Winter Musings and Saddle Flashback

The day was sunny and clear on Monday, but the temperatures were below freezing for all but a few hours in the middle of the day.  I was off of work and itching to ride, but when I saw how much Harley was enjoying his day off, I decided just to let him chill and relax.  Besides, the ground is hard and not conducive to dressage work in the arena.  We could go for a walk in the woods, but the temperatures did not make it all that inviting.  Removing Harley's blanket and robbing him of his warm little pocket of air did not seem like a very considerate thing to do, so instead I just cleaned his feet, took some pictures, and gave him some love.  As far as I could tell, he was more than pleased with this arrangement.

Harley is considering working part-time as a blanket model.

I am happy to report that his new blanket is holding up very well.  He is wearing the Landa Freestyle Turnout by Weatherbeeta.  This past weekend was the first time that it was cold enough for him to wear the blanket during the day (instead of just at night).  I was so pleased by how content and happy he was, even when the wind was blowing and the temperatures were in the twenties.  If I place my hand under his blanket, there is a nice layer of warm air trapped between his fur and the blanket.  His blanket is not heavy, but seems to be doing a good job of working with his winter coat, which is thick and fluffy.  I removed the leg straps when I first bought the blanket, because they looked like they would cause an uncomfortable wedgie.  The blanket stays put without them and does not hinder his movement.  I can tell that he lays down in the blanket, but, so far, the pine needles, sand, and dirt come off easily with a little brushing.

I do not like winter, but I will combat the cold to ride if the ground still has some give.  Here we are in January 2009:

Harley always looks cute...

...but I am cringing, because these pictures were taken in our old saddle.  Notice the inverted neck and dropped back.

Meanwhile, I am either tipped forward or thrown high to the sky when rising to the trot.  My stirrups are up a couple holes, because this helped me compensate for my tack.  When they were long, my leg would swing back while my upper body swung forward.  Not a fun way to ride.  I also noticed that Harley's lifted diagonal pair is not matched up in this shot.  The saddle was blocking his shoulders.

This post has accidentally become a saddle analysis!  Here you can see how I am jamming my foot and heel.  I am bracing to prevent myself from being tipped forward, which happened habitually in this tack.  I started doing a couple hundred crunches a night, but did not understand why I could not stay upright.  Little did I know, I was fighting the tack!

This picture actually makes me sad, because Harley is making such a good effort despite his uncomfortable saddle.  So am I!  By the end of 2009, I had sold this saddle and we were riding in the much loved Albion.  I will write a saddle journey post at some point.  The trouble is that it is not an experience that I want to relive in writing or otherwise any time soon!

Much happier picture.  I feel better now.

Despite the recent onset of actual winter-like temperatures, I am very grateful that there is not fluffy white-stuff on the ground.  Fluffy white-stuff is not my friend and makes life very frustrating.  So I will take the sunny, cold days with a smile and some hay for Harley.  Warm riding weather will be here before we know it.  I am sure that we will be able to squeeze in a few days before spring.

*Kiss*