The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN

See our "who's who" page! ^

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!

I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and Becky pings everyone most mornings. Let Becky (Paynoattentionmanbehindthecurtain) and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[HairOfTheDog]

Did he gain weight, or what?

I think it's impolite to say ;~D

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I'd say he just reached his full potential of growth:)

Becky

[tuffydoodle]

If his potential gets any fuller, he's gonna explode.

[tuffydoodle]

Tuffy and I are gaining weight together.

[HairOfTheDog]

That has happened to me too ;~D

[HairOfTheDog]

Today we packed up the dogs and a lunch, and took a scenic drive today, all the way around Mt. Rainier.

More pictures here! :~D

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Good morning.

Hair: gorgeous pictures. Have you done that drive before?

Becky

[tuffydoodle]

All I can say is WOW!! What gorgeous country!! What are the winters like up there? It's fairly temperate, didn't you say?

Speaking of schools, we did "meet the teacher" night at our local public school yesterday. Remember, my kids have always been in private school so this is our first year here. So far so good but one thing really pleased me: they have a 4H club! The first meeting is in September and I'm signed up to go. It's for all grades, too, so all of my kids can participate. I see some lambs in my future...

Becky, how's the saddle working out this morning? Be sure and post some pics of it on the horse.

[HairOfTheDog]

I've done the drive before, but it's been awhile now. ecurbh hadn't ever been up there and I wanted him to see it :~D

[HairOfTheDog]

What are the winters like up there? It's fairly temperate, didn't you say?

It's pretty temperate down in the lowlands where I am, but they get 10-15 feet of snow up there in winter. They keep the road open to Paradise, but the pass around the back side of the mountain is closed from November through about April.

[HairOfTheDog]

I wanted to show one more - the little skinny high Alpine trees in a close up. This is how trees adapt to long winters and a heavy snow load. Very tall trees with very short branches. I've always wanted one of these as a Christmas tree - 8 feet tall and only 2 feet around :~D

[AnAmericanMother]

Welcome to the English Saddle Club!

It's a steep learning curve, but it'll get easier pretty quick.

I'm late to the fair, but here are my comments: don't worry about the 17 1/2 inch size - English saddles are measured differently. If it feels right, it's o.k.

Don't put the bar up on the stirrup hook if your saddle has one. Leave it open. They were designed for big guys fox hunting, and the bar doesn't always come down. The hook is there so your stirrup leather will come OFF the saddle if you fall and get your foot caught. Leave it open.

Those leathers look like child's leathers. I ride with child's leathers because my legs are unbelievably short, but no other grownup I know uses them. You are better off starting with the leathers as long as you can stand it and then gradually shortening, rather than the other way around. Those of us who started riding in the 60s with the extreme hunter jumper techniques (and had our knees waving around our ears due to VERY short stirrups) had a hard time adapting to the longer stirrup (which is better for you and your horse).

Don't use a canvas girth. They won't hold the saddle (they stretch) and once they get dirty they cause girth sores. Get a leather one with the cutouts, if you get a fleece-lined one you must keep it scrupulously clean. I use a cutback leather girth and slide a fleece cover over it - that way I can throw it in the washing machine regularly. In fact, I have two fleece covers and alternate.

This is the kind of girth I have:

I have the kind with the elastic on one end. I think somebody mentioned up the thread that the elastic goes on the left (working) side of the horse.

Here's a fleece cover:

You just slide it on.

BTW, I don't think anybody's covered all those straps on the saddle pad -- the long one on the top goes under the flap and you thread one of the girth billets (those three straps on the saddle) through it. Hopefully it's got velcro so you don't have to take the keeper off the billets, just unfasten it, loop it around the billet, and fasten down. Which billet you use depends on the size of the pad and your horse -- my T'bred is skinny so I use the back one. The girth goes through the wide loop at the bottom of the saddle pad. I find that loop very helpful because it keeps the fleece cover from sliding off the girth!!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Thanks for all the info. I'm getting ready to leave to go exchange some stuff. I'll look at the leather girths before buying something.

Putting that top loop on the pad thru ONE billet strap makes more sense. I had it around all three and thought it seemed too short.

I plan on starting out in this saddle in the arena, hopefully sometime today:), depending on how I feel, when I feel comfortable I hope to start riding it on trail and maybe be going well enough to take it to the competiton. Well see. I've got till I die, so there is no hurry:)

I had planned on riding with the stirrup straps, probably longer then most proper English people would, My daughter and DIL, say I ride with my western longer then most do. I've got bend in my knee and can stand up and clear the seat, so I feel I'm OK. Probably will try to match that length with this saddle. At least for a while.

Well I'm off.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

The more I ride trail, the longer I've dropped my stirrups. For jumping, they're good short. For long hours in the saddle, short is hard on the knees.

I look forward to seeing you all saddled up in it later today. :~D

One more tip when you ride it. Make sure your stirrup leathers are flat and right on top of each other or they'll pinch you in the leg.

[HairOfTheDog]

Don't put the bar up on the stirrup hook if your saddle has one. Leave it open. They were designed for big guys fox hunting, and the bar doesn't always come down. The hook is there so your stirrup leather will come OFF the saddle if you fall and get your foot caught. Leave it open.

Just so Becky doesn't spend an hour looking for a snapping lock on the stirrup mount, the Wintec doesn't have one. So it's always open.

I don't get the length of those leathers. Since I have the same saddle, I really think they are a mistake. I ride with mine long, and I still have a lot of length left to go.

I think unless the horse has become prone to rubbing, like Bay has, she might do fine with either the smooth leather or canvas type of cinch without the fleece. I went 20 years without a fleece cover on any horse and never had a rub. I only started using one recently, and I think that has more to do with ole Bay than with the cinch.

[AnAmericanMother]

One more thing . . .

When you sit in the saddle and look down, rotate the front edge of the stirrups OUT and BACK, so that the stirrup leather lies flat against your leg. Otherwise you will get HELLACIOUS friction burns on your legs (the real reason all English riders wear high boots or chaps).

In this photo, you can see how I have the stirrups rotated because the leather is visible against my ankle. You can also see how short my stirrups are! but also that my leg is almost straight, not bent way up - I have my stirrups quite long because it's safer in the hunting field, it's just that my leg is very short. My heels barely clear the saddle pad!

[AnAmericanMother]

Funny! I've always used a fleece, and when I think of the water, electricity, and detergent I've used up . . . ! ! !

I've always had Tbreds and I guess they tend to be thin skinned. But the only sore Gracie has ever gotten was on her withers - not sure if it began as a bite in the pasture or what, but I cut a hole in a small pad and velcroed it to the bottom of my saddle pad and that gave it time to heal. She's never had another one.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think the fleece looks comfy, but on trail it can become a cure that is worse than the disease. The plain smooth leather slides easer and doesn't collect dirt that will become sandpaper as they sweat and move. If they get dirt under them, I think anything rubs. They just have to be kept clean, and can collect a lot of dirt in a day if it's muddy or dusty out.

[ecurbh]

...they get 10-15 feet of snow up there in winter.

According to the park brochure, they average 680 inches (over 56 FEET!) of snow a year. Here is the lodge in winter...

And in the summer...

That lodge is still there, and still open for business. The only difference now is a paved parking lot, and some newer buildings around it.

[AnAmericanMother]

The longest I've been out with Gracie is from around 6 in the morning to mid-day in the hunting field. Even on a muddy day, she doesn't get rubs (and she is one of those horses who kicks up a ton of dirt - her whole belly is solid mud after riding on a wet day). But it doesn't seem like a lot of dirt gets under the girth . . . the inside of the fleece stays pretty clean. On the other hand, most of our soil here is clay and silt, not gritty sand, so it's not too abrasive.

I guess we all have to find out what works with our horses, and keep doing that!