The right kind

The week culminated with one more ride on Drifter. A little ground work, ground driving and he showed he was ready for a ride.
It's important with colts not to skip any steps and assume that they know/remember everything from their last work. Proceed through the steps, check for soft willing responses and move on to the next step.

Stepping up, he's standing still and soft in the bridle.

He moves around as she balances, then stops and stands again.

A little sacking out with the off side stirrup, not trying to force him to stand still, and he volunteers to stand after a bit. She steps down once he has stopped.

Do the same thing from the other side... note she got after him for biting. Yes he will outgrow that.

Once he was ok with all that, it was swing a leg over and ride. Drifter already moves off the leg, sometimes he gives a lot more than you ask for but that will be refined as he progresses next year. He's light in the bridle for the most part, and really light to the leg. 

After a bit, it was time to ask for his first lope under saddle.

At the end of the session, he seemed quite pleased with himself. I truly think he enjoys the attention and learning to be a big boy. He is going to be the kind of horse eventually that you can just get on and go to work even after a layoff, as he proved this week.

Good boy, Drifter. 

The right kind of horse, given the right kind of start.

And thanks Shayla for putting a great start on him! I'm pretty excited for his future!

Driftin' through Christmas week

Drifter made great progress over Christmas week! The story in photos.
After getting ridden saddled for the first time on the 24th, next day was ground work followed by ground driving and then mounting and riding.

Trotting

Good boy, Drifter!

That was a great way to spend Christmas day! Boxing Day was a write off, just stayed snugged up in the house and didn't do much. Friday Shayla trimmed Drifter's feet and then got on him bareback. I led them around the yard for a bit, his first time with a rider not in the round pen.

 He was feeling a bit fresh so it was back to the round pen for another session.

All those changes of direction got him thinking about working again . Once he was paying attention and not being an adolescent goofball....

he learned to stand at the fence for mounting, and Shayla rode him solo around the pen. He did quite well, not really any different from being saddled and in a bridle. He did reach around and try to chomp her boots a couple of times. There was one point when something spooked him, and his reaction was to grab his butt and lope forward 3 jumps then stop when Shayla pulled and we both yelled Whoa! So first spook is over with, and it wasn't bad!



Pretty proud of this colt! And Shayla is doing a good job with him. We should get one more ride on him today before she heads back and then he will have the next few months to just grow up some more.

Working Drifter and Christmas photo shoot

Shayla is home for a week for Christmas, so we are taking advantage of that and getting Drifter worked every day. The little guy is not so little any more- over 15 hands at the hip, although 3 inches lower on the front end I'm sure he will catch up eventually. 

All our snow went away and it has been raining off and on for a week now. All the frost is gone from the ground so of course it is muddy , as you can see from Drifter's photos; apparently he doesn't mind laying on wet ground. We brushed as much as we could off, but short of bathing him, he gets to sport the pinto look!

I had my camera on the wrong setting  hence the blurred legs (eye roll)

He was a bit fresh the first work, but the second day he settled down much quicker. Love the mind on these Driftwood/Sunfrost horses, they learn quickly and retain what they learn without any drama.

He's really looking like a horse now, no more baby look.

He made good progress today, enough so that Shayla was comfortable in getting on him. This is his first time with her getting on when he is saddled- last time, in September, it was bareback.

He stood like a gentleman and waited until I led him out before he moved, absolutely no silliness. 

Checking things out 

We sure are happy with him! Today he will get some ground driving and once she gets on him we will have the reins attached to the bridle. I will have him on a long line while Shayla does the steering. 

After we were done in the round pen it was time for a Christmas photo shoot. ( Did I mention how happy I am to have my Nikon working again? )

I should have cropped his muddy butt out!

And this is the one I chose for our Christmas greeting: 

Hope you all have a blessed Christmas!

I has a happy

Because my husband fixed my Nikon camera!Not sure what he did but he got it working again. Big grin!
Now I can take artsy photos...

and kitty photos....

and muddy horse photos....

(yes that's Shayla, back in town for a week)

And of course.... Beamer photos!

It was warm enough on this second day of winter that I took his blanket off. It has been raining a whole bunch but was only drizzly today. We are supposed to have some snow tomorrow, hope so because I want to do a Christmas photo shoot with the horses.

Another saddle

I'm trying out another saddle, this one is very similar in appearance to the Billy Cook but it's built by Reinsman. It fits Gussie about the same but the seat is 17 inches which , even though it has a full padded seat, makes it more comfortable for me. For those of you who are wondering about why a full padded seat wouldn't be the comfiest thing going, my style of riding is with my knees and ankles all in a line below my hips, which means I ride on my crotch instead of the style where your knees are out in front of you which sets you back more on your seat bones (think cutting, roping etc.) So the pressure of the padding can be quite annoying. I am accustomed to a hard seat or padded only in the back half of the seat.

Above is my pre ride photo. The tip of the bars is just behind her big shoulders and the line of the billet strap and cinch is straight.

I rode down to the mail and back, at a walk.

That is the post ride photo. You can see that the saddle didn't stay put by the angle of the cinch, which is more clear in this next photo.

That angle was straight at the start of the ride.

You can also see in that photo that the saddle pad is right behind the shoulder blade, which is where the saddle started out. So I think my next option is to try different padding options with this saddle and see if I can make it work.  I feel that when the saddle slides back it raises the back of the saddle which will make the pressure of the bars greater at the front than the back.

Rides 71 & 72

A blog, a repair, and Preparing for Christmas

Thanks to Facebook, I discovered another horse blog. This one is called Doing the Work and I really like the latest post. Check it out!
Speaking of doing the work...
My horse shelter is lined with plywood on one side as a wind break, the other 3 sides are open. Drifter and Gussie have been.... modifying it, so to speak....so it was time to patch it using puck board which should resist their attempts at interior decorating for the shabby chic look.

Putting a lot of screws in so you can't pull it off!

Well all right then!

I haven't been doing as much riding this year sadly, but hopefully that will change next year. Ted finally got our second truck up and running so I will be able to haul during the week. I discovered a place to ride when I was out searching for a Christmas tree. Lots of old logging roads, some of which are active. 

Are you ready for Christmas? I am mostly. Just a cookie baking day this week for my sister and her staff, that's my sister Mary who is handicapped as a result of German measles and brain fever when she was a little baby. She had a bout of pancreatitis and was hospitalized for a couple of weeks unable to eat, and with some family intervention on her behalf and round the clock support and supervision from her staff, she pulled through. I think doctors are too quick to give up on non communicative people. And I think she taught the doctor something too, so it was good all around. I feel that Prayer and Persistence Paid off! So I am feeling thankful this Christmas- what about you? Do you have something to be extra thankful for this Christmas?

Gussie stuff

I didn't keep the saddle I was trying out, so it's back to trying different saddle pad combos to find something that works.  This next photo is using a thin neoprene pad with a single layer wool blanket over it.
The bars at the front are good....

Lots of room for me to slide my hand under without wrinkling her hide

However, when I get to the middle of the saddle.....

that's as far up as I can feel before the saddle is too tight. So that tells me the front of the bars are wide enough, but the angle of the bars at the waist of the saddle is too steep, which you can also see from the back of the saddle:

This means I will be doing a lot of bareback riding this winter, with the exception of cattle sorting and picking up the mail. Which we did last week for a package from my sister.

It was a scarf and slippers that she made for me; I let Gussie model the scarf. It's very soft and warm!

Gussie is also sporting a new halter I made for her. Early Christmas present!

I was looking at old photos of Gussie from when I first brought her back home.

Look how much of her pink skin has filled back in! She looks much better now. 

Then there is how much her body has changed.... no wonder I'm pulling my hair out over saddle fit!

Then:

This summer:

So much more muscle mass. Even the thickness of her neck viewed from above has doubled. Oh well, at least she is comfy to ride bareback!

Riding day 70

Stirrups

Who would think that something so simple as stirrups can have so much ellect on the way we ride and the horse's comfort and correctness. Give this video a watch:

Side note: I was taught that "heels down" didn't mean actually shoving your heels down but rather lengthening your leg by pushing down from the thigh, which has the same effect as recommended in this video.

After watching it, I googled angled stirrups and there are a lot of them out there. Here is a link to a blog post about checking the level of your foot: https://murdochmethod.com/level-your-stirrups-for-a-solid-foundation/

So my question to you is, do you ride with the angled stirrups and has it improved your equitation and your horse's performance? I an going to try shimming my stirrups to see how it works for me before I go and buy a pair. Also, if you do ride them, what brand do you use and is one brand better than another? Here is what I found on google images, the variety is overwhelming!

He has arrived

Here is Booncat with his new family! Note that one of the children is in charge of the leadrope, that says a lot about the gentleness of this colt!

Here is what they said: "He is perfect. He has such an amazing personality. We are thrilled. He loaded and hauled like a champ."

They also promised to send updates on him which I will share with you.

Saddle trial and Booncat leaves

I am trying out a Billy Cook trail saddle on Gussie (model 1777). It seems to fit her well so far, but I don't find it very comfortable for me. The seat is fully padded and has enough rise that the padding pushes against me enough to cause chafing (*ahem*, ladies will know what I mean!).
 I went for a short ride with the lady who owns the saddle.

She was riding her 23 year old Morgan gelding.

I plan to ride it a few more times before I decide if it is "the one".

I tried it with my SPH saddle pad

Either the bars are too steep at the rear of the saddle, or it's just the leather that will end up flexing and laying flatter.

It was a lovely day to ride. The grass is still green despite the week of sub zero temperatures we had a couple of weeks ago. 

 I like to pause at this spot near the river to enjoy the bright green of the moss.

We wound our way through brush and trees watching for wildlife as there was a lot of deer sign as you will see in this video:

But other than the antler rubs and a lot of tracks, we didn't see anything.  We made our way back  and just enjoyed the peaceful beauty of the day.

That's our driveway, and the neighbour's house. Gussie is listening to the calls from Belle and Drifter, who had spotted her.

So the saddle did ok, it didn't move or slide back and seemed not to have any pressure points that I could find.  I'm just not sold on buying a factory saddle after all these years of riding custom built saddles! If I could afford it, I would have my cousin (first cousin, once removed!) Shane Pittman make me a saddle. He custom builds his own trees after careful measurements of the horse's back and boy he does nice work. Here are some photos of his work.

His starting price is 4 grand though and I don't think I can swing that! It's so tough for me to look at those saddles and then settle for a Billy Cook..... 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

Today, I loaded up Booncat and hauled him to the first stop on the way to his new owners. He will be there for a couple of days before heading to Alberta; the buyers are hauling a horse they started for the lady who will be meeting them halfway with Booncat. He loaded well and hauled well, only a bit of calling and a couple of times he stuck his li'l nose out the window slots. But when we put him in the big box stall he was like "what the heck!" Not a happy little Booncat! All by his little self! Hopefully she will put a horse next to him so he can have some company. I bet he will whinny himself hoarse though. 

Riding day 68 and 69