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Post by horsespoiler on May 7, 2014 21:41:09 GMT -5
Well this month has started out grand Today we put the english saddle on Whitey. I had DH ride her first to see how she would be. She was doing great and seemed to like it. We switched horses and I rode Whitey. Things were going great until we went on a small trail. She did everything I asked but something behind must have spooked her. She shot out from beneath me and I did a back flip. To Whitey's credit she stopped as soon as I fell off. I need to get a grab strap. I landed flat on by back but didn't hit my head. I did land on a rock just below my vest that I'm sure will leave a colorful bruise. It was on soft ground, except for the rocks all over the place. It was very jarring. I'm already getting sore. DH had me ride Winnie instead. That wouldn't have been so bad except the stirrups are too long for me and I can't use them. I busted my butt at the trot. I so need the RP back together to practice.
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Post by cyndi on May 8, 2014 7:03:42 GMT -5
Awww, sorry to hear about your fall, HS. I am so glad you had a vest on! I wouldn't mind getting one myself, because you never know when something like that will happen. Is the cantle on your English saddle fairly low? Do you think you would've fallen off if you'd been in your Western saddle? One of those "what if" questions that doesn't really matter after the fact, I guess.
I need to get a grounding strap of some sort, too. I think that the majority of my falls could've been prevented if I'd had something to hold onto besides the reins. I am still investigating the RS-tor from England, but I don't know if it'll work with my Gaucho saddle. It is designed more for an English saddle, or any other saddle that has stirrup bars. Apparently, the RS-tor can be attached to D rings, which will be my only option. I like that you hold onto it all the time, like a crop, so if the horse acts up, you already have it in your hand, rather than trying to think to grab the grab-strap. If I do get it, I'll let you know what I think. I've sometimes wondered about a neck strap as well, but if I ever lost my balance and pulled back, I'm not sure what Fanny would do with that pressure around her neck - if it would freak her out or if she'd be okay with it.
I hope you aren't too sore today! Do you have some Arnica you could take, or the gel or ointment to rub on your back? Traumeel works well, too.
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Post by ghostrider on May 8, 2014 13:31:08 GMT -5
hs, sorry about the fall. That is the whole reason that keeps me from buying a light english saddle. I just don't believe it's secure enough in a spook. I know a few people who've gotten really hurt falling from an english saddle that I'm sure could have been avoided in a western saddle, and all of them over a spook.
cyndi I can't imagine having to hold a strap the whole time you're riding. I like my hands free to take pics or take the cap off my water bottle etc..And I can't see that strap being solid? a horn is solid but that strap is still flexable. Will be interested to see how it works though if you try it out.
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Post by cyndi on May 8, 2014 14:50:45 GMT -5
I like having my hands free, too, GR, and with the RS-tor you kind of can. It's a "Y" shaped thing, so the arms of the "Y" attach to your saddle bars and all you hold onto is a 'stem', kind of like holding onto a crop or a lead rope (with a handle on the end so your hand doesn't slip right off of it). Your arms can straighten while holding onto the RS-tor - that is the idea. You just hold it in one hand, or you can drop it and it rests along the horse's withers. Your arm can go straight forward or out to the side, so you have real freedom of movement. In the event of a spook or a buck, your arm straightens and either holds you up from falling forward, or holds you from falling backward. Even if you did end up coming off, your weight would be on the RS-tor and it would help slow down your fall, or at least control your dismount a bit better, rather than crashing to the ground. If you are falling forward, you tend to drop your hand along the horse's neck. Your weight would be on the RS-tor and you could brace yourself on it rather than falling all the way forward, or at least you could hold onto the RS-tor to ease your way off if your feet did slip out of the stirrups and you were headed to the ground anyway. I would have no problem riding in a deep-seated dressage saddle with an RS-tor as a safety aid, but I agree that some of the close-contact saddles are very shallow...and slippery! lol I did sit in a couple of deep-seated English saddles and loved how compact and comfy they are I've never owned a saddle with a horn, so when I do use M's Western saddles, the horn kind of gets in my way when I dismount. Have you ever caught your bra or top on the horn when dismounting? I've had that happen to a couple people I know, so I'm always nervous of that happening. lol
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Post by horsespoiler on May 8, 2014 17:35:29 GMT -5
I should have been paying more attention I guess. I probably wouldn't have come off my western saddle as I could have grabbed the horn but I ended up laying on Whitey's back on my back so I might not have been able to reach. I forgot to put the neck strap on that is really just a spare stirrup leather. The saddle is pretty comfy and I actually feel pretty balanced in it. I was even able to trot some yesterday. DH took her for a run after we got home and got to experience her speed. She was fast and not even going all out. I had to ride a very trotty Winnie without stirrups and she even went into "hefalump" mode. It's kind of a cross between a trot and a canter but rough and rolly. It's similar to riding a seesaw I am anxious to get our RP and riding area in shape so I can do some more work on balance and stops. Yes, Cyndi, I have caught a shirt and jacket on the horn. I usually put all my weight in my left stirrup, adjust anything I need to and then put my weight in my hands, take my foot out of the stirrup and drop down. I don't want to get caught with one foot in the stirrup when I dismount as my stirrups are a bit of a stretch.
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Post by ghostrider on May 8, 2014 21:19:11 GMT -5
Yes I also have caught myself on the horn. It's been a long time ago though and it wasn't a wreck I just had to readjust and start over. With the ranch saddle the horn is big and I've never had that problem. I also changed the way I dismount, I take my left foot out before sliding to the ground. I've heard it's safer.
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Post by luvmymorgan on May 9, 2014 8:50:16 GMT -5
GR, I dismount the same way from my Aussie - I heard that about it being safer too. One thing I like about the Aussie - no horn to catch your clothes on. I did add a strap in case I need to grab something. It's also nice for lifting the saddle.
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Post by ghostrider on May 9, 2014 10:57:20 GMT -5
I found that when you pull your shirt down where it goes before dismounting you don't get it stuck on the horn. The thing about dismounting this way though is that if you're riding with a belt/buckle or even just the button on top your pants it can put scratches in the saddle when you dismount. Sometimes I make Buddy stop at our log so I don't scratch up the saddle. Buddy will stop and stand at anything you want to dismount on so he's good there.
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Post by cyndi on May 9, 2014 17:00:21 GMT -5
I kick my feet out of the stirrups before I dismount, too. The last thing I want is to have Fanny spook with one foot still in the stirrup. My legs aren't long enough to comfortably reach the ground if I have one foot in the stirrup. I mount from the left and dismount from the right. Having the sheepskin on my saddle is handy dandy because I have nothing but softness to slide down as I get off
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Post by ghostrider on May 9, 2014 17:28:31 GMT -5
My sheepskin only covers the seat so the fenders are fair game to button or belt.
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Post by luvmymorgan on May 9, 2014 18:49:06 GMT -5
Risty is good about standing at a mounting block for me to get off too. Too good actually. If he thinks we should be done he will walk up to a mounting block (there are several located all over the property) and stop like "ok, we're done now, time to get off". Sometimes I do but then walk him around for a minute, go back to the mounting block & get back on. I keep telling him he can be the boss when he starts to pay the board bill
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Post by cyndi on May 10, 2014 7:21:13 GMT -5
LMM, Fanny is exactly the same way!! If there is any chance at all that it might mean that I'm done riding, Fanny will head to the mounting block and stand somewhere near it. I try not to get off her near the mounting block just for that reason. I try to vary where I dismount so that she doesn't pick up on a pattern...smart horse that she is. That still doesn't stop her from heading to the mounting block, though...or any person who happened to enter the area we're in! If someone walks in, she'll go right to them, kind of like "help me!". That's why I have always had the feeling that she just plain old doesn't like to be ridden.
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Post by luvmymorgan on May 10, 2014 8:53:33 GMT -5
Cyndi, Fanny sounds so much like Risty. I don't think it's really that he doesn't like to be ridden, he just know when we're done he gets groomed again & treats and gets to graze on some grass, go back to his buddies, etc. They are just too darned smart sometimes!
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Post by ghostrider on May 10, 2014 9:49:11 GMT -5
They say horses are lazy therefore since riding is work they don't like to ride but Chip LOVED to ride and would mope when I'd saddle another horse. It was so cute. Sometimes Buddy really looks forward to getting a saddle on and heading out and other times he will watch to see if I'm going to get the lead and halter or I swear he looks to see if I've got my boots on and will just mosey on down to the woods and wait to see if he's getting grain or not. So sometimes if he's quicker than me he gets a handful of grain to entice him back to the corral. He's gotten BAD since being here where he has escape routes.
Most times I dismount at the trailer door because I saddle up and un-tack him there. When we come back home he's really good, it's not till I steer him towards the trailer that he knows we're done. When the apples are ripe though he always stops out front near the apple trees and wants me to pick him some before we go up to the trailer. It's so funny because he doesn't know how to get them off the tree like Boomer does.
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Post by ghostrider on May 20, 2014 15:37:38 GMT -5
I spent 30 min out there grooming, spraying and then saddling Buddy and rode for all of 5 min or 50'. First I couldn't mount from the left so I mounted with my 2 step mini ladder from the right side. Got my feet into the stirrups and found out that it KILLED my left knee. Thought maybe it'd just take a few min for the pain to stop but in that 50 feet I had to realize there wouldn't be any riding this week. I'm hoping maybe by next week but it may take a month before I can ride again. SO BUMMED.
My right knee (tendons) have healed good but the left side is still pretty sore. If I could stay home and heal it would probably go much faster.
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