Written by Jay McGarry on June 19, 2010 at 12:16 pm
So often we make do with the saddles we have even if they are not a perfect fit. This can be due to many of factors, such as riding a variety of horses, financial constraints, or simply not understanding what constitutes a “good” fit.
One can use pads and such to modify the fit, and this can be successful… or not. Recently, two of our upper level event riders that are in the Black Country Quantums have had some interesting observations.
Ariel Grald stated that she struggled with finding her position in her jump saddle, and as a result, her horse was refusing fences. She said she felt she wasn’t as effective as she could be with her leg aids. When she started riding in the Quantum, she was able to find her correct leg position and she feels that has had a huge impact on her successes lately.
Sue Berrill, riding in her usual jump saddle, felt the fit wasn’t optimum, but padding it up made it passable. She felt that her horse was jumping well, yet she noted that Lexi wasn’t as soft as she would like. Sue observed the following when she tried riding Lexi in the Black Country Quantum: “She would get a bit tense and braced. While she basculed still, she did so with a tight back. With the new saddle, her jump is fluid and soft and the half halts go through since she’s not bracing her back.”
Little things can go a long way. A balanced, well fitting saddle may not turn you into the winning event riders that these women are, but it very likely allow both you and your horse to do your jobs more effectively.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to purchase a new saddle, but it may suggest that a saddle fit assessment would be a good option. Sometimes, “good enough” really isn’t!
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Written by Edie Tschorn on June 17, 2010 at 1:12 pm
One of the advantages of having our tack shop located on a farm is that we get to watch trainers at work. From our upstairs windows we have a bird’s eye view of rider’s trials and tribulations as they struggle to mount from a block or a stone wall and then have to navigate the gauntlet of capricious horses playing in nearly paddocks. This past week I snuck in a bit of a break and swiveled away from the computer screen and stacks of saddles to watch Tom Curtin, his wife Trina, and assistant Clint who stopped to visit for a few days while they were doing a clinic in Massachusetts.
I have to tell you that after being in the horse business for well over thirty years, I have seen a lot. I have seen the fads, the training gadgets, the whisperers and the hollerers…Tom is a guy who can just ‘get it done’ in a very practical and sensible way. While I have often been impressed by trainers and clinicians who can talk a good game, Tom is able to demonstrate it every time he works with a horse.
I’m sure that many of the cowboys who have had to make their living from the back of a horse probably cringe a bit at the Eastern mentality where many of our horses have a collection of pastel blankets, herbal supplements, designer horse cookies and leg booties. I watched Tom working with a young rider on a horse that had perfected the art of bolting from the far end of the ring, and had discovered that a couple of well placed bucks could send the rider flying through the air. He made two points that were both valid and thought provoking. The first was that we tend to be pretty rude to our horses. How often have you seen a rider or handler carry on a conversation with another person without giving much attention to the horse that they were holding or sitting on? They wouldn’t behave that way in a group of people. The point was made that if you ignore your horse, perhaps you shouldn’t be surprised when the horse finds something else more entertaining and rewarding than standing like a respectful statue. Tom made the point that nothing happens “all of a sudden” and things happen when we have failed to pay attention to the warning signs. The second message that he offered was that it was a whole lot better to be “fair” to our horses than to be “nice”. I realized how many conflicting signals that we give to our horses- and the end result of those inconsistencies is that we really compromise the trust factor. When a horse cannot count on his rider to enforce the same rules all the time, regardless of the situation, the horse loses the advantage of having a leader that he can count on. When that happens, it is not surprising that a horse may occasionally decide that he needs to make his own decisions, rather than listening to a request from someone that has not proven reliable.
Tom advocates treating horses with ‘courtesy and respect’ and requires the same back from them. His consistency produces an end result that shows in his own horses who offer him the partnership that we all dream about. Whether I’m watching from the upstairs window, or from the saddle, I really enjoy watching a good horseman help develop teamwork between equestrians and their mounts!
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Written by Nancy Okun on June 16, 2010 at 1:04 pm
As “they” say … The Best Laid Plans …
I truly thought that this article would be about conditioning the endurance horse, namely my new guy, Reilly, but to my surprise I have gotten wiser with age!! Reilly is smart. Really smart. Edie Tschorn, my friend and fearless leader in all things, who knows more about training horses than I could ever acquire in all my lifetimes … said he was one of the smartest horses she’s ever worked with. And thank goodness she has agreed to help me with him. Actually, it was she who stood over my shoulder as I looked at his photos and whispered “BUY HIM”. Don’t get me wrong. He’s great and I adore him, but I’ve decided not to rush him but instead TRAIN him. He’s brave on the trail (with another solid horse) and a great to work around on the ground. We did have some “stand still while I mount” issues which the smart punk figured out pretty quickly when I asked him the right way. Much to my surprise, and to my mare’s chagrin, he won’t be pushed around by my “boss mare” … actually he stands right up to her wants to dominate her. So, I have an Alpha gelding on my hands. Knowing that he has a strong personality I’ve realized that it’s important for me to be Alpha to him and get his respect now.
He hadn’t been ridden at all since last December and even then he had just been started under saddle…. so Edie began with some longeing, round pen work, and bitting surcingle work to assess his training level and personality. Then I got on in the indoor. He was fine, but I have to admit that he felt so very different from my Rianon that I felt unsure. I’ve only ridden one horse for the past 12 years. All of you know what that feels like. We are one animal. She is “home” to me. Reilly is slight of build and agile and still has a squirrel brain. It took several rides before I felt comfortable with him and he with me. I do something with him just about every day … either some “play” in the round pen or indoor, a short trail ride with another horse, or just a ride around the property. He’s been on the trailer several times and can now load and travel easily. We have a long way to go, but we’re off to a good and fun start.
I was talking to a well known endurance rider who gave me some wonderful advice about starting a young distance horse. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I shared it with you…
“My advice to you, if you would like it, would be to spend a year really training him, and not conditioning him. He needs a very solid foundation in learning the basics training wise, and could do some light pleasure riding at a slow pace, with an experienced trail horse, or even group lessons to learn to work quietly in a group. The worse thing for a green Arab is to go to a ride and experience a group of horses moving at competition speed. They perceive it as running away from something scary as a herd. The Arab mentality needs a lot of time to process new things, or the reaction becomes dramatic. When the stimulus is more than they can handle, everything needs to slow down to process it. Thus, no competitions until they have acquired lots of life skills as a trail horse! And then, when you are ready to go to a ride, request going out last at every ride, until they get used to it. Go out with a seasoned horse, or alone, and go slow and steady, not with the pack. It is much less unnerving for them. Camping and sponging from his back would be things to add to his life skills as a trail horse. Also, dose syringing applesauce to get him used to getting electrolytes is another one.”
When I looked back at how I “trained” Rianon I see why we always had the “tear my arms out of my sockets for the first 25 mile” thing going. She was 5 when I got her and had very little professional training. However, she’s a mare and we made a bond early in our relationship that we’d take care of each other out there and “discuss” our differences. Alone on the trail all went well and she became very fit and conditioned…but not “trained”. Competitions were another matter! We survived 12 years of rides together and all in all had an absolute blast. But – I was always envious of those wonderful horses who could be ridden with light rein contact and go happily down the trail in a group without fire coming out of their noses! Now that I’m 58 (yikes, am I really dangerously close to 60??) I want that “trained” horse and I’m willing to spend this year working with Reilly.
I was worried I’d be bored out of my mind doing ground work, turns and transitions when there’s so much trail out there calling to me …but surprisingly I’m enjoying the process enormously. Some days are better than others, for certain, but progress is being made and we’ll both be better for the time spent now.
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Written by Brady on June 12, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Well, I competed at Hitching Post Farm and it was a horse trial. My dressage was good, except the judge expected me to do something that I haven’t learned yet; she wanted Punky to “come over his back”. I don’t even know what that means! Yet. My mom and my trainer, Sue Berrill had many laughs over that comment. My accuracy was better and my circles were big enough, for a change.
Then, I went to cross country. Punky was jumping every single jump and I cantered every single one. The water; he did not just trot in like a perfect little pony, but instead, jumped in , so that he landed with all four feet in it. It was as if he was thinking,” BELLY FLOP!!”, but forgot to splay out all four legs. Then, we came to the last fence. Because I turned him too close, turned him too tight, he ran out. Therefore, I didn’t give him a straight entrance. Plus, I also learned you’re not done riding a cross country course, until you’re done riding a cross country course. Yes, I know it sounds like a Yogi Berra quote, but what it means is that you cannot stop trying at the last fence. You need to keep on riding through the last fence.
Stadium; he was clean and perfect and I was ecstatic. I came in third in my division. In the words of Thelwell, “Do not expect to win every time. It will someday be your turn”.
Punky has a little injury at the moment. It is a superficial bow and he needs to be rested for two weeks before horse camp which is really going to be a bummer. Give healing thought s to him.
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