Back in the saddle

Today I went out to the barn after work, arriving probably around 6 pm. I met the new boarder Jennifer as she was in the round pen with her 4 yr old Thoroughbred, "Gray." She agreed to ride with me and I went out and got Sinwaan as she switched horses, bringing out her grade mare "Phoebe" who stands just shy of 16 hh.

Sinwaan did not exhibit any tenderness this evening on his priorly injured shoulder, so I was thrilled to be able to ride again.

I tried out my 'loaner' Abetta endurance saddle this evening, and luckily Kittee came out to say hello as we were tacking up, because I didn't have any rigging on the right side to attach the girth to. Whoops! She had something that worked great. I used my blue saddle pad from Kim and it seemed to fit alright with this saddle.

After oooing and awwing over the new foal Rosey, we headed out for Cache Hollow Rd.

We had a nice ride, but took it easy since Phoebe is barefoot, walking up to the turn off just shy of the 2 mi point. There is a cable stretched over the vehicle access point with a "do not enter" sign. Jennifer suggested we go around the cable and ride up to the top between the field and the road. I had never tried that but agreed since it was easier than all that rock. There is a wide patch of grasses and weeds next to the field there and it worked out well to ride on it. We had to watch for holes but otherwise did not see anything dangerous. We did some trotting and cantering and Sinwaan did well, no bucking with the new saddle.

It will take me a little bit to get used to riding in this saddle. I feel like I will need another ride in it to know for sure if it will work for us (a full 10 mi). Lara was right about the seat - it IS hard; and slightly wider than my Wintec. When I took it off I noticed some ruffled hair on his withers but I attributed that to the uphills and downhills with no breast-collar or crupper this evening.

All in all I had a very nice ride with Jennifer, learning about her horses, family, and life in Kentucky, and I hope we can ride together again soon. We put in 5 miles and got back to the barn just as it was getting dark.