My trainer highly recommened the Centaur dressage saddle built by Michael Stokes a master saddler that also lives conveniently close in Appomattox, VA. Of course in this horrendous economy, buying a brand new saddle wasn’t in my budget and the only way I could get my husband on board with this plan was to explain that I would buy used and sell my County.  That made the search a little more difficult because used Centaur saddles can be difficult to find no matter finding the right seat size, tree width, and flap length.  Luckily, I did find a saddle in Northern VA of all places!  She was going to allow me a 7 day trial so I figured what would I lose, but shipping costs.

The Centaur dressage saddle I purchased on Kerry, 17.5" seat, short flap

The saddle was sent to me and I have been riding in it for the last 6 months.  I LOVE this saddle!  Coming over from a County there were a few things I had to get used to.  The twist in the tree is more of a medium twist.  It was a little disorienting at first and even now I will say it takes me a few minutes to “settle” into the saddle, but once I am settled it is much more comfortable than the narrow twist of the County.  The Centaur saddle is flatter and has a more open seat than my competitor did.  At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it,  but then once I found my balance it was a very freeing feeling!  The saddle was no longer in my way.  It is as if the centaur tells me to “sit here” and then stays out of my way.  I also found that the short flap is great!  I am a shorter rider standing at 5’1″, but I have always ridden in a regular flap dressage saddle.  I felt in the short flap like I had much more communication and feel with my leg.  If you are a shorter rider like me, I highly recommend a short flap saddle! 

Another great thing with this saddle, was I was able to take Kerry and the saddle over to Michael’s to be fitted and readjusted.  He did a reflock of the saddle and a small head adjustment on the tree.  We did a refitting about a month later.  Michael and his wife are very helpful and good at fitting the horses.  They keep all of their saddle’s information on file.  Before I bought this saddle, I got the serial number from the seller, called Michael, and we were able to have a discussion over the phone if we thought this saddle would work for Kerry and I.  Here are a few of my comments about the Michael Stokes saddle.

- Medium twist tree takes a little getting used to coming from a narrow twist, but much more comfortable once adjusted.

- Flatter seat then the County saddles and well balanced.

- Saddles can be custom made by Michael or used saddles can be reflocked and refitted (I would love a brand new one sometime, they are gorgeous!)

- Most of all Kerry seems to like the saddle. I think her back is developing better with the Centaur.  The Centaur has a wide gullet and Michael explained to me the wider twist is better for weight distruibution onto the horse’s backs.

Something I  thought about today when I was preparing for this article, is the fact that I don’t think about my saddle anymore when I’m riding.  I think about improving my position and balance, but it never crosses my mind anymore that I can’t do something because I feel like my saddle is interfering.  Now I just hop on and ride.  Kerry is happy, I am happy, so we are sold on it!   I have Michael’s website listed below.  Sold my County on ebay .

Centaur Saddlery

 http://www.centaursaddlery.com/

I myself was able to squeeze in some riding during free time at the camp.  At other times, I was supervising youth or helping with activies.  During one of my free time rides, the main ring was set up with barrels from the barrel racing instructor.  For fun, I decided that Kerry and I should try out a barrel pattern.  After a little coaching from an adult leader, we rode the pattern at a trot and then at a canter/gallop.  Not only was it fun, but I had Kerry’s complete attention with her thoughts of  “whoa…what are we doing??”   It was different and fun.  I felt it was good to be reminded to step outside of our comfort zones sometimes and don’t be afraid to try something different.  If you are a ring rider, take a trail ride sometime.  If you only trail rider, maybe take a lesson in a ring sometime.  We need to keep things different for our own benefit and for our horse’s sanity!  Below is a video of Cowboy Dressage.  I thought this was a fun video that clearly showed a mix of riding disciplines and the beauty to that mix.  If you are having a hum-drum summer…mix it up!

I do quite a bit of reading and researching  just like any good horse owner and rider.  Beginning this fall, I started to contemplate the current saddle I was riding in and wondered if that was the best for us to be working in.  Currently I was riding in a County Competitor dressage saddle.  It is a very nice saddle, but as we are progressing to schooling Second level,  I was beginning to find the deep, secure seat was becoming a little too “secure.” In my quest to allow for more movement, I felt my saddle was becoming more foe then friend.   So I started reading and reading and reading….  I love discussion boards because I feel you can get a better idea of a products value due to “real people’s opinions.” I came across a saddle that I found very intriguing.  This saddle was labeled as a “soft tree” saddle.  The cantle of the saddle is the only rigid structure on the saddle. The rest of the saddle is made of a flexible foam that forms to the horse’s shape.    The Fhoneix “Vogue” dressage saddle had received very good reviews, http://www.fhoenix-saddles.com/vogue.php.  One thing that also interested me was the ability to use the saddle on more than one horse. After lots of reading and contemplating, I decided to give the saddle a trial.  The company will send you demo saddle and you get a week trial.  You have the option to buy the demo or return it to custom order a saddle.  These saddles are pretty popular in Europe.  There is only one distributor of the saddles in the U.S. and she lives in Washington State.  Since I live on the opposite side of the contential United States it took a full week to receive the saddle.

Fhoenix Vogue Dressage Saddle

When the saddle arrived, the first thing I noticed is the leather is really beautiful.  Very soft.  It is supposed to be made of Italian leather.  The saddle is a bit different looking than your average saddle, but not as different in person as I thought it would be.  The “tree” of the saddle is a dense type of foam that was more stable than I thought it would be, but you could tell it will give to fit the horse.  The stirrup bars are set further back, which is one of the reasons I wanted to try the saddle.  I felt like the County kept putting me in too much of a “chair seat.”  The saddle was sent with many fitting options. The panels of  the saddle are removable and can be changed.  The panels that come with the saddle are a dense foam.  You can also purchase wool panels which are supposed to be better for larger moving horses.  Since sitting the trot is difficult on my mare, I thought the wool panels may be good to try.  They also sell something called a “smart panel” which is made of cork fibers.  You can remove the panels and just attach the smart panel or you can put a thin smart panel under the regular panels for a more customized fit.  Are you confused yet?  Yeah I felt the same way.  I do like expanding my horizons occasionally so this was me…expanding. 

I was instructed to put the saddle on Kerry with just the wool panels for our first ride.  Then I can change to the other panels and try them out as well.  I tacked up Kerry and this is what I found.   When you originally put the saddle on it doesn’ t really look like it fits at all.  You have to sit in it to allow it to mold to the horse.   I was aware of its possible strange appearance at first, so I tightened my girth and hopped on.  The twist in the saddle is supposed to be narrow, but I think that is narrow compared to other treeless saddles.  For me, I found the twist very wide.  After about 10 minutes of walking the saddle does settle some and become more comfortable (a good time to tighten your girth too!).  The stirrups are set further back, which I was expecting, but I felt the stirrups were a little to far back for me and pitched my upper body forward.  With the extra wide feeling and the set back stirrups I felt like a fairly ineffective rider.  The biggest problem for me was that  I felt like there was too much in-between me and my horse.  I couldn’t feel her movement well and wasn’t able to sit well either.  I did a second try with the saddle using a different panel and had the same overall feeling.  Unfortunately this saddle wasn’ t for us.  Here is a summary of my findings:

Likes

• Leather is very soft and supple (a little concerned though if the leather could be “too soft” and wear quickly?)
• Saddle does closely resemble a normal saddle with a modern styling.
• The seat itself is very comfortable made with a memory foam padding.
• Like the idea of adjustable knee blocks to fit a variety of riders
• Nice to be able to use one saddle on a variety of horses

Dislikes

• Saddle still felt very wide even though it was supposed to have a “narrow twist”
• Felt like there was a lot inbetween me and my horse
• Set back stirrups are good, but they felt too far back for my balance
• The trial came with the decorative stitching which is a little to “modern” for my taste, but someone else might like it.  

Final thoughts:  I feel like it was still a good experience to try out this saddle. This company seems to be constantly making improvements on its saddles so who knows what future models will look like.  I think if you have a very difficult to fit horse that is having back trouble, I wouldn’t hesitate to try out the saddle.   It may work well for you and your horse.  The saddle may also work well on young horses  whose backs are constantly changing. I found the owner of the US distributor to be very kind and accomodating and had no issues receiving the saddle or returning the saddle, http://www.promisefarmandalusians.com/fhoenixhome.html .  

Anyone else ever try a treeless or “soft tree” saddle before? Please feel free to comment.  I would love to hear your experience too!

United State Equestrian Federation – Bulletin 1/27/11

Protective Headgear Rules for Dressage

 Effective March 1, 2011, the following rules apply to Dressage Competitions and Regular Competitions holding Dressage classes:

1. Riders under age 18 must wear protective headgear, as defined by DR120.5 and in compliance with GR801, at all times while mounted on the competition grounds. This includes non-competing riders as well as those competing at any level.
    
2. While on horses competing in national level tests (Fourth Level and below), riders must wear protective headgear as defined by DR120.5 and in compliance with GR801, at all times while mounted on the competition grounds. This includes non-competing riders on horses competing in national level tests.
    
3. While on horses competing in USEF or FEI Young Horse Tests, and FEI Junior Tests, riders must wear protective headgear as defined by DR120.5 and in compliance with GR801, at all times while mounted on the competition grounds.
    
4. All riders competing in Para-Equestrian tests must wear protective headgear at all times while mounted on the competition grounds. Riders who compete in PE tests must wear protective headgear on every horse they ride, no matter the level or test.
    
5. All riders of any age while on non-competing horses must wear protective headgear at all times while mounted on the competition grounds.
    
6. All riders under age 18 and all riders while on horses competing in national level tests, who choose to wear Armed Services or police uniform, must wear protective headgear as defined in DR120.5 and in compliance with GR801 at all times while mounted on the competition grounds. Riders age 18 and over who wear Armed Services or police uniform on horses that are competing onlyin FEI levels and tests at the Prix St. Georges level and above must wear either protective headgear or the appropriate military/police cap or hat for their branch of service.
    
7. When a horse is competing in both national and FEI levels or tests (e.g. Fourth Level and PSG), the rider must wear protective headgear at all times when mounted on that horse on the competition grounds and during all tests.
    
8. While on horses that are competing onlyin FEI levels and tests at the Prix St. Georges level and above (including FEI Young Rider Tests, the USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Test and the USEF Brentina Cup Test), riders age 18 and over are not required to wear protective headgear in warm up or during competition. However, these riders may wear protective headgear without penalty from the judge.
    
9. In FEI-recognized (CDI, CDI-Y, CDI-J, CDI-P, etc.) classes, FEI rules take precedence and protective headgear is permitted but not required.
    
10. All riders while on horses competing in national level classes such as Equitation, Materiale and DSHB Under Saddle are required to wear protective headgear at all times when mounted on the competition grounds.
     

Protective headgear is defined as a riding helmet which meets or exceeds ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)/SEI (Safety Equipment Institute) standards for equestrian use and carries the SEI tag. The headgear and harness must be secured and properly fitted. Any rider violating this rule at any time must immediately be prohibited from further riding until such headgear is properly in place.

Recommendation to competitions:
In order to distinguish riders who are required to wear protective headgear from those who aren’t, it is suggested that entry numbers in a different sequence be assigned to the entries in each group (e.g. use numbers from 1-700 for entries where riders must wear protective headgear and use numbers from 800 and above for entries where riders are not required to use protective headgear).

Short summary statement for use in prize lists:
Effective March 1, 2011, for dressage: Anyone mounted on a horse must wear protective headgear except those riders age 18 and over while on horses that are competing onlyin FEI levels and tests at the Prix St. Georges level and above (including FEI Young Rider Tests, the USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Test and the USEF Brentina Cup Test).

This was approved by the Board of Directors at the Annual USEF meeting.  The new rule will apply to dressage and eventing riders.  This rule is effective immediately. Listed below is a link to the article released by the USEF communications department.

http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/newsdisplay/viewPR.aspx?id=6569&star=true

I’m personally very pleased with this ruling.  Rider safety should come before what is considered “trendy.”  I wrote a little about this topic last year in the article , The “Dress” in Dressage.  I think unfortunately for many there is a stigma around safety helmets that they distinguish you as a “lower level”  rider or that your horse may be unruly.  I am a lower level rider and I wear a safety helmet so it doesn’t really bother me much. But if you are a professional, then most are wearing a hunt cap, bowler, or top hat.   Now the decision is easy… if you are at fourth level or lower put on your safety helmet!  The only riders that may where a top hat or bowler will be those competing in the FEI tests.  Of course no one will be penalized for wearing a safety helmet at any level.  I also think this will be good for our young riders by providing them with good role modeling.  Lets focus on making our safety helmets more “trendy” instead of sacrificing our safety for what looks good.   A big thumbs up from me to the USEF! 

Review this article on a riders quest to create the top-hat helmet

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_riding_training/english/dressage/top_hat_helmet_022210/

I found it sad that she felt she would “handicap” her horse by wearing a safety helmet.  Hopefully this new ruling will make safety an important part of the sport!

What do you think about the new ruling?

My big goal I wrote about last year under I Resolve…  was to become a “Do-er” and if I wanted to get something done to go and do it.  I did “do” many of the things that I hoped to get done this past year.  The problem that I ran into was that I got so busy concentrating on what I “wanted to do”  I took any and all emphasis away from what I already had.  

This year was probably one of the toughest I have faced in other aspects of my life.  The office I work in was listed for elimination earlier in the year (it was taken of the list later thank goodness) and currently the organization I work for is planned for restructuring.  A sense of anticipation and anxiety was the theme for this year’s emotional rollercoaster.  We  lost my husband’s beloved grandmother and the rest of my husband’s family has faced many great health concerns that have now changed how we view life.   Kerry had a serious injury that thank goodness she recovered from fairly quickly and I lost two of our little pygmy goats to something veterinarians couldn’t understand.  This has probably been one of the most difficult years I can ever remember having.  I think I have felt as close to depression as you can and didn’ t fully understand just how close I was until I was  hooked up to an EKG machine due to chest pain and heart palpitations and being prescribed anti-anxiety medication.  My understanding didn’t take place on that exact day, but a few days later, during  another complete emotional  melt-down… a realization finally came to me.  I didn’t even recognize who I was anymore.  I had let every outside factor in my life dictate how I felt on  the inside.  Many of these factors I had absolutely no control over.  Why was I beating myself up over something I had nothing to do with?   I looked at the piece of paper with the doctor’s  prescription and I started to see a challenge.  “I can do this without you,”  I replied to the words haunting me on the piece of paper.

I was frustrated that my life wasn’t moving forward. I’ve always been one of those fairly driven people always working towards something. I was frustrated I couldn’t do more improvements on the farm because money is so tight with no raise in four years.  I thought how dare the economy collapse when I am just really getting my life started.  I was so busy being frustrated at what I couldn’t do and couldn’t control that I was completely missing all of the wonderful things in my life I DID have. I DO have a great husband, a loving family, a job (at least for now), a cute little farm although it’s not fancy it’s functional, a great horse to work with and learn from,  good friends,  my health was good (if I would keep the self-inflicted stuff away).  Honestly, what else do I need? 

I’m writing these issues not for any sympathy, but because I realized in today’s time I am not the exception, I am the rule.  Everyone is having problems similar to me and trying to find a way to deal with them.  Things are really bad right now.  I think some people don’t realize how bad things are and there are plenty out there who DO know just how bad. Everyone is struggling as I am.  If you are reading this and having struggles of your own, realize your not alone!  There are many of us trying to figure out our lives when “change” seems to be a beast we cannot control.

However…finally… I have found some peace.  This year… I plan to focus more on what I have then what I don’t.  I want to live more in the moment and less in the future.  I want to work towards a goal, but also appreciate the ride I am having that day! As the problems come,  which they already have this year.  I will take them one at a time and make the best decisions I can to solve them.  If the decision proves not to be the best, I’m not going to beat myself up, but appreciate the opportunity to learn from the experience.  I will have melt downs and tough times, but each time I hope it is a little less and I am a little stronger afterward. 

My wishes for you in 2011.  I hope you can find your “peace”, appreciate the wonderful things in your life you DO have, and let  the bad stuff roll off your shoulders instead of weigh them down.  May we find fulfillment  on the inside and worry less about the things on the outside that we cannot control… 

My Christmas “gift”  made me remember why I have spent the last month smashing ice, battling wind, toting buckets, and kicking frozen poop.  Thank you Santa for the best christmas present a horse girl can get .  I have included a christmas poem for all of you Dressage-y folk.  I hope each of you has the opportunity to enjoy the season, family and friends, and remember how lucky we are for our furry companions.

Our mini horse Gus is feeling the Holiday Cheer! Or is that just the amount of carrots he consumed while shooting this adorableness.

A Dressage Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the farm,
Only one horse was stirring, the brown one in the barn,
The only one to hang a stocking from his feed dish that night,
Hoping that Santa would come, and fill it just right.

The other horses were settled quietly in their stalls,
While their dreams were of horse treats, candy canes and riding halls,
And the cat in the hay barn and the dog on his mat,
Had just snuggled in for a long winter’s nap.

When out in the dressage ring there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the arena I flew like a flash,
Pulling on my boots and jacket in my mad dash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-day to the dressage letters below.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But eight little elves riding eight tiny reindeer.

A small round man, dressed in red and white, looked just like Santa,
And called out to the reindeer, as an instructor might.
His shiny black boots reached up to his knees,
His pants looked like breeches and even had a full leather seat!

“Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen, come Comet and Cupid,
more forward Donner and Blitzen,
Keep the voltes round, elves ride those reindeer through,”
It was Christmas Eve reindeer dressage,
Under the moonlight in the snow so blue.

And then, in a twinkling I heard my horse come out,
He gave me a look as if to say, “What’s this all about?”
As I stood in the doorway and watched, my mouth agape,
Santa jumped on the horse and entered the gate.

He and the elves worked in teams,
four pairs of reindeer, evenly matched, working under the moonbeams.
Santa had paired with Rudolph, who was now leading the group,
He took them through maneuvers, making large loops.

Santa’s eyes twinkled, his breath came out fast,
As he rode round the arena he started teaching my horse half-pass!
His droll little mouth suddenly called out instructions,
“Half-halt, stay together, don’t forget to push them.”

He kept a pipe clenched tight in his teeth,
And as he rode the smoke circled his head like a wreath.
Although he was broad of face and had a round little belly,
He rode like Reiner Klimke, gloved hands quiet and steady.

Despite his chubby, plump body, the jolly old elf,
Sat the trot well, letting the horse move all by himself.
And I gasped as I watched while he continued to school,
First piaffe, then passage, one-tempis, way too cool.

Then Santa stopped riding, suddenly moving to his sleigh,
The brown went to the barn, and the reindeer began to play.
The elves disappeared, the ride was now done,
The reindeer took off pulling the sleigh, still full of run.

I ran to the barn, saw my horse was all wet,
This was no dream; he really was in a sweat.
The note on the saddle pad explained it all, “You wished for an FEI horse, now he’s all trained, have a ball,
Merry Christmas, peace be with you, and ride with good cheer,
Give the brown extra carrots, and have him ready next year!”

 - By Mary L. Brennan, DVM

Lukas is an off the track thoroughbred with a variety of behavior problems. Lukas’s owner, Karen Murdock,  decided to take a different approach to training and use play and games methos to train.  This technique worked well with Lukas’s personality and he has used his intelligence and drive to learn to earn him a name in the record books.  I have pasted below a you tube documentary video of  Lukas and his owner.  Karen also has a wonderful website that you should be sure to visit.  She has a lot of great videos of her time with Lukas.

www.playingwithlukas.com

Quite the horse. What do you think?

I love her, but she has that bit of devil that likes to show its ugly head every now and again.  I was reminded of this on Sunday of this week.  In Virginia, we are having a terrible cold spell.  We installed a water aerator into the water trough to try to keep the water moving so it wouldn’t freeze so badly.  We can’t get electricity out to our trough and this device is battery powered. I knew this new bubbler in the water could easily reach scary monster status amongst the horses.  So, I took it upon myself  to catch each horse one at a time and reassure them the water trough was friend instead of foe.  

Samantha and I in our younger years

My younger mare Kerry is delightful.  She is no problem catching and perfect trailer loader.   She can have a bit of a stubborn streak like most mares do, but dealing with her is like having a conversation with a willing partner.  You talk to her she talks back.  It is a two way conversation that usually has a positive out come because ultimately she agrees I’m usually right.  When working with Sam, however,  you are either on the same page or you are NOT!

I caught Kerry, talked her through the snorts at the evil babbling brook, and got her successfully to take several long drinks out of the trough.  As I turned to put the halter on Sam, she did what she has been doing to me for the past 14 years…she walked away.  Oh yes… this 5 minute training session turned into 40 minutes.  I have never, ever let her win the catching game in 14 years and I wasn’t about to start now.  I knew if I ever gave up on catching her I never would catch her again.  You don’t mess with those kinds of smarts,  that horse doesn’ t forget!   The catching process  involved quite a bit of shouting as she knew EXACTLY what she was doing.  Kerry kept trying to soothe me by following me around and suggesting it may be a better idea just to catch her again as Sam’s roommate she understands she can be very difficult.  Finally, I caught the old, stubborn horse, and getting her to drink was a battle filled with lots of half -hearted sighs. 

 When we were finished I took off  her halter gave her a pet, shook my head and laughed.  Even in her old age she still drives me crazy!  In my mind however,  for as many years as she took care of my hiney, I feel I owe to her to make sure at this time in her life I take care of hers .  

Feel free to share any stories about the old guys that touch or have touched your life   Gotta love em!

Boat "hotel" similar to the one described

My husband is the owner of a large boat.  Don’t think I am exaggerating when I say “large”.  We are talking a 25′ cabin cruiser that is big and hardy enough to be in the open ocean.  He purchased this boat several years before we met with the intentions of fixing the boat up to re-sell it.  The boat has sat “un-fixed” for several years and now with the purchase of our farm there is no time to add another project to the list. The past few years, we have been trying to sell this boat. On one of our reconnaissance missions to find possible leads for selling the boat, we went down to the marina at Smith Mountain Lake, VA.  At this marina, I was introduced to a whole new world.  There are large almost skyscraper buildings filled with rails.  I didn’t quite understand their purpose so I asked my husband.  What are those for? Oh, he said, those are for winterizing and storage.   I was amazed at this.  These boats weren’t your average fishing boat there were $100,000 yatchs and speed boats.  All different kinds of boats and hundreds of them.  It was like a boat hotel that all the boats go to in order to ”sleep” during the wintertime. and storing your boat.  See… they have these giant cranes that pick up the boats and fit them into the slots.

Some people winterize their boat, some their car, maybe an RV. I feel the five pounds I usually gain around the holidays is my own version of “winterizing.”  So what about our horses?  Are we supposed to winterize them?

This thought has crossed my mind recently in taking care of my own horses.  Last year in Virginia, we had a terrible winter.  It was the most snow we have had in a long time.  The winter was filled with draining and rolling up hoses, smashing ice, and trudging through knee deep snow.  One of the biggest problems I had was with my new mare.  She had front shoes on and I fought the snowballs.  I put cooking oil on her shoes to help, but I was still out there picking her feet several times a day.  This year, I decided to take a different approach and see if she could go barefoot.  Currently she is shod all around and I have decided her health and safety is more important than my ability to ride. Since horses are created to stand on hooves and not “balls” she is scheduled to get her shoes pulled this Saturday.  I have been doing quite a bit of reading on horses transitioning to barefoot which has been quite interesting.  I have learned that shoes hinder the expansion of the heels of the foot and over time the heels can contract when kept in shoes.  This can hinder the natural shock absorption abilities of the hoof.  Below I have listed some websites I have found discussing the barefoot transition.  Note: many of these sites promote the transition for horse’s to be barefoot year round.  I think that should be a discussion between you, your farrier, and your vet.

http://www.holistichorse.com/Hoof-Care/pulling-shoes-for-the-winter-know-the-benefits-and-risks.html

http://www.thoughtfulhorseman.com/BarefootHoofCare/barefoothoofcare_transition.htm

http://www.wiwfarm.com/PullingShoes.htm

Some other options are using snow pads or rim pads in correlation with the shoes.  My plan is to pull her shoes and see how she does.  If she does have trouble, I may put on front shoes with rim pads.  What I would like to know is what kinds of things you are doing with your horses during the winter?  Do you usually pull shoes, use rim pads, or any other winterizing procedures? I would love to hear if others are doing and having success with.  I will let you all know how the “winterizing” of my mare goes!