Mt Langley via Cottonwood Lakes/Army Pass 2013

(One of the things I do when I am not with the "pony")

Our 2nd trip together to Mt Langley.
Last year I had altitude sickness and had to retreat
This year, I felt great and planned on making to the top of the 14,038 foot peak...
Mother Nature had other plans in the form of stinging sleet/hail and lightning...
Maybe next year: "Third Time is the Charm?"

No Bucks

Nevel was well behaved for lunging with his tack on

No Bucks Today

  : )

"Hayyyyy, are we going for a ride, or are you just going to stand there?"

We walked down the lane to "the Wild Side" then through the "Great Wood" to the Sewer road.
At the bottom of Sewer Road, he hollered and snorted for other horses, but none were to be found.
I mounted up and thought about taking him around the meadow, but then just decided to take him back up the way we had come.  He almost immediately spooked at the rock where the upper meadow trail splits off of Sewer road.  He did a quick bolt and tried to charge off into the weeds, but stopped pretty quickly for me.  Thankfully I kept my seat and we turned around to face the monster rock again.
This time he eyed it and then plodded on up the hill.  He eyed some other rocks and also a fallen log but did not react to them.  Later we saw a coyote sneaking in to the weeds.  (No pictures, I decided to keep both hands on the reins.)

We rode on back through the "great wood"  with him trying to trot, but I pulled him up since he was stumbling-not paying attention-to the staging area where I dismounted to cross the road...then remounted on the lane.  He was tender on the rocks and I guess I need to consider some boots for him.
Back in the round pen, I now notice that the pics I took have the reins snapped on wrong, but I did not ride him with them that way.

He did some minimal posing for me in his biothane tack and Duett Saddle.

There again with the reins snapped on wrong.

After untacking he snarfed around in the sand for acorns while I re-adjusted his bridle so that the nose piece falls down further on his nose.

We had a nice 2.5 hours together (45 min riding time)

Just need to start logging some more trail miles and will start looking for some slow company on the weekends.

Walk on the Wild Side

Nevel and I started out around 9:30
A little round penning first
Then the saddle with the Comfort Girth (Frank Baines)

What a joke...at least as far as Nevel was concerned
Buck Buck Buck
So off with the CG and on with the ratty old ortho-flex girth
Buck Buck Buck
Hmmmm, ok, you are just being a brat?

I walked him up to the barn to get his bridle and breast collar
Tacked him up with it and then wandered down the trail

 He was well behaved-acted like there had not been a bucking session.

I hand walked him across the road and in to the woods (the wild side  : )

He snorted once and kept moving-well behaved

We turned left at Sewer Road and took the upper trail and looped back around

He investigated the "Sewer Monsters" with outstretched neck

Then decided they were boring

As we continued up the trail, someone called out "Hellooo."  They were riding Blue from the barn.
We followed Blue and rider down the Sewer Trail to the upper meadow trail.  Blue turned left and I kept Nevel going straight.  He whinnied and whinnied, but Blue did not even answer him and they soon disappeared out of sight.
Wow it was getting hot in the sun out there in the "Meadow."  I kept an eye out for snakes and Nevel kept an eye out for Blue.

We looped around, went past the junk piles from both directions then headed up the hill to the Sewer Trail again.

Nevel had another look and then we looped back around to the trail home.  Nevel thought he was done, but I thought it was time to get on and ride him.
He stood nicely while I mounted and then after a few false starts with him trying to hang out by his friends at the fence, we managed to trot around the arena in serpentines in various directions for about 20 min.
He was pretty well behaved-but does like to stop at the gate near the horse trailers.  He also likes to get his head way down to the dirt-but he actually did it less then the last time I rode him and he was paying attention nicely.

That seemed like a good stopping place-time for Carrots and back to the pasture.

Seat in the Saddle

This was the final day of my saddle trial...
Nevel decided to give it a taste..."mmmm, pretty tasty!"

I had not even sat on Nevel the whole week because I had been on a backpacking trip.
Dumb time to ask for a saddle trial...BUTT

 the saddle came much sooner than expected!
Nevel promptly relaxed after cinching and did not cooperate for "level" picture taking!

The Duett and thick Skito pad fit Mr. Fatz without rolling off when I put weight in the stirrup.  He stood still and then wobbled a little with the first step-probably due to the fact that I am "ms fatz" myself!  And then we wobbled around the arena for about 20 min.  Nevel was quite distracted since C was zipping about on the 4-wheeler feeding the other horses.

Also, there are new boarders on campus and one of them was racing all around in his pen.  Despite the distractions we did end with him listening extremely well when I said WOAH!  : )

The saddle was SO comfortable...the stirrups felt a little weird because I have to put them under the flap for the trial.  And now I see that I did not get a picture of his left side with the saddle on!

Then he posed for some shots that I need for my neice who owns the "Sinwaan" Blog

 to make a model of him

 The rascal keeps changing colors with the seasons and has dapples for the summer.

It won't be long before he is all furry for winter again!

WIDE bodies need WIDE saddles

Little Nevel has thrived over the last year and has joyfully packed on the pounds.
So I ordered a DUETT to try on him...a 38!!!

 I do like the color of it and I have a bridles to match 

(both black and brown)

The problem was "girth"

The girth with my old stubben was  way too long

due to extended billets on the Duett

I rummaged around and found a 24" Orthoflex girth that hadnt been used in years

It WORKED!  yay

I didnt get very good pictures of the saddle on without a pad

But he has plenty of clearance in the wither area

I will most likely switch over to my Skito pad on the next trial, this pad goes with my Stubben which is shaped differently than this Duett

 Nevel didn't mind packing it around the pen, even with heavy leather covered endurance stirrups banging around on his sides.

He had nice even sweat marks when he was done.

I didn't ride because I have been sick  with a stomach bug for the last two days and every time I have ever ridden when sick I end up falling off and banging myself up.

So, a "sit" on the saddle while it was on the stand was pretty comfortable

(other than being so WIDE)

Will have to try it out again another day when I am feeling better

Big Fish Story

Nevel is this BIG!

This is not a big fish story either...

He really is THIS WIDE!

Like maybe 38 cm saddle wide?

My 32 Stubben won't cut the mustard at this point,

I don't want a treeless

So I am going to try a Duett on him-Duetts are made for wide horses

More to come on this

Fire and Dust

The sharp smell of smoke 

Singed my nostrils when I arrived at the farm today

A Smokey Haze was starting to waft over the pasture

and Temps were already rising at 9:30 a.m.

AND

REMEMBER MY GLISTENING HORSE OF LAST WEEK????

HAH

ONLY FOR A MOMENT was RIGHT!

This is what greeted me at the fence!

 MR MUCKY MESS!

"Awe Mom, I don't WANNA WORK!"

 But work he did and promptly covered us both in dust.
I took a VERY short ride on him in the Arena.
By the end of it I was hot, choking on dust and had burning throat and nose from the now
 very heavy smoke laden air
And also arranged with B to ride him during the week
That works out well for her since Ziggy is lame and she has been wanting to ride Nevel
Nevel investigates the "TREAT TREE" but did not find any snacks today.

 Here he is in a borrowed saddle (doesnt fit him well either)

 Mr. Cutes looking for Carrots.