Movin' On - Saddle Wise~

The Heraldic is on it's way back to CA...  I was sorry to see it go - I had such high hopes that it would work for us...  After my ride on Wed. Post~ - I knew for sure that it wasn't going to work for me.

Chloe at Reactor Panel, offered me several options.  I have to say; working with Chloe & Carmi, was great!  So professional, helpful, insightful & instructive too!  I was offered a new prototype to try!

Heraldic Prototype

We all agreed that the first problem was probably that the seat was too small - maybe a 17.5 rather than a 17.  That might have helped move me back from the rise.  I was also getting just a little pinching from the rigging -  that would have been alleviated with the prototype!  It is beautiful!  But after thinking it all over & being the sorest I have in years from that 15-mile ride - I decided that it probably had a lot to do with where I was on Farah's back - further back than I'm used to.  The seat certainly had more rise, I'm used to something flatter.

First time~

 I was struggling - but thought that with more rides, I would get used to the feel.  I didn't - my legs were more on Farah's barrel, rather than in the riders groove.  I was struggling when we galloped & her gallop was much slower than usual - I think she could feel my discomfort.  As I told  Chloe, I'm going to move on for now - but may be back!  It's hard to walk away from such a superior product & customer service!

Laying awake that night - my mind went for whatever reason - to Stonewall Saddles...  I've looked at them off & on for years.  There was always a saddle that seemed more appealing to me, maybe fancier, prettier, or more "Western".  But the riding quality that I found in Linda's McClintock has changed my views about pretty!

Stonewall Classic

Friday morning I called & spoke to Jackie.  I was very upfront with my wants & needs...  At this point there's just no other way to be.  Years ago I had ordered the boomerang fitting angles.  I dug them out of the drawer & tried them on Farah, who measured a medium tree.

Medium works~

 I tried one under Linda's McClintock - no surprise - it measures a narrow tree ...  Only the supracore is keeping us on the trail.  To think that Farah has gone all these miles in a too small saddle is like thinking of running in too small shoes...  I know she has dramatically muscled up since I first tried the boomerangs on her when she arrived & measured narrow through the wither.

Stonewall Sport

Jackie has a older Classic saddle, medium tree, 14" seat that she's now refurbishing for us.  I had to purchase it - if I order a custom saddle, those funds will be applied.  Jackie pushed it to the front of the line in the shop & I hope to get it in the next couple weeks.  From our talk, I have to hope that it's pretty darn close to what I've been hunting for.  If & I say if it works for us - I can lease it for $60. a month until a custom one can be made.  Pretty reasonable all round.

I like having the pommel, the flatter seat, dropped rigging, fenders & room for my back saddle bag.  It will be easy to outfit it with the packs that I've been using on Linda's.  I'd taken Linda's saddle back to her - so on Fri. we went to lunch & I picked it up yet again :-)  It might be jinxing my luck - taking it back twice now - both times thinking that the other saddles would work!    Now, I've told her that she's NOT getting it back!  (Maybe that will help!)

On Our Own - Victoria~

Again...  Are people able to read?

The note I found

It's just hard for me to believe that a fellow horseman wouldn't realize that just one car in the trailer parking - will multiply - as more people coming up see it & think - "Oh I can park there too."  I've seen four cars parked all over the lot - making it impossible for the trailers to pull in or out...   In the last couple weeks, there have been several days - with the closure of Mann Rd. that the lot has been totally full of trailers...  Of course, there's even more signage too - asking hikers, bike riders, etc. to park along the edge of the road, or on the new gravel area that was put in for cars.

Gray & Overcast

It was one of those eerily quiet days...  I was in an off mood. I'd manged to upset a friend & I never like doing that for any reason - even when I feel strongly about something.

The front pack started bugging me right away...  banging around too much...   I have it tied down about every way but loose - the water bottle hung too low & hit me in the knee when we were galloping...

New logging area~

 I wanted to do a decent pace, a lot of trotting & some galloping to see how the Heraldic felt.  The problem I'd first noticed, pressure from the rise of the front of the saddle, has not gone away...  Yesterday - it didn't seem as bad, but we were doing a lot of short up & downs at Lord Hill.  Today - was more of the long downs & long ups.  The entire ride, I felt the pressure - enough that I couldn't clear my mind of it.  Farah seemed to be moving fine, though her reduced speed tells me that something isn't right.  Smooth transitions, no bucking, no shoulder lifting, no head tossing.

Big Cedars went down~

It started drizzling on us - once we were all the way to the bottom of the mountain.  The roads are just as hard as concrete now... I won't do this loop again for a while.  We did go off onto the trails for the return, but the surface even there is very hard packed, lots of bike use & so very dry. 

A gray horizon~

We returned to the trailer just as the drizzle was turning to rain.  We'd covered 15-miles at a good pace, probably too good for the hard footing...  Disappointed that I can't make this saddle work for me :-(  I'll be calling to discuss my options tomorrow~