Early Ride

The husband left this morning to fish at about 5 am and since I was already awake I figured I would take Blaze out for a little morning leg-stretcher ride, since we are supposed to ride at the lake with C (new riding buddy previously mentioned) and then again at the lake with C and her friend (I met finishing Cache Creek Ride) on Sunday. I hadn't ridden Blaze in a week because its been so crappy hot so I figured a few miles out and back this morning would be some good limbering up for him. I'm not often in the saddle before 6 am but it was actually quite nice, peaceful, sun wasn't blasting yet: over all pretty much worth it. I do enjoy getting up early and its the only way to operate when the heat of the day is impossible to be out in, but it also makes said long hot days..well, verryyy long. But still, totally worth it and enjoyed my jaunt out with Mr. B this morning. There was a new batch of goats with babies alongside the road and we had a VERY Arab moment when Blaze first saw them: Blaze goes from meandering along to neck arched, feet doing a jig, blowing/snorting through his nostrils, then frozen but quivering like he might jump sky high any second. It was particularly amusing because Blaze never behaves like this, and I do mean never. He can get strong at the start of a race but he is never spazzy, snorty, in the true stereotypical Arab style, so to see it, and ride it, was actually kind of funny. We moved along through it and wasn't a big deal but I won't forget that fluffy little baby goats are THE scary thing to level headed ole Blaze. We also encountered a herd of paints and Arabs that we hadn't seen before and a big thick paint (guessing it was a stallion) not only ran to the fence to see us but followed us down the entire fence line, bush hogging through rocks, trees, and over a stream, nickering all the time frantically like we just HAD to come join his herd.

Come join us!

The mares and (gorgeous) foal meanwhile were running circles around the big pasture wondering where their man went. Blaze was much more mellow about a big stallion trying to climb over the sad, sagging barbed wire fence to get us than the extremely terrifying baby goats gamboling around innocently...
We rode back in the driveway about 7:30 and Blaze got an extra Distance Plus mash for being a good boy and going out for a jaunt before breakfast (am I horrible horse owner for doing that? I figured it was an easy short ride and if I fed and waited for him to eat it would have been getting hot. I of course wouldn't skip his breakfast before any true conditioning or endurance ride). I put the woolly stirrup leather covers on my saddle this morning before we left and it was niiiiice. Lately I have felt like the leathers were rubbing a little on the front of my leg when riding, especially since I haven't been wearing half chaps, and that wooly wrap around the leather made it sooo much nicer. I don't think I could make my saddle any more cushy at this point since it now has the full fluffy seat cover, stirrup leathers covered, packs on the front and side, and cushioned, caged endurance stirrups. Pretty awesome set up!




Now if only the saddle itself was about 12 lbs lighter, it would be perfect! Seriously though, I really lucked out buying this saddle used from my good friend 3 yrs ago, I didn't even consider what the seat size was and just bought is from the pictures posted on her ad. It fits me perfectly, has a very deep seat, knee rolls, and fits every horse I've put it on, from tiny Arabs to bigger, fat Arabs to a huge tank of a Foxtrotter. SO if it weighs a little extra, I guess I just need to suck it up and start hitting the weights more, since the saddle itself really is fabulous. Its also lasted quite well, like I said I bought it used 3 yrs ago and I don't know how long the gal used it before me, a couple of years at least. I'm not the most reliable about soaping the leather but I did pretty well on this saddle before it was covered and the full saddle cover has been on it for a while now. All in all, a great purchase!
Looking forward to the lake rides this weekend, the weather is supposed to continue cooling into next week as well, hooray!