Crikey! She's a beaut!

(Warning: Picture-heavy post ahead)

My saddle came! Finally! *gleeful spazzing*

So story-time: I've been watching this thing via its tracking number, and might have worked myself in a slight froth as it sat all day yesterday 3 hours away. Then it came this morning, right after I got home from cleaning a house, when there wasn't enough time to do anything more than get it out of the box and spazz for a bit. THEN, it poured and stormed all afternoon and didn't clear off until about 7 PM. Hence, it's been a long day of waiting...but no more!

It fits Colletta perfectly, for which I'm very glad. The weirdest part is that the cantle (the back part, for you non-horse-people) is much higher than it was for my old saddle, so it's taking some getting used to. There's been a few times of catching the knee on the way up or down. 

It came with a neoprene girth and a wool saddle pad. I'm not sure how I feel about the girth yet, because it seems to slip a bit. That may be because it doesn't seem to need to be tightened quite that much. 

The stirrups seem extraordinarily heavy while tacking up, but when my feet are in them they feel incredibly light. Part of that is the thinner stirrup leathers...but it's wonderful as long as my feet don't slip forward too far.

The stirrups also hook to the saddle, rather than unbuckle:

It seemed a bit odd at first, but it makes sense after ya think about it: English saddles need to have their stirrups 'run up' so they don't bang and clank around on the horses' sides as they're being tacked up or untacked. With these, the entire stirrup can just be taken off while the saddle is put on, girth tightened, etc and then hooked back on once everything is ready. It's brilliant!

As far as the rest of the saddle: it's absolutely gorgeous. The leather has little designs stamped in it, and there's a plethora of brass rings/hardware that have horseshoe or rose designs carved in them.

One of the things I'm really excited about is all the rings and hooks. I'd like to do some real long-distance rides soon, and it's nice to know that I can just clip on bags and the like without having to rely on saddle strings.

Strings aren't that practical. Just take it from me.

I think these are breast-plate hooks. But I could be mistaken.

And now, for my riding review!

I made the mistake of initially going out to ride in shorts. Yes, I know that's a bad idea, but I was excited and wanted to get out of the house quickly. After saddling up and riding around the barn lot for a few minutes I decided to head outside the pen. Colletta did great--I actually think she was moving with larger steps and a more open gait than she normally does. 

The stirrup leathers started pinching my calves almost immediately. I broke down and changed into some jeans, but they still pinched a bit. I think the problem was that the stirrups were too long, because the bottom of the saddle flap kept catching the top of my boot as well (I wear typical cowboy boots when I ride that come a little over halfway up the calf). So I adjusted the stirrups, and the pinching decreased but was still there a little bit. Some tall socks or chaps may be in order...in the meantime I'm waiting for the bruises to heal. O.e

The saddle itself rides like a dream--the seat is beautifully deep and soft (the leather is buttery to the touch, and the lack of a wooden tree makes for a very cushy seat), and the knee rolls encourage a deep seat. When I lope the horse in a Western saddle, I have to concentrate to make sure I don't flop around and/or pull my legs so tight that my feet come out of the stirrups. When I loped the horse tonight, I couldn't have bounced if I wanted to. My feet still have a tendency to slide forward or out of the stirrups, but that's my own darned legs to blame.

(Wow. That sounds like I have a horrible seat. I really don't...but I have to make a conscious effort to keep a good seat at the lope or gallop. That's the difference, I guess.)

I only rode for about 20 minutes tonight. As the weekend progresses I'm hoping to take Colletta for some harder, longer rides just to see what she and I can handle. The biggest test will be riding for a couple of hours and seeing how my legs fare...here's to sparing the knees!

(On a random note, I rode the horse down to work yesterday to pick up my check. My co-workers spent most of their time gawking out the drive-through window...it was pretty hilarious.)

(On another random note, the Bandanna Guy keeps coming back in at work. Fortunately he just asks what was discussed in Bible study and refrains from asking me out anymore.)