The Best Old Saddles

In one of my earlier posts I wrote about saddle shopping with my daughter. Her saddle didn’t fit Epona, mine did, and she was on a search for a good used one like mine, but lighter. 

She got sticker shock right off and held up on purchasing any of the saddles we saw. Then she remembered her childhood saddle, the one that fit Epona’s mama, Cowgirl, when she was young. 

The old saddle was gathering years of dust in the Cowgirl Cave. Abandoned. Forgotten. 

She pulled it out, tried it on Epona, and voila, Cinderella—a perfect fit. 

Not only did it fit Epona, but it is also light and is comfortable for my daughter to ride in. 

It is a “balanced ride” style saddle, so you secure it a little differently, but she’s used to that after so many years riding in it. 

I was worried that its latigo wasn’t thick enough and could be at risk for breaking, so she took it to our local saddle shop, Indiana Harness, and asked him to add D rings, new latigo, silver heart conchos (she is a Valentine’s baby after all) and a complete deep oil, clean, and inspect. 

It’s like a new saddle and the heart conchos match the heart stitching in the seat. 

The flower in the heart conchos also matches the florets stamped into the leather. 

Heart stitching in the seat. 

More florets. 

She is comfortable in the saddle and Epona is comfortable carrying it. It’s in great shape now and should last her many more years. Our saddle guy joked as I was leaving that his dad always said they should have made boots instead of saddles because they wear out more often. 

I know I love my old saddle, and after a little oil last month (and being refleeced last summer by the same saddle guy) it is good as new, too. 

Working Towards Neck Reining

I love Tumbleweed and I’m so thankful for opportunities to be with him. We had a lesson this morning, and he was so happy to be caught and load away. He was Mr. chill. No warm up necessary. 

That shows willingness and it also shows “try.” He has a lot of try. 

However, he can also get frustrated when I don’t get my part right. Today was almost all about ME. We were doing a continuation of the clinic, but breaking it down into much smaller parts—mostly, my body parts. 

While I did set the rein again, just to the inside eyelash, I also twisted my hip (to move his hind end) and my upper torso (to ask for front end). However, and this is the big difference, my hips and torso do not open up to the same degree. My hip is wider than my torso, which is only signaling an eyelash of a turn from the front end. The hip is much more open to signal more power from the hind. 

I had been twisting my whole body equally, and that was signaling Tweed to fall into a tight circle. 

Another issue: when I twisted, I moved my outside leg up. Regina caught that and told me to keep it long and strong. Big difference. Tweed stopped tripping. 

And last, when Tweed ambles, he moves my hips right and left. Regina wanted him to lengthen his stride and pay attention to my seat cues. She asked that when he pushed me left or right that I would then move my hips forward and back. Wow. It worked. 

I will say, we were a hot mess out there today, both of us trying to figure it out, but we finally did and called it good. It was humbling to see how much I have to retrain my own body. I have some serious work to do this week. 

Tweed, on the other hand, is practically becoming a reiner, if I can get my body to behave. 

The Clinic

We made it to the clinic in one piece, and I am so glad I chose morning because it was hot. I can’t even imagine what it was like in the afternoon. I wore one my long sleeve Orvis shirts that has sun protection, and gave my daughter one, too. That was a big help. They also had plenty of water available for us. The horses didn’t seem to mind the sun until about the 3 hour point, at which time they seemed to start demanding overtime pay and shutdown. Considering Tweed is usually good for 1 1/2 to 2 hours of work, he did pretty well.

As in all clinics, there is a lot of standing, watching, and listening. I trained for that scenario last week with Tweed, who has a hard time just standing, especially around horses he doesn’t know and his herd mate coming and going. In that photo above you can see T’s shadow, and there were a few times he became very interested it, especially when it moved when he did.  Funny boy.

Here’s a video where you can see T listening to the clinician and then looking at Epona, as if Tweed himself is absorbing the lesson.

So, what was the lesson? Well, it was a very simple little thing called circles or circling your horse. Our clinicians are not fans of the one rein stop, except in emergencies, but they do train the circle for bringing a horse into sync with the rider, especially when the horse is scared. They believe that you should regularly train your horse in this method so that when the emergency does arise, it is there for you, and your horse knows it well, and takes comfort from it.

This method of circling was a lot different than what we usually do in vertical flexion, but when things fell apart, I did go back to vertical flexion since Tweed knows it so well.

Here are some of the ground rules of this exercise:

1. Your legs are only for direction, not gait changes or speed. (The seat is for speed or gait changes) The reason why is because they don’t want their horses to speed up when they apply leg pressure to direct their path around the circle.

2. Your reins are to be as quiet as possible once you set the position. Outside rein loose, inside rein set to where you can only see eyelashes, then held steady at your belt loops.

3. If your horse drifts in, you apply inside leg and don’t release until they move their body back out on the circle. If they drift out, you use your outside leg the same way. If they get into the trot, keep the leg on until they come back to the walk. The leg release only comes from giving the right answer, and the answer is to be on the 20’-30’ circle.

I did a similar exercise with Leah from the ground a long time ago. We clipped one rein to the saddle for a slightly bent head, then lunged her at walk, trot and lope. This was the exact same concept, but you’re doing it in saddle and letting your horse find lateral flexion by holding the inside rein in one constant place. Unlike some other similar exercises I’ve seen, the outside rein was loose, and not used to support the horse. Your legs are the only structural support. The reason why is because they want the rein quiet. It’s there, but it’s consistent and not bugging on them. That leaves them to find it naturally.

You can see how this exercise is setting you up for neck reining. 

So, does this exercise sound easy? Indeed, it does. Is it actually easy? Indeed, it is not.

Every horse gave different answers as they searched for the right answer. Every rider gave different cues as they searched for the right cue. We were all dependent on using our reins for guidance and our legs for speed, and old habits are hard to break.

Within this “simple” exercise many other issues came up with rider and horse. For example, I found out Tweed has a more difficult time going to the right. No surprise since almost all horses have the same issue, but this exercise will be good at strengthening his weak side. Two of the riders were there to fix lead issues—to the right—when asking for the lope off, and this is all foundational to that. 

We learned some interesting techniques on asking for canter / lope, using an imaginary clock and aiming for 10:00 Left or 2:00 right, and shifting your legs and body to open up the hips.

The time flew by, and our horses did great, especially Epona, who has been working on circles every day for the last two months. She definitely had the advantage! They kept saying what a great horse she was and wanted to know more about her trainer who put such a solid foundation on her. Tumbleweed did great, too, and was his usual gorgeous self, but he is used to more support, and it was a new concept for him to just look for it on his own and only listen to my legs and seat.

We went off to work the circle exercise by ourselves at different gaits, but Tweed and Epona were kind of done. I got some beautiful work from Tweed, but could see he was mentally tired. 

Epona and my daughter were further down the arena and Epona had apparently decided something was scary. The clinician was helping her train through it, but when my daughter went to get back on Epona, she jumped, and we all kind of gasped. The other riders started offering possibilities like maybe she got stung by a bee or maybe the saddle slipped or my daughter kicked her when she swung her leg over or the cinch was too tight or not tight enough. After Epona had been such a rockstar, it was hard to believe she could do anything “wrong.” Whatever the case, we will never know, and it wouldn’t be an excuse anyway. I think Epona was just tired, hot, on edge, and done.

When she got that hop out of her system, it was like she was totally reset and my daughter got on her and they finished the day.

It is safe to say that every horse threw something at their rider during the clinic at some point, but nothing too big. 

In fact, the most dramatic responses came from a horse in training that the clinician was riding and who he purposely brought, rather than a dead broke one, so that we could see the process. We were all so thankful he did and we were able to see how to handle a variety of “wrong answers.” Tweed was looking back at me like, “see how good you have it, mom?”

I’m so glad we went to the clinic and exposed the horses to a new environment, new horses, and new concepts. It gives us a lot to work on and more tools for engaging their minds. Our end goal is to make them into neck reining trail horses, and this is a step towards that. 

Bring Out the Bubble Wrap

Epona went out to pasture with the herd yesterday, and it was so uneventful I figured I’d be writing about its success. But by the end of the night, when I went out to get her, she had a little blood dripping from her nose from, most likely, a kick. 

I say ‘most likely’ because though there was no obvious sign of laceration, and it cleared up quickly — she was, after all, out with the herd for the first time in 2 months and there was blood.

Putting on my super sleuth cowboy hat, 🤠 I deduce a blunt, yet mild, trauma. 

So, back to the bubble wrap until at least after Saturday. 

I trust the herd — when they fully integrate — the jostling to get there, I do not trust. 

I tried out my new weighted split reins this week and my first thought was, “Oh damn, they’re too short!” They didn’t reach around far enough to use the popper for a quick smack on the butt. However, since I’m using my spurs again, there really isn’t a need for a popper. 

When the reins hang down, they go a little past his shoulder, and since they are heavy leather, (though buttery and supple) they hang nicely. My trainer thinks they’re about perfect and noticed that I had less trouble getting organized. She wouldn’t change a thing, unless I want to get maybe 5 more inches for the pop. A full 8’ might be too much and hang almost to his fetlock.

As for communication, oh my goodness, God’s gift to us horsewomen. The lightest touch is all you need—almost just a thought. (Assuming you have their attention, that is.)

And as for “attention,” we spent a lot of time working on what to do if I lose it during the clinic. Basically, walk him in 10’ circle in vertical flexion, giving him a loose rein when he brings his attention back, then stopping him to wait. Of course, if he’s not that far gone, I check him first and ask for his attention. Regina said it’s a feel thing. You can feel if their energy is too far up, and you need an immediate circle, versus just a looky loo, should I care moment.

We put him to the test in several situations, and finally I took him outside the arena and she stayed in with Leah. Kind of took the trainy wheels off and disappeared his herd mate. 

Tumbleweed is doing awesome. He is growing up and taking responsibility. It doesn’t take him long now to come back to me and settle, but the clinic will push him even further out of his comfort zone.

I can’t wait! Just have to keep the horses in one piece before then.

Oh, and find Epona a saddle that fits.

New Weighted Reins

I have been on the hunt to replace my favorite reins for over two years, ever since the rawhide split on my favorite set. Sad day, as I am a creature of habit, and I like my tack to remain consistent.

Aren’t they beautiful? What I loved about this old set of reins is the weight and drape at the bit. I remember the day I found them, among many other sets, and I let them drop from hand to hand, I knew right away they were perfect for the communication I wanted. I practically danced out of the store in happiness.

They were great reins from day one, until the rawhide came undone.

I continued to use them, as the rawhide is only decorative, and there is a leather rein underneath it, but it scares everyone who sees it. “Your rein’s broke.”

Yes and no.

Well, anyway, it’s time to move on from them.

I searched for “weighted leather split reins” first locally, struck out, then on the internet. 

It’s not ideal, buying off the internet. You can’t feel them. Drape them. But I did some research and read some reviews  and found a set at Buckaroo Leather that sounded like exactly what I wanted and made from Herman Oak Leather. (They were also having a sale to mark the 4th of July).

“Our finest Quality weighted Leather Split Reins are nice and heavy through out, and lined with soft chap leather, but 3 ply for 24", extra weighted, at the bit end for the perfect drape and communication. 1 pair Weighs about 2- 2 1/2 lbs. Built for show and training! Quality Hermann Oak Double and Sewn Harness Leather with soft chap lining, Oiled and Hand Rubbed for that superior soft and supple "broke in" feel-the best on the planet! Choose oiled standard brown harness or black oiled.”

Regarding Herman Oak leather:

They are in a slow season right now at Buckaroo Leather, so they sent me out the custom reins the next day and they arrived yesterday, about three days later.

They’re so soft and pliable. Gorgeous reins. Beautiful drape, sweet split popper at the end. I ordered 7’, because my former set were just a little over that. These measure at 7’2”, so they listened to me when I told them my old ones came in a little over 7’. Wow. 

I’ll have to update this once I put them on my bridle. The quality of these reins right out of the box is shocking. Many thanks to Buckaroo Leather!

I had the option to get weighted at the bridle or weighted at the bit or both, I chose only weighted at the bit. They have a great feel at the popper end unweighted, but I can also see a benefit in a weighted popper end, as they might hang down straighter. 

I’ll have to try them out, although I can’t imagine them getting any better than this.

——

Update on Epona. She is fully integrated to Cowgirl and Leah, but won’t be introduced to the rest of the herd until Monday, just to be extra safe.

She paces the first night, but after she got turnout and mama time, she calmed right down and I didn’t see her pacing at all afterward. Cowgirl knew what she was doing taking control of her like she did. 

Here’s a video from the first day turned out. Cowgirl seems to be very happy that she’s integrating with Tumbleweed, but she is also expecting Epona to be on her best behavior.

Thank you, Cowgirl!! 🙏