Saddle fit and our first show!

Ok, so the second part of that statement is a bit of an stretch, but...

We had a good lesson last night and despite arriving early enough to have time to warm her up before the lesson, I was STILL almost late for my lesson time! Sometimes I feel like my life is just another episode of Candid Camera. Let me set the scene...I start walking out to her pasture, a fly runs into my face lodging itself in my eye, I start rubbing with dirty farm hands as I continue walking. I grab Kiki, she has placed herself in the farthest corner of her night time turnout (it's the farthest away from the barn), put her halter on. She starts sneezing...and sneezing, and sneezing. And then sneezes a little more. She sneezed for the entire walk back to the barn with me rubbing my eye the whole way. We finally get to the arena where I had placed 3 saddles to throw on her while the other lesson was in progress and B says, what happened to your eye? And what's wrong with her? Kiki at this point has snot running down her face and is clearly trying to get something out of her nasal passage. What a mess we were. I put a smaller halter on her since B thought maybe the one I caught her in was tickling her nose.

So, about the saddle. I think I have mentioned that her back has always seemed a little sore, not sore enough to start serious bad behavior under saddle, but enough that she would flinch pretty dramatically when you take off her tack. Initially we chalked it up to her lack of fitness, then as she got in shape, we switched to a close contact saddle which seemed to free her up a little. But lately I could feel it slipping off to the right when I rode her and she's dropped some weight/gained more muscle, so it was time for a saddle fit review. What we discovered is that the close contact doesn't fit at all, the saddle I started her in pinches in the back, and the saddle that does fit is of course a wool flocked beauty (and is used on another lease horse). We also discovered that she is completely crooked. Because her right side is slightly underdeveloped everything wants to slip off to that side. So I rode her in the Albion, with a regular square pad. I got on and walked her off, and WHAT. A. DIFFERENCE. Even B, who hasn't seen me ride her in a while, said she looke 100% happier. She felt completely amazing. Typically, I have to warm her up slowly at a walk, then at a trot (without asking for much contact) or she'll run around like a giraffe...she was foot perfect. I could still feel the saddle being crooked but it was glaringly obvious that Kiki was MUCH happier. I told B earlier in the day that I wanted to work on canter departs, and I assumed that since I didn't get to warm her up before our lesson we wouldn't really get there in a 30 minute private, but B thought she looked fantastic. Off we went, and guess what? NO CROW-HOPPING, no ducking or sucking back, no leaning on her forehand and expecting me to hold her up. We switched and went to the right, and although it took her much longer to get her lead, even when I let her have a few extra strides to get into the canter, she never felt unbalanced or racing. We figured out a little trick to get her to step under and straight to get the right lead. B had me trot around and come up the quarter line, near B I would asked for a leg yield left towards the rail and once she was there, ask for the right lead canter. Guess what? It worked. Immediately. Well, that little trick is now in my tool box and I can't wait to work on it with her. Part of the issue I struggle with when riding her is that when I start getting frustrated, she starts getting anxious and anticipating the next move. So, say we've blown a couple of canter transitions, she finds it VERY hard to come back to a nice steady trot...by incorporating the leg yield it gives her something to focus on, to regain straightness, and sets her up for success.

I was so pleased with her. B told me we are ready for our first off property adventure. The girls have their dressage championships this Sunday and she said she has room in the trailer. It's a very low pressure situation, a relatively quiet show environment, with horses she trusts, and stalls in case she gets nuts. B told me I don't even have to ride her if I don't want to, but to plan on lunging her and hacking her around if she's doing well. It's a baby step (for both of us, I haven't shown since I was a teenager), but it's a big move forward. if I can get her to some shows this fall, I think we'll be in good shape. B is curious to see how she will be throughout the fall and if she keeps it together. I think if I can keep riding her regularly through the winter, she's going to come out a champ in the Spring. I don't want her to lose her fitness, and since we have a nice indoor, there's no reason I can't keep her going!

So, I decided that we will go. We'll go and we'll do it together. It will be an adventure. The first of many.

I love that mare.