His back is very short and very wide. To have a treed saddle, I'd probably have to go with a hoop tree saddle and be very careful about the length. How many times have I seen a hoop tree in any of the saddle shops I've been to in the past 9 years of owning a horse? 0. I've already been burned twice from ordering saddles online, so meh to that.
Instead I have a treeless. What does that mean? That means I put the saddle on. Adjust. Pull over the mounting block. Look at the saddle from the top for centering. Adjust. Get down and move the mounting block. Watch him put his head down and see the saddle move. Want to cry. Adjust. Pull over the mounting block again. Adjust. Get down and move it away again. Girth. Overtighten. Mount. Adjust. As I ride, keep putting my hand down my back, down the back of the saddle (which has a plate at the center back), and down to his spine to check for centering. Adjust. Sigh.
In the time it takes me to saddle up, some people can groom, saddle, bridle, and be ready to mount up.
Instead I have a treeless. What does that mean? That means I put the saddle on. Adjust. Pull over the mounting block. Look at the saddle from the top for centering. Adjust. Get down and move the mounting block. Watch him put his head down and see the saddle move. Want to cry. Adjust. Pull over the mounting block again. Adjust. Get down and move it away again. Girth. Overtighten. Mount. Adjust. As I ride, keep putting my hand down my back, down the back of the saddle (which has a plate at the center back), and down to his spine to check for centering. Adjust. Sigh.
In the time it takes me to saddle up, some people can groom, saddle, bridle, and be ready to mount up.
His feet are very round. Too round for any boots I've seen. I have so many old pairs of boots that didn't work out from so many different manufacturers. Baby's still ridden barefoot.
And his face... oh his face.
His bridle, being a Bitless, has to be impeccably fitted to his head. In doing so, I found out that he wears a full-sized headstall and a cob-sized noseband. Luckily, the company was glad to put together such an amalgamation for him.
Not only that, but his eyes are set too widely to fit a horse-sized fly mask. His eyelashes poke through and they bother him endlessly. His eyes fit warmblood-sized masks, but the rest is far too large for him. I tried altering down a warmblood riding mask, but all of the extra nips and tucks everywhere ended up bothering him as well. Considering that Fair Hill is now thick with large biting flies - moreso than usual - rides have become torture for him. He just shakes his head the whole time and gets more and more upset. I have recently made a Frankenstein-like creation where I cut out the eye and upper cheek area of the warmblood mask, removed the same area of a horse mask, and attached it to the remaining forehead/poll/ear section, under-jaw straps, and back edge of the smaller mask. Finally I believe we have a winner. The seams are minimal and on the outside of the mask.
I'll have to take a picture of my latest acquiescence to his contrary anatomy.
He's so lucky he's cute. :)
2 comments:
He IS cute! Way to get crafty on that fly mask. I can't believe horse people haven't come up with something non-toxic that repels those pesky flies.
Thank you :)
They have fly predators that you can sprinkle around and... ummm... they prey on flies.
Or the fly traps that they fly into but can't fly out of.
But, yeah, none of that will help in the park. It's nothing but neuro-toxins or ineffective oil sprays.
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