May 26, 2021
I try to make all thing comfortable for our horses. Nice clean saddle pads, clean, well fitted tack, saddles that fit the horse and the rider too. It appears that things are going backwards. When I was little the bits were loose ring straight bits made by the blacksmith/farrier out of iron. The call it sweet iron now. But it was discovered that the loose ring pinched the lips, so then they added rubber guards to the bits. They were difficult to put on and miserable to keep clean, but it stopped the pinching. So most of us went to the Egg Butt snaffle to avoid pinching the lips. The horses were happy. So 70 years later I see pictures of horses with loose ring snaffles, too small for the horse and with no rubber guards. There are no students of history here. My sympathy is with the horse.
I am very critical of girth buckles behind the elbow. We are looking for a free forward movement. How would you feel every time your elbow hit a piece of metal on return after a swing. Most riders could very easily use a longer girth. The very worst is the western rider having the tongue of the buckle pointing out. If you are not using the buckle tongue, Cut it off!!. The saddle flap of most saddles are designed to cover the buckles and the girth straps. I use fleece lined girths at the Sanctuary, we do a lot of distance riding. First we had leather girths, then I tried web girths and then I made covers for the girths to prevent galling. Tacking up is so much easier with the fuzzy girths. If your horse is unhappy when you prepare to tighten the girth. It is not the girth that is the problem. It is the tightening of the saddle onto the shoulder and the long back muscle. They are telling you a bit of massage would be nice. There are very few horses that do not blow out when you are saddling. They cannot hold their breath that long, so we do a one two three technique. 1: we put the saddle on and do up the girth one hole. 2: we put on the bridle. 3. Then we snug up the girth. And then you can whisper: Fooled you!!. This way the only thing you have to do before you mount is check the girth.
I have a quarrel with some saddle pads. There is a webbing sewed down the middle on the underside. To me this is not acceptable. Horsehide is very thin compared to cowhide and I have seen signs that the webbing irritates the skin, even though the saddle is designed not to sit on the spine. So watch what you buy.
I always had a problem with the pony driving harness chafing, and not fitting the way I thought it should. I think Keith Cole had made it for larger ponies than my Shetlands, the girth buckles were behind the elbows. We were giving pony drives for hours at different venues. My solution was to put a back pad under the girth so the elbow was protected. Breast plates were chafing the point of the shoulder, so I made fuzzy covers for those too.
Poly boots with velco have replaced the leather tendon boots and all those buckles. The problem I see with them is the fact that they do not breath and consequently hold heat. In all the horse care I have been involved, the very most important thing is to have the leg cool and cold. So I wouldn’t leave them on too long. And when removed, make sure you hose with cold water or massage with alcohol or witch hazel to cool the leg down as quickly as possible.
At the Sanctuary we were running short of hay, I was waiting for a little more heat to see the grass jump. It was not to be. We repaired the fence on 25 acres and sent the herd hunting for grass. With a little bit of heat and fencing the last 25 acres, all will be well with the back pasture. I have spoke to the winds in hopes that they would slow down a little. I am not too sure my flag at the road can handle many more 80k winds.
Love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.