This week I experimented with my Western woolen saddle blankets on the Arabs I ride.  The previous three weeks I rode Mick with just my triple-fold woolen Western saddle blanket.  While he showed great improvement with relaxing the muscles in back of the saddle he was not too sure about the front of the saddle, and he just was not moving as freely as he did when I just used the Corrector pad.  I came up with the idea of putting the Corrector in between the top and bottom of the folded wool saddle blanket, just one fold since the Corrector is too long to fit when the wool blanket is in three layers.  Since I had gotten Mia her own Western wool saddle blanket I decided, as usual, to try my new experiments on her since I can DEPEND on Mia cussing me out if everything is not up to her exacting standards.  I was using my Stubben Siegfried jumping saddle for these rides.

Mia’s new blanket is different from Mick’s wool blanket, the wool threads are thicker and I have to be careful to put it on so none of the “knots” are against her back (I do not know why these “knots” are there, maybe it is where they joined two threads.)  It is 32” long when I fold it once, and it extends several inches beyond the cantle of my saddle.  I made sure that the Corrector’s front was centered firmly in the fold in front, counting on the coarseness of the wool to hold it in place.  Since the points of the saddle tree have to be 3” or 4” back from the front of the Corrector I had to put the saddle blanket well up on Mia’s withers before I slid it back so the front was just half-way up her withers.  Mia  looked at me sort of sourly, she has unpleasant memories associated with Western saddles, and since Western saddles are always used with rectangular saddle blankets her new saddle blanket probably reminded her of less pleasant times in her life, such as when she broke loose and ran off on a trail ride years and years ago and her Western saddle got caught in a briar patch and she was not found for two days.  Mia does NOT like any type of Western tack! 

Since it had been dry all of September, the gravel roads and riding ring were starting to get dusty, and Mia’s cough came back as we walked out to the ring.  My son took her to the water trough and let her drink and that helped her cough for maybe five minutes.  After several minutes of walking in the ring Mia started to do a full body shake every few minutes, like she was trying to shake me off her back (the type of shaking a horse does after rolling in the dirt.)  Mia used to do this every ride when I started riding her years ago (with the Corrector in its polyester “sock“), and it took around a year of consistent good riding before she stopped doing it.  I think she was trying to shake bad memories loose.  I had been hoping that Mia would distinguish between the scratchy wool blanket and whatever Western blanket her previous owners had used, but she seemed to think that just the shape was a warning of possible discomfort and conflict.  So I interspersed some thankfully peaceful trots in between our walks full of coughing and full body shakes.  I did notice a difference in the grip the saddle had on the saddle blanket versus the grip the saddle had on the Corrector polyester “sock“,  the saddle did not seem to shift as much from side to side during her shake and the saddle stayed in place better using the wool saddle blanket.  The saddle also felt a lot more stable under me as Mia moved out.  She was not too sure about doing a turn on the hindquarters, but then Mia and I had not done a good turn on the hindquarters before she stopped trying to shake me off years ago.  However much Mia shook herself she was not saying NO, she was saying that she was not sure and that it would take a while before she fully made up her mind as to whether or not her new saddle blanket is harmless.  Until then her training will be back at its earlier stage, as if she has forgotten everything she learned since then.

When we got back to the barn Debbie heard her cough, dug out some horsy cough syrup and gave it to her with a syringe.  Mia acted like being given her cough syrup was the most unpleasant thing that happened to her that day since she did not like the taste at all.

So for my Wednesday lesson on Mick I did the same set up using his Western saddle blanket, with the blanket folded in half and the Corrector in-between the top and bottom layer of the blanket.  As Debbie and I tacked up Debbie said we may have to go up to the next longest girth.  Mick was not sure at all when we tacked up and every time Debbie tightened the girth Mick was telling her to BE CAREFUL and he was not looking happy at all.  When I got up and we started walking around the ring Mick settled down and started striding forth in his normal ground covering walk, yeah, my experiment worked!  The saddle stayed stable on his back in spite of the fact that Debbie had left the girth around a hole looser than usual.  Debbie soon started exclaiming on how much straighter Mick was moving, and when he halted he halted square.  His normal posting trot was better (his steps more even and he was using his hindquarters) and his sitting trot was as good as it was using just the wool blanket.  I was not able to get Mick to elevate his forehand at all during the posting trot but everything else was better.  This is pretty good since Mick had been on a LONG trail ride Sunday and I am sure he was still sore from it.  Debbie showed me a cute little video she had taken on her cell phone, and in it Mick (unsaddled) bravely strode into the deepest part of a pond at which point his owner, a girl named Chloe, found out that a horse’s back gets SLIPPERY when wet.  Chloe got her arms around Mick’s neck and hung on as he decided to get out of the pond.  I’m sure getting into the pond felt real good to him since it was quite warm that day and all the bugs were out!

Now the artsy-craftsy part.  I have Shannon looking for wool cloth for me, the type of 100% wool cloth coats are made from.  If this cloth is thick enough I could cut out and sew (by hand, my sewing machine died decades ago) a “sock” for the Corrector, or if the wool is too thin I could add the wool on the top and bottom of the polyester “sock” of the Corrector.  Mick has spoken, he prefers having both the wool saddle blanket AND the Corrector on his back, but I think he would prefer something less jury-rigged.  The other possible solution in to get a single layer unfolded woolen Western blanket and put the Corrector in its polyester “sock” under it hoping that the part of the wool blanket hanging down the sides will grip the horse’s barrel enough so I still get the extra security from the wool gripping both the horse’s sides and the bottom of my saddle.  If I did that I would not have to sew at all, but then Mia would still have to get through her PTSD from rectangular Western saddle blankets.  Gee, maybe I should do both, then I will only have to make one “sock” woolen right away, but I have three other Correctors that I will have to fix up too for when I run into horses that need them.  Groan, I will be sewing for months. 

I have never enjoyed sewing at all.  The things that I will do for horses I don’t even own!  Its just part of what it takes to be a horseman, putting the horse and its comfort first in spite of the fact that it will  cost me money and a lot of effort.  Anything to make the horses happier when I ride them, but then they deserve it for putting up with my countless imperfections in the saddle.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran