Mustang Saga

Ride the West and the mustang adoption were lots of fun. We got there on Friday just after the horses were unloaded, so we went to see them first. They were a nice bunch of horses. The first ones to catch my eye were a big bay gelding with four socks and a big chunky black that looked like a quarter horse. And my favorite from Odessa was there. He nuzzled my hand and sniffed my face. It killed me.

Here's my boy, and the big black is hiding behind the red:

On Friday evening they had a big deal where exhibitors and trainers showed off their horses. Here's the Border Patrol on their (quite handsome) mustangs:

Charles Wilhelm was riding a one-eyed horse. They performed very well. I went later to talk to Charles about training, and he just said treat them like a severely one-sided horse. The only thing he can't do on this horse is cut, since the horse has to be able to see on both sides and can't be guided by the rider in the same way it can in other disciplines.
The adoption took place one Sunday, and 7 horses were adopted. Each one of those was something to be happy about, but I'm disappointed that more didn't get homes. My special boy went back to the BLM corrals in Burns, yet again.

Monday morning I got to go on a trail ride in my "new" saddle. I took a chance and ordered a used Aussie saddle on Tack Trader for only $110. I wasn't sure it would fit me or my horse, but I figured for that price I could always re-sell it. I LOVE it. It's super comfy and it fits us both. The only problem I had was that the buckles on the stirrup leathers pinched my calves really bad when I used my legs. So I have some big bruises now, and new leathers on the way. I wish Aussie gear was more available locally. I have to mail-order everything.
Here he is in his new saddle. I need to try a different pad this time. That's my sister's dressage pad. Worked okay, but is almost too small under the saddle. I'm hoping a regular western pad will work. I'm going to try to use English leathers when I go to my lesson today. I hope it works with those stirrups. I like this saddle so much I don't want to ride in anything else!
It was a beautiful ride! We saw a few deer. I must admit, the first one scared me, I just heard big noise in the brush and thought it was a moose. Just a little deer... Tonka got to cross big logs and little logs, burned logs and piled logs. We also played around in thick brush and going up and down banks. It was a blast. He got really tired at the end though.

My sister's horse tied-up really bad after the ride. He's been doing this for years, but it has always been subtle, so she didn't think he was really tying up. This time he looked like he might go down. I gave her some banamine (good thing to have a first aid kit handy) and she walked him a bit, then he started to loosen up and was able to ride home. They drew blood and are waiting for results. The easiest answer would be a selenium deficiency, but they're thinking it's more likely to be an inherited muscled disorder such as EPSM (also called PSSM) or something similar. She's really upset and worried. She's getting him started on a high-fat diet, and can't go trail riding until it's under control. He also can't have complete time off or it will get worse, so luckily she can still work on her dressage stuff at home.