Saturday, October 15, 2016

Duncan is home, saddle search

Duncan didn't learn much at the trainer's.  I'm not sure if the guy didn't ride him as much as he was supposed to or if he just isn't a very good trainer.  At least he didn't do any major damage, and Duncan has carried a rider at all gaits and is more forward moving.

The saddle I thought fit Duncan didn't, so we tried some saddles on him and determined that a Crates saddle with the Steele Equi-fit tree would fit him.  So I bought one.  I don't love it, so I kept looking.  Meanwhile, I sold my good saddle.  It was kind of hard to see it go, but John and I agreed that it was a good idea because it's so heavy and it's not a good trail saddle because the fenders are not free-swinging, especially forward.  And since it was worth so much, we could pay for another month of training and a good saddle for either Duncan or Scout.  The Crates fits Scout really well.  I'm still on the fence about the fit for Duncan.

Fast forward a bit to Scout modelling a friend's Orthoflex saddle.  It's not a good fit for me, but it was fun to play with.

Duncan and I had a kind of iffy ride the day after I brought him home, but then the next day we had a great ride.  Still in the round pen. He eventually relaxed and started to reconnect with me instead of trying to respond while trying to keep an emotional distance.  I took a video of our whole session and actually watched the whole 33 minute length without getting bored.  I should do that more often to keep myself improving.

Here's Duncan in the Crates saddle and my smallest breast collar I had to dig out of a box.  I don't like where the breast collar dees are on this saddle.  It makes for a weird fit even on big ol' Scout.

Next I'll be riding him in another new saddle, a Synergist.  I hope it works out.  It's the most comfortable saddle I've ever sat in.

Also, I've hired a lawyer to sue my insurance company for payment on my uninsured motorist policy from when I was hit in April.  Apparently State Farm is the worst when it comes to getting a payment.  So.  We'll see how that goes.  Meanwhile, I'm going to get some more treatment and diagnostics for continuing brain and body issues.  It feels good to be working toward a solution instead of procrastinating and worrying that I'll never be the same again.  Should have done this sooner!

3 comments:

Snipe said...

Sorry to hear about your insurance company's lame behavior. Sadly, it seems to be par for the course. I had auto insurance through State Farm for fifteen years. My vehicles had full coverage, medical, and the works. I had to seek medical attention after a collision. The policy covered treatments, but they expected me to reimburse them if I received a settlement. I have heard of other companies that assisted their clients in obtaining settlements, but they had noting to offer in that regard. I began to question what I was actually getting for my money, then ended up dropping them and switching to a different carrier. Things are better now.

Andrea -Mustang Saga said...

The thing that sucks in this case is the guy that hit me is a bad apple and didn't have insurance. Suing him would be like trying to get blood from a turnip. But I have uninsured motorist coverage through State Farm so you'd think they'd take care of me, but no. They told me I'd need to sue them. Ridiculous.

T.L. Merrybard said...

Yep, they can't have it both ways. If they take your money and something happens, they should pay out easily. Go get 'em! We had a very bad bushfire near here three years ago. Over 50 homes were burned down. One insurance company was the stand out for making it hard for people to get their claims. When they rang me not long after looking to get me to change my policy to them, I very happily told them. "No way because I know how crappy you were about paying out after the Parkerville fire!" That was sweet. :)