Still on track

We got a lot of rain this weekend. It was still raining this morning when I snapped this shot from the deck; the arena is saturated. But the rain stopped this afternoon, so Russell and I went up and down the gravel road to condition and school. Gotta keep at it; our clinic is a week from today!

Rain

Wednesdays and Thursdays are busy days. Brian and I have homeschooling co-op Wednesday afternoons, and a biology class for homeschoolers at George Fox University and violin lesson on Thursday afternoons, so those mornings are full of getting through our regular homeschooling and violin practice. The meteorologist warned that rain - not just showers - would be here by Friday's commute, so I was going to ride tonight in the dark, just to get some time in the saddle before the rain came. Unfortunately, it came early. :-(

Addendum: By the time we finished chores it was no longer raining, so I got to ride after all. Hurray!

Motivation

I need scheduled events like shows, clinics, and horse-camping trips to give me the motivation to work my horse regularly. Don't get me wrong; I love to ride for the sheer joy of being horseback, but it has gotten really hard to eke out the time (and energy) to ride with everything else on my plate. So I signed up for a dressage clinic on Oct. 17! Pretty audacious, given Russell's and my woeful lack of time together this summer, but it's free to our Oregon Dressage Society chapter members so I won't feel bad if all we can manage is a lot of work at the walk. I rode Russell through the woods this weekend for a half-hour at a walk, and could tell I've really lost riding-muscle tone. When I rode again today (in the arena), my pelvic bones felt bruised. I've always said I want to ride until I die, so I better get myself back in riding shape so I can! Russell will be healthier and happier in riding trim, too. So. Back in the saddle again. What motivates YOU to ride?

Pressure distribution among saddle tree types

No news to report on the Russell/Michelle front (except that Russell is working on a winter coat), but I did run across a noteworthy article today.

I've had my share of saddle-fitting issues with my horses, and have had to work hard to find the right solution for each one. Treeless saddles have never made sense to me, because I know how much pressure a seated person's "seat bones" exert in a very small area. Saddle trees aren't ideal, but at least they spread the pressure over a broader area. This research proves that point; I hope the word gets out.

On a related issue, I never mount from the ground if there is anything within walking distance to stand on, because I have seen the kind of punishing, uneven pressure a saddle tree exerts on a horse's back when one mounts from the ground using a stirrup (as documented by a pressure-sensitive device placed under the saddle). My horses have all been trained to stand still next to anything I lead them up to - fence, stump, rock, trailer - so I can simply place my leg over the saddle and ease onto it.

Horses are so very forgiving of discomfort, but my goal is to eliminate or minimize any discomfort I, as the rider, cause.

Where we've been

Russell and I aren't getting a lot of time to dance - and I must admit that not having a show in our sights takes away the urgency to school, or even get in proper condition to school. But I do ride when I can, and since conditioning is the main name of the game right now (and the sand arena is SO dusty in the summer), most of our riding is out and about on our hill.

This morning we rode through the neighboring vineyard (straight rows make good places to practice shoulder-in, renvers and travers):
and checked on the local peaches (they'll be ready to put in our freezer soon - yum!):
Sometimes we stay on the roads - of course we always watch for traffic:
It has been "the year of the snake" around here!

We have a horse-camping trip coming up the weekend of August 21 & 22. This will likely be our last one of the year, since the next one is scheduled for the same weekend as my grandma's 100th birthday celebration. My grandma and I have always shared a love of horses; her father was a horse trainer and she was quite the horsewoman herself.