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Sunday, June 7, 2015

A new saddle and a tiny scare.

I'm trying out a close contact saddle on Max. It's an HDR saddle that has been converted from foam to wool. Since I have no idea what brand means what, I have decided to look mainly at the comfort level for Max, myself and of course..the price..always a factor :x

The saddle-fitter took a look at it on Max and said it was a perfect fit. When I hopped on and tried it a few times, I noticed he moved more forward in it as well. As for myself I find it quite comfy except I noticed in videos that I'm in a bit of a chair seat in it in some positions. Then again I'm that way in my dressage saddle too.

As for the price, it's a bit on the high end for a used HDR saddle (when I compare it to ebay listings) but I'm still leaning towards getting it just because it fits both of us so nicely and I won't have to pay for shipping or a saddle-fitting in a while. We'll see what happens!




As for the scare..well it's a bit of a long story but basically Max lost a lot of weight over winter (probably due to Lyme). He's having a hard time gaining it back, despite our efforts. Part of it is he gets so stressed out when turned out in the field. He's starting out at the bottom of the herd so he starts working himself up into a tizzy and runs around like crazy. Two days ago he got so worked up he had a stress colic episode. Luckily it never had to involve a vet and went away by the afternoon but it scared me quite a bit.

So now we have him out 24/7, in his paddock at night, and in another paddock with grass and a run-in during the day. He is also going to be given hay all the time so he always has the option to graze. Hopefully by reducing his stress, feeding him more forage, and having him on Smartgain he'll start putting on some good weight.

Sigh..always something!

Anyway on to more fun stuff! I told J about Max's issues with water so she put together a small 'water crossing' and had us walk/trot/canter over it. He did fantastic at first, but at some point during the canter decided to jump the entire length of the tarp. Of course I came off!

J was so shocked..she said her jaw just dropped down. I don't think she's ever seen him move in such a large way. I was THRILLED though..I think my reaction must have convinced her I have a few screws loose. My main concern was that he'd be all okay with the water during the lesson but luckily because he had that little freak out, she was able to evaluate it and provide me steps in helping to prevent it. It was one of the happiest dis-mounts I've had to date ^.^

Here is a short video she took of us cantering over the water tarp, and a video of us jumping in the trial HDR. Enjoy!









2 comments:

  1. that 'water crossing' idea is a good one - i might need to try it out! (tho obvi hopefully isabel doesn't jump it like max bc i'm not sure i could sit that either haha). good luck with the saddle shopping too. i had an HDR all through college that i loved, but sold it when it didn't come close to working for isabel. really tho it's all about finding what works perfectly for both of you. if this saddle fits the bill then go for it! (also it's probably pricier bc of the wool conversion, since that can cost around $200 to do...)

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    1. I hope she doesn't jump it that way either! Not too fun when it's not expected lol! I actually ended up not getting the saddle. Although it fit Max nicely, it put my already chair seat into more of a chair seat and I had to really fight to get into a correct position. The search continues but the right one is out there somewhere!

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