tack

forget-me-not

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

As anyone who has spent any time around me knows, I am a compulsive list-maker. Especially for things like rides, runs, or anything that involves me remembering stuff that is out of the ordinary. I have checklists, broken down into applicable categories (“tack”, camping gear”, “rider clothes”, etc), that I print out before every ride. I live with post-it notes stuck everywhere: reminders of what to buy, when to expect packages to arrive, how to organize items.

(Currently, I am staring at a list for an upcoming trail race that will involve putting together 4 different drop bags for a point-to-point course.)

I wasn’t always this way.

I had to learn the hard way about the value of having a hard copy list, not just skimming through the mental checklist.

My most epic fail moment (to date) of forgetfulness was back in my show days. I had traveled out to California with my trainer for a weekend-long show…and when I went to tack up for the western classes, discovered that I had my felt liner pad, but not the decorative wool blanket for on top.

Not quite the end of the world…but in a fairly competitive environment, where details matter — this mattered.

While I was busy having a meltdown, my parents (who had traveled out to the show to surprise me), did some fast networking and procured a spare pad (color-neutral enough to work with my turquoise outfit) from another rider’s parents.

Turns out that rider was Kaity Elliott. At that point, we knew each other in that vague “I know that girl and her very spotty (Kaity)/very white (me) pony” way. But the “saddle pad incident” made us more than just vague acquaintances and competitors. We started talking to each other. And hanging out together at shows. And the rest, if you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, is history, of our shared adventures in distance riding, horse borrowing, crewing, and other shenanigans. A lifelong friendship, all formed over a forgotten saddle pad.

The only other (I’m jinxing myself here…) thing I can remember for an event was the Sage Hill NATRC ride in 2002, in which I discovered halfway through the drive out that I forgot my half chaps and water reservoir for my hydration pack. Neither were deal-breakers, although I was convinced that since I was riding English, the stirrup leathers were going to pinch and rub my legs raw (they didn’t), and that if I didn’t have water on my person, I was going to die of dehydration (and since I’m sitting here writing this today, I obviously didn’t). It was a 20-mile ride in the Santa Ynez mountains in November…I’m pretty sure I still even had water in my water bottles on the saddle by the end of the ride.

Of course, just last month I went down to the barn with the intention of riding…only to discover I had left my girth at home. Not the first time that’s happened, which is one of the hazards of using your garage as your tack room and driving everything between your house and your horse. Sometimes it results in an impromptu bareback ride, sometimes in a pony lunging session, and sometimes in a “screw it, have a cookie and go back out to the pasture” approach.

The main thing that has contributed to me forgetting stuff? Doing something out of the ordinary and not putting it back in place. In the case of the water bladder, I had pulled it out to clean it and left it out to dry. I remembered my hydration pack…just forgot to retrieve the bladder. Same deal, same time with the half chaps: had washed them, hung them to dry, and assumed they made it back into the bag with all of my rider gear (helmet, half chaps, GPS, etc).

These days, I’ve gotten pretty good about keeping things organized and “in their place” and have a routine of where to grab what…but ultimately, it’s my checklists that keep me in line and organized. And I make sure that before I have something checked off the list, I have physically put my hands on it, can account for it, and know that it is packed where it needs to be.

(Working on putting my checklists into a printable .pdf file if anyone is interested…I may start compiling informational things such as my packing lists into a separate information page on here if there is enough interest.)

an experiment

/ Ashley Wingert / 11 Comments

As most regular readers have probably noticed, it’s been a little content-lite around here of late…and very horsey-content-lite. There’s actually a reason (aside from my laziness and lack of motivation) for that.

I was dealing with a frustrating and somewhat disheartening issue with Mimi. Even since last year, I’d started having some intermittent problems with her tripping on the hind end, specifically when we were working in the sand arena. I did some basic evaluations of how she moved in-hand (sound), gave her a good trim, booted her all around…and it would still happen, every time I would ride in the arena, we’d hit a deeper patch of sand, and she would stumble or catch her hind end.

It got really, really frustrating, to the point where I basically didn’t ride her for the better part of the summer/early fall. The fatalistic part of me thought, “Well, that’s it…years of use has finally caught up to us, she’s gone permanently crunchy, and one of these days, she’s going to fall down on me.” It was upsetting to me because I didn’t know why (and don’t have the $$$ to throw at a lot of vet diagnostics); it was upsetting to her because she’s a careful, sensible horse with smart footwork — I could see it visibly upsetting her every time she would trip, and she would try so hard not to.

So I gave her some time off from riding. I still went to the barn, still spent time with her, still trimmed her. She was obviously feeling good, watching her run out to the pasture (moving sound!).

About six weeks ago, I needed pony time. Don’t even remember the specifics now, just that I needed to be on my pony’s back. I had gone down to the barn not intending to ride, but something compelled me to hop up on her, bareback, using the only gear I currently had down at the barn, which was her dinky little sidepull.

She was perfect.

She gave me a smooth walk, and her trot was more than eager. My bareback seat is less-than-impressive (especially on what is essentially a 55-gallon drum), so I really don’t do anything other than a slow trot pace, but she wanted to do more.

Hmm.

A week later, I repeated the experiment, this time slightly better equipped with bareback pad and actual headstall-with-brakes. Again, excellent, and even offering to canter. (Umm, no. Canter + bareback = Ash hits the dirt.)

The only thing that was different was a lack of saddle.

A part of my brain had toyed with the idea that maybe my saddle was too narrow (again!) for her. Part of me argued that we did all of our 50s in that saddle without any soreness…but she’s a lot softer and out of shape now. I also didn’t want to look too seriously at this possibility because it would mean needing a new saddle, which isn’t in the current budget. (So, a permanently retired pasture puff was somehow the better option here? Don’t ask me how my brain works sometimes…)

A couple of whiney texts later (that would be me whining), Lucy offered up her spare-spare treeless saddle — a Barefoot Cheyenne model — for me to test out my theory. I got the saddle last week, and after doing a make-over to one of my Skito pads to bolster it up to treeless saddle requirements, I headed out to the barn yesterday to test it out.

all decked out…maybe now we’ll have somewhere to go?

She loved it. We got a good 45 minutes of arena work in — walk/trot/canter/circles — and she was an angel. I’ve had a lot of resistance from her of late with wanting to rush the gate/acting arena sour…and that wasn’t the case this time.

She also offered up the most lovely, rolling, collected-on-her-own canter I have felt from her in for a couple of years now. And that was entirely spontaneous on her part. She was also giving me her big trot — the kind that makes 16hh horses canter to keep up. Awww, pony legs. :)))
The biggest thing was to have all of this happen in the arena. It’s not secret between her and I that we both prefer the trail, and begrudgingly do arena stuff when it’s the best we’ve got. Arena work also is my way of getting honest feedback from her. She’s got an outstanding work ethic (I can only hope any subsequent horses are half as good), especially on trail, and will work through most discomfort if it means getting down the trail. In the arena, her feedback is more honest (a bit ‘Princess and the Pea’-esque, to be honest), so to have her that forward and cheerful about arena stuff was exceptionally good.
Now we just need to get back out on trail. (And if she’s this forward and cheerful, I may bring along that running martingale and remind her that the overabundance of enthusiasm isn’t necessary.)
fuzzy face!!!
she is SO fluffy this winter…all of them are. which
probably means it’s gonna be cold. brrrr.

Review: Taylored Tack Simple Hackamore Headstall

/ Ashley Wingert / 4 Comments

Bear with me…as with just about everything I do, there’s usually a “why” for it…and an accompanying story.

Funny enough, I have a minimalist of a pony, especially when it comes to tack. It’s taken me a while to realize this, but the less stuff on her face, the happier she is. Too much material, especially around/behind her ears, makes her sweat, which in turns makes her itch. End result of that is she then tries to over-enthusiastically remove the paint from whatever surface she is tied next to (vehicle, horse trailer, railing) by virtue of her itching and scrubbing her face against said surface.

My trailer ended up with more than one scratch in the paint from her rubbing before I was able to remove her headstall. (Powder coating being rubbed by metal buckles does not end well.)

The other thing I struggle with is that she doesn’t have a whole lot of surface area on her face. “Pea head” is the term used on more than one occasion. And as lovely as all of my halter-bridle combos are, they don’t work as well in conjunction with an s-hack when there is limited space available. The struggle I ran into was that in order to get the s-hack high enough on her nose, the chin strap would end up cross right on top of the underside of the halter noseband, which meant it wasn’t engaging with her chin the way it should. (Translation: Less brakes and slower pony response time than I like.) Also, her ground manners are less than stellar in flat halters. (Read: “Let me run right through you during a trot-out.”)

(Interestingly enough, if you look at a bunch of my ride photos, I used the Zilco equivalent of this set-up and never had a problem with space…it was only when I stopped using Zilco and switched to beta that I noticed this, so obviously the proportions of the Zilco halters are different.)

I’ve also used the add-on headstall over a rope halter idea. Her ground manners are much better when I have to lead with that, but I’ll be honest: I don’t love the look of the s-hack with a rope halter. Call me shallow, but…”If you can’t ride fast, ride pretty.” (Or just blame my show background.)

To me, this is just “too much stuff” crammed
on her pretty little face.

I’ve used the standard western headstall set-up (browband, throatlatch) with the s-hack before and it has worked well, but it was still more than what I really needed — browband and two crownpieces behind the ears.

I really liked the look of the clean-line, simple headstalls, so that’s what I ended up getting:

The Taylored Tack Simple Hackamore Headstall

Mimi’s is, of course, purple.


I haven’t had the chance to test it super-thoroughly (as compared to 25/50-mile rides/long training rides with the other set-ups) but the advantage of riding a horse for as long as I have her is I know when something works for her. And so far, I think this is working.

It’s definitely been warm enough to generate the itchy, sweat pony effect, and the fact she’s not throwing her head into my arms to “get this off me, now” is a good sign. It’s also plenty secure, I was able to make all the adjustments needed, and as with all things Taylored Tack, the workmanship is gorgeous. I love how clean-line of a look it is, and it really sets off her pretty little head.

As far as leading/halter underneath…Mimi leads just fine from the s-hack. She yields to pressure from the noseband and chinstrap, and if need be, I do carry a small rope halter in my pack for ER purposes.

This will definitely be a set-up I revisit in the future for any additional pea-headed horses.

Now I’m itching to add a custom TT breastcollar to Mimi’s tack collection, since I’ve never actually found a breastcollar to date that I’ve been completely satisfied with how it has fit her…

arena work stats

/ Ashley Wingert / 7 Comments

One thing I hear from a lot of endurance riders is a dislike for arena work. While it’s not my favorite thing, I don’t really mind it, and I definitely do my best foundational training in a controlled arena setting. Just for fun, I turned on one of my GPS apps this past weekend to clock my ride time with the pony.

What I learned was interesting.
Duration: 31:50
Distance: 3.18 miles
Average Speed: 6.0 mph
Max Speed: 9.5 mph
Mimi consistently walks at 3.5-4 mph. She can bump it up faster, but that is her comfortable range. Her trot is 7-9 mph, and her canter is 8-9 mph. I found it curious that, for us, cantering gains us nothing in terms of speed and covering ground, but it does offer up a change of gait and muscles used.
The arena at the barn is all sand, too, so that was the equivalent of a pretty good sand wash workout. And when I’m in an arena, I’m not just riding endless laps. I ask for engaged collection, we do a lot of gait changes, and circles, and flexion. So I was pleasantly surprised to see just how effective of a workout my arena sessions can actually provide.
A few photos from the past couple of weeks:
New browband from Taylored Tack to dress
up an old bridle. Mimi has always been the
purple princess.

she will slam on the brakes in the middle of
a schooling session if she’s thirsty

Perky Pony!
New reins, also from Taylored Tack. They’re
purple, and camo. How could I resist???

pre-ride shakedown cruise…for the rider

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

Today involved a fantastic, 18-mile ride on Khan again with Lancette. Parts of it were entirely new-to-me trail, as well as reinforcement of some trails previously ridden. (It’s an area of criss-crossing and intersecting trails, sand washes, and service roads — keep heading in the general direction of your intended destination and you’ll probably get there in some form or fashion.)

It was good timing, too — one last big ride before next weekend’s Man Against Horse ride. I’ve stayed in good riding shape all summer, so I wasn’t concerned about that part. But I did have some new gear I wanted to thoroughly test out before going into a ride environment, including new stirrup leathers.

new stirrup leathers passed the mileage test

I’ve been riding in Zilco leathers, but the stirrup bars on my saddle make it impossible to ride with the buckle at the bar — the pressure point it creates on my thighs is pretty uncomfortable after a short while. I can get around that by rotating the leathers so that the buckle is at the bottom, on the stirrup top bar. The downside to this is the flopping tail of stirrup leather, solved by covering the whole apparatus with fleece stirrup leather covers. The problems with this set-up: It’s harder to adjust the stirrup length, which I frequently need to do depending on the horse I’m riding, and the fleece adds extra bulk under my leg.

A couple of weeks ago, on a whim, I ordered a pair of stirrup leather from Schneiders Saddlery. They’re the kind with the buckles riveted to the top of the leather, and they’re supposed to be thin and low-profile and not bulky. The price didn’t exactly break the bank, and if they didn’t do exactly as I hoped for log-term use…well, it never hurts to have an extra pair of stirrup leathers around.
They passed last weekend’s arena test, although I recognized that an hour in the arena wasn’t anywhere near the kind of workout a good distance ride will give them. I’m happy to report today’s ride did just that. Ton of trotting and cantering, ups and downs, twisty single-track and wide-open roads. How I feel tomorrow morning will be the ultimate test, but I didn’t feel the buckles under my thigh while riding, and I don’t have any soreness or bruising now. It was kind of nice to be able to ditch the fleece covers — that much less between my leg and the horse now. The leathers are nylon-lined to prevent them from stretching, and they have some nice “give” to them, so I wasn’t feeling any shin pressure either.
I’m definitely comfortable enough to leave them on the saddle and do the ride next weekend in them. I’ll probably bring the fleece covers just in case, but if I did 18 miles without a problem, it’s only 7 more miles for the 25.
wild horses at the trailhead

We saw a number of wild horses today! Apparently there are bands of them that live down by the river. I’d heard of them, but until today, I’d never seen them. We came across them three different times today, and I think it was three different bands. They were vaguely curious about us, but very wary and preferred to move away from us when in doubt. It was fascinating to watch the stallions do their rear-guard duty, and the body language between the herd members.

They all looked healthy, so whatever they’re living on out there, they’re doing okay.

Lancette and “Hot Lips” playing in the river.

We went down to the river as the halfway point and gave the horses and drink and sponging. I never get tired of river-time and it will always remain a novel concept to this desert rat.

The river was running really clear today, clear enough to see to the bottom.

Obligatory response photo for those who say
“hoof boots can’t do water.”

I sank Khan’s Renegades in about 3′ of water for a good 10 minutes, then we turned around and went back up the sand wash, up a very steep, rocky climb (which we trotted the last part), and then took off trotting down a service road. Boots didn’t budge the entire time.

It’s like a “Where’s Waldo?” photo.
Can you find the hidden shoe?

Right about the time I was admiring how crystal-clear the water was, and how it would make for a great “boots in water” shot, I looked over to the side and saw a horseshoe wedged under a river rock. In the photo, it’s below the center of the photo, just above the blobby bits of green underwater vegetation.

One of the more unusual bits of river debris I’ve encountered. Much more typical is beer cans.

Horse ears. Sunshine. River.
Some views never get old.

The river was absolutely gorgeous today. Running a bit higher and faster as a result of monsoon season, but there is a great area to water the horses that is quiet and shallow and sandy. There was a ton of loose water grass being carried with the current, and Khan greatly enjoyed reaching out and snagging the floating grasses. Yummy.

looking downstream on the Salt River

Pony time for me tomorrow, then before I know it, I will be Prescott-bound for Man Against Horse! I started some packing and organizing today when I got home, and will get more done tomorrow in the form of cleaning grubby tack after the pony gets done adding yet another layer of grunge to it.