Sunday, November 25, 2007
November 25 2007
Today I went out with Matt and Levi intending to do something with the horses but I wasn't entirely sure what exactly. It was pretty cold and I found myself putting on my gloves within minutes of being out there. I didn't want to take all the time needed to do a full grooming and tack up in order to ride. Matt wanted to get some video of the horse(s) so since Ollokot was right nearby I haltered him up and put him in the round pen. I brushed him with the stiff brush and picked out his hooves and then worked with him a little. He gave me some attitude and Matt helped me work through it and we made slight progress. Then I turned him out and brought Sinwaan in. I did the same thing with him and then shortly thereafter was quite cold and concerned for the child so I gave him some carrots and we called it a day.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
November 18 2007
Today I rode with the Northwest Quarter Horse Association at the Walla Walla Fairgrounds. I am a new member of this club even though I do not own an QH. They had arena time from 11-1 this afternoon.
I headed out to the ranch about 9:45 am and got my tack in order. I am currently borrowing an Australian saddle from Bob to see how I like it. I thought to be safe I should take my Wintec saddle also in case I needed the extra girth, and I wanted to switch the stirrups over to use my cage. It was a cold and rainy day but thankfully Sinwaan was hanging out in the barn when I went to halter him up. He was not too messy. Kittee loaded up Nugget and Misty and then Sinwaan went in the end just fine with no trouble.
We were some of the first people to arrive and we got the tack unloaded and then the horses. Kittee had brought some towels to dry the horses off a little before we tacked up. She was ready to go and riding long before I had everything in order. First I tried to swap out the stirrups. Well they are a little complicated the way they are all rigged up. I finally got the first stirrup off the saddle and the irons off and went to put on my endurance stirrup and what do you know it didn't fit! Yes, I had ordered the 1 1/2" neck for my english leathers so the leathers on the Aussie were much too big to fit. SIGH. Well I didn't fret over it too much, I thought since Lara had been using this saddle the stirrups would need to go up about 2 holes so that is what I did, once I FINALLY figured out how to get the first stirrup back on the saddle and rigged up properly.
So then the next challenge was the girth. I took a look at it and could not make heads or tails of how it was supposed to work. It attaches on the right side with two straps off the saddle and two buckles on the girth. BUT go to the other side and the girth end has two buckles and a long strap coming out of the center of the buckles. The saddle has one strap and one ring. My brilliant idea of using my own Wintec girth was ineffective when the leathers on the saddle were too wide to fit through the buckles on my girth, that was out. I finally ended up using one buckle on the strap and the long strap from the center of the girth I ran around through the ring and tied it off like a western one. I have no idea if I did it right but it was the only way I could figure that it would work. I did not bother with the breastcollar today but I did attach my single water bottle holder.
I finally get Sinwaan tacked up, using the blue endurance saddle pad from Kim. I put that girth up as far as I could (physically) and I could still fit some fingers between it and his body. I couldn't figure that one out. The saddle seemed to fit ok so I led him over to the mounting block. There was a very nice lady there named Terri who helped me out and she was able to get the girth up one more hole and we decided that should work a lot better for us. She also opened and closed the gate for me since the mounting block was outside the arena.
The first 15 minutes in that saddle was glorious. It has such a deep seat, I was really digging the high pommel and lower back support. Once we were warmed up I asked for the trot and noticed the Poleys really held me in and made it difficult to post the way I normally do. Maybe my form is wrong, I don't know. I did finally get into a groove and enjoyed the ride. Now something I do not understand is why on earth every Aussie saddle I have seen has rigging dees very close to the riders thigh position. After those first 15 minutes I started feeling those inner dees. Does this mean the saddle doesn't fit ME?
There was a nice lady named Sandy there who was also riding a grey Arab gelding. He was about the same size as Sinwaan and ridden English. He looked like a very nice horse and she was very kind to me and we talked a little about endurance horses and people in the area. She informed me that she is the new Secretary of the club.
I had a nice ride the first hour, we did a lot of walking and trotting and some backing and sidepassing. We rode alone and with other horses as we made our way around the arena. The first couple laps Sinwaan would whinny to the horse that Kittee wasn't currently riding who was tied to the rail along the wall. We did some cantering also but I have trouble getting Sinwaan to pick it up when I ask. I also have trouble getting him to collect. Today especially. He would thow up his head and lurch himself into a canter and then speed up and once he would overcome another horse or feel my weight shift he immediately comes back down to a trot. I kept losing my inside stirrup on the canter also. I will have a fair challenge if I am ever able to do an Arab costume class. He and I both could definately benefit from more schooling.
The surprise of the day for me was when I asked for the canter about an hour into the ride and Sinwaan actually gave a good buck! I felt his hind end fly up in to the air and heard his tail whoosh past my head and I found myself on his neck but I didn't come off or even lose my stirrups. After that within 5 minutes boy I could really feel tension in my calves. I pulled them both something awful. Of course I couldn't let him get away with that so we worked on transitions after that for about 10 minutes. In the back of my mind of course I am thinking of what could have caused that because he has never pulled a stunt like that with me before in the 70+ hours I have ridden him this year. Could it be the saddle fit? Was it because Misty was coming up behind him? Was he just being a brat? Kim has warned me that this was a trouble spot she had with him awhile ago. I hated to think I was continuing to work him in pain. I sure wish I knew more than I do sometimes.
About fifteen minutes to 1 pm I dismounted and loosened his girth and walked him a loop and then exited the arena and untacked him and searched for signs of an ill fitting saddle. He was mostly dry underneath and I could find no whirls or other tell tale signs in his coat of a rub or pinched area. I was so focused on his back that I forgot to check his rear legs for any signs of him knocking himself with his hooves although he is currently unshod.
I took him back out after this and hand walked him in the arena until our time was up as he had steam coming off him.
So I dunno what his deal was. Later this evening I noticed I have quite a nice bruiser on my inner thigh from the darn dee on the saddle (about the size of my thumb), I could do without that, and I am a little stiff and sore. It has been two weeks since I rode last and I am getting soft already.
I am not sure what to think about this saddle. Bob said I could hang onto it a week or two to really see how I like it. Right now I am divided on if I want one or not. The pros are the deep seat, Poleys, TONS of rigging dees, and the horn (I am looking ahead to possibly ponying Ollokot and a horn would make that possible). The cons are the dees under my thighs (which maybe could be removed), the weight of it, the crazy girthing set up - which I could perhaps also overcome with a different girth. Also I really don't know how well it fits Sinwaan. I need some more assistance in that department. Starting over with a new saddle also means getting more equipment such as another saddle pad (or two) and I would want a fleece saddle cover as well to soften it up a little.
This next week is Thanksgiving so I am hoping for good weather Friday for a ride as I will have the day off.
I headed out to the ranch about 9:45 am and got my tack in order. I am currently borrowing an Australian saddle from Bob to see how I like it. I thought to be safe I should take my Wintec saddle also in case I needed the extra girth, and I wanted to switch the stirrups over to use my cage. It was a cold and rainy day but thankfully Sinwaan was hanging out in the barn when I went to halter him up. He was not too messy. Kittee loaded up Nugget and Misty and then Sinwaan went in the end just fine with no trouble.
We were some of the first people to arrive and we got the tack unloaded and then the horses. Kittee had brought some towels to dry the horses off a little before we tacked up. She was ready to go and riding long before I had everything in order. First I tried to swap out the stirrups. Well they are a little complicated the way they are all rigged up. I finally got the first stirrup off the saddle and the irons off and went to put on my endurance stirrup and what do you know it didn't fit! Yes, I had ordered the 1 1/2" neck for my english leathers so the leathers on the Aussie were much too big to fit. SIGH. Well I didn't fret over it too much, I thought since Lara had been using this saddle the stirrups would need to go up about 2 holes so that is what I did, once I FINALLY figured out how to get the first stirrup back on the saddle and rigged up properly.
So then the next challenge was the girth. I took a look at it and could not make heads or tails of how it was supposed to work. It attaches on the right side with two straps off the saddle and two buckles on the girth. BUT go to the other side and the girth end has two buckles and a long strap coming out of the center of the buckles. The saddle has one strap and one ring. My brilliant idea of using my own Wintec girth was ineffective when the leathers on the saddle were too wide to fit through the buckles on my girth, that was out. I finally ended up using one buckle on the strap and the long strap from the center of the girth I ran around through the ring and tied it off like a western one. I have no idea if I did it right but it was the only way I could figure that it would work. I did not bother with the breastcollar today but I did attach my single water bottle holder.
I finally get Sinwaan tacked up, using the blue endurance saddle pad from Kim. I put that girth up as far as I could (physically) and I could still fit some fingers between it and his body. I couldn't figure that one out. The saddle seemed to fit ok so I led him over to the mounting block. There was a very nice lady there named Terri who helped me out and she was able to get the girth up one more hole and we decided that should work a lot better for us. She also opened and closed the gate for me since the mounting block was outside the arena.
The first 15 minutes in that saddle was glorious. It has such a deep seat, I was really digging the high pommel and lower back support. Once we were warmed up I asked for the trot and noticed the Poleys really held me in and made it difficult to post the way I normally do. Maybe my form is wrong, I don't know. I did finally get into a groove and enjoyed the ride. Now something I do not understand is why on earth every Aussie saddle I have seen has rigging dees very close to the riders thigh position. After those first 15 minutes I started feeling those inner dees. Does this mean the saddle doesn't fit ME?
There was a nice lady named Sandy there who was also riding a grey Arab gelding. He was about the same size as Sinwaan and ridden English. He looked like a very nice horse and she was very kind to me and we talked a little about endurance horses and people in the area. She informed me that she is the new Secretary of the club.
I had a nice ride the first hour, we did a lot of walking and trotting and some backing and sidepassing. We rode alone and with other horses as we made our way around the arena. The first couple laps Sinwaan would whinny to the horse that Kittee wasn't currently riding who was tied to the rail along the wall. We did some cantering also but I have trouble getting Sinwaan to pick it up when I ask. I also have trouble getting him to collect. Today especially. He would thow up his head and lurch himself into a canter and then speed up and once he would overcome another horse or feel my weight shift he immediately comes back down to a trot. I kept losing my inside stirrup on the canter also. I will have a fair challenge if I am ever able to do an Arab costume class. He and I both could definately benefit from more schooling.
The surprise of the day for me was when I asked for the canter about an hour into the ride and Sinwaan actually gave a good buck! I felt his hind end fly up in to the air and heard his tail whoosh past my head and I found myself on his neck but I didn't come off or even lose my stirrups. After that within 5 minutes boy I could really feel tension in my calves. I pulled them both something awful. Of course I couldn't let him get away with that so we worked on transitions after that for about 10 minutes. In the back of my mind of course I am thinking of what could have caused that because he has never pulled a stunt like that with me before in the 70+ hours I have ridden him this year. Could it be the saddle fit? Was it because Misty was coming up behind him? Was he just being a brat? Kim has warned me that this was a trouble spot she had with him awhile ago. I hated to think I was continuing to work him in pain. I sure wish I knew more than I do sometimes.
About fifteen minutes to 1 pm I dismounted and loosened his girth and walked him a loop and then exited the arena and untacked him and searched for signs of an ill fitting saddle. He was mostly dry underneath and I could find no whirls or other tell tale signs in his coat of a rub or pinched area. I was so focused on his back that I forgot to check his rear legs for any signs of him knocking himself with his hooves although he is currently unshod.
I took him back out after this and hand walked him in the arena until our time was up as he had steam coming off him.
So I dunno what his deal was. Later this evening I noticed I have quite a nice bruiser on my inner thigh from the darn dee on the saddle (about the size of my thumb), I could do without that, and I am a little stiff and sore. It has been two weeks since I rode last and I am getting soft already.
I am not sure what to think about this saddle. Bob said I could hang onto it a week or two to really see how I like it. Right now I am divided on if I want one or not. The pros are the deep seat, Poleys, TONS of rigging dees, and the horn (I am looking ahead to possibly ponying Ollokot and a horn would make that possible). The cons are the dees under my thighs (which maybe could be removed), the weight of it, the crazy girthing set up - which I could perhaps also overcome with a different girth. Also I really don't know how well it fits Sinwaan. I need some more assistance in that department. Starting over with a new saddle also means getting more equipment such as another saddle pad (or two) and I would want a fleece saddle cover as well to soften it up a little.
This next week is Thanksgiving so I am hoping for good weather Friday for a ride as I will have the day off.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Sinwaan and the dentist
Sinwaan had a visit from the tooth fairy today. Dr Sarah Metcalf DVM specializes in the field of equine dentistry. She had her trailer custom made with stocks so she could practice out of it. She put herself through vet school working as a farrier and also does some endurance riding / or acts as a vet at the endurance rides so she is pretty well rounded and interesting to talk to.
First Sinwaan was measured with the weight tape (he weighs 890 and Sarah felt he was in perfect condition).
We led him up into the stocks and Sarah sedated him with 1.4 xyl, 0.6 det and 0.2 torb. That wasn't quite enough so she had to give him some more (3/4 is what my notes say) She said Arabs sometimes need a little more than other breeds, and Mules are the others that are different.Once he was sedated she put on the speculum and raised his head up and placed it in the head support ring that hangs from the ceiling and she is able to raise and lower it as needed.
Then she looked inside and felt inside and then she had me put my hand inside and feel his teeth. She found that he had sharp points, buccal laceration, ramps, excessive transverse ridges, and diagonal incisors. 
Here is a photo of Sinwaan's molars before the float. I could feel the sharp points along the edges of his teeth. His molars looked like mountains and valleys.
The pre-molar/molar interocclusal on the right PRE incisor reduction was 2.0 on the right and 3.0 on the left. POST incisor reduction was 1-2 on the right and 1-2 on the left.
Pre-molar/molar occlusal angle pre float and post float was 15 on both sides.
Here is a photo of Sinwaan's molars after the float. Smooth and ready for grazing.
Estimated percent of molar occlusion pre float on right was 50 and on left was 80! Post float both sides were 80.
Basically when you looked in his mouth, the line where his front teeth meet that should have been horizonal to the ground was at an angle so she had to do some incisor reduction to level things out and hopefully now the shorter teeth on the ends (on the top on one side and bottom on the other side) will have a chance to grow and straighten things out this next year.
He was a very good patient. He started waking up a little while she was working on him with her power tools and gave us no trouble at all. He did need more sedative so she could finish up, I have a note here that he was given "1/2" twice more throughout the procedure.
Here is a photo of Sinwaan having his incisors reduced.
After all of that grinding he needed a rinse.
He also had his sheath cleaned so that is one less thing for me to worry about.
After his dental care he was backed out of the trailer and led over to the hitching post to recover before he was put in with the herd. After about 30 minutes I led him to the round pen so he could have some space to himself and he was also on doctors orders not to eat anything for the next couple of hours.
Monday, November 5, 2007
November 4 2007
Today was such a gorgeous day, the weather was quite warm for November. Lara picked us up for a ride at Bennington Lake. We made the most of it, since who knows when we will be able to go again. (Sinwaan has his toothies looked at next weekend).
The wind at the lake was howling and in one spot on the ride up even sounded like a woman or child screaming. It was incredible. The horses did great. With the breeze coursing through their manes and against our faces we tackled the trails. I could not have asked for a better ride. Sinwaan was responsive and eager and even a little jumpy at times. I felt incredibly free-spirited and one with my horse this day. One sprint around the back of the lake actually had Sinwaan asking for a race. Unfortunately later on (running towards home) Rocker gave Lara a little trouble and she went flying off. I was glad we were following far enough not to run her over.
A downer of the day was discovered when I was untacking and noticed the girth had pinched Sinwaan and created a small raw spot on his left side. My poor willing boy. What a champ not to complain.
Because they are starting to get their winter coats, and the temp was so warm, we decided to sponge them with warm water and hand walk them after the ride.
Now I am just waiting for new upcoming rides to be posted so I can plan my season for 2008!
The wind at the lake was howling and in one spot on the ride up even sounded like a woman or child screaming. It was incredible. The horses did great. With the breeze coursing through their manes and against our faces we tackled the trails. I could not have asked for a better ride. Sinwaan was responsive and eager and even a little jumpy at times. I felt incredibly free-spirited and one with my horse this day. One sprint around the back of the lake actually had Sinwaan asking for a race. Unfortunately later on (running towards home) Rocker gave Lara a little trouble and she went flying off. I was glad we were following far enough not to run her over.
A downer of the day was discovered when I was untacking and noticed the girth had pinched Sinwaan and created a small raw spot on his left side. My poor willing boy. What a champ not to complain.
Because they are starting to get their winter coats, and the temp was so warm, we decided to sponge them with warm water and hand walk them after the ride.
Now I am just waiting for new upcoming rides to be posted so I can plan my season for 2008!
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