Summer Favorites

I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for a long time. I actually had a post typed up for summer favorites but never completed it and didn’t have as many fun things to talk about. My idea is to do a seasonal favorites post about items used in the previous season since I would have a pretty good impression of the product by then. This summer in particular I feel like I had a lot of new things to try since I basically refitted Katai with a new saddle, new bridle, new reins etc. I’ve also been riding in a new wool pad and got some new dressage saddle pads that I really like but since that wasn’t until more recently they’ll need to wait for my fall favorites post.

 

So, let’s start off with my saddle!

 

In early spring I started saving for a Heritage Custom Saddlery mono flap dressage saddle and it arrived, I think, sometime in June. I was really hesitant to order this saddle since there was no opportunity for me to sit in one and during the waiting period while it was being made I was really concerned that I would get it and it wouldn’t fit or would just be uncomfortable or put me in a bad position. Luckily my fears proved to be untrue and it fit both pony mare and myself very well.

 

I think my review of this saddle is almost completely positive with just really one small thing that I wish I could change. I would absolutely, 100%, do exactly the same thing again though and it’s a really amazing saddle.

 

 One thing I wish I could change is the placement of the stirrup bars. I’ve always had trouble with a chair seat no matter that placement but my personal confirmation wishes that these were a little further back. Matt will actually make saddles with adjustable stirrup bars so part of me wishes I’d done that but I also know that it adds more bulk and sometimes still doesn’t adjust to the point where it would be helpful. Instead, I’ve put small spacers on my bars to keep the leathers back a little further. Between that and working on my position I have no ongoing issues with this.

 

The only other small things right now are that the flocking has settled which is causing it to be a little low in front and #newsaddleproblems it’s still a little squeaky and smells strongly of new leather. I’ve actually never owned a new saddle before so these are obviously things I haven’t dealt with in the past J I’m currently trying to locate a good saddle fitter that can come out and reflock it but until then I have my wool pad!

 

This saddle is one of my favorites for obvious reasons and I hope that it works and fits Katai for a long time because its easily the best, most comfortable saddle that I’ve ever ridden in.

 

My new Micklem bridle is my next favorite item but honestly it didn’t easily make the list. It fits, doesn’t look bad on Katai’s particular head, and does what it’s supposed to but it also hasn’t been a magic bullet. I do think that Katai was a little more likely to take the bit when I first got it but ultimately her being comfortable going on contact came from hard work. She also still rubs her head after every ride so it hasn’t seemed to make much of a difference in that either.

 

So basically it does pretty much what any bridle I’ve ever owned would do and let’s face it, the leather just isn’t very nice. Mine is all wrinkled looking across the brow band and the lining around the nose seems to be coming unglued a little. Honestly, I’m really considering getting a PS of Sweden instead since they’re still anatomical bridles but with nicer leather and a more traditional look. With the price that is pretty far in the future right now though so I’ll happily keep riding in the Micklem for the time being.

 

The reason the Micklem makes the favorites list is that for a reasonable cost I have a nice bridle, in brown to match her saddle, that fits Katai. It was also her first exposure to any type of flash and she’s been really comfortable with it and never seemed to have any issue so I’ll chock that up to the Micklem and who knows, maybe she’ll hate any other bridle now that she’s worn this one! I also really like the way it’s designed with fewer leather straps. It just seems nice and simple and is easier to handle for cleaning than other bridles I’ve owned.

 

The next thing on my list of favorites is something I’ve been waiting to talk about for a while. It’s the Topline conditioning spray and it is AMAZING! This stuff smells like an Aveda salon in the best possible way. It’s very herby and almost has a toasty smell, it also leaves Katai nice and glossy without the same slipperiness of Show Sheen.

 

 

Unfortunately I have the last two known bottles in existence. *que crying*

 

I originally got this at a local tack store only because it was on clearance. Once I realized how much I liked it I started looking online for other products but couldn’t locate the company. Of course I went back to the store to ask and she said that it had been made by a local guy who had gone out of business and whatever they had was the last of it. I pretty much ran to the back of the store and found one more bottle. So I have 1.5 bottles of this amazing, incredible, perfect stuff and then it’s gone for good.

 

The Total Saddle Fit shaped girth is the final thing on my list. Of course this thing can’t make every saddle fit but it sure helps keep my saddle back where it should be on my pony (provided I remember to actually girth it up tightly enough J ) I’ve had one of these for a long time and I think I’ve talked about it before, however, I had an 18” but with my new saddle’s shorter billet straps I needed a longer one so I got a 24” and I love it just as much. The leather isn’t quite as nice on the 24” as the 18” but otherwise the quality is the same. I would absolutely order another if I ever needed to and have been eying the fleece cover that they now offer.

 

Since it was 34* out this morning and we are rapidly moving into Winter I will have a Fall Favorites review in a couple more months!

Badly Needed Update

So much has happened since my last real blog update that I think it’s time to do some catching up. I am starting to feel better but this cold is still hanging on and I’ve had way too little energy for all the commitments I have. Being an adult sucks sometimes!

 

Katai has been awesome. She is really maturing into a nice pony and just over the past couple of months has matured to the point where I don’t worry about leaving her cross tied while I’m getting tack or when a horse leaves her by herself. She deals with our slightly claustrophobic gate situation in the paddocks without batting an eye and goes right into work mode 80%-90% of the time when we enter the arena.

 

Prior to getting so sick I did get a nice lesson in with L and although she is out of town next week we decided that after that I will take weekly lessons! I’m so excited that I’m able to, and that she thinks we’re at a point where that will benefit us, because I’m sure we will make much more steady process that way. I am going to have to change my budget a bit but I think it is worth it. The lesson on Sunday went really well and it was awesome to have H there videotaping it. I have to admit I was shocked and slightly disgusted with my riding which is exactly why it’s good to have video of myself. I have unfortunately picked up some bad habits from J who encouraged a very forward, hunter style, posting trot as well as a chair seat and slouchy shoulders.  Who knows why really but now I’m paying the price L (Not that I was perfect before by any means but this has just increased the number of bad habits that I have to deal with.)

 

Katai is still quite rushy but we are starting to make progress there and her contact has gotten so, so much better. It’s both more steady and she gets it earlier in the ride rather than needing to work almost half an hour to really get her on the bit it’s now down to a few minutes. She is also starting to have relaxed moments at the trot even though they are few and far between. The most frustrating thing for me is when she gets tense and rushy and then starts blowing me off. It’s like her brain is a million miles away and I’m trying to yell at her but she’s not hearing me. Those are the moments when I start to get frustrated but I feel like everything else is a positive, if slow, work in progress.

 

I am going to share some videos, one from right when I first started riding at J’s and the other from this last lesson. I’m honestly terrified to share because it doesn’t seem like we’ve made enough progress but then I remind myself that for the 6 months we were with J we were actually going backwards and the progress we’ve made has pretty much been from December – April and I feel a bit better. My instinct is only to show the pretty moments but then this wouldn’t be a true journal of our progress and I’ve been realizing that I wish I had more video of when things were falling apart with J so that I could really see how much progress we’ve made now without her. That made me decide that it’s time to post some of these things. However, I need to get them all to the same place, like YouTube and do some editing just for length before I post and with how busy I’ve been lately I’m not sure when that will be but you can look forward to cringing at my riding sometime soon.

 

In other news I’ve gone Vegan, for health and diet reasons primarily although animal rights and environmental benefits are an added bonus, and I’m really enjoying it. I’m discovering foods and flavors that I’d forgotten or never knew existed which is fun. I will be sharing some food stuff both with recipes and meals that I’m eating etc because I think it’s really interesting and fun. The reason I bring it up here is that during my foray into natural horsemanship previously some of the people I spent time with were vegetarian or vegan and said that their horses treated them different. I can only imagine that to an animal with such an advanced sense of smell the difference between an animal that eats meat vs one that eats only plant based food would be extremely huge. I’d, however, never really thought it was true but I’ve noticed a HUGE difference in Katai’s behavior with me recently. She keeps wanting to rest her nose against me, share breath, cuddle, and she’s much quieter when I’m handling her doing things that previously were scary like clipping or spraying her with flyspray. I can imagine that it would be the difference between a predator and a pasture mate. Of course this is all just speculation but I do find it interesting!

 

I also, back to dressage related topics, officially ordered my saddle! I mailed the tracings on Monday April 20^thbut they probably didn’t get there until closer to the 24^thso I’m starting my countdown on April 27^th which means that I’m about two weeks in at this point. The estimate would have been 4-6 weeks but because of the redesigned block he said it would take more time so I’m estimating 8 weeks which would be sometime around the end of June. I’m so so so so so excited and to prepare have been slowly working on deciding which pieces of tack to purchase so that everything will be Havana and therefore match.

 

Thanks to all of your suggestions I decided on a Micklem for Katai’s bridle and I picked one up from our local tack store last night! I was little concerned about how she would deal with the chin strap since I’ve never ridden her in a flash but she was extremely quiet. She didn’t fuss at all when I bridled her and she was also quieter as I was riding. It wasn’t a 180* change but she was at least a bit softer on the contact and at least slightly less fussy. I’m interested to see how she goes this weekend!

 

Pony didn’t want to stand still for pictures.

 Of course, since I don’t like the thick rubber reins that came with it, that meant that last night I rode with a black saddle, brown girth, black reins, and brown bridle so now I just need to find brown reins that I like and pick up some brown stirrup leathers and then we will be all set!

Just because I love this photo