Today was not my best day for pictures. None of them were worth posting. Doesn't help that it was cloudy and my horse was a little muddy.
Today we tried out a different saddle pad, just for kicks. It's one of those pocket pads that Diamond Wool makes, with 3 pairs of shims you can add in front, middle, or back. I heard a theory from my sister that with a downhill horse you actually want to shim up the middle or middle/back of the pad, to get the saddle off the shoulder. I thought heck, then your saddle's going to be tipping even farther forward (which has been causing my back to hollow, which is not something I want in my riding). But she insisted that this saddler said that's how it works, and I was willing to be wrong. But I was right. Before I mounted up the saddle was nicely lifted off the shoulder, but after our ride it was tipped pretty drastically down in the front.
Also, my slanted stirrups are too slanted. I guess it was worth trying. Now I can put my matching stirrups back on and not worry about them looking weird.
But back to our ride - we had a good one! I just rode her in a halter again. Her turns were much more responsive today. She was a lot more sensitive overall, I think because we had a little squall coming in. We rode around the field, over some poles, and ended up going up the driveway again, then spending a lot more time in the trees. We crossed a little tiny stream and wandered around, practicing a lot of stopping and standing, because she was nervous and tends to rush straight ahead when she's worried. On the way back we serpentined around bushes, which was good for both of us. I was concentrating on what we were doing, not worrying about her being silly, and she quit being silly. But she did leap forward when my sleeve brushed a bush and made a noise. So I sidled up to a lot of bushes and rubbed my arms on them. Then we found a tree that made a different noise and did the same thing. She has pretty darn good lateral control, if she's not too worried about what I'm moving her into.
By the time we were done I had a horrible stomachache and I had to take a nap. It seems to have passed already. I wonder what that was all about.
I got a new book today. I think it's called, "How Horses Move." I forgot it in my car or I'd go look to be sure of the title. It shows how the bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles move. It has a lot of pictures of horses with their anatomy painted on, and cadaver legs and bones and stuff. I like pictures. Toward the end it has info on massage and exercises to do. I am pretty excited about that part. I think as Bella gets tronger he'll have le trouble. Did you notice one of my keyboard key jut quit working? That' annoying. I love my keyboard, I don't want a new one! I got it all wet the other day. Crap.
I bought a pair of those angled stirrups too. I did not care for them, so now they sit in the trailer. Our club has a swap meet every year, mine will go up for sale then.
ReplyDeleteThat book sounds really interesting. I may have to find a copy. Most of the equine medicine books I have are more confusing than anything, and most are so general they don't give enough information either.
My internet seems to be working well today so I scrolled down your blog at the pics you took the other day. You really do have a very artistic eye. The "Telling Tails" is a keeper for sure.
Another interesting lameness tidbit that I've learned...not that any of this has anything to do with your current post, but I thought you'd like to hear it:
ReplyDeleteIf the lameness if more pronounce when the lame limb is on the inside of the circle, it usually means the lameness is in the lower part of the limb (from the carpus down or hock down). If the lameness is more pronounced when the lame limb is on the outside of the circle, is usually means the lameness is either in the upper limb (elbow, shoulder, stifle, hip) or it could be in the soft tissues of that limb, like muscles or tendons rather than joints.