Working on Tiny Details

This was a good week, I got to ride all three horses.

It has gotten into meteorological summer down here. Shannon now picks me up at 8:00 AM in an attempt to spare me (and her horse) the icky sweaty super humid weather that gets the sweat pouring down into my eyes. I am still riding at 9:00 AM at…

The Nineties Have Arrived

Yes, four days of 90ºF+ in a row. Summertime temperatures and it isn't even the middle of May. I guess it makes up for all those lows in the 20's this year.

So after months of…

I Try Out My “Old Type” Wellep Lever Cheek Snaffle

Lat Sunday was a good day. The weather was nice, Shannon's ring was dry, my grandson was visiting, and I got to try out my new bit on Cider! This bit, the “old” type Wellep Lever Cheek Snaffle has some differences from the “new” type Wellep Lever Cheek Snaffle that I had used a little bit several years ago. The cable that goes through the…

A Frustrating Ride on Magic

Last Sunday my grandson, who was visiting me, got his desire to go riding again after six months of not getting up on a horse. We rode at Shannon's, and I gave up my ride on Cider so my grandson could have a less frustrating ride, so I got the opportunity to ride Magic and get frustrated! Shannon did not mind me switching horses, she knows that Cider is much more…

Further Progress

My hands continue to improve, they are steadier and and more acceptable to the horses.

When I got up on Cider last Sunday I was prepared for her to decide that, on second thought, she did not appreciate me changing to the JP Dr. Bristol snaffle. Hey, she is a mare, the weather is spring like, her coat is…

I Did Not Have to Warm Up My Bit

It got up to 80ºF a few times this week. I wore my summer riding clothes, the horses were not buried under exercise sheets, and all the horses are shedding out rapidly.

My…

I Discover a New Muscle in My Back

This was a good week, I got to ride all three horses!

It was so warm on Sunday Shannon did not even put the butt blanket or neck cover on Cider. The ring was a little squishy because of the snow and rain last week, so all I could do was walk. Cider gave me an indication that she wanted to…

Bingo Reverts to His Old Habits

Because of the cold my riding schedule got messed up. Wednesday morning it was 19°F at the stable, I had already rescheduled my lesson because of the weather forecast. Debbie was willing to give me a lesson on Thursday morning, but then Debbie called me about how she had to baby-sit…

Winter Rules for Now

Yesterday we got our first real snow this winter down here in NC. It snowed steadily for a few hours yesterday afternoon but it was too warm for any of it to stick, even my porch railing was bare. Friday morning it felt so cold, damp and raw when I opened my front door that I KNEW that Mia would curse me out if I tried to ride, even with two butt blankets on her. “Are you…

Have I Found “Another Piece of the Puzzle”?

Ever since I started doing the “rider's push-ups” six weeks ago I have experienced many moments of feeling quite unstable on the horses' backs. I achieved some feeling of stability while doing the “rider's push-ups” on Bingo, a gelding, but I never really got rid of the feeling of teetering in my stirrups while on the mares, Cider and Mia. At first I…

Pigs, Buzz-Bombers, Heat, Humidity, Oh My!

I had an interesting ride on Cider last Sunday at Shannon's farm. As Shannon saddled Cider I say my first buzz-bomber fly of the year, upsetting Cider, but she calmed down when Shannon put more fly spray on her and then put on her Amigo Fly-Rider exercise sheet and neck covering.…

Cleaning and Conditioning Some Saddles

First, my rides. Last Sunday it was BEAUTIFUL, it was relatively cool, it was not very humid, the sun was shining through gorgeous white fluffy clouds, and I was so glad that I got to ride Cider! Not that Cider is any happier with my riding, she still points out how my balance is just too horrible to expect any straightness from her, so I have to…

Cider Likes Her New “Hat”

Last week I only got to ride once since Debbie had summer camp. Fortunately I have something new to report about my relationship with Cider!

Cider, an Arab/Welsh pony mare in her twenties, and I had been in a sort of frustrating round of identical rides week after week. With the help of my Kerrits…

My New Wellep Full Cheek Double Jointed Snaffle

A few weeks ago, on Ebay, I found this listing for an “extremely rare” Wellep Full Cheek Double Jointed Snaffle. Yes, this bit IS extremely rare, I have been haunting Ebay for seven years, frequently checking for any Wellep bits for sale, and this was the first time I had seen a double jointed Wellep bit for…

I Compared My Most Secure Full Seat Riding Pants

In last weeks blog I told all of you about my experiment in using both my Corrector saddle pad and my Kerrits IceFil tights, and how my Pegasus Butterfly jumping saddle stopped shifting so much to the side. On Sunday morning it was a bit cool and a wind was blowing, so I decided to wear my FITS Performax full seat deer skin breeches instead,…

Signs of Progress

This has been an amazing week for my riding.  I finally managed to stabilize my new saddle so it stays centered on the horses’ backs, and I stopped slipping and sliding around in my saddle.  The horses were happier, Debbie, my riding teacher was amazed, and if I were not exhausted I would feel like I was in my twenties again.

Two lessons ago, Debbie was please with a lot of my riding and Bingo’s responses, but she was NOT pleased that I could not keep myself…

Maybe I Finally Got the Shims Right with Bingo

This week I finally came to the realization that, at least on horses with the croup high &/or sway back conformation, the key to getting my new Pegasus Butterfly saddle working correctly, is to shim my pad correctly.  I also established that when I made my stirrup leathers uneven (to reflect that my right leg is shorter than my left leg), my seat stays centered in the saddle without much extra work on my part.

Last Sunday I…

Is My Right Leg Shorter Than My Left Leg?    

Last Sunday, for my ride on Cider using my new Pegasus Butterfly saddle, I added both the ¼” and 3/16” bridging shims to my Contender II BOT/ThinLine pad.  This made the pad thicker, which meant Shannon had trouble getting Cider’s string girth to the bottom hole of the billet straps.  If we had used any girth but a mohair string girth we would have been in real trouble, but since the string girth has some stretch to it Shannon finally got…

I May Have Found a Partial Solution    

In my last blog, I revealed my latest problems with my riding.  Since I could not get myself satisfactorily centered in my new Pegasus Butterly saddle, I blamed the whole problem on my MS messing up my proprioceptive system.  But then I thought further on my problem, and I came up with the idea that the shims in the Pegasus pad may not have worked satisfactorily in filling up Bingo’s (and Mia’s) sway back or in ameliorating Cider‘s…

I Developed a New Problem with my Riding    

You would think that with over 45 years experience as a rider, that I would never come up with a new, seemingly unsolvable problem.  However, with my Multiple Sclerosis, plus my horrible misadventure with a new MS drug, that is exactly what happened to me.

I started shifting my whole body to the left.

As you know I bought a new saddle, the Pegasus Butterfly Claudia jumping saddle.  I love this saddle, I can get my seat really…