May 17, 2023
A little bit of rain falling this evening. It is much needed for newly seeded fields and pastures that have bee slow to green up. My fences at the summer pasture are in bad shape. It will be a while before the herd can be moved. I have a promise of fence repair for the last week of May. It will be a big job, almost all my corner posts and gate posts are toast.
Trailblazers have started riding the red roads up our way and doing well. It will take a while to condition the horses. My conditioning rule has always been at least 100 miles of long slow walk before we put the speed on. That would be riding our loop 10 times. Always walk the first mile and the last mile. The first mile will warm the muscles and prevent injury. The last mile will be a cool out, so you do not have to walk the horse by hand for a half hour to cool it down. I will have to do more math, because I have changed the markers on the trees to Kilometres. Our marker is the South Granville Presbyterian Church, walking to it and then on the return walking home. On the loop there is a spring and our bucket. It is important to offer the horse water, they may drink, they may not, you can always claim that you tried. This is also a good time to check the girth and tighten if necessary. Years ago the Sanctuary and Trailblazers did endurance competitions. One of the rules in organizing a ride competition, was the fact that water had to be provided every 5 miles. For the health of the horse it is something to think about when you go on long trail rides, especially on a hot day. Competition rules are usually based on scientific fact for the health of the horse.
We are going through the saddling techniques with our newbies. I have a 1, 2, 3, method to prevent the horses from blowing out. Most of them take a deep breath during the saddling process. One: we place the saddle on the back and do up the girth gently. Two: we put the bridle on. Three: we snug up the girth. This way they forget to take that deep breath. And then for safety sake all you have to do is check the girth before mounting the horse. You should be able to slide your hand between their body and the girth. Squeezing the girth too tight makes a horse cinchy. I think it is because you pull the saddle too tight over the back and that will cause discomfort. Our routine at the Sanctuary is to massage with Witch Hazel after every ride.
It is important for the comfort of the horse and the rider that the saddle fits correctly. This is not an easy thing to do. The horse changes body shape after a winter of no work to full condition, gaining muscle that changes the body shape. It is not economical to have a saddle for spring and another for full condition. Adjusting saddle pads will compensate for the changes. It is important to avoid a sore back. A sore back will certainly slow success if you are hoping to compete in any discipline. A couple of signs the horse will give you if the back is in trouble; they will drop their back as you put the saddle on. And when under saddle they will carry their tail to the side. That is the time to do a massage every day and include tail pulls as well. Also check to see that the saddle is not the problem. Schleese, a saddle builder in Ontario (check him out), claims there are 7 points to follow for a good saddle fit. There is probably more, but for a lay person 7 points would be a good start. We use English saddles, but saddle fitting is just as important for the Western saddle.
One of our spring chores is to clear the tack room. We only have 11 horses now and there are 27 saddles. There will be day of saddle fitting. We will do it with them standing and also riding. I see a saddle sale in the future. That will help the finances a bit. The best result with all this. would be a bit of space in the tack room. I am waiting for long grass, and standing fences to put the herd on pasture. Take care of one another.
Love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.