A little late, since this happened back in April…but more for my own records and information purposes than anything.

While it wasn’t a ride weekend, we did manage to get 26 miles in over the course of three days, and a good array of different stuff used.

Saddle
I used the Frank Baines Reflex all three days and loved it. No back soreness for Liberty (with lots of walking, and some technical trail including a lot of step-downs), and very minimal soreness for me, which is good given I’m not in tip-top riding shape currently.

The second day I put my full sheepskin cover on it for a few reasons: a little extra cushion never hurt; I get a little more grip from it; protection of the saddle itself after a near-miss encounter with a boulder the previous day that scraped the heck out of my stirrup and barely avoided the saddle flap. My sheepskin isn’t new and super-fluffy anymore, so I didn’t notice a negative impact on the fit of the saddle for me.

The FB seems to fit Liberty well, although our technical downhills of day three had it sliding forward and hugging her neck…but given her low withers, I suspect that any saddle would have probably done that on that kind of trail. But crupper training and use will be on the menu in the future.

Saddle Pads
Day one, I used the Toklat Matrix Woolback with the Pro-Impact inserts. I’m still very agnostic about this pad…don’t love it, don’t hate it. Still hate how matted it gets after cleaning.

Day two and three, I switched to a sheepskin Fleeceworks pad. Oh, this thing is a cushioned luxury. I would sleep with it if I could. I love how the natural sheepskin repels the dirt, and it’s really easy to just brush off in-between days. It doesn’t have any extra inserts in it, but the sheepskin is a dense 1″ layer, and on a well-fitting saddle, I don’t know how much an additional foam insert layer is needed.

Stirrups
Used my Clouds on day one and two…love them, but they’re just so big and bulky. Switched back to the old standby EZ-Rides on day three and they were reliably fine. Might just end up sticking with them.

Girth
26″ is definitely the right length for her. I had one made from Hooves N Whiskers, custom colors of a black/natural twist mohair with orange mohair accents. My only complaint was the single d-ring for the breastcollar clip versus two rings, which meant I had to pay closer attention to making sure the ring was facing forward. Minor problem, but I’ll probably see about ordering future ones with two rings. I liked the felt backing behind the buckles — nice and flexible and breathable.

Boots
Liberty wore Renegade Vipers the whole time; size 140×135 on the front and 140×130 on the hinds. Day one, I used front boots only. Day two, I booted her all around, and day three, went back to just front boots — I’ve found that on an over-eager young horse, pulling boots off and forcing them to pay attention to their feet and the terrain can be a useful training tool. Day two and three, we crossed water/mud, and never had any problems.

Headgear
We started in her standard aluminum s-hackamore on day one and two. Day one she was great, day two was when she had her behavioral meltdown, and I re-assessed our methods of communication.

She really is very green still, and doesn’t have a firm grasp on flexion and giving to the bit. She has no idea what neck reining is, and tends to brace against a direct rein on the hackamore versus giving to it. She’s also apt to go behind the vertical, and has been fussy in the past about chain curb straps and “too much pressure.”

Given all of that, I opted for a fresh start on day three with a snaffle — specifically, a Myler loose ring, mouthpiece MB04, which is their answer to a three-piece snaffle, and designed to be a really good bit for green or inexperienced horses. I had consulted with her trainers at a prior ride on some of her early training history, and she had indeed been started in a snaffle and understood all of the direct rein basics.

Sure enough, with the bit installed, she was very responsive, was seeking out an active connection/contact (oh that’s what true contact versus leaning on the bit feels like…I’m looking at you, Mimi), very responsive, and I had a lot more effective communication with her. She might start a circle rigid, but then she would relax and give.

At the same time, she wasn’t this super-sensitive, flinchy, can’t-stand-contact, “don’t touch my mouth” kind of horse — I wasn’t afraid to pick up the reins and give her a correction as needed.

With both the s-hack and the bit, I used her Taylored Tack Convert-A-Bridle over her rope halter. I absolutely love the pieces of Taylored Tack I have acquired, and am slowly replacing old tack with new TT pieces.

Misc
I used front and rear Snugpax, which allowed me to carry three bottles of water plus plenty of snacks. After epic failing on day one to do much by way of taking care of myself (it’s only 10 miles, I don’t need to bother…), Kaity tasked me with getting back on track with regularly eating and drinking — “if you don’t built the habit during short rides, how are you supposed to remember about it on long rides?” — and I did much better on subsequent days.

Rider Gear
Love my Irideon Synergy tights and my FITS Techtread tights. Both are really comfortable, didn’t overheat, and durable. Like the full seat grip dots on the FITS, and the fact they’re a little less bulky than the kneepatches on the Irideons.

First long riding sessions with my Ariat MaxTrak boots. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about them, but I swapped out the insoles for a pair of my running ones with more arch support, messed around with the laces, and ultimately was quite happy with how they felt. I like that they finally have more tread on them than the Terrains.

Dogs
Overall, the pups did great. They stayed on long high-lines/cable tie-outs in camp, and in the back of Kaity’s trailer in the shade when we were riding. They had their bed, their favorite red blanket from home, and I tried to stick to their feeding schedule/routine from home as much as possible.

This was Artemis’s fourth camping trip, and Sofie’s first with me, although Sofie has been to endurance riders with her previous owners.

I would have liked to see both of them eat a little better — may have to experiment with finding something “special” to add to their kibble (wet food) for occasions like this. I always add fresh cooked chicken pieces to their kibble, but they did a marvelous job of picking out the chicken and leaving most of their kibble. So at least they were getting something. It’s not like they were doing high mileage or massive activity, though.

They got to do some on-leash exploring around the campground — massive granite boulder piles for them to climb and scamper around on.

Foodstuffs
As I mentioned in my write-up, we ate well. Both Kaity and I like to cook and love food. Breakfasts were things like breakfast burritos, pancakes, sausage, chia pudding, and fresh fruit salad. Lunches were on-the-go snacking in the saddle, the usual suspects of protein bars, energy gels, fruit squeezies, energy chews, and similar.

I figured out that Huma Chia energy gels are the best. They’re made with real fruit puree + chia seeds, so don’t have the cooked-in-a-chemistry-lab taste that many of the gels have. ClifFood and Fuel for Fire squeeze pouches are both excellent. Trader Joe’s Apple-Coconut bars are very palatable and inoffensive just about any time.

And dinner…we had fun with dinners, especially campfire cooking. Not all of it turned out perfect…the cheese bread was a little overdone in parts, and the cobbler under-done in parts, but all imminently edible and delicious. And it’s camping cooking, not a 5-star restaurant. ;)