Upping the Bit

I apologize for the relative silence of the blog, but big things are still afoot and Mother Nature has decided my show season needed a hiatus. It's been raining copious amounts, 18 of the last 22 days. We are way beyond TWICE the normal amount of rain for June. Despite Groton House putting on a great show last weekend, I was secretly happy to have scratched.

Regardless, I have snuck in some rides between the breaks in the deluge and Brego is feeling really solid. I think he is also enjoying the time off enough to look forward to work. Yesterday, he was so stir crazy, I had to let him gallop around the pasture, as muddy as it was, just to take the edge off enough so I could safely lead him into the barn. If nothing else, the mud is teaching him to be sure footed over sloppy terrain.

I had the good fortune of finding a draft-sized jumping bridle, sans flash noseband, at a local tack show. Wonders never cease. I snatched it up before the mirage evaporated before my eyes. I also bought Brego a continental gag with a 7" waterford mouth piece to help with his running strong cross country. With the reins on the large ring, the bit will behave the same as our long lost, and much beloved, waterford Baucher. I've been a fan of the waterford mouthpiece to stop leaning into the bit. Moving the reins down the bit rings will add more gag action, but also more poll leverage. I think it's a good compromise. Since I have a dedicated jumping bridle now (bringing my total up to three), I will use the continental gag on the hunt bridle, the egg-butt snaffle on the jumping, and the dressage will continue to have the loose-ring snaffle. Whew.

Now, I only need to find that third saddle for foxhunting. Oh, and open-faced leather jumping boots to fit Brego. Oh, and that properly fitting dressage coat. Oh, and dress boots. Oh, and a tweed....

We have a hunter pace scheduled for this weekend. I have no idea how the footing will hold up, but I will likely apply the epoxy to his hooves on Friday. Good hunting, everyone!

The Great Tack (Information) Swap

A dear reader asked if I would make a general call out to the readership asking for Draft tack leads.  I have talked about tack on this blog several times, always citing that the hardest part about eventing a draft is finding high-quality, performance oriented tack to fit.

As for me, some of my stuff is custom made (saddles/breast plate), some is draft-sized (bits/reins) and some is warmblood-sized (bridles/saddle pads).  The hoof boot debacle I have discussed ad naseum, and I don't use leg boots (yet).

I usually don't promote specific products/merchants here, since every horse and rider situation is different and what works for me doesn't always work for others.  However, we have about 100 readers of this blog, all interested in drafts, I would assume, and obviously all brilliant for finding this blog interesting.  So please comment and post with your draft-sized tack recommendations!

Specifically, I have readers interested in the following items:

• Pull on bell boots
• Fly Sheets
• Jumping Bridles (plain caveson)
• Overreach boots (heck, any brushing, jumping, etc boot)
• Saddle Pads (every day cotton variety)
• Nylon BreakAway Halters
• Nylon Padded Halters

I allow anonymous comments on this blog, so if you have any info about where to buy these items for a full draft, or are looking for other items yourself, please post!  If we get a lot of good info, I will make this post a permament link for all visitors to the blog to review.

Curbtastic

Another outrageously fun hunt today. Brego was very responsive in his new bit, NOT the waterford baucher I thought I had (and which is likely packed away in storage) but an old 7" straight bar two ring butterfly, complete with curb chain (C in the pitcure). I put the reins on the lower curb setting and it was likely suddenly being called "M'am" by your delinquent adolescent son. Show some respect, boy!

Anyway, I started the ride with the dreaded "snaffle hands", constant contact anticipating the pulling and the running and the fighting. Brego let me know, ever so politely, that snaffle hands hurt with a bit with some curb action and I clued in. So I got out of Brego's face and only stepped in when I needed more brakes. And Brego agreed to be responsive and stop when asked and we all had a fabulous time.

Again, we rode first field, mostly behind the field master and she and I had a blast running and jumping. Brego took on two big coops that only the field master and I would brave and didn't even look twice at them. He was professional and had only one slip the entire ride in very soupy conditions. He seemed to be blowing as hard as the other horses in first field at the checks, but I would prefer if he were a bit fitter. It was unusually warm and humid though, so that might have been taking a toll.

Regardless, we officially joined the hunt and I can't wait until next Saturday.

Have Bend, Will Travers

Brego is a new man, er, horse after his chiro work. His left canter is much improved and he feels so bendy and relaxed. I've had two fantastic dressage rides on him since the chiro work on Monday and he just gets better and better.

Our big mental breakthrough was getting a couple steps of haunches in (travers). I had been attempting to teach Brego how to step in the direction of bend as opposed to shoulders in (where the horse is moving in the opposite direction of bend). He was not getting it at all. I tried working in hand, I tried getting the bend from a standstill and then pulling my outside leg back and asking him to move his haunches. I tried a bastardization of turn on the forehand. Admittedly, I am not an experience dressage rider, so I am sure my weight was all wonky, etc, but Brego usually manages to figure out the intent of an exercise despite my muddled clues.

Well I went back to my books and really thought about the exercise. I got a crazy idea on what to try next. So today I spent a lot of time working on shoulder in at the walk, until it was very light and the bend was true and not on my inside hand. Then I opened my outside rein and used a little indirect rein on the inside hand to move his shoulders back to the track while keeping the bend with my inside leg, then in the same motion, I dropped my outside leg behind the girth and asked him to step over with his haunches. And he did it!! I couldn't believe how easy it was for him to understand keeping the same bend but shifting his body so that he was suddenly moving in the direction of bend. In my mind, it is a very advanced thing, but it must be easy for him to understand.

I got two good steps in haunches in, then deliberately asked him to straighten. I am really focusing on not "petering out" my aids when he does something right and we stop the exercise. I need to train myself to have crisp transitions into and out of each movement. Strangely, Brego was much better on the left bend in this shoulder in to travers exercise than the right bend. His right bend is usually his strongest. I will need to ponder more on what that means, but I am just so jazzed that he got it! And I taught it to him by myself, just by understanding balance and the purpose of the exercise. I feel like I am really starting to learn dressage, not just practice the patterns.

On a somewhat related note, Brego's swelling on the right hind is completely and totally gone. Vanished. My friend in Texas surmised that it was lingering because of Brego's pelvis being tilted to the right and he was "overusing" that right hind. Now that he is straightened, the strain is off his leg. Sounds pretty interesting to me, but I can't help but wonder... It had been getting better but seemed to stabilize into a wind puff type swelling with no heat. Then the chiro work on Monday and *poof* it's all gone. I don't know, but I am happy to have Brego's clean legs back!

The saddle fit went well, both saddles were spruced up. Wow, what a difference! It was much easier for me to ride the canters and no uncomfortable girl parts!!

As for this weekend, I was supposed to have a schooling show, but I scratched the show so I can go hunting instead. I feel like I am playing hooky from school, but I just want to go run around and not worry about competition. Plus, if I go hunting, I can pay them my membership dues and be an official member of a hunt!

The house inspection went well so we are full steam ahead for me to buy a farmette at the end of October. I can't wait to have Brego at home. Once the deal is done, I will have updates with pictures, etc, as we explore our new world.

To Pad Or Not To Pad

Hi all, I just wanted to drop a quick post about my saddle pads since I received some very thoughtful and good suggestions in my last post when I mentioned my saddles no longer fit.

I am a big believer in getting a saddle to fit as closely as possible without padding, but pads are really useful to assuage a situation like a changing back between fittings. Here is the situation on my two saddles.

My jumping saddle was custom made for Brego, so it used to fit perfectly. I used a plain, quilted jumping pad under it with great success. Over time, however, I noticed that Brego was a prolific sweater and after a big workout, I could literally wring out the pad. The moisture was seeping into the underside panels of my saddle and molding the leather. My saddle was getting ruined, and I couldn't keep up with cleaning it after ever ride. So I ordered a Thinline pad which acts as a moisture barrier. It sits neatly under my saddle, with very little outline, and adds virtually no bulk. It has worked really well. Now, however, that the saddle is too big, I have started using my Mattes pad under the jumping saddle in lieu of the thinline to bring up the pommel. This has alleviated my "issues", made Brego more comfortable, and protected the saddle. Once the saddle fitter fixes the saddle, I am going to go back to the thinline and plain jumping pad.

As for my dressage saddle, it was purchased used. I had my saddler look at the tracings of the original horse and see how closely they matched Brego. They were very close so I bought the saddle. However, I always ride with my Mattes pad under my dressage because the saddle is a fraction too big. Now that Brego has lost the weight, even the Mattes pad cannot lift the pommel enough and I am still having "personal issues". So the saddle fitter will adjust the dressage saddle to work with the Mattes pad again. The Mattes pad does a fine job as a moisture barrier as well, so I have no need for the thinline and my dressage saddle stays nice and dry.

So that's the current set up. Everyone who recommended a lift pad were spot on, and it is working for one of my saddles. The other saddle will have to wait until it is properly fitted, hopefully in a couple of days. What a brilliant readership I have!!

Nashville, Tennessee

We spent two nights at the Cedars of Lebanon State Park outside of Nashville, TN. We had a 12 hour day from Texas to Tennessee, so we planned on staying an additional day at the park to allow the horses to rest before our push to Virginia.

Flowers in Tennessee

The break allowed for a nice trail ride through the state park on the day off. Brego was hard to handle on the ground in the morning, so I decided to longe him. He's the only horse I have ever met that comes off a long trailer ride with more energy than he started with. I think he naps in there.

The longe was pretty difficult. He was in full testing mode with me, after the long separation. He bucked, kicked, and halfway reared before I got reasonable walk to trot transitions without protesting and head tossing. I started him in side reins so I could use the outside rein to keep his shoulder from popping and keep some semblance of control. He was so naughty, I was glad I had that rein. After a few minutes I seemed to have won some mental battle because he immediately became more pliable and obedient. He was not tired, just lazy enough to stop fighting. The good ol' boys at the stable where we overnighted had a good time watching the show. I am sure I looked like some evil Dressage princess with my horse all rigged up in a surcingle and side reins. I would love to see one of those guys get on Brego when he is in that mood with a shank bit. I honestly think they could get Brego to flip over. All this work to get him off the forehand has succeeded. He is getting light in front.

Anyway, after the longe session, I took off the side reins and we did simple halt to walk transitions on a loose line around me. He did great and I made it easy for him to be a good boy and stretch his neck down and relax. After the tension of the previous few minutes, it nice to see him work on a loose line and listen. That's the boy I remember.

I finally got on and we went for a ride. The trail was very rocky and muddy with big slabs of stone littered across the trail. There was no packed dirt to be found, it was either boggy or rocks. Since Brego had already demolished his Boa Boots, I was trying his brand new #7 Ez Boots. They didn't appear to fit very well, but with the gaiters, they stayed on the whole ride, and I have to say that I really tested them. Brego was listening, but full of go and would not walk quietly behind Hobby. I was not looking to start piaffe training so I decided that we should just trot it out, even if the trail was a nightmare. So we started trotting and ended up going about 4 miles before he asked to slow down. As we worked, the trail would get challenging and at first Brego would suck back and really study the ground. After a couple of miles though, his confidence in his balance and in his new boots to offer traction grew and he started really cruising over this crazy ground. By the end, he was offering to canter a couple of times, but I didn't want to add any more speed to his brain.

After a good ride in the sun, we went back to the barn. His boots had stayed on and worked amazing well considering the conditions. The rocks were problematic and he also negotiated thick sucking mud. I am pretty impressed. I am going to pad the boots to see if I can get them to fit better and then call them a success!

Can't Argue with Destiny

I have been discussing ponying up the money for a dressage saddle for awhile. Well, ever since Brego started really rocking in dressage. I knew from my experience with his custom Borné eventing saddle, that it would be very difficult to find a used saddle that would fit him. I did assume, however, that it would be slightly easier to find a dressage saddle that would fit a large, broad-backed horse than a jumping saddle. For some reason, jumping saddles aren't usually made for drafts...

Anyway, I really love my jumping saddle. It is custom made for his back and my butt and I love its balance and gorgeous looks. Borné is known, if they are recognized at all, as a dressage saddle maker. If they could do so well on my jumping saddle, I knew I wanted a Borné dressage saddle as well. So I would flirt with the idea with my saddle-fitter/Borné rep. She said the model of Borné should would recommend would be a Levade. Oh, what a beautiful saddle, and so Baroque sounding! But the price is (fairly) high and I also needed a new laptop.

So I finally made the decision to go with the laptop and decided that Brego would have to make due with his one custom saddle (which cost twice as much as he did, by the way).

So along comes an ad on the internet for a used Borné saddle. A used Borné Levade saddle. A used Borné Levade saddle in a wide tree. A used Borné Levade saddle in a wide tree with a seat size perfect for my, er, bum. Could it be? A perfect storm designed to spend my money??

I talked to my saddler and the owner of Borné Saddlery herself tracked down the original owner of the saddle and compared the tracings done for her horse to Brego, which she conveniently had on file from my jumping saddle, and declared the saddle just might work! And, as if that wasn't enough customer service, she told me that if I bought it and it didn't work, she would purchase it from me for resale so I would not be at risk of losing my money!!

Did I mention I love Borné?

So I bought it. And tonight I rode in it. And it's a little like falling in love all over again. This saddle is even nicer than my jumping saddle, if that's possible. The leather is amazing, so soft and supple. And it was in mint condition, no scratches or rubs, even from the stirrup leathers.


I can't wait to get a lesson in it with my trainer, so I can learn to actually ride in the luxurious thing. It is really different than my jumping saddle, comfortable and stable, but without being constrictive. It's the first real dressage saddle I have ridden in, so there is quite a bit of a learning curve for my legs to grow long. But for now, Brego has two amazingly nice saddles, and I am the luckiest person around (for more than one reason!).

Bulging Out At The Seams

Brego is starting to mature into his hefty self at a ripe ol' age of 7. I don't have any papers on him to know his birthday, but I was lucky enough to get him accurately aged at 4.5 and have thankfully kept track as time goes on. I am not thrilled about him bulking up, because I will get to make some tough decision about his jumping career. On the other hand, though, I am glad Brego is growing into his genetic potential. I can throw an eventing saddle on him, but at the end of the day, he's a draft horse, and he should never look like a Thoroughbred.

So good for porky Brego.

However, his blankets have started to look like some pop diva, way past her youthful prime, at her unfortunate return to the stage. In other words, a little tight. No one wants to see that. And since his body clip is almost grown out, and it's a balmy 70 degrees here in Texas in December, he will get clipped again and will need to be blanketed on the off chance we get some winter weather here.

Last winter, I bought him an 84" WeatherBeeta Arion (now discontinued) in medium weight, an excellent blanket with lots of features I enjoy. This year, the blanket has started to look a little, er, tight across the chest. Also, since he is clipped, I wanted to get a plain turnout sheet as well, for milder days. And maybe a heavyweight. Oh, and I need a cooler because he is still an active sweater. You can see where this is going.

Turns out, it's really hard to find a blanket much bigger than 84" off the shelf in all the popular brands, and those that you do find are cut for some mammoth Thoroughbred who is long and skinny, not broad through the chest, barrel, and butt like my guy.

Enter, Schneider's "Big Fella" line of blankets. It still makes me giggle to type "Big Fella". They've got sizes that go up to "Elephant" and they are cut to be broad. I bought a turnout sheet for my "Big Fella" and it is backordered, so I couldn't check the fit. I then ordered a heavyweight and hoody in 84", and it came in yesterday (very fast shipping). It's really well built, has some nice features, and an excellent price point. I am happy to say, it was made to fit Brego. So, unless he grows more (please, don't grow more), I will not need to venture into scary 87"-90" land.

I also bought an 84" Rambo Newmarket cooler so Brego wouldn't feel left out from the Cool Event Horse clique. It's what all the hipsters are wearing this season. Unfortunately, Schneider's doesn't make a "Big Fella" (hee hee) fleece cooler. The Rambo fits adequately, but it's too snug in the chest (and non adjustable, duh!) for long term use due to rubbing. Since I have the heavyweight "Big Fella" though, I should not need to double its use as a liner and it's fine for just cooling him out. Somewhere along the way, I also bought an 84" non-"Big Fella" fleece cooler from Schneiders and that didn't come close to fitting Brego. It now dwarfs Hobby who looks like a little sister waiting to grow into her big girl clothes.

Someday soon, I will replace the WeatherBeeta medium weight with another "Big Fella". It's time to stop denying Brego needs to shop at the Big & Tall store. That's ok, there's just more of him to love.

Holy Butt Dapples, Batman

I finally got to see my boy during daylight hours today and he has exploded into a serious rash of dapples. Must be that new diet!

That is one greasy fat horse! :)

(I admit it. I have a thing for butt dapples.)

Those of you with a good attention to detail will notice the lovely spur rubs on Brego's sides. Yep, spurs are now banished until such time as I can control my leg. Even though I wore tiny nubbin spurs, there is no excuse for a rub, body clipped or not.

So sans spurs, I rode. Brego did exceedingly well without them. His "go" was maintained through a squeeze of the calf. Some of our lateral work required more leg, but I can fine tune that. In general, I am happy to be rid of the spurs, since they should never be used for forward anyway. Now I can focus on improving my leg without inadvertent rubs.



For having over a week off, Brego did awesome. Normally, even with a few days off, it's back to square one with asking him to listen, and move off my leg, and bend, etc. Today, he must have felt great, because it was like we never took a break at all. He was listening and moving off my leg and did reasonably well with bending. It was really great to be riding. Even the short time off made me really miss his big trot. I felt right at home once we started out across the arena.

Ah, and being the oh so clever person that I am, I found a 7" loose ring for $25 shipped to my door from drafttack.com. So now I get to check the sizing on a "throwaway" bit before shelling out for the Kangaroo bit in the UK. So between my 6" KK and my soon-to-be-delivered 7", I will know whether he will be more comfortable in a 6.5" or a 7".

Big Mouth

Well Brego's new 6" KK Ultra is too small. Some days, I just want to cry.

I was so excited to go out to ride, having been off for more than a week. Then I had to work late, then I got stuck in traffic for an hour, then I forgot his (new up-sized 58") girth, and then the bit was too small. It's so small, I can't even ask him to suck it up for me for a couple of days to check out how he responds to the copper alloy. The risk of his big lips getting pinched is too great. The boy must be growing or something. Good thing I am seeing the saddler again on Saturday.

*sigh*

So now I am going to shell out the big bucks and get a 6.5" or a 7" Kangaroo bit from the UK. Merry Christmas to me!

When people ask me the number one problem with eventing a draft, I have one answer: tack.

Biting Nightmare

Brego is not an easy horse to bit. In fact, most of his bits have come from the UK, an expensive proposition. My dressage trainer would like to see him in a loose ring, instead of his egg-but snaffle, so I am once again on the hunt for a new bit.

But it gets a bit more complicated. Brego has a low palate so he requires a double-jointed snaffle, or a French-link type snaffle. Additionally, he has in the past had a strong reaction to bits with copper inlays directly on his bars. His mouth swelled up and he had trouble chewing for 12 hours. I put in an emergency call to an equine dentist. Not a pretty sight.

So I need to a find a double-jointed loose ring snaffle, preferably with no/low copper, oh and it must be 6”. Yea, good luck. I am leaning towards attempting to get a Kangaroo brand or Herm Sprenger brand alloy, even though they do contain some copper, to see if he can tolerate a copper alloy. Hobby really loves her Sprenger loose ring, and I want to try it for Brego. As long as it’s not pure copper directly on his bars, he might be ok. He has gone in a French link, where the center link was pure copper, with no ill effects.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of anyone with a 6” that I can try, so I will probably end up buying one, having it shipped from England, and praying his head doesn’t swell up from the copper alloy. What else would I do over the Holiday Season?

If anyone knows of a bit “renter” with a loose ring, double jointed, 6” Sprenger or Kangaroo alloy bit, please let me know. I would love to “try before I buy”.

Prepped and Ready

I got the trailer ready this afternoon for my solo trip to foxhunting country this weekend. During our short ride, Brego was listening well, so that's a relief. I am pretty nervous to take him out with the hounds. His one behavioral issue is getting amped up by running horses and going nuts. Well, I'm about to see how much he can keep his brain together as the field runs around after the hounds.

I will leave for Brenham after work tomorrow and stay the night with friends. Then up early Saturday morning to make the meet, and hopefully get some longing in before it's time to go... just to reinstall his brain.

I also tried his brand-new breast plate I had custom made for him by my favorite local saddlery, Capstone Saddlery. Like all of his tack, I couldn't find anything that would fit the big boy. The new breast plate was made to match my Borné Saddle and it's so gorgeous. I will get pictures of it this weekend and include it with my hunting trip report.

Eventing Tack (to fit a Percheron)

One of the biggest challenges in eventing my Percheron gelding is, surprisingly, not dressage. It is finding eventing tack to fit a draft horse. I guess there's not much of a market for jumping saddles that come in extra-wide!

I played saddle roulette on Ebay a few too many times and ended up with a saddle that didn't really fit. It took three weeks for Brego to completely backslide and go hollow and convince my ex-saddle fitter that the saddle wouldn't work. I decided to stop gambling with my horse's back. After all, if I was going to subject him to the humiliation of learning to event, he better be darn comfortable doing it.

So I found a new amazing saddle fitter, who just happens to be a saddler herself. She also works with Borné Saddlery. It took just one ride in a Borné saddle to convince me, I just had to have one. And not just any one, I wanted the eventing model! So I had the saddler get the measurements and my new saddle was on order.

I had already been able to locate a hunting bridle which would be big enough for Brego. Bobby's warmblood size tends to fit smaller drafts. He needed thicker straps on his bridle because, you know, he's so manly. And he looks really nice in the bridle. I am riding him in a french link egg-butt snaffle and he is doing really well. Since he does both dressage and jumping in the snaffle, I have no need at this time to get another bridle to make bit swapping at shows easier. I do have both rubber and web reins, if I feel the need to switch it up.

I am having my saddler custom make a jumping breast plate for Brego. It will be made to match my fabulous new saddle. I am also having her make some leather brushing boots for me. I tried the Woof XL boots and they fit around his 10 inch cannon bones, but were too long for his 10 inch long legs. The N.E.W. Maximum Performance boots fit lengthwise but are just a touch too short around his legs. At his level, he doesn't need boots really. He's barefoot and hasn't stung himself yet. The jumps barely come up to his knees so he's not having to scrape over them. So the boots are a long off goal, unless he indicates that he needs them sooner.

Well today, my saddle came in and I am so thrilled with it. I had been riding in an Albion and it was a little too small and deep for me. It definitely hampered my freedom of expression, if you know what I mean. This new saddle is custom made for Brego and for me and it felt so good riding in it today. It's also very pretty with the white accent stitching on the dark buffalo hide flaps. I asked that the rear blocks be removable so that I could take them out to lengthen my leg for dressage. I am still a bit far off from being able to afford a dedicated dressage saddle, but I intend to buy another custom Borné. Doesn't my boy (and my butt) deserve the best?