HGBH: Every Day Tack Setup

Annnnnd sneaking in right at the end...

It can be tough to find appropriate tack for an equine that is between pony and cob size. Most is either made for little kids on tiny ponies or for small horses. However I enjoy the challenge and for me it takes the place of a hobby like antiques shopping or something haha. As it happens this is a very exciting time for my everyday tack setup because as most of you know my setup has gone through some major changes recently. Because of that I think this is a perfect time to go through it again.

 Previously I was riding in;

Bridle - Pink lined FSS bridle that I bought on EBay in cob size. I LOVED this bridle and the leather was amazing.

Reins - Horze, pony sized plain leather reins. I miss these but they are black so don't match my current set up. I'll be holding on to them for a back up pair. I love plain leather reins but they are tough to find.

Saddle - Passier Vector dressage saddle with 17" seat. I honestly have no idea how wide it is but will need to figure it out as I will be listing it for sale now. This saddle actually fit Katai decently but I hated it. It put me in a horrible chair seat since it was meant for a much taller person and the overwhelmingly long flaps made it tough to put my leg on my pony. 

Girth - Total Saddle Fit girth, 18",Havana. I ADORE this girth! Unfortunately this one is too short for my new saddle which has shorter flaps and thus shorter billets. I will be ordering a longer one from the same company.

Bit - Neue Schule 4.5" pony sized Eggbutt bit. Another piece of tack I adore. The best things about this bit is that it's smaller diameter as well as smaller width. Katai's got a low palette and previous bits actually made it so she couldn't close her mouth all the way.  It was pricy but totally worth it and if I ever need to try anything else I'll buy another Neue Schule.

Saddle Pads - Mostly I use Horze dressage pads in pony size. These are the best pony sized saddle pads I've found. They've got multiple styles in pony size and all different types of colors. I have the style in the picture in two different colors, grey and lime green, as well as a new one in brown that I like even more which will show up later. I also have a Mattes, Euos, Baker Plaid baby pad, and a couple no name pads I picked up at tack swaps.

Boots - Normally I use my People on Horses pink sheepskin dressage boots that I'm sure all of you have seen by now but in this picture she's wearing grey fleece polo wraps from Horze. She's also wearing her Davis pink bellboots that I bought in XS from Just for Ponies.

New Setup;

Saddle - Custom by Heritage Custom Saddlery. I'm already completely, head over heels, in love with this saddle! Be sharing more pictures soon :-)

Bridle -  Micklem bridle in brown. Both Katai and I really love this bridle. The leather isn't amazing but it has softened up really well and it actually fits her well.

Reins - Horze pony sized brown reins. The only way I could order these is with stops so if I can find another reasonable pair of pony sized brown leather plain reins I'll trade them out.

Everything else is about the same!

So Beautiful

Look at how beautiful!

It's almost like it was custom made for her ;-)

I'm officially in love. It's comfy and puts me in a wonderful position. It's much easier to keep my leg in the right place and yet I'm not stuck in one spot. The leather is AMAZINGLY soft and luscious but there is still a little breaking in that needs to happen. This is actually the first new saddle I've ever owned so it's a new thing for me. 

Old saddle vs new. Don't get me wrong, I really have liked my current saddle for a lot of reasons but there are several things about it that I really don't like and I'm so glad that I bit the bullet and ordered a custom saddle, especially for the amazing price.

The detail on this saddle is amazing (the panels only look uneven in this picture). The piping is so even and nicely done! I'm honestly very, very impressed. I would buy another saddle from Heritage Custom Saddlery in a heart beat and I can't wait to ride again on Friday :-) 

Again, not great pictures but I'll get some soon!

It's Here!!!!

So sorry I've been absent but things in my life have been nuts!!

The other news I talked about in my last post is that I received a job offer :-) Finally!!! It's with an amazing local company and means that I'll finally be able to move into the cities and closer to my boyfriend. I'm so, so, so excited and can't wait to move. Life is going to be so crazy for the next few weeks that I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post but getting my saddle today was way too exciting to not share.

Sorry for the horrible picture. I was too excited not to share. Proper pictures on the amazing pony to follow :-)

Pony Measuring

To continue with my goal of beating my goals :-)  I measured Katai tonight for her new saddle! I’m not sure if anyone reading this blog has ever gone through this process before but I was really surprised at how simple it was. I had done my research and found some really great videos on how to do a saddle tracing and my favorite is this one.

 

https://youtu.be/mOMTBgmKjBw

 

After watching this video I went and purchased the following items;

 

Flexible Curve

Narrow green painters tape

Permanent marker (ok, this one I already had)

Large portfolio paper

Measuring tape (more to take some measurements of my current saddle than to use for the new saddle)

Lip Balm (because let’s face it, the weather has been dry and I need it for my chapped lips plus for the saddle measurement so I can’t lose  :-) )

I put the above things together and brought them out to the barn. I decided to measure the pony after my ride so that she would be more likely to stand still. I was a little concerned that if her back was tired it wouldn’t be a completely accurate measurement but decided to just do a little shorter ride since standing still is a big thing for her sometimes.

 

The first thing I did was to find the place for the first piece of tape. Then three fingers back from that another piece of tape that was my first measurement. I formed the flexi curve to her back at this point just like the video instructs and then traced that on the piece of paper.

 

Next I used the lip balm to find the low point on her back and placed the third piece of tape and second measurement. Again I formed the flexi curve to her back and traced it on the piece of paper.

 

Finally I found her last rib or T18 and placed a piece of tape there. Then I took the final measurement of the curve of her back, marking where T18 was on the flexi curve and traced that on the piece of paper.

 

Then it was time for pictures. The first task was to take a picture from the side of where the pieces of tape were placed. I already sent this to the saddler who can verify that I got the tape in the correct places before I mail the packet with the tracings to the UK. 

 

Then I needed to take a picture from above which I forgot...

Oh well, I'll be back at the barn tomorrow or Friday.

 

 

The finished product!

 

Once I hear back from the saddler that my tape spots were right (or if I need to make changes I will make those and then) I will mail the packet with the tracings and a ghetto picture of the saddle with my changes to Heritage Saddlery.

 

I’m getting so close!

Announcements!

These may not be exciting to anyone other than me but I am pretty thrilled and want to share.

 

First of all, I believe I mentioned that my friend H had moved to my previous barn, with J as a coach, last summer. I was so excited to have her there but then as things started to go downhill I felt guilty. When I left I didn’t want to put any pressure on her to leave as well since she was in a very different place with J based on her own riding but mostly on her pony since J didn’t think he was “completely worthless”. I talked to her, of course, and explained why I was leaving and she witnessed some of J’s behavior to me but I didn’t want to feel like I was dragging her away with me so I mostly kept my feelings to myself.

 

                    H's Adorable Pony

Fast forward to last week when I met up with H for lunch. We started talking about lessons and how things were going and I could tell she wasn’t happy. She was mostly positive and trying to explain how things were going in the best possible light but she was upset so I talked her through it and eventually, on the drive to a tack shop for some retail therapy, she vented her way to realizing that it was time for her to move. I was still trying not to influence her much but I could tell that she was starting to see a lot of the same things I did when I left so I was glad when she stated that she was going to start looking.

 

I gave her some of the contacts that I knew about and she looked into them but also looked into a few options with contacts that she got from her friends. She was going to set up a lesson with the trainer I’m going to start working with (Y) but there were reasons for her to look elsewhere.

 

H lives about 1-1.5 hours away from where I live and the barn we both boarded at was sort of in the middle. About 25 minutes away from me and about 45 minutes away from her but she had to contend with more traffic. Now I’ll be driving about 45 minutes to the new barn but it would have still been about 35-40 minutes away from where she lives so when she realized that a top dressage trainer had a barn and training program only 20 minutes from her house she jumped on it. Most exciting to both of us, since we both are passionate about ponies in dressage, this trainer is one of the people on the Pony Task Force!! She’s went to see a lesson and has officially got a spot at this trainer’s (who I will call P for Pony) barn. I am wishing her all the best and can’t wait to go see her take a lesson. It’s wonderful to know that she has found such a great situation and I’m extremely happy for her.

 

I do have to admit that I am very slightly jealous. This is such an incredible opportunity for someone that loves ponies and wants to only every ride shorter equines. However, while every review is glowingly positive for P, I actually think that even if it weren’t for the 1.5-2 hour drive to study with P I would chose Y just based on teaching style, personality, and boarding options. I can hardly believe that I get to move a week from Sunday and it feels like Christmas J

 

The other exciting news I have is probably even less exciting to the general public but I am so happy and relieved that I can’t even describe it! As anyone who owns horses knows saddle shopping is like hell. Even if you have an unlimited budget it can be horrific trying to find a saddle that fits both the rider and horse for more than a month and if you add any type of budget to the mix it gets ten times more difficult. Now add oddly shaped equine to the mix and it really seems impossible. I’ve been wanting to consider custom saddles for awhile but my budget is just not $4000-$5000 dollars and that would only buy me a mid to lower end custom saddle brand (at least from the brands I was aware of). However, after much searching I finally found a custom saddle company that will make a completely custom saddle in my budget and that has almost only positive reviews.

 

          I think I'll pair it with this bridle

I believe I’ve narrowed down which of their models I’m most interested in and reached out by email earlier this week to get some more feedback on what my budget will need to be for what I want. I’ve made it my goal to order by the end of May/June and will make that work even if I need to get a part time job for awhile to pay for it. I’ve also listed some of my collectables for sale to help me get to my goal. I am so freaking excited that I finally found the answer to my saddle fitting woes! I promise I will share more information and pictures once I’m sure I’m heading down the right path and then Swanky Saddle here I come!