out at noon.

By Saturday afternoon it had heated up into the high 90's, but still with the breeze, and I'd promised myself Sunny and Thunder weren't going to get left out of the fun. So... in the late afternoon I headed out to the farm and caught them up. Saddled Sunny English and spent about 40 minutes working on bends, counter-bends, backing patterns through cones, and a tiny bit of diagonal practice for yours truly. Not so sure anything was a spectacular success, although we were starting to sort one another out again - too much trail riding, I guess. I've gotten sloppy and inconsistent, and I could tell. He wasn't resisting so much as confused.

I did learn that I can successfully lean down and re-set cones without getting off while using the English saddle - he's so mutton-withered, leaning that far over with my western saddle is an invitation to sliding sideways. And how cool to know I can rely on him to stand there while I'm stretching down without stepping right out from underneath me, too!

For Thunder's turn, I finally bit the bullet
and snugged the cinch.

You know what? Complete non-issue. I didn't give him a lot of time to stand and think about it, just headed over to the cones to give him a focus other than his new corsetry. Apparently, I needn't have worried. He really couldn't have cared less. So I ran through groundwork stuff with him for 15-20 minutes and decided I'd had enough par-boiling. I was literally soaked to the skin. Bleh. Unsaddled, brushed both of them as dry as possible given the heat, and turned them back out.

By the time I got everything packed up, they were down eating. That haze? High humidity - I heard on the radio on my way back into town that the heat index was running over 100'. At 6:50 in the evening.

I'd hoped to squeeze in a shower, but C was running in a Blazing Barrels/SDBHA at the rodeo grounds, and it started at 7 pm. It was still so icky hot, I figured I might as well go I was. Stopped at home long enough to drop the trailer off and drink a bunch of water. Of course as it turned out they were running behind, so I would have had lots of time for a shower. But then again, I'd have needed another one by the time I got home anyway, so it was probably just as well.

About 80+ riders, and a bunch of people were running exhibition... then the peewees... And C and her friend had drawn numbers in the 70's. Which meant a long wait - good thing I never mind watching barrels! Thankfully they reversed the order for the second go, and of course by then a lot of trailers had pulled out anyway.

C finished in the money, just, and she would have done better if she'd rolled her time from the first go. But she took it in good humor, declaring she was glad of the practice the additional run offered. There were 2 runs in the 15s, but not very many in the low 16s. I obviously need to go be supportive more often - I'm not very quick at catching the subtleties. Missed leads, bad entries, and late turns, yes; but the nuances of form, not so much. Still it was a lot of fun to watch, and once it finally cooled down I got to enjoy some supper (brat w/ plenty of mustard, and lovely golden fries w/ ketchup, YUM!) that I didn't have to cook!

Missions accomplished

Well, mostly...

Sunday the boys got more trailer time. I set up ground poles and cones, and worked on backing and sidepassing.

Sunny's new girth fits (Hooray!) - and will fit even better once he loses a bit of that belly.
Thunder was great with the saddle, as well, but I didn't have a hand free to get pictures of him wearing it. All things considered, he was a start this weekend. I really would like to get him sent off to the trainer... But his owner isn't too interested, unfortunately.

Rufus got new shoes early (really early) Sunday morning. He gets his feet done by the farrier J uses. He's a nice guy and he does a good job, which also means he's super busy. J said he called late the night before and arrived to start working around 5: 30 a.m. That's not uncommon - which means I often find out he's been there after the fact. Not ideal since I like to be on hand, but he does a good job and Rufus's feet looked fabulous.

J and I rode about 8 miles Monday a.m. - my thighs are telling me about it today - before it got too hot. We walked where the breeze kept the bugs off, and trotted or loped the grove lined sections. I tend to have a hard time getting Rufus to take the left lead, but he picked them both up without too much work on my part for a change. Both horses were eager to get out and go, and it was a beautiful day for a ride. A lovely way to spend a few hours - I hope everyone else's 4th was as pleasant!

A sigh of relief

Well, we did it. It's taken a while longer, but as you can see from the grin on my face, the evening was a success. After delays by weather, wedding and two dozen other odd things, we finally saddled both three-year-olds tonight. I wasn't actually intending to, which is probably why it went so well.

I started the evening with a smaller goal -- saddle Sunny for the first (OMG - can't believe it's June and I'm only now putting a saddle on!) time this year. Friends are day-riding down on the Missouri tomorrow; a shakedown ride for them, to see how the trailer's packed, the horses are riding, and the knees are feeling. She's been battling joint problems, and he's had health issues, so it will be an easy ride, break for lunch, and an easy mosey back to the trailer. When they asked if I wanted to tag along, how could I pass it up?

SOooo... back to the main event: Sunny & the youngsters were caught up, my husband was fooling with Amyra, his filly, and somehow when I opened my mouth out popped, "There's an extra saddle in the car." Oh boy.

But she stood like a placid rock while he saddled, and walked just as calmly around the lot for 5-10 minutes with only the occasional ear cocked to listen to the saddle squeak. PB was just as calm, if slightly more hesitant to actually turn - I think he thought he'd been corseted!

As a first saddling went, it was a complete non-event. Sunny was fine for the few minutes I rode, and I think, touch wood, that he'll be good to go tomorrow. I'm looking forward to riding, but more so to that big sigh of relief I'm going to heave when we're all home safe and sound after a sunny day's ride along the river.

Wish me luck!

Saddling up

Last night was beautiful, and after more extensive de-mudding (where do they find it all!) I decided it was the perfect time to introduce Pinto-Boy to his first saddle. He's been great with all the other assorted stuff on his back, so it wasn't a big surprise when he sniffed at the strange, squeaky leather thing a few times and decided it wasn't going to eat him. Honestly, he was far more interested in the new grass than he was the saddle. I didn't have a helper, so the picture is a bit wonky (he's really not that big-headed, and he does have ears) but I wanted to document the occasion.

Tomorrow (it's raining AGAIN!!!) or this weekend, I'll get it cinched up. Note to self: find soft cinch -- neoprene sticks to left-over long winter belly hairs.