I spent all morning yesterday playing with the Specialized trial saddle, trying to get it to fit nicely on Blaze’s problematic little back. He has a high wither and then a significant hollow in behind the shoulder, as well as a very short back..oh yeah and his left and right side are totally differently shaped, as the Specialized dvd predicted. At 15 yrs old his top line, which was never fantastic, is certainly starting to sink a little, though I do a good amount of low level dressage at home in the arena to work on his collection etc. Anyhoo, the saddle sat quite nicely on his right side but on his left there were gaps everywhere, and I ended up using about every darn piece of wedge and velcro they included to get it to sit nicely. It would have been easier if I was able to cut the strips into the shapes I needed but since the paper that came with it said mail everything back in 8 days I’m guessing I’m not supposed to be getting crazy cutting things and making it all truly fit to my horse. I’m confident that its doable though. I haven’t stripped it back apart and tried it on Desire yet, I’m planning to ride her in it at Lake Oroville on Sunday with a couple of friends so I will put it together on her on Saturday. I did manage to get a brief test ride in the saddle on Blaze yesterday before the vet showed up to give Sheza her vaccinations. The saddle is really comfortable and I love how light and minimalistic it is while still having a nice deep seat and feeling like a secure, comfortable ride. At this point I’m really leaning towards mailing it back with the “Yes, apply my deposit to buying a saddle” option checked on the sheet, but I won’t decide for sure until I test ride Desire in it this weekend.

As for Sheza’s shots, it all went really well! I walked down into her paddock to catch her when the vet pulled in and wasn’t sure whether she would be her gracious “yes, catch me!” self or her bratty touch-me-not self, especially since she was hanging out at the bottom of the paddock next to mom on the other side of the fence. Happily she stuck her nose right in the halter and away we went. The vet and I agreed we should do the shots inside her paddock since it was her first shots ever and in case she got away from us she would be safe and contained. I had the full set of shots done so she had to endure two syringe loads of goodies. My vet is a tiny blonde woman, shorter than me, so Sheza took quite an interest in her and wasn’t worried about her rubbing and pinching her neck. Well then the needle got stuck in there and things weren’t too kosher for a minute but it wasn’t uncontrollable, just some squirting around on her lead rope until I quieted her again. After that first shot she didn’t think the vet should be anywhere near her so we took a few minutes to hang out with her and ease the vet back into Sheza’s comfort zone. The second shot went perfectly until the end, in fact I didn’t even realize the needle was in and it was happening because Sheza was standing so quietly–until the very end when she suddenly erupted away from us but the shot was already delivered which was good. The vet and I hung out with her some more until she was relaxed and sniffing us both again and then it was done! Verdict was it was quite a manageable set of first shots for a foal and Sheza also got lots of compliments on how pretty she was and what good bone she had. Huzzah!

 Today its cold and windy and rain is forecast so I just pulled Desire and Sheza and stuck their new winter turnouts on. Sheza’s second blanket attempt fits her but only just, I doubt it will fit by the end of winter..sigh. Desire looks so snazzy in her deep purple blanket, I really wish my camera would accurately capture the color!

We did some roof work and clean up yesterday after the 40 mph gusts we had on Monday and I cleaned out Desire’s paddock this morning which I had been meaning to do before the rain came today. So we are pretty well caught up today and should just be a quiet day at the homestead. Supposed to be cold tonight, looking forward to our first fire in the wood stove!

My trial model of the Specialized Eurolight arrived here yesterday afternoon. Its a gorgeous light saddle and the fit kit came with the whole shebang–stirrups, girth, pad, etc. I thought I had more like 30 days to try it out but turns out I’ve only got 8 days then I have to mail the whole shebang back and put my deposit toward a saddle or get it back. I’m really hoping for the former but we’ll see. Not much time to see if its really going to fit Blaze and Desire and me, especially since rain is coming tomorrow and the next day. There is a low chance of showers this weekend and my husband finishes work so the truck will be around so I’m hoping to get out and do some miles at Lake Oroville on the weekend. I’m going to watch the fit cd right after I post this and mess around with it today but at the most I’ll be able to get 5 or 6 miles on it from home today, as the vet is coming at 2 to give Sheza her shots. I’m more worried about it fitting Blaze than Desire but we’ll see!

Starting to plan ahead for the 2012 AERC season, making up my ride calendar in one of the many windows I have open at the moment…I know time flies and before I know it will be mid April and time for my first endurance ride with Desire–plus that same weekend Sheza will be 1 yr old already! Ahh! Well we have a long wet winter before that happens but its good to be prepared.

 

My husband and I had a blast this evening carving our home grown pumpkins! My husband carved the 80 lb-er and I settled for a 30 lb-er. There were ridiculous dog costumes involved…

 Finally, finally, I am trail riding Desire. To be fair currently its “dirt road” riding, not technically trail, but its still great to be out covering some ground on her! She will have been here a year in January and this week have been my first tons-of-fun excursions riding her off the property without the filly. Yesterday morning we did about 5 miles to the top of the ridge and back and this morning we went nearly 8 miles on the other dirt road that runs just east of our property. Desire is such a BLAST to ride. She effortlessly travels faster than Blaze ever can–even in a hurry–and the few times I had a straightaway to let her really *trot* she was flying and wasn’t even at her biggest extension. Boy I bet she could really rip at a gallop! There are some fun car-free straightaways at the local Wildlife Area I might have to go try that out on.

I’m quite happy with her attitude so far. She has gotten spooked a couple of times but each time froze and looked around then continued when she was comfortable. The neighbor’s baby goats who run through the woods bbaaaaing when you go by (and always terrify Blaze) gave her pause as did a chainsawing project happening just off the road farther along but she reacted with a cool head and even her physical startles weren’t beyond reason or difficult to sit. I’m happy about this since she is much more alert and reactive to ride than Blaze and I had some concern what her attitude would be out on the trail, but she is really just a fun, forward, alert mare who seems quite happy to be going down the trail. She had no clue what direction home was a couple of times and we had to have a little talk over who knew the way better but with time I’m sure she’ll figure it out. The first half mile or so after leaving home she was very determinedly hugging the extreme left side of the road and looking west towards home and the yelling filly but her feet were still moving forward and I got her attention back with some effort.

All 4 Easyboot Gloves have stayed on for both our admittedly short rides. Even so I consider that a victory since her hooves are still transitioning and I’m basically clueless. I’ve noticed that her right hind kicks her right front consistently walking up hill, which is interesting and seems to be one sided and only at the walk. She trots nicely in the boots without interference or problem.

Chilly autumn morning rides are my favorite!

 

My mom is in town visiting and we had a giant escapade adventure to the “city” yesterday for shopping galore. We didn’t get home until about 9 last night which is way late for us country folk to be out and about so we are just relaxing around the place today. I decided to take Desire for a spin this morning and roped my mom into playing photographer. It was SUCH a gorgeous cool fall morning, I love riding in the sun and not sweating like a beast! It was my first ride on Desire since weaning Sheza and she was about 100 times more attentive and cooperative to ride today. Her milk has dried up and she is definitely in single working horse mode, no more mama brain at all. She has lost her big baby belly as well since I separated Sheza and was a lot more agile and able to trot and canter than she has been yet. It was a really fun ride and we got some great photos!