Congrats! That’s a lot of good boxes checked; very chill, passed her PPE, very reasonably priced, and is a prospect for a few things.
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Thank you! I am very excited!
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I was trying to post some pictures of Willow, but I was unsuccessful, so I made her a FB page! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559822106154
She shipped on April 27, and arrived at my place on April 29.
The good - her temperament is very close to as described, and she is the correct age (3.5y). She will trot over to see me anytime I come out the door, and is a real snuggle bug. She has been well behaved and not overly stressed when I leave with Boomer for a ride, and overall seems pretty laid back, and seems to be a quick learner.
The not so good - her 15.2h+ height is barely 15h. As long as she fills out she should be fine for me, and she may gain some more height. She was very much lacking muscle, and had a hard time balancing when a hoof was picked up, so much so I am wondering if she was trimmed in stocks. We believe she has a sticky stifle (RH) based on a brief vet exam when I didn’t think she was travelling properly. When she wants to go somewhere, she goes regardless of what is in front of her and if she can actually fit in the space allotted. For example, I was cleaning a stall and she wanted to come in so she carefully lifted her front legs, one at a time, over the handles of the wheelbarrow, then bunny hopped over it with her hind legs.
I had the body worker out after the vet, and he got her moving better (not swinging her RH out as she went). She had spasms all along her back and her LH gluts were super tight. She was less than stellar for the trimmer, so I will be trimming her for a while I think, although she is getting better about picking up her legs. I have been doing ground work with her and she is doing well. She is good for being saddled, although I don’t currently have a saddle that fits her well enough to actually ride in atm. My dog had her second TPLO Mon, so I haven’t gotten Willow out this week as I had hoped to do. As soon as the dog is healed enough I want to get her out and about. I have inquired into getting a Butterfly saddle for her, but I am not comfortable buying without trying, so if I can get Boomer down there (Westport, CT) to do a trial ride before their sale is over, I will do that. If not I will be looking for something a little more affordable.
eta, That I used Siegmund Horse Hauling out of Maine (contacted through East Coast Equine transport). Corrine was fantastic! I highly recommend!
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What a pretty girl!
I bet she will still grow quite a bit more.
Congratulations!!
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Wahoo! She is such a pretty mare.
How is your dog recovering?
She looks like she has a lot of growing and filling out to do. I think she will look very different a year from now. She’s cute though! I met a full Brabant last weekend and that was a lottt of horse. The earth shook when he moved.
When it comes to sticky stifles in youngsters, I’m not soo concerned by it. A lot of the time it’s due to growing. I’ve had this before, but I did get imaging done of the joint regardless. He outgrew it and we focused on certain strengthening exercises.
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Thank you!
Thanks for asking. Her leg is healing well, but I think she is getting ulcers. Mastiffs seem to be prone to them. It was a long night last night. Taking her off the carprofen and hoping the Prilosec works.
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That is good to hear about the stifles. I haven’t dealt with this particular issue before. I did get them x-rayed during the PPE and they were clean. She toes out from the shoulder so I am thinking that will be corrected when her chest gets wider. She seems to have gotten some additional body depth already.
I don’t have a FB account and can’t see the photos 
I really hate FB! Try it now.
Nope
She’s so pretty, and sounds like a real sweetheart.
Thank you!
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I set it to public. I am not sure if there are any other settings I can change so someone without an account can see it?
Might be my Kindle Fire? When I click on the photos button it asks me to log in
My Kindle Fire usually won’t let me look at FB unless I log in.
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Ah, ok. I don’t have a FB account so that explains it. Thanks!
Be careful about those saddles. I have heard not great things about them and I certainly don’t trust the man who makes them. PM me if you want to know more.
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I have, with my bad balance, bad proprioception, and sloooow reaction time, been riding in my
Pegasus Butterfly Claudia jumping saddle without horrible insurmountable problems. Yes, I only ride a horse 30 minutes at a time, and sometimes I get to ride the horse a second time for 30 min…
I use a Fenwick saddle pad (no longer made Fenwick Western pad since I ride older horses). I ride Forward Seat (at least I TRY to stay forward), and nowadays I ride mostly at a walk with some slow trots on my very good days. My girth is the Lettia Cool Max girth.
I LOVE my saddle. It fits me better even than my ancient 46 year old Crosby PDN Wide Front jumping saddle. It does not fit me “perfectly” but then no saddle I have ever ridden in has fitted me “perfectly”.
The rider NEEDS to learn how to ride in this saddle. The girth may need to be tighter than usual at first or the rider must be prepared to shorten the girth a hole after a gentle warm-up, this is essential for the stability of the saddle on the horse’s back. If I were ever able to do a decent workout with a horse (or a long trail ride) I would HAVE to tighten the girth at least another hole to keep the saddle stable on the horse’s back.
This saddle does not work well without a 6-pocket pad with shims for horses whose backs are conformationally challenged. I successfully used this saddle on a horse who had the worst swayback I ever rode with just one layer of bridging shims in my Contender II BOT/ThinLine pad (no longer made). If the horse had pockets behind its shoulders I would shim there. The saddle needs to rest on something flatish to stay stable on the horse’s back. It also helps if the surface of the pad has non-slip properties.
I found the 8 pocket pad that came with the saddle to be useless for the often elderly lesson horses I ride as I could never get the bearing surface for the saddle flat enough (dip right in the middle.)
I have to work on keeping the saddle balance from side-to-side after doing turns in place, recentering the saddle on the horse’s back, and if necessary tightening the girth again.
If I were to go galloping and jumping cross country I would tighten the girth before starting then keep on checking to see if the saddle is shifting too much from side-to-side.
On the plus side the horses have never moved more freely under me. I want to extend the gait it is so much easier using this saddle, and I have to use a lot less leg. On the treed saddles I used the horses would only extend so far because of the top of their scapula running into the rigid tree, no matter how much leg/spur I used. I do not have to worry if the saddle is wide enough for the horse’s shoulders to work properly, and it can also adapt to horses who are not as wide in front. High knife edge withers are no problem at all because there is no pommel arch to hit the withers, and the saddle just widens to accommodate mutton withers.
I no longer own a horse. I ride lesson horses which change occasionally, but neither I or my riding teachers worry about THIS saddle (properly shimmed if necessary) not fitting the forehand of the horse. Since the horse’s shoulders and withers are not hampered by this saddle the horse’s back relaxes more, and the horse has more freedom to lift its spine under my seat. Shimming a six-pocket pad correctly fixes most of the problems I run into.
Yes, riding in this saddle is a challenge for me at times. However when I get everything approximately right the horses move so much better under me if they do not have deeper problems with their backs.
This has been the best money I ever spent on a saddle. Wintecs do not work well for me at the wider gullets, and treeless saddle were even harder for me to keep centered and I felt a lot less secure in them. The best thing is that I do not have to buy multiple saddles to ensure a decent fit for the horse AND which fits me well.
I have not ridden in a Pegasus Butterfly dressage saddle so I do not know about them except that I would not have to worry about the width of the saddle tree.
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