Ride & Saddle

I rode Scout briefly yesterday, for the first time in months. He was a good boy. I rode in the Crates saddle I recently bought for Duncan and I'm just not sure I like it. Maybe it feels funny because it doesn't fit Scout just right. It's not terrible but it would take some getting used to.

I also saddled up Duncan. He needs more work circling so he can understand that it's not a scary punishment, it's just an exercise. Next time I'll do it without the saddle, because I think that added a little worry.

What's your favorite cinch? I need to get a shorter one for Duncan. I usually buy a string roper cinch for breathability and stability, but I'm open to others, mainly because I like the idea of having padding under the buckle. I have liked the felt Smart cinch, but not really the neoprene because of the slippery sweat factor. What do you all use?

Surgery is set for next Thursday. I hope to get in some good horse time before then, if I can. The pain & weakness is kind of unpredictable but every now and then I feel up to doing stuff. Maybe I'll ride again this weekend.

Waiting...

So I am going to have to have surgery. Waiting on insurance to approve it, then plan on getting in ASAP. This pain and weakness are really wearing on me. It'll be a laparoscopic surgery, so hopefully I'll bounce right back. I'll have to miss some work regardless, because lifting and wrestling bad dogs are big parts of my job. :( And I wonder how long before I can get in the saddle.

I finally got a bill of sale for Duncan, and today I got his lifetime brand inspection. So happy! He was a sweetheart for the brand inspector.

Yesterday I could tell he had a lot of pent up energy, so I went out and walked around with him. He followed me one full circuit of the pasture with no incentive other than companionship. :)

Then I opened up the gate to the pasture adjacent to Bella and Scout. They went to the races! It was really fun to watch. Duncan is far more graceful than the two red horses. He was doing flying lead changes for fun.

I was having trouble moving around, but that didn't keep me from hanging out and taking pictures.

He has this strip of buffalo pony hair down his midline. It's extra long. I love it.

Progress

Duncan has been making great progress. I admit I haven't been putting a lot into him, since I've not been feeling well.

He's a pro at saddling, and I've tried out a sidepull and a bosal on him, both of which he responded well to, but he didn't like the bosal quite as well.

Yesterday he set all of his feet on the hoof stand and I trimmed his toes. I am so proud of how he's progressed there. He even let a friend of mine he had never met before pick up his feet. He's a sweetie.

I've had to choose not to ride a few times lately because of this pain in my lower abdomen. I've also been tired and nauseous a lot. There was a lot of run-around with scheduling a CT scan and delay in getting the results, but I finally found out I have a couple of large uterine fibroids. I'd never heard of them before. I don't know much other than what I could easily look up online. They're almost always benign. I'm hoping I can get in to my regular doctor soon. I had gone to a quick care place to try to save time but it ended up costing me weeks. Now the pain is keeping me up at night and definitely affecting my everyday life. I hope they'll hurry up and fix me. I don't want to end up being down when the weather is nice.

All 4 Feet!

No pics, just bragging. Today after going for a short walk, Duncan picked up all 4 feet and I picked them all out for the very first time. No fuss. Just like he'd been doing it every day. Doesn't sound like much, but this has been months in the making. Granted, I wasn't in a rush because his feet wear so well on their own. We could've maybe done it sooner, but whatever, we did it! I was so happy with him, and he was pretty proud too!

First Hike!

 Duncan is going to be a kick-ass mountain horse. He really enjoyed himself today.

First Bit and Saddle

Duncan had a whole week off because I haven't been feeling well. I still don't know for sure what the heck's wrong with me this time, but I was tired of it yesterday so I played with my horse. Duncan and Tylenol are a good remedy.

I put a bit in his mouth for the first time. He didn't love it, but he didn't throw any fits. We've been doing a lot of preparing for this, learning about lowering and turning his head just right, playing with his mouth, and passing the lead rope in front of his face and over his ears as you do with a bridle.

We walked around and he fiddled with his bit. There were some idiots on motorcycles next door so he was pretty distracted. Then I took it off. I wasn't expecting perfection in one day.

Then I brought out his saddle and threw it up on his back from both sides, walked him around & flapped the stirrup leathers, and took it off. All without cinching it up.

I picked up a all 4 feet, congratulated him profusely, and went inside.

I really wanted to put the saddle fully on, but had some apprehension after what Tonka did years ago. Duncan has worn a saddle at least once that I know of, but obviously hasn't been totally fine with the saddle going up on his back, so I wasn't sure what to expect about the cinch. 

Turns out it was a total non-event.

I love his forelock in this picture:

And I love his sweet face in this picture:

He walked and trotted in both directions quite a bit, and then we went for a short walk through the hawthorn trees next door.

After unsaddled him I picked up all 4 feet again and praised him a lot.

It was a very good day!