I am a reasonable rider. I have a good seat and most of the things that Breezy does when she is um… “asserting” her opinion I don’t have any trouble staying on. What got me was when she started getting nervous or jittery in the ring a few weeks ago. I’d get on her and it felt like I was riding a taught rubber band. Wound, like she could take off or explode...
Continue reading...Riding
Canter departs
Thirteen years ago, my horse somersaulted and landed on me when we were cantering during a riding lesson. I don’t remember what happened exactly. We were cantering down the long side at the end of the lesson and she felt magnificent: strong impulsion, light in my hands, and then something. The world spun and I slammed into the dirt face down between her legs. She kicked once with her back legs and hit...
Continue reading...Pain in the butt after riding
After riding yesterday, my tailbone has been very sore. Sitting hurts. Riding is out of the question. This is unacceptable. I am so tired of not being able to ride consistently. I’m going to see my regular doctor and hopefully get a referral to an orthopedic specialist. This sucks. I’m tired of riding and then having a pain in the butt, feeling well enough to ride, and then riding… and having a pain...
Continue reading...Dealing with resistance when riding
It is easy to feel frustrated because I don’t know what to do when Kasane says “no I don’t want to do this.” I know how I used to ride: I’d insist that she do something. With Isis, if I insisted and she wasn’t clear on what I was asking (or more likely I wasn’t sure of how to ask her to do what I wanted), it would end up escalating. Where escalating...
Continue reading...Adventures when riding with contact
I usually ride English so I’m riding in a loose ring snaffle bit. Kasane has a Herm Sprenger KK Ultra 4 3/4″ snaffle with small losenge like piece in the middle of the snaffle. Rajiyyah’s bit is a similar design, except it has a copper mouth piece. When I ride Kasane, we usually ride with light contact so there is a direct line from my arm to her mouth. The connection is made...
Continue reading...Trail ride report
On Sunday morning, Tara invited me to come with her on a trail ride around the farm. The trail ride was fun and enlightening. Kasane was pulled out of the stall, saddled, and away we went (instead of working her in the ring first). Tara rode Rooster (Friesian/Paint cross), Carmen lead Geronimo (standardbred/QH cross), and I was on Kasane. We headed out down the road and past the pastures, and then along the...
Continue reading...Saddles and shoes
Since Kasane has been undersaddle, we’ve gradually discovered and corrected several problems. We did a saddle fitting and discovered that my Courbette Magic dressage saddle didn’t fit her at all. Got a new saddle which made a huge difference. Over this past winter, I’ve noticed Kasane moving oddly on her back legs. For example, her stride when trotting looked uneven like the paces were not the same between one side and the other....
Continue reading...The quality of autumn sunlight
The quality of the light is different as summer fades into fall. The humidity haze burns away and is replaced by a golden glow at dusk. I couldn’t wait to get out to the barn on Tuesday. It was perfect riding weather. I would only have enough time to do a little with Kasane besides treating the scratches (rain-rot like scabs) on her legs. Not enough time to ride, but enough time to...
Continue reading...Intrepid jumpers
Last week at the barn, we had a special jumping session to introduce the horses to some of the crazy things you might come across with jumps. Sylvana and Tara came up with some crazy, amazing jump “enhancements.” Okay, most of the time you probably won’t be asked to jump stuff animals or comforters. We had our three six year olds: Kasane, Sylvana’s Renegade, and Tara’s Rooster. Kasane was the smallest of the...
Continue reading...Week 2.5 of riding bareback
I never expected to be having great schooling rides bareback. We’re walking and trotting bareback and I’m not losing my seat any more. The differences in how Kasane responds to my aids are subtle but amazing. For a while, we had trouble free lunging. She’d race from one corner to the next and not pay attention to me. We’ve had several weeks of primarily lunge line work using larger spaces. We’re still working...
Continue reading...Riding in the Prestige Venus K
Today was the second day of the test ride in the Prestige Venus K monoflap. Yesterday when I rode, it was in the small square ring behind the barn. That ring is on a slight incline and not quite large enough to have a straight line for any distance. Kasane did very well in the small ring yesterday, but I didn’t have a chance to ride in the larger ring because of a...
Continue reading...Comparison of saddle length
For comparison purposes, here is a picture of Kasane in the Courbette Magic Dressage. I took these pictures to show off the new saddle pad, but they turn out to be pretty good at showing the saddle fit. See how long the saddle panels are? You can tell by where the saddle comes over her back — it comes over her lumbar. When you look at the front of the saddle, see how...
Continue reading...Saddle fitting pictures
Here are pictures of the saddle fitting. After the saddle fitter took Kasane’s measurements, we went through most of the saddles in the shop to find one that fit me and had short enough panels for her. Most of the used and new saddles I sat in didn’t fit my seat bones. The Prestige Venus K monoflap fit my seat and was so very comfortable. (It is the pretty saddle with the fancy...
Continue reading...Bareback
No saddle that fits properly so we’re going to ride bareback. This should be fun since Kasane isn’t crazy about having dangly legs on her side without the saddle. A good learning opportunity. My legs are going to be in great shape. Related Images:
Continue reading...Dressage saddle fitting for Kasane
Day started early. I was at up at 7:45, tried to go back to sleep, dozed until 8:15. At the barn to meet the farrier by 9:30. Groomed Kasane and Prize and then had their feet trimmed. The farrier said that both of them had great feet, so that is always good news. No thrush (foot disease), no strange cracks, no blemishes. Just good strong feet. We had a full house today with...
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