We're getting close!
Today I received the bit I ordered for our new horse-to-be-named-darn-soon-cuz-not-having-a-name-is-darn-annoying.
Apparently it took them a while to find the right bit for him, and I'm a big believer in going with what works. This is a change in bits for me, because I've always ridden in some type of snaffle. That or just the halter. Since I'm not riding for show or anything, I haven't put much energy into head set. Frankly I had so much more to deal with on Canyon, other than generally lowering his head, I didn't bother with much fine tuning.
This is a Jack Brainard Custom Pelham. Anyone know about these? Any guidance?
I also finally found a saddle. I sold both my arab saddles - I had a circle y and I loved it (and got back what I paid for it - you have to love that about circle ys), but it was so heavy I never rode in it once I got my trail saddle. The big horn trail saddle I had was very light and very, very comfortable, but not so pretty with the synthetic skirt and fenders. So I was looking and while I'd found some synthetics, there were no big horns and frankly I was getting pretty impatient.
Then I found (and won) this one on ebay.
I decided it was a perfect combo - light enough, but pretty too. And I like the idea of an endurance saddle since I am never likely to do any roping (I suspect I'd knock my self silly). And it was below my budget (I wanted to spend less than I got for the circle Y).
Now I need a girth and a pad... Then I'm ready to RIDE. All I need is a horse. :)
And when I got home from my long day of meetings in Dallas, a beautiful full moon managed to pin itself over the lake and, holding hands with the setting sun, they turned everything golden. Which is, after it's all said and done, exactly what they should do.
(The gold is not captured by my cell phone camera, so you'll have to take my word for it)
Wonderful.
Lily update
Trailer loading and unloading is going well with Lily, we are feeding her in the trailer and she's learning to come out slower. I think we are ready to move to the next stage - standing in the trailer for a longer time and backing up.
Then we'll move on to putting up the butt bar, opening the butt bar and having her come out slowly.
Hopefully I can get some video of all that... Usually we're too busy doing it to remember to capture it on tape!
The bigger issue is Lily and her leg.
It's still ridiculously hot, and it's tough to get the energy up to do more than work on this trailer loading thing. But I am relunctant to ride Lily because of her issue with one leg - she's nodding and showing some discomfort at the trot . We were due for another couple of x-rays this week, but due to problems at the vet, it's been put off till next week.
I want to be careful with it since I have no idea what it is. Here's her xray.
They said this shot is inconclusive. No sign of ring bone thank goodness. She's on a joint supplement, but I want to rule out any serious issues. I don't remember seeing her having any issues before we got her, but honestly I may just not have put 2 and 2 together.
The first vet did a nerve block and it helped, but didn't make it go away completely. Hopefully we can narrow things down. Our farrier is going to take a look at the complete set of xrays and see what he can do.
It's funny, actually. I've been caught in a bit of an odd place with this whole thing. The farrier suggested it was her back causing the problem and suggested I take her to a chiro/vet. So I went to some pains to locate a chiro/vet. I hated not to go to my regular vet, but I have heard of the great things that can be accomplished with chiropactic work on horses.
The chiro vet said it isn't her back and after shooting an xray and doing the nerve block, suggested it was the natural balance shoes, which totally pissed off the farrier. I had to admit I wasn't sure she was hurting before the shoes went on. I just don't remember.
I just want Lily to feel better. If she's just going to be up for light riding, that's okay. I love her and she's our horse. My daughter is really only up for light trail riding and I'm hoping she'll be sound enough for that. But I don't want to be involved shoeing battle 101.
I'm back to my regular vet (who isn't a chiro) and who I feel comfortable with. We'll see where we go from here. If they get their xray machine back up.
10 comments:
I'm glad the trailer loading work is going well! I get your dilema with the lameness. My horse was "off" a year ago, I had a chiropractor out and she did some work on him. She said he had a grade 1 lameness, probably arthritis in his hocks (he was a reining horse, but not designed for reining.) He's on a joint supplement. I'd like to get him worked on again, but it's so pricey! He still seems a little stiff at times (I get obsessive about looking for the stiffness! :), but overall, is doing well. I hope you can figure out what is going on with Lily's leg, at least the x-rays look good!
Your saddle looks nice! But does it fit the horse?? ;-)
Inconclusive lameness is difficult. Could be arthritis, could be something else. Could even just be a random muscle spasm/pinched nerve - you know how that feels! Here's something to try - just feel your horse all over with your hands and massage any tight places or knots that you find - if it's front-end lameness I'd particularly feel the withers, shoulders and neck, and also between the front legs. In any event, the horse should enjoy it!
I agree with HBFG - make sure that new saddle fits.
That bit is going to be a lot more severe than you are used to. I'd practice a light touch. And I'd probably still keep a snaffle around, like a Myler snaffle in his size, to use for teaching and training. That curb bit in the picture is for a finished horse.
That saddle looks like a gaited saddle. It has center-fire rigging, and the style is what I see for gaited saddles. Be sure to check the tree to make sure it's for a QH. In other words, check the "twist" in it. What size bars is that saddle?
I really hope Lily heals up soon.
Hmm. I think it should fit. According to the listing it's got qh bars and western rigging:
Big Horn Endurance Saddle No 800-15" Seat, Medium Oil. Tree: Fiberglass covered wood tree, 12" endurance front, Endurance style Quarter Horse bars. Rigging: Western Style 7/8 position, stainless steel rings and dees. Seat: 15" stitched leather, padded
am I missing something?
Granted even with the right bars it might not fit. Hopefully it will!
Hey there!!
I am a big believer in finding the right bit for a horse, and I ride Bo in either a halter or a jointed pelham (like the one in your post, but jointed like a snaffle).
Pelhams are great for getting a horse to set its head in the show ring, and for control. Do you know why they choses this bit? I am just curious because some horses do better in curbs vs. snaffles...even though we think of snaffles as bieng gentler.
To make it have less of a bite, just place your reins up on the bit, rather than down on the shank.
And I like your new saddle. Hope it fits!! :)
PS-Good luck with Lily. Unexplained lameness can sometimes be a long game of innovation/new ideas and elimination.
Oops!!! I meant to say "being" not "bieng!"
Are you going to use double reins with that bit?
I can never find any good saddles on ebay. It's a good thing I haven't been looking recently, because you and I would have been in a bidding war over that one. I hope it works out well. It looks pretty and comfy.
NZ: This is exactly why I don't list things until I've won! No sense in drawing competition. :D
I put a new post up with news on the rigging.
On the bit - that's the way they were using the reins - tied into the bit, not the shank.
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