More saddle fitting woes....

The saddle fitting is not going well; each saddle seems worse than the last somehow, it is very depressing. After last week, I was pretty upset because it seems that I am not doing much actual riding, just sitting in these wretched contraptions that throw me off balance and upset my horse.

The Prestige Arezzo saddle, about to be tried......meh, is all I can say for this one.

Well, a couple of days ago, we tried another Prestige saddle, the Paris. Let me say that it was gorgeous, super fine havana leather with white stitching and a brass plate on the cantle. We saddled up and went into the indoor. About 3 or 4 friends were in there riding, making the arena very cheerful. It was quite cold and VERY windy, the metal indoor rumbling, shaking, creaking and groaning. yes, you can imagine this made me nervous!! The horses were quite nervous and Semi kept running off (again her run-off is like surfing the gentlest wave in the ocean but still....). I was hating the saddle, the pommel kept bashing me every time I posted. At the time, I felt very pressured to get one of these Prestige saddles because of all the work the shop was doing letting me use them and the owner is a friend of my friend Silvia's. She told me not too worry about it though, so I won't : )

Just look at poor Semi's ears and tenseness...god the guilt! I thought she was nervous from the wind but it was from a badly fitting saddle I was trying. This one is the Prestige Paris.

I finally became so nervous that I was afraid and wanted to get off Semi! I stayed on, but just walking, due to the patience and encouragement of Silvia, who is a saint, I swear! Silvia got on and quickly discovered it was the bloody SADDLE making Semi nervous! She said I was right, Semi was very skittery, but the reason was that she was trying to run away from the pain of this saddle!  So we cut the workout short and unsaddled the poor thing.

I was so depressed about this saddle business and the pathetic riding I have been doing. Silvia cheered me up as always though : )

Luckily, the next day, the test saddles I want to try were being used and I was able to ride Semi in one of Silvia's french saddles. This is a saddle that Semi already knows and in which she is comfortable. I felt so bad because when I went to saddle her she pinned her ears and even raised a back leg! Very unusual behavior for my sweet girl! Well, when she realized it was her old saddle she calmed down and we had a very nice ride together. She even gave me some beautiful bends around the turns, although I will say that she was going quite slowly. I couldn't make her speed up much and didn't want to pick up one of the crops lying about. Maybe I will do so next time though, she goes much better when I carry a crop. I will try no crop, then if she is too sluggish, I will pick one up and then in a while place it back again to see if she will continue to go at the better pace.

I offered to buy that saddle but it turns out that it fits several horses that Silvia rides so it seems not : (

Don't know what to do about getting a saddle that will fit us both....

William Frazer sporting tailor shop burns down

This is horrible news. I read about it on the Foxhunting Life website :
http://www.foxhuntinglife.com/news/1-latest-news/404-william-frazers-tailor-shop-destroyed-by-fire

Very luckily, noone was injured in the fire. Mikey Frazer and his wife Elsie, are some of the nicest, most amusing people and I am so sad to hear about this. This is the second generation of hunt and sport tailoring in the Frazer family, alot of priceless hunting memorabilia was lost along with all their cloth and made garments. Also, they lost all their contact numbers....so if you know them....give them a shout!

  

My husband with the finished tweed frock coat and getting fitted for a black melton hunt coat....both burnt.

 Me during the fitting for a gorgeous heavy navy melton hunt coat....burnt : (

Mr. Frazer and his wife, the lovely Elsie,  in one of the rooms that burned, with all their beautiful cloth. You can see the gorgeous attention to detail on the close-ups of the breeches he custom sews.


I called Mikey Frazer today to send along my condolences and he seemed remarkably level-headed about the whole thing.  The fire apparently started when they had stepped out for a brief walk. When they came back, the fire was going, Mr. Frazer tried to get in to put it out but couldn't. He said later he was glad because he might have been trapped and loads of black smoke came pouring out the door.

He is raring to get back to work. Everyone will have to go back to get re-measured! He said he had finished my hunt coat, only had the buttons left to put on!!! I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOO....
I have spent some memorable times, chatting there in his scattered shop in Hospital, Ireland. Well, I am really glad that they are okay and I am sure their many friends will help to help them through this.

so in love with Semi today!

had such a lovely ride with Semi today : ). She has been off for a couple of days after having a shot so I wasn't sure what to expect but she was an angel. She decided to get spooky by the door to the indoor arena and cantered off suddenly, but her spooks are so gentle its ridiculous! She canters off in the slowest of gentle canters, no sudden veers or insane speeds. I am so in love with her today!

Her winter coat has started coming out and big clumps of fur showered down as I brushed her this afternoon. She turns a lovely chestnut color in the summer!

❤❤❤She even let me brush her face and ears by lowering her head for me today ❤❤❤

I have tried several of the Prestige saddles: the Arezzo was blah, the Meredith had a weirdly painful right thigh roll. Silvia rode in it and had the same problem; we have sent it back and I am hoping they will just adjust it. I also rode in the Golden Star, which was hard as a rock, threw me forward in the saddle until I could barely maintain my position and Semi hated it. so weird. Tomorrow I think they bring some different models : )

Sementa in her turnout

Her stable mates are turned out in the areas immed adjacent to her....so they can all nuzzle over the fence if they choose....except for the ones that don't seem to like each other, they are put in non-adjacent areas.

Dreaming of Fox Hunting

Not because I have any desire to kill a fox but the riding seems amazing and watching the hounds work looks fascinating. I have been dreaming of going foxhunting for some time but never felt that my riding was up to snuff. Well, after a few of these frankly mental trail rides I've been on, I think I could make it, at least in the hill-toppers field.
They don't have mounted foxhunts here in SK but I could always go over to Ireland to check some out. Clonshire Equestrian, a very nice stables run by the lovely Sue Foley, has trips that allow one to cap on some hunts. Clonshire also has a great cross country training course of their own, so one could practice jumping before going out.

http://www.clonshire.com/about-clonshire-equestrian-centre

The Chronicle of the Horse Hunting forum currently has a thread going about a women's novice hunt weekend at an Inn called The Hunter's Rest.

http://www.huntersrest.net/

This looks like so much fun, and the people involved seem so fun-loving and mellow! I would love to go on one of these one day, but will have to wait til I spend more time in the States.

I think in Ireland it is even possible to follow hounds on foot as they hunt hare.

I know many people are against fox hunting, but unless they are vegetarians, or even vegans,  I really think they haven't ANY room to talk about animal cruelty, given the conditions in factory farms.

So, I spend alot of time reading foxhunting reports, books about foxhunting, foxhunting websites etc until the day I can finally be out there, listening to the horn, hearing the thrilling baying of the hounds and feeling the wind whistle by my ears as my horse flies along with the field!

If anyone has spent some time doing this I would love to hear about it!

Another Insane Trail Ride...hmmmmmm

beginning to wonder if the lovely Barbora, our trail leader, is, in fact, a menace! This last trail ride was organized by Slavo in honour of Roderika, who was set to fly to Florida for 3 months. Well, now she is in the hospital, although she is doing okay with no broken bones but she can't travel by air for 2 months. Serious concussion.

10 of us left Bukovec on a beautiful -1 C day. I was riding a different horse than planned so was a little nervous; I usually take Hory out but was on Suleika today. She has a habit of throwing her head incessantly that made me leery.

The ground was VERY hard and icy today. It looked normal but the horses were slipping and crunching through frozen mud layers in the first field. I've heard that sometimes people won't ride in this type of footing but apparently I am the only one : ) We even walked over an ice-sheet on a road by a parked car and a barking dog!

It was great to be out with friends and everyone was happy and chattering. We trotted for a while and then had a first canter through a brown and snow-patched field. Slavo had brought a special camera and was filming as he stood at the canter! Very agile!

We did out first gallop up a nearby hill.  WOW! Suleika was super fast! Then she frighted as we passed a hay rick and I learned how fast she she could go! (or so I thought : ) ) We screamed up the hill, clods of earth flying here and there and round to the left into the woods.

We had a lovely walk/trot through the woods, watching for animal tracks.

Then, chaos!

 Barbora and Paola exited the woods first and inexplicably started to run off before all the horses were out. You know where this is going. To hell in a handbasket lol.

All I knew at the time was, my horse took off suddenly at a very fast gallop before I was ready. I was still fiddling with my whip and the reins when she started running so I just grabbed mane and hit the ol' half seat.
Before us was a HUGE flat field heading very far into the distance. wow, it went by so fast lol.

 Suleika stretched out, got low and blistered the grasses as she tore like a demon heading for the front of the pack. I heard a scream behind me and tried to stop but NO BRAKES! The wind was whistling by and the ground a blur as she galloped, desperate to reach the horses who were well in front of us. Oh my god! I was terrified! I have never ever gone so fast! I just hoped she wouldn't trip and kill us both at that speed!

Then I see a riderless horse out of the corner of my eye and another thud as someone else fell. I was yelling to the girls ahead but of course they couldn't hear me. Suleika caught up just as a small rise turned into a steep downhill field. Yes, I tried the pulley rein but she just went sideways.

The other horses had at last stopped so Suleika suddenly realized she could too. sigh. 3 riderless horses galloped towards us, stirrups swinging. We saw a dark, immobile mound in the far distance, at the very beginning of the field. We jumped down to try to catch the loose horses, which was easy. Barbora tried to figure out whose horse was empty and where was everyone. She rode back to the dark mound while the rest of us stood around calming our very excited mounts. One girl was near tears and another was white as a sheet!

After a long while, we saw the dark mound move and sit, than stand up. Then 2 people began to walk slowly away, toward the nearsest Chalupa ( a small traditional country house) Barbi came back and told us that Roderika had fallen, apparently directly on her head! LUCKILY she was wearing a helmet, which had cracked and was broken. Slavo had heroically leapt from his horse when he saw from the corner of his eye that she fell. His horse ran off to join the others as he knelt by the injured Roderika. Her eyes were glassy and she just stared straight ahead without speaking. Ony when Barbi came and was yelling at her horse to stand still did she focus. She was vomiting and didn't know where she was. very very scary for Slavo.

So, Slavo walked Roderika to the chalupa so a car could take her to the hospital. We walked our horses, 2 people walking 2 horses each, also to the chalupa, where back up riders were called. The 3rd fallen rider was Martina, whose horse was cut off by one of the fleeing riderless horses and stopped suddenly, causing her to fall. She was fine, albeit a little dirty : ).

Here's a pic of Paola leading 2 horses taken by me with an iphone. Hard to manipulate one handed with the other hand full of jigging horse : ). That is the field we ran through so fast! I later realized it was because it was flat that Suleika could pick up that much speed. We usually gallop uphill.


The back up riders came and we all re-mounted, excitedly talking about the heroism of Slavo! The horses were very nervous and high-strung and I was terrified that we would end up on some more unplanned gallops home. It was still a long way back. Miraculously, Barbora decided that to walk the whole way back was best. So walk we did, whispering calming words to the horses. I practiced the deeeep seat and slow breathing I have learned on some other blogs to great effect!

It got very cold on the way home because we were only walking but I was thanking my lucky stars when the barn came into sight!

phew!

We visited Roderika in the hospital yesterday and she is fine-ish. Just a bad concussion. She had a brain scan and was staying for a couple of days for observation. She was still dizzy a day later. poor thing and had to cancel her trip to America. Thankfully she was wearing a helmet as not all people do at this barn!

As to Suleika's head tossing: I asked at the barn and they said she does it habitually, as did her mother. I am not totally convinced because I haven't seen her do it when not bridled and will try out the Dr. Cook's bitless when it arrives just to see if it helps. I am too afraid to check for sharp teeth but will ask someone else to do so when I am there next. The bit clearly has no stopping power for her so bitless can't hurt anyway LOL!!

photos from the Trail ride to Branc

Here are some pics from the trail ride to Branc Castle from last sunday. This gives a good idea of the landscape anyway. The link takes you to the description...sadly no pics of the mud beasts we turned into after the final gallop home : )

http://americanhorseloverinslovakia.blogspot.com/2011/02/trail-ride-to-branc-castle.html

 Me on Bojti. She was sweet and fast!

 Martina and me, she on Bollia.

 Barbora and me, she's on Barbi. She has the cutest pink saddle pad and pink bling browband for her. so cute! We had a great view over the castle walls you can see in the background. a little scary actually as its straight down and I wouldn't want to be thrown over them by a nervous horse lol.

That's Branc (pronounced 'Brahnch' Castle ruins in the background on the top of the left hill.....we felt like we were in a fairytale : )

Saddle Fitting

The saddle fitters from Prestige Saddles came out to the barn last night; they brought 6 different saddles! They were lined up on a low jumping pole, looking tantalizingly delicious!

(sorry about the dark pics but its very dark in the indoor, with lots of shadows and everyone seemed a little irritated with my pic taking so I was trying to rush : ))


I learned that the Michael Robert saddle is a brand version of their Golden Star (? I think, will have to ask again) and the Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum is a named version (with very slight differences) of the Paris model. This was good news, as I don't even follow show riders and so could not care less about named saddles. The non-name saddle versions were less expensive.
They left me 3 saddles to try: the Arezzo, which has HUGE blocks and is said to be preferred by novice riders, the Golden Star and the Archimede their cheapest (snort) saddle. Of course, they were very much trying to up-sell me, which I frankly hate, but what can you do. It was really good of them to explain about the name and non-name saddles.

He had a special tool which he used to take measurements of Semi's back and he made a template on some drawing paper.

He was very knowledgeable about fitting and gave us lots of pointers. They also do re-fitting if your horse changes muscle shape dramatically. he said many sport horses change their saddle fit twice a year, depending on their workload. They can do the re-fit in 48 hours and it is less than 100 euros.

I was advised strongly, by them and by another rider friend, to absolutely take the double calf leather as it has miraculous non-sliding properties and will keep you in the saddle but good. I will check it out as the saddles they left have a selection of different leathers....

These saddles are very Italian in that there is alot of 'style' to them with fancy white stitching, italian flag coloured leather keepers etc. I am more into plainness so I will see if I can get unadorned versions. I was laughing at the Michael Roberts as it was so very masculine looking. Somehow they have made sections of the leather look (to me anyway) like carbon fiber! A known man-pleaser! The saddle looked like a little black porsche! It was very smart but def not for me.

Hopefully my bank account has not caught wind of this as it will roll up tighter than a hedgehog when it hears about these prices : (

new bit: "no, thanks" Semi says.

I put the new bit in the new bridle I got for Sementa on Monday but she doesn't seem to like it. Its a jointed snaffle with the twirly lozenge (too technical? lol)  in the middle. She spent the whole ride fussing about with her head and even my trainer, Silvia, said that she felt Semi didn't like it. Thinking that perhaps there were just too many changes at once, we tried it again Tuesday, just to be sure. Semi went much quieter in the bit but she was much heavier in the hand. Prior to this, she'd been wearing a borrowed Mexican style (cross-over the nose) bridle with a plain snaffle. I barely used my hands at all and communicated, albeit weakly : ), through my seat and legs. Tuesday, I actually had to pull on the reins several times and she wasn't bending.

This not bending has me a bit worried. I am concerned that my lack of skill is ruining her prior training. She used to bend so prettily into the turns and Tuesday she instead was very slab-like in the turns, like riding a motorcycle. no bend at all.

Silvia hopped on (she rides her also, to keep her tuned and trained) and said the same thing so I don't know...

I will put her back in the mexican bridle and old bit to see if that makes the difference. I have ordered a Dr. Cook's bitless bridle but it hasn't arrived yet; I am really looking forward to trying that out.

Great movies to satisfy your horsey needs!

Yesterday's post had me thinking of the movies I CAN watch to satisfy my horsey needs without being afraid some poor horse will be suffering as part of the plot line. These mainly amount to ....drum roll......MEDIEVAL MOVIES! A genre dear to my heart; 2 years ago I studied Medieval History in Dublin and so I am a serious medieval nerd... I even do some medieval consulting work here in Slovakia, for your rare medieval research emergency lol!
Anyway, here are a few I've seen recently:

-Lord of the Rings: great scene near the beginning where Frodo is hiding and the black horses come walking by snorting and steaming in the night forest. awesome awesome scene! Lots of horseback chases! intense movie.

-LadyHawke: actors are on horseback for much of the movie. chases, runs through the forest etc. Also? Falcons! if anyone is into Falconry. silly movie.

-Sleepy Hollow (with Johnny Depp): another movie with great horse chases, supernatural black horses with the added benefit of haunted forests and crazy trees! scary (but not too scary) movie.

-The Brothers Grimm: speaking of crazy trees, this movie has an enchanted forest where the trees move around confusing travelers. so cool. plenty of horse action here also. silly movie.

That's all I can think off at the mo. Obviously, almost any medieval movie will have lots of horsey action, these are just the ones I've seen in the last year or so. If anyone has any recs, please, please share them....I think I will make a separate category for movie/tv/book recs.

The Polo Kid and which horse-themed shows do you watch?

http://www.thepolokid.com/

This movie looks amazing! has anyone seen it? It also seems to be the extremely rare horse movie that doesn't feature some horrific scene of horse abuse or some heart-rending horse death. I can't watch/read  hardly ANY horse-related movies/books/even cartoons (sigh) due to over intensity. Why can't these filmmakers calm down.....always going for the cheap, easy puppeteering. I guess drama is necessary but still...

I like the Saddle Club ok. except, of course, that its about 12 year old girls and I am 40. I like Horseland (cartoon) but I swear its sometimes so intense I can barely watch it. sad, I know....but there it is. The one where the horse falls down the cliff? OMG!! Def avoid if you have the LEAST sign of PMS lol, or you will get teary-eyed over this blasted cartoon.

Prestige Saddles?

Am now in the market for a new saddle and wanted to get something that will last forever. It is hard here in Slovakia to find a saddle fitter, in fact, the only company who does this here (that I found) is Prestige Saddles. I had not heard of these before and was pretty leery. I read alot of reviews online with most raving but 2 bad reviews. The bad reviews were worrisome as they concerned the longevity of these saddles; they said that they do not last well, the leather degrades and ends up looking like a cheap saddle. But everywhere else I have read only good, almost delirious, reviews as to comfort, position etc.

So I was cruising the web looking for saddles when I realized that I was being silly. The Prestige (hate the name!) saddle will be fit specifically to my horse AND to me! This is not something that I can get by buying an off the rack Stubben for example, and the price is about the same (more or less).

So I am going for it! The saddle fitter comes to the stables tomorrow with an array of test saddles and he will fit Sementa and then leave several saddles so I can ride in them at length.

Has anyone any experience with these saddles? My trainer is a high showjumper so will be focused more on that style but I am not planning to do high jumps, and, in fact, hate showing. I really like to train and to ride in nature. I also love jumping, but not super high. There are so many models of Prestige saddles that I want to get what will work for me. So if anyone has advice, please share it!!

http://prestigeitaly.net/elenco.php?cat=1

Sheepskin Numnahs

They are a miracle! I picked up a Christ Horsedream half-lined general purpose saddle pad today at Equito in Bratislava. It was 114 euro. I have read all the reviews of sheepskin pads on the Hunters forums (COTH and Horse and Hound) and had read about the benefits. But no-one can prepare you for the shock of pulling a saddle and numnah from a sweaty horse and seeing......nothing. not dampness, just cool, perfectly dry, hair. not even hot. not even warm. We were AMAZED. Natural materials, as I always say, are best.

I will say, however, that this bare channel on some pads is weird to me. It is obvious hat the bare spot will touch the horses back when the saddle is compressed with your weight. We tested it today and we couldn't get a finger in between Sementa's back and the saddle. I got the numnah without the so-called  "spine relief" channel. It is said to promote air flow and to keep weight off the spine so I was very tempted. But it seemed obvious that the bare spot, and three brands I saw had seams running along that channel, where a length of twill imprinted with the company name was sewn, would grind along the horse's spine during riding. I had wanted a LeMieux numnah, after reading forums, but the Christ brand was the only one I found without this bare spot. Mattes had it also. Does anyone else have expereince with these channels?

Trail ride to Branc Castle!

What a gorgeous ride today! It was much warmer, about 6 C, as opposed to -7 like last Sunday. All of the snow has melted, making the fields and paths absolute muddy messes. Didn't stop us from riding out today though! It was only 3 of us, Martina, Barbora and me. These are 2 very lovely Slovak girls; I am so jealous of them because they ride without helmets and their beautiful hair flows behind them as they ride. sigh. I am too paranoid not to wear a helmet and my hair is short anyway lol.

I was riding Bojti, instead of the usual Hory today so was a little nervous about that as well as the footing. It was VERY slippery in places but our sure-footed mounts kept us off the ground today : )
We had some lovely gallops across the fields, a short road hack where we almost were unable to pass a HUGE all -white barking dog behind a fence. The dog even started jumping up so high by the gate that it looked like it was levitating! very cute dog though.

Falcons cruised the fields as we galloped uphill towards the castle. Branc is in ruins but has a good surrounding wall and some very moody towers and partial rooms left. Here's a link with a cool satellite map and some pics and history. If you scan out the map, look for Bukovec, which is where we started, its a little south-east of the castle. It was a little over a 2 hour round trip.
http://en.tixik.com/branc-castle-2355195.htm

The forest was so lovely in the late afternoon light. We saw lots of deer tracks and boar wallows along the way. Birds were trilling high in the bare trees as our horses navigated the slippery slushy paths.

We took a few pictures but I am waiting for them to be emailed. so: update soon!

We actually rode straight into the ruins, which perch high above the surrounding village, forest and fields, on its own rocky rise. We could see for miles across the countryside over the crumbling rock walls and we felt very medieval on entering the courtyards on horseback.

I worked on sitting the canter/gallop instead of my usual half seat. It worked pretty well on the way there but on the return I was tired and my position fell apart somewhat.ALos worked on keeping my hands quiet and maintaining contact.

Barbora asked when we were in sight of the farm if we would like a last trot/gallop. By this she means flat out gallop, I was fooled at first but no longer haha! Well, she took off and Martina and I followed. I heard screams from behind me and was about to look when the first of several onslaughts of flying mud hit me in the face! The field was half snow and half very wet mud which was flinging like missles of filth off the hooves of Barbora's and my horses! So hilarious! We were totally covered in muck when we finally slowed. Barbora said " I DID ask first" with a suspicious looking smile. A smile on a clean mud-free face. hmmmmm. The twinkle in her eyes made us laugh but she hasn't admitted that she did it on purpose hahahahaha! what a glorious day!

So far away....

Well, got up at 7:30 so I could meet my trainer at the barn in Dolany at 10. She was leaving for a horseshow at 11 so I wanted to be on time.....its an hours drive over the mountain to get there, a very pretty drive, through some forests and nice villages. Sadly, she called me when I was halfway there and said she had to leave at 10:30 so I just turned around. No ride on Sweet Sementa today : (.

I rode on Thursday evening and Semi is such a dream. I am a nervous rider, not very strong, nor skilled. But she is so well trained! She even did some beautiful leg yields....
It is hard for me as the indoor is pretty crowded and I am so nervous, I don't know Sementa yet and I am terrified she will run away with me in the jammed arena, chock full of high jumps, concrete walls with eye-gouging apparati on the ledges and fussy stallions. I still don't have my own tack so have to borrow and am too nervous to ride alone. When I can do that, all will be well, as I will go when the indoor is empty. Of course, then I will probs ruin my perfect horse with my shoddy technique......one day. One day I will get there.

Sementa's stylin' new halter and blanket : )

She looks great, I look like an escapee from the Charles Dickens Orphange but whatevs....

New Horse, New Equipment!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE going to the tack store and buying stuff. Usually, I have no business buying anything and just wander to and fro, maybe getting a bag of treats here and a cheap pair of gloves there. so unsatisfying. But with a new horse, well! You know I did some damage yesterday at Kramer Pfedersport, a "Mega-store" just outside Vienna, Austria.

http://www.kraemer-pferdesport.de/Winter-Sale.htm?websale7=kraemer-pferdesport&ci=254111&ref=11_01_wsv/head&;ws_tp1=nl

I've been fairly intensive in searching for the best type of each item online. For instance, I am dying for a LeMieux GP half-lined merino wool numnah, having read lots of good reviews from fox hunting forums. Finding it a bit hard to actually get my hands on one....lots of UK shippers don't ship here and neither Dover nor Equestrian Collections carries them : (

http://www.derbyhouse.co.uk/Equestrian/Horse/Saddlery/Numnahs/Lemieux+GPJumping+Half+Lined+Numnah_450-0362.htm. This site wants 18 POUNDS for shipping! puh-lease.

Got a sweet set of Pessoa shipping boots that look like good quality,

the problem with Kramer tack is that much of their merchandise tends toward the more affordable, lower-end of the spectrum with quality to match. There is a much nicer tack store in Bratislava, Equito, but there was a big sale on a Kramer so there you go.....

http://www.equito.sk/

I ended up with a pretty cute blue argyle exercise sheet, a sheepskin padded halter,

jumping boots, shipping boots, tack box and brushes,

5 bags of treats  : ), and a bit for around 200 euros....not too bad. Still need bridle, saddle, stirrups, leathers etc. I ordered the Dover comfort sheepskin girth, which btw, is on close-out for $99!!
http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=LD-021231

I am looking into those pivoting stirrups a la http://www.doversaddlery.com/herm-sprenger-original-system-4-f-stirrup-irons/p/X1-0747/cn/97/  I am not sure though as I can't see galloping up hill standing in these with much security. Maybe I'm wrong? I've heard great things though about relief from knee and back pain with this type of stirrup. Does anyone have experience with these out of the ring?

There is a cool saddle service at Equito, where for 2 months, for free, you can try different saddles and then once you pick they come out and fit it to your horse! They only offer this with Prestige Saddles, a brand with which I am not familiar. I have read some good reviews online though...so again, does anyone have any info on Prestige brand saddles? They have a composite tree which they mold to the shape of your horse....

Wild Winter Trail Ride

WOW! went on a very wild trail ride on Sunday! It was around -7 C. and everything covered in snow and ice, Beautiful!! We rode through the snow covered fields into the white forests....the tree trunks were black against all the snow, while the branches were totally white.
Starting out at the barn, the horses were antsy and I couldn't get Hory to stand still while I adjusted the stirrups. Of course, the leather was so cold and stiff and the holes had been punched so little pieces of leather were clogged in there...sigh...Hory helped by weaving fitfully and trying to break into the roped off mare's paddock.
The group started off and I quickly realized that my stirrups, though on the last hole, were WAY too long and I would be unable to ride properly. I tried to ignore it, being a little nervous about holding up the group but when we picked up the trot, it became obvious that it wasn't happening! Hory was trotting with BIG, bouncy steps to get through all the snow and the saddle was smacking me in the seat as I stood on tiptoes on the stirrups. nope.
Barbara, the leader, helpfully got off Fabia and came to roll the leathers around the stirrups while holding Fabia. Hory still wouldn't stay still, I couldn't control her, and she bashed into another mare who kicked out, hitting Barbora! Barbora, an extreme trooper and horse expert, shrugged it off.

Finally, we were off, across the first fields, a road crossing and then down into a small valley and into the woods! I love the woods at any time but in winter they are so beautiful! Deer ran past and we heard falcons crying above us.
We crossed an icy stream and a very dodgy looking small bridge. I think it may have even been a packing case thrown over the stream, I saw actual HOLES in it after I passed and was so glad Hory hadn't caught her leg in any! Europe! so different than the United States! hahaha!
Barbora's horse, Fabia, was very uncontrollable fro the get go....she'd barely walk and kept breaking into a canter and shying at everything. She had to have a lead over water several times. When we were exiting the forest, Fabia leaped up, all fours in the air and unleashed an unholy buck!! Barbora fell around her neck, clung on, and ended up sitting in front of the saddle! She calmly popped herself back in and we continued. We were all laughing in disbelief, knowing we would all have ended up eating snow on that one!
We had such FAST gallops up the hills and several unplanned runs through the forest itself, through narrow paths, surrounded by trees and high banks....as Barbora put it when we at last got back to the barn..." I'M ALIVE!"