Flirting with Fate~





Heading out on the third loop~

I know, I'm the one who's always saying not to "tempt fate" & here I did it myself!  Seems I was getting overly "confident" in making my ride plans for this year.  I was brave enough to say that Home On The Range would be our first ride of this season.   Note to self;  do Not speak or write in absolutes!  They have a way of biting you in the Blut :-)  Nonetheless, here's a picture of the great time we had LAST season, heading out on the third loop of the 50  :-)

Still sore from our little "parting of the ways" almost two-weeks ago now...  Of course the pouring rainstorms this week, would not have made for any kind of decent riding weather anyway!  Khari is so full of energy that she did a few "airs above the ground" yesterday when I turned her out for a while.  The soil is so saturated that Khari sinks in with every step.   Another Washington weather record has been broken for the month of March - the most rain since 1950.  That's a Lot of rain!  Now, I wonder how my hip, back & shoulder will feel next time I mount up?  I'm not going to plan a "season start" until I'm back to 100 percent.

The Good News!  I get to see daughter Jentry & Grandson Ben today!  Ben is coming home with me to spend the night!  Tomorrow we head to the hospital to be the support crew in the waiting room while his mom has her baby, Ben's sister & our fourth Grandchild!

Other side of the Nest~

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Here's a view of the nest looking SW.  The Hemlock is the tallest tree on our highest hill in the woods.  The nest is about 100 ft. up.  Still no idea who lives here? 

MeOhMeOhMy's first foal! A colt!

Me Oh & her new colt!

In a brief sun break, a proud stakes winning mare introduces her first foal to the world at Granite Falls Thoroughbred Farm!   MeOh had a long & distinguished racing record, so now well deserves her new status a broodmare on the farm!  Hopefully to produce more top quality runners!

Who could resist a face like this?  Sire is Tropic Lightening - who graces the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association 2011 Calendar for the month of December!

Nest in the Woods!

Hawk nest?

I'm hoping that this is the home of the Red-tailed Hawk that I've seen often, there's a youngster too, that's been around for the last two years.  These views are looking NW, with the nest maybe 3 ft. across in size.

High up in the Hemlock

Security + Deep Seat = "Ride-Ability"!

Meridian Saddle #120

To borrow the term from my amigo Dean Essex DVM, the saddle that I'm selling, pictured above when it was new -- is a perfect example!  It's incredibly comfortable, no padding needed, the high cantle, combined with nice pommel & large bucking rolls -- kept me ON, even when Khari took a bad stumble on a steep down-hill at the Elbe Hills Ride last fall.  I'd only come off this type of saddle once, one of my first trail rides on Khari, when we were going too fast, ducks flew up off a hidden pond & the horse with us cut over right in front of us, making Khari Hit the Brakes!  I flew over her head, but didn't get hurt.  I've ridden all of our upcoming 1,000 miles of endurance in this type saddle & stayed top-side during some amazing stuff!

My "fat" girl & her new saddle!

Sadly, when I bought this saddle in Aug. 08, it fit Khari perfectly.  We started training mid-05, conditioning in 06, then 3-50's in 07.  We've been lucky to do 5-50's per season since.  Fitness happens over time, she's gone from a "fat" girl, to a "fit" girl.  Her withers slimmed down & the saddle started sitting too low in front.  This kept tilting me forward & over 50 miles, gave me shin splints.  So we padded up the front.  That worked, except that it pushed the saddle farther back & it started to shimmy back & forth over her loins -- rubbing all the hair off & soring her.

Finally this January, I attended a saddle-fit clinic with David Genadek of About the Horse.  While there, he tried several different padding options, but could not find anything to solve all the problems I was having.  The saddle just didn't fit anymore.  Since it was expensive, I have to get it sold, before I can order another.  I like Dave's saddles, but don't know about their "Ride-ability".  I would love to try one out & show it to Dean, but these saddle makers just don't seem to want to lend out saddles on trial.  I don't want to spent that kind of big $ for a custom saddle, to find that it doesn't work!

Bighorn Saddle

Compare the saddle I was thrown from, my 20 year old Big Horn.  This was the first saddle I bought when we started doing Competitive Trail in the early 90's.  One problem, was that your upper body tilts forward anytime you try to slow down or stop, making it hard to maintain your seat when anything happens.  The fenders are set a bit too far back.  Without a rear cinch, the saddle doesn't stay "down" on the horses back.  The "seat" looks positively "flat" compared to the Meridian above.

The only other issue I had as far as my comfort in the Meridian Saddle, was the 14.5" seat.  I fit in it, but without much wiggle room.  That may make it slow to sell.  Next time I will order a 15" & have the bit of extra room that makes me more comfortable, if a tiny bit less secure.  I will use one of the new molds to be sure that the fit will work for Khari.  Since we'll still hopefully "start" our fifth season before too much longer... (Heal Connie heal!) I can't imagine that her body will change much, she's mature at 11.