Zip........buzz........zipzip........buzzzzz
Zippy has lost his status as the quieter hack. He jogged for over 30 minutes. He looked at everything and he barely strung ten strides of a similar length together. Typical three year old! On the plus side, although he is certainly getting more twitchy, he continues to have an "I must get past this quickly" reaction rather than an "I must get away from this as quickly as I can" like Jazz, or "I'm planting my feet here and going nowhere" like Tucker. It bodes well for a future as an eventer.
Jazz went out too, just for half an hour. He was pretty good - twitching a little but making no serious effort to run back home.
I have had to let the air out of Zippy's saddle because he has grown and widened so much that it was sat way too high. The gullet plate is the right width, so only the air needed adjusting.
I let down the back of Jazz's the other day too. I was talking to a friend saying that his saddle was down in front and I didn't know why because I thought he was still the same width or possibly even wider. She laughed and pointed out the obvious - he's built a band of muscle across his back behind the saddle - the back had gone UP, it wasn't down in the front at all! It goes to show he must be doing exactly the right kind of work.
I've had WOW saddles for nearly two years now, and I have not found any issues with using them longer term. Unlike the treeless saddles after a year or so, they have not produced any muscle problems or marking. My horses have all been sensitive to the airbag overlap, so I would never use it without a geleze, but that's no big deal. The ability to let the back down, as I have with Jazz's, is wonderful. If you can only adjust the front, my choice would have been limited to lifting the front with a riser or narrowing the gullet plate, neither of which would have been a good solution.
It has been the most glorious day here today - a real bonus for early February. Long may it continue (though the build-up of dirty brown smog over Manchester already has to be seen to be believed :-0)
C
posted by cptrayes @ 4:27 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Zip is obviously entering his teenage phase where the "silly sophomore" shows up with more and more regularity. Have to think too, that as he gets more fit, he also gets more energy.
Still, I do like his attitude and agree about the eventing possibilities. His mindset is clearly "forward" and that is significant.
While I have had no issues with the treeless saddles I use (Ansurs) your story is entirely different. Seems the WOW with its incredible adjustablity is the perfect solution. I am a strong advocate of using whatever works best.
I am interested in your saddle experiences. I always worry about the 2 airbags causing a lump. I looked at and sat in the WOW saddle at Your Horse Live and was very tempted because it was very nice to sit on, as long as it is as comfortable for the horse.
Treeless saddles. I have been very tempted by these, but I am just not 100% convinced. Like many people, I have already spent far too much on saddles that DIDN'T work, so I am getting very cautious now.
With Zip growing up and Jazz coming along you are going to be very busy. Let's hope we have a decent year weather wise with rain/sun at the right times.
Judith
It's a toss-up between riding him more to absorb some of his excess energy and not getting him too fit Jean. A difficult balance with a thoroughbred, you'll know by experience :-)
Judith they definitely do feel the overlap - I have had several horses with a mark on their back after a longish hack. Then I started using the Geleze and had no problems since. Some horses don't like the air to start with - I took my saddle and rode my friend's horse in it and he was very twitchy for a few minutes. They do now do foam filling for people who don't want air, but of course it's not adjustable the way the air is. But a friend of mine has it, and it feels really good.
C
Oh flip not again!
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