This week I changed things with my tack yet again.  I wanted to see how the mares did in the jumping cavesson bridle without the running martingle after all those weeks using the Spirit Bridle.  When I got to the stable on Wednesday it was already hot at 8:00 AM, and I got even hotter trimming Mia's toes.  With the hot weather Mia's hooves are growing really fast, and since I cut back my riding on Fridays because of the heat I had a lot of rasping to do!  Next week I will have to change the side I start rasping on.  I am getting the left hooves done all right, but I get so tired that the right hooves, which she are stamping more, don't get done as well.  I finally got her toes down enough and two of Debbie's students groomed Mia for me while I sat to rest for a few minutes, both girls had ridden her before and Mia got some extra gushing. Then Debbie, Mia and I went out into the heat to ride with Debbie's students coming out to see me ride.

At first Mia was extra, extra springy, and it seemed like she was looking for the running martingle and when she didn't find it her gaits gained in impulse, even at the walk.  Her head came up, but instead of her usual inversion she had her poll highest and at the trot she started boinging around the ring, she felt like she wanted to FLY.  So I rode her boingy trot a few times around the ring and she finally reached out for contact and started to use her impulse to go mostly FORWARD.  After I got a decent trot out of her, forward, calm, freely moving and extending her stride a little when I asked her to, I was just too hot and tired to trot any more and we started working at the walk.  Mia was in the delightful place of having sufficient impulse for everything I wanted to do without all the extra boinging.  Thank goodness.  I find that when the Arabs start boinging around it is really important NOT to hang onto the reins even if the horse feels like it is going to take off at any minute.  Eventually the boinging comes down, then establishing contact is a lot easier.

I wasn't expecting much precision from Mia, after all I did not have a bit in her mouth and the jumping cavesson bridle has a sort of mushy feel to the hand aids.  Mia surprised me, when I asked for my first turn on the hindquarters the first step was sloppy, then Mia fell into the groove and the rest of the turn was as exact as when I use a bit.  It was simply the best turn on the hindquarters I had ever gotten using the jumping cavesson bridle.  Mia continued the lesson responding to really light hand aids, taking up contact when I asked and accepting the contact for a minute or two before she asked for more rein.  Her sitting trot was fine, if a little bit springier than usual, she gave me her usual two reluctant steps when I asked her to back up, and her usual two reluctant steps for the turn on the forehand.  With her occult spavin it is more difficult for Mia to cross her hind leg in front of the other hind leg, so I keep myself content with what she willingly gives me.  For our final movement I asked for a few steps of the two-track, going forward straight while also moving in a diagonal across the ring.  When she gave me two diagonal strides I called it a success and stopped.  I was too hot and tired to do anything more.

Today I got to ride Cider, dodging rain drops most of the ride.  At least I was in a synthetic saddle so I didn't have to worry about water spots on my leather saddle.  I tried my Corrector pad with the Wintec Wide, and Cider decided she DID NOT LIKE the combination at all.  The pad moved the saddle too far up from her back, it changed the angle of the girthing, and nothing, nothing, nothing I did made Cider any happier with me.  I had lengthened my stirrups a hole since my knees were projecting beyond the flap, but that turned out to be a bad decision too, my seat was MUCH weaker and I could not find a comfortable place for my legs.  Cider took exception to everything and when  I rode her where the grass was taller and she basically freaked out.  After a few moments I was able to re-establish calmness, but Cider went back to her old bad habit of turning into a pretzel when riding by the fence, where all the high grass was.  So I finally brought her into where the grass was short and I was finally able to get some strides in straightness.  Before riding her in the high grass I had moved my seat back in the saddle and moved my feet forward some searching for comfort.  Cider did not like this at all, and when she freaked out in the high grass I reflected on Steinbrecht who wrote that while colder blood horses won't go forward unless the rider is back, that hot bloods tend to run away when the rider's seat is too far back for them.  He was right.  I promptly brought my seat forward to its usual position in the saddle and she eventually calmed down.  

Sooo, Wintec Wide with a thin pad--good.  Wintec Wide with a thicker pad--bad.  Got it.  Wintec Wide with shorter stirrups--my knees project beyond the flap but I can ride correctly.  Wintec Wide with stirrups a hole longer--bad, bad, bad. The stirrup bars are so tight on the Wintec that I am not able to change the length of my stirrups when the saddle is on the horse. Any English saddle sort of has a "sweet spot" for the rider's legs, but I just could not ride in it today.  I much prefer my knees projecting beyond the flap and feeling secure to riding with the longer stirrups!  Luckily I have years of experience riding with my knees beyond the flap, with one mare I had the only saddle that fit was the old-type English hunt saddle, no knee rolls and an almost straight flap.  My knees projected beyond the flap in that saddle, as they do with my dressage saddle.  It is a good thing that my seat does not rely on my knees gripping for security, otherwise I'd be sunk.  I am going to have to get used to the wider saddle spreading my knees WIDE, today I was reminded of the only time I rode in a Chillean gaucho saddle which is basically 6 inches of sheepskin and blankets.  I expect that my gripping muscles will be sore tomorrow.

This week I will struggle with my Wintec Wide to get the widest gullet plate on the saddle.  With the saddle fitting better I will be able to ride with the thin quilted pad or without any pad at all (so long as I clean the panels of my saddle after I ride.)  Hopefully Cider will be happier with me and her saddle.  I am so glad I tried out the wide saddle with the thin pad, I would have gotten the wrong impression of it if I had tried it with the Corrector, however well the Corrector works with every other saddle I've tried it with.  Live and learn.  Decades ago when my extremely wide backed mare moved out of my life I got rid of my old saddle that fit her because I was determined never to buy a flat-backed, mutton withered horse again.  But now I am riding other people's horses and I just have to adapt to the horses that come up.  I appreciate having alternatives so I can ride these horses but it just is not as comfortable for me to ride the wide backed horses as it is riding horses with backs that fit normal saddles.  Horses that do not spread my knees wide apart.  Comfortable horses.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran