Trying to Get Riding Fit with MS at the Speed of a Snail

[Jackie_Cochran]

The only comfort I can take from being forced into a chair seat is that is how the vast majority of horsepeople rode horses since the beginning of riding. There IS equestrian literature defining how to effectively ride and train a horse in a chair seat that I can refer to when I have questions.

I think that one of the difficulties with modern competition dressage is that they saw the movement of the MUCH freer horses ridden in variations of the forward seat (and how many English riders were deserting the chair seat) and decided that they, dressage riders, could also replicate this freer movement by changing their saddles from the older more Iberian models.

IF the horse likes the Iberian saddle I will do my best to ride humanely. Even though I will not be in a Forward Seat per se, I can get my seat bones FORWARD in the saddle, ala the Duke of Newcastle James Cavendish, emphasize moving my hips so that I do not block the movements of the horses’ backs, and use Forward Schooling and Forward Control.

Right now my body is just too weak to ride a true Forward Seat. I just get tired too quickly adjusting my balance to the movements of the horses’ forehands.

During the lesson I noticed that Cinnabar’s back was stiff under and behind the cantle of the saddle. I was using the Total Saddle Fit Squish pad, but I think Cinnabar’s back would have moved better using my Fenwick Western pad which also covers the horses’ loins and has the therapeutic far infra-red radiation easing the horses’ loin muscles.

I got so totally exhausted from my lesson yesterday it was scary. Right now I am considering that yes, I am an older, littler old lady and maybe I should ride in the Spanish saddle until my endurance and muscular strength improve. I have been moving around so much less since I fell off three months ago that my muscles have lost a lot of the pitifully small amount of strength I had built up over the last few years.

Yeah, maybe my Talavera Portera saddle with my Fenwick Western pad will make Cinnabar happier since I won’t be sliding around as much in this saddle.

A woman can hope.

[Alterration]

Who do you like to read for that literature?

I still believe in the forward seat schooling and forward control as well, I’ve just found that I can’t find a hunt seat saddle that is as comfortable as the iberian saddles for my horses. They tell me clearly what makes them happy and what does not, so I follow their lead. I have so many saddles in my barn that the fitters have said fit and then nope, a few rides later they are unhappy. The only one that has consistently had them saying yes is the Hidalgo.

I personally feel stronger in my hunt seat saddles because my legs are so strong and for me my back/hips are a problem, but especially my main saddlebred does not like my weight forward. It has taken me a long time to get him to continue walking in two point (I think he thinks I’m going to fall off and very kindly stops). They do not like my balance point that far forward. Preferences heard.

I don’t think my Vienna will put me in as much of a chair seat as I’m able to lengthen my stirrups, but I still struggle to mount and dismount with longer stirrups because of reduced strength in my hips and back post injury, and so I ride very short. I have taught my saddlebred to take me back to the very tall mounting block for dismounting, so perhaps that will be easier with time.

Anyway - I really just wanted to ask the question, didn’t mean to derail or talk about myself!

[Jackie_Cochran]

Right now I am concentrating on “Ride American” by Louis Taylor. His “American seat” is very much a chair seat, and it is the way that most Americans rode before the Forward Seat and the dressage seat became popular over here.

I also recently picked up several books by Sylvia Loch, who got into riding in the Iberian seat (Portuguese?) way of riding and training. Her books are probably the next ones I will dive into for particulars about riding well in Iberian saddles.

I have been haunting the Hidalgo saddle sites. There is one saddle that I “fell in love with” at first sight, but, alas, it costs around $3,000 USD. I am putting the Hidalgo Sanlucar saddle in that list of saddles I’d like to own but will never be able to truly afford. I am looking at the not so expensive ones because they look so wonderful.

As far as riding FS in non-FS saddles I have found help in Piero Santini’s books (he studied under Caprilli himself). His advice is why I could ride FS in an older type English hunt saddle (the ones without knee rolls and the low point of the seat way back) when it was the only saddle I had which would fit the craziest horse I ever owned. Even though I had NO security in that saddle I never fell off that crazy mare even though I had to ride her daily for a few years.

The Duke of Newcastle James Cavendish EMPHASIZED that the rider’s seat in an equivalent type saddle should be as far forward in the saddle as possible. Unfortunately he then gets into using the pillar/pillars and super collected riding. I also think that Cavendish might have suffered from rickets as a kid because he emphasized a completely straight leg from hip to stirrup without much bend in the knees. There is NO WAY I could ride with a completely straight leg!

I do not know if this would help you getting on or off, but I finally figured out that if I did not get the gripping muscles of my right leg stretched out I would always need help getting it over the cantles, even the lower cantle of my jumping saddle. Nowadays I am trying to gently stretch out those muscles every day.

[Alterration]

Thank you!

I can lift it with my arm and put it over a taller cantle, I just cannot do it without the assistance of my arm. Some of it is likely technique as well, at one point I was quite limber and could spring up and into the tack from a low mounting block or the ground. Now…not so much. I’ve watched a million mounting techniques to try to see what it is that I can’t quite get right with a longer stirrup and this body, but even my instructor had trouble trying to figure out what is going wrong. I think if I had more spring momentum would take over for weakness.

I do have shortened ligaments from my back issues, so hopefully as I loosen and strengthen everything this issue magically goes away.

The sanlucar is a really nice saddle. Unfortunately the twist was slightly too wide for my hips, so I had to exchange it for my Vienna, which is narrower.

I am pigeon toed and knock kneed making riding very difficult conformationally. The opposite of rickets!

Thank you for the book recommendations!! I love to read and get into the nitty gritty detail.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Just 30 minutes ago I realized something.

There is the SPANISH Riding School in Vienna. Looking at their older type saddles, well they look similar to the Spanish saddles we are marveling over right now.

So for trying to ride dressage in a Spanish type saddle one need go no further than Alois Podhajsky of the SRS. He definitely rode and trained in them at the SRS, though not in a chair seat of course.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Today I wrestled with my Talavera Potrera saddle putting on my Millbrook stability leathers and my new safety stirrups.

The way this saddle is put together is rather ingenious. It is built to reduce the amount of leather under the rider’s legs. Where the top of the stirrup leather goes is buried rather deeply in the saddle. There are many ways into the saddle to the stirrup leather ring, several places where I can put my fingers to guide the end of the stirrup leather, but it took me several tries and some muttering under my breath to the them on properly.

I also found some inexpensive dressage girths on Ebay, a 30" and a 32", and bought both of them for around $40 USD with tax and postage. I am hoping that one of these will be near the right size, the billet straps are so long that something will work.

I want to buy a Total Saddle Fit girth, the one with the elastic in the middle, but they cost $$$$$. It will take me a long time before I have a variety of sizes in this type of girth since I also want one for my Pegasus Butterfly jumping saddle. First a dressage one, then a regular sized one both to fit Cinnabar now. Then I can save for and buy more sizes so that I am prepared when my lesson horse gets changed on me.

After I wrestled the stirrup leathers with the stirrups on them into the ring on the saddle I then carried the Spanish saddle over to my Home Horse. THAT was very hard for me to do, I probably looked like a 2 yr. old child who had just learned to walk. I also put the double bridle extension on the Home Horse so I can play around with my contact without causing a horse distress. That rather wide pommel protrusion in front will probably force me to carry my hands higher.

I do hope that riding in this saddle will help my muscles get stronger so that I finally get strong enough again to ride Forward Seat in my regular jumping saddle. On Sunday I hope to use my stirrups and start posting some, and trying to figure out exactly how I can get into 2-point and get off the horse’s back while riding in this saddle.

[RMJacobs]

@Jackie_Cochran

After I wrestled the stirrup leathers with the stirrups on them into the ring on the saddle I then carried the Spanish saddle over to my Home Horse. THAT was very hard for me to do, I probably looked like a 2 yr. old child who had just learned to walk.

If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think I could carry a saddle at all these days. Not even one of my very light synthetics.

Rebecca

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon could not come out today so I had DH help me.

I DID need help getting my right leg over the cantle of my Spanish saddle , both mounting and dismounting. I had my HH all the way back to the rim and I still needed help with this.

I rode my HH for 13 minutes. Most of it was “walking” and balancing. I did manage to do 4 sessions of posting 10x and I did 2-point also.

I can 2-point in this saddle. If I still jumped I could probably clear a 2’ jump without major problems if I did not keep contact over the fence. I would not want to try a higher jump though since my torso would run into the pommel swells.

My “guesstimate” for stirrup length was WAY too long so I will have to shorten them before my next ride even though I had shortened them two holes already. There was too much pressure on the stirrup leather for me to shorten them while sitting in the saddle like I can with my regular jumping saddles. Because of this I did all my posting and 2-point with my feet on the HH platform.

This saddle probably could be just a little bit bigger on me since the sheepskin on the seat, pommel and cantle takes up some room. Mentally I have this picture of me being in a jousting saddle with the really high pommel and cantle because this saddle “cradles” me so closely. I probably need to lose some weight.

With this saddle the HH wanted to go all the way back to the rear rim. Obviously I can take my heavy veterinary dictionary off the HH now. I had put on the double bridle extension with 2 pairs of reins but that was not enough to offset the tendency to go to the rear.

Before next weekend I will shorten my stirrup leathers and take the dictionary off the back of the platform and see where that puts me. While my side-to-side balance was pretty good my front-to-rear balance was almost all the way back to the rear.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I had my lesson today on Cinnabar.

It was rather warm (right now at 4:40 PM it is 94 F) and humid.

I told Debbie that last week Cinnabar was not as happy about his back so this week I brought out my Fenwick Western pad with the far infra-red therapy as well as the TSF Squish pad to ameliorate the side to side movement of my saddle. I did bring out a longer girth too.

I have been working on my right leg so that I can clear the cantle by myself, stretching my gripping muscles on both legs and lifting my right leg sideways while standing up to get those muscles stronger. I did this for a few days, 3x/day, and it worked. My right thigh did not need help clearing the cantle of my jumping saddle both when I mounted and when I dismounted. This is a big relief to me, I hate needing the extra help just to get on and off.

Since it was so warm and since I was so shaky this morning I just walked, did a little 2-point to relieve Cinnabar’s stiff back, did a few "rider’s push-ups and tried to keep my sweat out of my eyes. In the sunlight I just got hotter and hotter.

I told Debbie what I have been doing on my Home Horse, and she was pleased that I am working on my riding at home as well as at the barn.

Debbie asked me if I wanted to trot, but it was just too hot. I told her that I wanted to go back to the real double bridle with two bits, and back into trotting IF I could start off using my Spanish potrera saddle. I want to do it this way because if my body feels secure my muscles won’t spasm out of fear. I am gradually talking her into it, mainly because I am using it on my Home Horse and she is getting used to the idea. Since the mantra is that people cannot have good hands unless they are secure in the saddle I decided I better ride in the saddle that will aid me having a secure seat before I go back to using the double bridle, at least until it gets cooler again.

I did some contact work with the leather snaffle but Cinnabar was not that into it. He did not object but I was not getting the “conversation” through the bits that I value so much, so after a while I went back to sagging reins. I think Cinnabar is feeling sort of put upon just because he is such a safe, easy and calm horse, so he gets used for a lot of riders that are scared of riding.

School started down here this week. Debbie had a lesson for home schoolers after my lesson. One of the girls apparently really eager to ride a horse that she had some difficulties with. Debbie had a horse really stamp down on one of her big toes and she told the student that there was no way that Debbie could walk around the ring with her to keep stuff sane. Poor Cinnabar had to do that lesson too so I am glad I just poked around the ring going really slow.

I told the girl who wanted the more exciting horse that when I took lessons as a child we were ASSIGNED a certain horse for the lesson and the students were not allowed to argue about that. Debbie piped up and said it was done this way so that the student could learn stuff they needed to learn. After all people pay for riding lessons to learn to ride horses, and if a student does not ride different horses they really do not learn how to RIDE effectively.

But anyway I am still tired after my lesson even after a long nap. I hope my body perks up when it gets cooler later this year, if it does get cooler. Stuff just seems to be getting warmer, warmer and warmer. Next summer I will be back to using my ice vests for sure.

[3PonyFarm]

I’m glad you got to ride! Cinnabar sounds like such a sweet kind horse. I hope he got some treats!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got my lesson today.

It has been hard on me since my last lesson. My grandkids and son were coming to visit overnight so I did some vacuuming in the living room. It took me 2 days to do a so-so job of it.

Then I was back to NEEDING two canes to walk. Then I was back to NEEDING my wheeled walker to walk. I was really tired, taking lots of naps, and staggering when I dared tried to walk without any assistance. Shannon did not come out on Sunday because she was snuffling and feared that she had gotten the head cold that was going around her job. I was too tired and unsteady on my feet to get my husband to help me on the Home Horse.

Yesterday I was despairing about being able to ride, you see I use my wheeled walker to move my saddle and grooming bag to the car and I did not know if I would be able to walk around with just 2 canes. I was also too tired to do my exercises to lengthen my gripping muscles so I could get my right leg over the cantle.

This morning I was better, I did not need my wheeled walker to get around safely when I woke up. So I was able to get myself ready and I was able to walk out to the car using just my canes. When I got to the stable Debbie asked me if I wanted to ride MJ (I had talked to her about that) or if I wanted to ride Cinnabar. My body still felt like a mess so I chose Cinnabar.

Cinnabar, as a relatively heavily used beginner’s mount, just does not tend to show any signs of affection to his hopeful riders. He stands there stoically, behaving every second, but I can tell that he is not brimming over with love for his riders or excitement about being ridden.

This has changed for me. Last week I used the Posture Prep on his back before saddling and he gave me one nuzzle with his nose. Today, even though I was unsteady I did the PP again. Today he gave me TWO nuzzles, and he is looking at me with more kindness and actually looked like he was sort of eager to be ridden, at least he took interest in everything around him rather than stand there “switched off.”

Debbie did most of the work grooming and saddling. Then I dragged myself out to the ring, at least I was walking a little bit faster than last week. By the time I got to the ring Debbie had already moved the mounting block and got everything set up for me.

As it turned out today I did not need people to help me get my right thigh over the cantle at all. WHEW!

Cinnabar moved like his back was not totally comfortable, just a little bit stiff. I got up into 2-point for a short while and his back got happier. Today Cinnabar just did not want to stretch out his walking stride so I was walking him around, using my legs lightly, asking him to give me just a LITTLE BIT more extension in his stride, and he gave me a little bit more.

I told Debbie that my “job” on him was not to get him super reactive to my leg aids, my job was to teach him things that would give his beginning riders a horse that would move out just a little bit more as these young riders (mostly) learned to use their legs. Debbie agreed with me, she keeps on telling me that Cinnabar as he is now is perfect for her lessons and she wished she had several more horses like him.

I made it 31 minutes today, all walking with a little bit of 2-point and Debbie had me do a few “rider’s push-ups” to get my lower legs in the right place.

Even though I got TIRED I was able to walk back to the barn a lot faster than I could last week, so at least I am recovering from my descendants’ visits. It was cooler this morning so my body worked a little bit better, Debbie said I was not horrible in the saddle.

She made sure Cinnabar got his well deserved treat.

After I got home and ate, I then slept 3 hours, a nice long nap.

I had played with the idea of doing a short trot today but I just could not get up the energy. Maybe next week I will have more energy.

I am just glad I could actually get up on a horse and ride.

[3PonyFarm]

I am glad you got to ride today! Two nuzzles is pretty good!

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon came by today to help ride my Home Horse.

I am still using the Talavera potrera saddle. I put my pair of Millbrook stability leathers on it–I will have to buy a shorter pair for this saddle. I also put my old fashioned safety stirrups on, the ones with the wavy outer branch.

My right thigh ALMOST made it over the cantle mounting and dismounting. I am going to have to stretch the gripping muscles of my right thigh more.

I made it up to 16 minutes today before I got too tired. The stability leathers did feel more stable and comfortable on my legs even though they were ridiculously too long (heels down my heels were on the platform.)

As an added challenge I added my Equicube today for a few minutes, and since I was using the double bridle attachment I got to use it while holding the reins. I had no difficulties holding the Equicube above the pommel and I could "follow the “horse’s mouth.” The Equicube, at 4 pounds, was not enough to get the HH off resting on its rear. After a few minutes I had to put the Equicube down because my arms got tired.

Then I asked Shannon to take the big veterinary dictionary (around 6 pounds) off the rear of the platform. That also was not enough though I went back a tiny bit more without the Equicube in my hands. To get off the rim of the HH on the rear I had to get myself into a 3-point position and lean forward, but I never got perfectly balanced from front to rear. Side to side I was fine.

I balanced and I walked, and walked, and walked. I was able to get up into a sort of 2-point using the stirrups but posting did not work, my stirrup leathers have to be shorter. I kicked my feet from the stirrups and posted with my feet flat on the HH platform, I did 4 sets of 10 posts and some more 2-point.

Shannon then got on. After a few minutes I asked her if she wanted to use the Equicube which she did. Shannon does more than I do on the HH and she was going all out carrying the Equicube. That block of rubber really adds to the workout! She said she worked her core muscles and her thigh muscles a lot more than usual. If a rider wants to get fitter on a HH more rapidly add the Equicube–it moves the workout up to another level.

Shannon had good news about her mare Magic (TWH). Magic does NOT like bits though she does better with the titanium coated bits. Shannon wanted to see how she would react to the Fager Adam leather snaffle because with EVERY bit she has used on this mare makes the mare so unhappy that she puts her tongue over it. She wrapped some fruit leather around the leather mouthpiece of the bit. The bit had reins on it but was not on a bridle, so Shannon just held it in her mouth.

Magic did NOT put her tongue over the leather bit. She did not fuss with the bit, she did not gape widely, and she did not even try to get her tongue over the bit. I am very pleased with this report. Since Shannon buys the cheaper horses around they ALL come to her with problems, especially problems with accepting a bit, Magic was just more extreme than the other ones.

The fine art of introducing the horse to the bit seems mostly extinct in this country. The horses she gets just were never TAUGHT how to react to the bit properly. Magic had training before being thrown out into the pasture for a vacation of over a decade, but that training did NOT include training Magic to accept the bit as an aid of communication. In fact Shannon thinks that the trainer got rather brutal with the bit and Magic has approached almost every bit Shannon tried on her with great fear and anxiety. Even with the titanium bits Magics tongue just ends up over the bit.

Shannon is greatly encouraged by this mare’s reaction to the leather bit. I am of the school of training that if the horse does not accept the bit no really effective physical training can take place, yes muscles can get stronger but the communication necessary to tell the horse “not this way, I have a BETTER way for you to relate to the bit” so that the horse relaxes and starts working its body properly. Yes a person can train a horse without a bit, but it is hard to get the “frosting on the cake” of the horse properly responding from the mouth all the way to the hind feet which goes a lot quicker with humane and effective use of the bit, JMHO of course.

Both Shannon and I noticed that this saddle is very comfortable for our butts, especially our seat bones, that sheepskin on the saddle really helps! The saddle stays securely on the HH without any girth, it is so stable that it is hard to get the saddle moved forward to back even when our feet are on the platform and we are up in 2-point.

Both of us got a good workout today. Using the Equicube engages our core muscles very effectively and with the motion of the HH both of our core muscles got a really good workout!

[3PonyFarm]

It sounds like it was a good workout!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got my lesson today. I did not watch the debate last night because I needed to get some rest before my lesson instead of my brain frothing with fury all night. I guess that helped some, by the time I get dressed, eat, get my stuff together, and walk out to the car I was already TIRED.

Cinnabar was not very eager this morning. He did not scowl but he crept into the wash stall and mostly turned off. When I rode him he decided that his new, improved top speed at a walk was at around 1.5 MPH, down from his usual sprightly 2 MPH.

I rode about 32 minutes. As noted above Cinnabar did NOT want to move out at all, so my legs got exercise getting him to move on out a teeny-tiny bit. I picked up comments from him that I was being a slave driver, again. I do not blame him, his job at Debbie’s stable is to plod around the ring while people who are sort of scared of riding horses lose their nightmares of wild runaway horses.

From the start I had to get up into 2-point to get any hint of free movement. Later on when I got him to speed up his walk a tiny bit I discovered that I got a better response to my driving leg if I moved it back until it got hit the swell of his very well-sprung ribs rather than just pressing inwards with my lower leg.

When I kept contact, first with the Lite Rider bitless bridle, then afterwards with the Fager Adam leather bit he was fine with it.

Cinnabar was quite definite that there were limits to his responses today. When I did a turn on the forehand or a turn on the hindquarters he willingly gave me a 90 degree turn then started feeling a little mushy. I gracefully accepted what he gave me willingly because those were NICE 90 degree turns in place.

Next week I will be getting back on MJ, who in his early 30s has a MUCH faster walk than Cinnabar (18 or 19 yrs. old) ever has. Once I get his muscles fit again I should be able to approach the ideal walk, the 4 MPH “flat footed walk” popular when I started riding over 50 years ago. I actually get a breeze when I ride MJ at a walk.

At least for a short while it looks like I might be MJs only rider, though he does need to bring in a bit more money than my one 1/2 hr. lesson a week. When I asked Debbie was fine with me going back to my regular double bridle with the titanium bits, yeah!!! I will be able to have “conversations” with MJ which makes me happy.

I am very tired and very happy I got to ride a horse today.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon came by today.

I rode my Home Horse 30 minutes. The last time I was able to ride my HH for 30 minutes was 4-7-2024. I am TIRED even after a 2 hour nap.

I used my Talavera potrera saddle.

I was able to mount fine. Then I balanced, “walked”, “walked” up in 2-point, and I had several times of posting for 10 “strides” and 2x I posted 12 “strides.” When I thought to look at my watch I had already ridden 27 minutes so I lasted 3 more minutes so I could make it to 30 minutes. I NEEDED Shannon’s help to get my right thigh over the cantle when I dismounted.

Since my 145 cm Millbrook stability leathers were WAY too long for with my Spanish saddle. I went to the Millbrook site and they have an additional source for stability leathers and these leathers were “just” $100.00 US. I got the 125 cm leathers, but I should have gotten the 115 cm leathers, I was able to shorten them so the stirrups were not essentially resting on the platform but barely clearing it. With my heels down my heels were barely above the platform.

After we both rode Shannon got curious about the sheepskin cover. She figured out how to get it off which was sort of difficult because the cover fit so closely. If the stirrups and leathers had not been on the saddle she would have been able to remove the sheepskin cover completely. This cover had left no marks on the saddle itself, and she was able to determine that it was really sheepskin. Then came the challenge of getting the cover back on properly as it took some tugging to get it back on the pommel piece, but she finally got it back on securely. This is why the sheepskin cover does not move when I am moving in the saddle, it is made to fit THIS saddle.

If I gain enough weight to make the saddle feel “tight” when I sit on it with the cover on, the only thing I will have to do is ride without the sheepskin cover, but then I would lose a lot of the security this saddle gives me since this saddle has smooth leather covering it and my butt would probably be sliding around in the saddle like it does (some) with my jumping saddle.

The stability leathers feel so much more comfortable for riding in this saddle to the point that my body could forget that the saddle had stirrup leathers on it. Shannon agreed with me about this.

Shannon works a lot with her hands, and she is really impressed with how this saddle is put together. There was a LOT of development evident in this saddle, how everything fits together after the struggle to get the stuff on and how well it all fits together.

Again I say, if you are not jumping this is an ideal saddle for someone who has to ride several different horses with different shaped backs. If your horse develops stronger, larger muscles under the saddle the leather tree will just flex and adapt to the new configuration of the horse’s back. If I could still introduce horses to saddle and take them through the first year of training I would not use any other saddle so long I was not jumping. The security of the seat for me and the ability of the saddle tree to flex to each individual horse plus the bigger panels that rest on the horse’s back should make it an extremely comfortable saddle for the growing and developing horse.

Which means that the owner would not have to go through “saddle fitting hell” several times during the horse’s life.

I do no know why the Spanish leather tree saddles are not more popular in this hemisphere (yes, I am including Central and South America.) If a rider does not jump or rope cattle the Spanish potrera saddles seem fit for most equestrian adventures in the ring, fields and trail. While it does have a tree, the saddle tree can flex to fit most horse’s back, and a shimmable pad should take care of the ones it does not fit immediately.

Just think, no saddle fitting hell, no interruptions in training when the horse’s back outgrows its saddle, and no problems transferring from one horse to another horse with a different back.

If I had started out riding in one of these saddles I might have never gotten into jumping.

Now I have to wait until I save enough to buy different sizes dressage girths so I can securely girth it to the horse. Debbie has been mentioning me trying it on the lesson horses, that would be great because I am sure that I can use her educated eyes to get me riding better in this saddle.

[3PonyFarm]

Good workout! I hope you get your lesson this week!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I had my lesson today. I rode MJ, the last horse I fell off of at a walk.

The “Sure Grip Saddle Seat Cover” helped stop me from sliding around in my jumping saddle.

I lasted 30 minutes, all at a walk with some 2-point and some “rider’s push-ups” thrown in.

Today I managed to get my right thigh over the cantle both mounting and dismounting.

MJ seemed to not like my usual bridoon today. Debbie agreed with me that he did not seem to like it today. For some reason my bridoon reins felt like they had shrunk 6" or so today so most of my ride using them was almost on the buckle. So I tied my bridoon reins to my grab strap and kept contact with the Weymouth curb.

MJ was SO MUCH HAPPIER with my hands when I did that. He cheerfully reached out for contact, cheerfully kept contact, and obeyed all my aids. I am still having a little bit of mental difficulty with a horse who prefers contact with the curb over contact with a bridoon/snaffle, but MJ has been very, very clear about his preferences.

After I took up contact with the curb we had “fun” avoiding all the bad places in the ring (from 2" of rain). Turning him was fine just using my legs with little tiny hints of rein aids. He stopped better, he walked better, and he did his turns better, and he even extended his stride at the walk when I asked him to.

I will change the bridoon from the 3-piece with a roller in the middle (the Fager Alice titanium bridoon) back to my leather bit the Fager Adam which I used on him as a bridoon on the double bridle a few weeks before I fell off of him. Maybe today he was telling me that he prefers the leather bit as the bridoon and that he wants it back!

I never really recovered my energy from riding my Home Horse for 30 minutes on Sunday in spite of long naps Monday and Tuesday. I am really tired, but I got to ride a real horse today!

[RMJacobs]

Yay for real horse ride! I was wondering how you are doing with all the flooding. I hope your house is dry and you have no trouble getting around.

Rebecca

[Jackie_Cochran]

Stanly Co. NC is elevated above a lot of the surrounding counties. The altitude at my place is 600’ so the ocean is not going to get me unless there is an utter catastrophe in Greenland and the Antarctica.

We were squishy today. It could have been a lot worse. We are uphill from our “intermittent stream” and so far, knock on wood, the water has not gotten near my house.

We needed the rain.