Well... we didn't do the jumper show yesterday. Sigh... I probably could have... she was slightly less puffy, definitely not hot... but when I lunged her Friday night to see how she looked, she was swapping behind a good bit. She was sound and happy to trot! Looked good at the trot. And looked good at the canter, but especially tracking right, she swapped behind a few times. And not just when she was bolting... so... I decided I should be smart and not show. Plus, that meant I didn't have to get up super early. It meant I saved $100 or so, which I really needed to do. It also meant that I was home for the hay delivery, which was also good since it was supposed to rain Sunday. And.. it ended up being a good choice. I slept in, which was needed. I saved money, which was needed. Mike and I got brunch and then I unhitched and headed to pick up my hay. Nathan said that he wasn't going to put all 200 of my bales on my trailer as it wasn't going to be safe, so... I was going to have to make two trips. But then he mentioned that he had another 72 bales of alfafa he needed to get rid of. And if I bought it, he would take $65 off. Ha ha... Of like $1400, but still. AND... he would also follow me back to the farm with his truck and unload it there... that way I wouldn't have to come back for the last 30 bales of Timothy that wouldn't fit on my trailer. So.... that was worth it! And then, he helped me stack and unload 100 bales which was SUPER helpful, especially as he was able to sling those alfalfa bales up super high, which is the part that kills me. So... it all worked out. I ended up getting 317 bales of hay, which should last me a good chunk of winter I hope! I had to put them in Fleck's stall and I'm still overflowing. But also, Nathan mentioned that he could bring me a trailer and drop it and just refill it as needed. He said they held 330 bales... Which... would actually be much easier and we could put it where the hay trailer sits, so... I may end up doing that when I run out. Way cheaper than buying elsewhere and way easier than having to haul and unload. Especially since that hay trailer is such a pain. It definitely needs new tires and the stupid hitch is so sticky... and now, I'm pretty sure I've broken it and we can't get it to release the ball, so I had to just pull my hitch out of my truck and drive off... the hitch is still stuck on that stupid trailer! And... I ended up taking pretty much the entire day to unload all 317 bales. Again, thank goodness Nathan helped me with 100 bales. So.. no riding Saturday!
I put the PH on her and.. it seemed like it fit pretty good. Although maybe it's a hair too wide. And might sit too low in the back (which doesn't make sense with it being too wide, but... what do I know?). But it seemed to be a decent enough fit... and way better in the back than the Ryder as far as popping up. I might try the half pad with front shims next ride as I do think it might be a hair wide.
So... I'm not sure how I feel about it though. Part of me wanted it to be a magic cure and it be an easy answer. But it wasn't. I felt very sloppy in it. I couldn't quite get my seat in it. I felt like I kept popping up out of it... I couldn't "sit" in it. Which... is it because Funny was using her back so well in it?? Was it because it doesn't strap me in place with big thigh blocks? I don't know. Maybe it's because it's a hair too wide? Funny seemed to like it, especially at first. But I don't know for sure. The good things are that she seemed much more up in her back today and didn't feel inverted or hollow. She felt softer in her neck mostly and was more reaching up and out. Her walk wasn't lateral and didn't get as quick or jiggy today. Her canter felt very uphill and collected and lovely. We had some really good trot moments. And there was no bucking, swapping behind, or squealing and kicking out. But the bads... she was super quick again as the ride went on. She was going behind the vertical again. She got chompy still. However, it's hard to say if she was quick because I didn't do my homework as well as I should have? She did seem to listen to my seat when I could get it to cooperate. So I'm not sure how much was me being ineffective with my seat and aids because I was sloppy in the saddle. Which, if it works for her... I'll have to figure out how to get my butt to cooperate. And... because I wasn't doing my homework as well, I sort of got frustrated and resorted to my hands again. ugh... I'm so mad at myself for doing that, but she got soooo runny again. And I know... the spiral in and spiral out is the answer. But I ended up just being awful and riding her face. So... that's not exactly a fair assessment either.
But we did have some really good moments. She had some really nice trot at the end. And we had some good walk and the canters were pretty nice. And we got some nice shoulder ins down the long side both ways. We also played with half pass at the walk. She's pretty good both ways at the walk.
So.. we'll see. I guess I'll keep playing musical saddles and then figure out if I'm going to get Cindy out or Nancy, or start afresh and try Laci... or pay the chick from Tenn to come... or what. But jeepers... between all of the vet bills and saddle bills... I really can't afford to keep doing this. I really just want to have 2 saddles for each horse that fit them and make them happy and that I can ride decently in. Why is that so hard???
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