Tuesday, July 6, 2010

It's spontaneous combustion hot out there

My poor quarters are sweating their butts off. This might be the week when they finally learn to enjoy the hose.

Here's a picture I promised. This is the new western blanket on Gwen's back. Is it too big? I'm afraid that in my ignorance of western tack I didn't order her the right size. It looks enormous on her. (Yes she's all wet, I had hosed her off a little earlier.) I do love the color on her though.

Here's a bit of good news on the riding front: I can post again! But here's some bad news: Yesterday Coriander felt lame while he was trotting :(

I checked his feet and noticed that he *might* have a sore spot in his right fore. I'm going to check his feet again tonight and lunge him to see how he looks. I'm hoping it was just the footing in the ring. It's been so dry that the sand has gotten really soft and deep. I've been having a hard time walking in there with my ankle so I can completely understand if that's what is making him off. Fingers crossed...
Ramblings courtesy of at

5 comments:

  1. WolfieJuly 6, 2010 at 1:59 PM

    I felt the same way when I started riding Western. I think it fits her - it's not too big. What I have been taught is that the bottom of your saddle should rest around the top of the leather strip on the sides. The leather strips are where the fenders meet the bottom of the saddle. The length of the blanket should stop at the beginning of the croup. The blankets seem huge when you are used to riding English, but it has to cover a larger area because the Western saddle is so much bigger. Hope this helps!

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  2. WolfieJuly 6, 2010 at 2:01 PM

    Sorry - I meant to comment on Coriander also! I really hope that it is nothing serious. My fingers and toes are crossed!

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  3. smazourekJuly 7, 2010 at 11:23 AM

    That's a good point Wolfie, thanks for your insight! I'll have to see how it looks with a saddle on top of it to make the final decision. I'll get a picture of that when the temperature comes down a little.

    Speaking of that, it was too darn hot yesterday to lunge my boy and see if he was still off. That'll have to wait for lower temps too. The heat is supposed to break Friday, fingers crossed!

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  4. Rising RainbowJuly 7, 2010 at 2:47 PM

    I agree, you definitely need to see where you saddle fits. Depending on the size of the skirt it will make a difference. I've always been told 1" in front of the sadde and 2" in the back for length of the pad.

    Hope there's nothing serious going on with Corinader.

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  5. smazourekJuly 7, 2010 at 3:25 PM

    Thanks RR, it's little details like that I need to know.

    I'm pretty sure my boy is fine, hopefully it's just a stone bruise and he'll get over it pretty quickly. Otherwise I have to wait until my ex-farrier stepfather gets back in town next week to assess him for me.

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