The Ride that Almost Ended in the Dirt

In case you have not been keeping updated, I've been sick. I even switched stall days with my trainer in hopes that I wouldn't be sick later in the week. I was still sick. However, I went to the ranch on Thursday to do stalls. I don't mind doing stalls at all, but doing falls while sick sucks. I did stalls, and then I decided to ride. The weather was great, and I was already there, so why not?
I'm not a huge fan of routine. Some people are, and I realize that some horses do REALLY well with a routine. I like to keep Roxy mentally challenged. Sometimes I turn her out before I ride, sometimes after. Sometimes her and Dolly together, sometimes not. Sometimes I lunge first, sometimes I lunge after, usually I don't lunge at all. Roxy hadn't been out since Sunday, and she usually gets out 5 days a week. I really should have turned her out, but I just wanted to go on a quick ride. So I tacked up my sweet little Roxy, and headed out to the arena. She was hot, but I really like her when she's energetic.
I started my ride with a little pleasure, making her jog, and stay very collected, with her head long and low. Roxy did great, she kept her headset, and a fantastic topline, she was responsive to leg and vocal commands. As a reward, I let her go into an extended trot. Roxy has a super extended trot, and I really like to stretch her with it before we do any gymkhana.
After that I let her run barrels. She was FANTASTIC, so I let her really run. We usually lope the barrels, and sometimes we move through at a hand gallop. Well today I let her really gallop them. Roxy runs a really clean pattern, and she pretty much runs it all on her own.
I ran the barrels like 3 times, and I could feel that my saddle was loose, but I'm pretty good at just keeping it balanced, so I continued to ride. I mean I was all rigged up with a real saddle (not just a bareback pad), stirrups that were my size, and a breast collar. So I took Roxy around the first barrel, and we were really running. There is this 'point of no return' when your saddle is slipping, and I could feel that I Was a mere millimeter from this point. In an instant you go from on top of your horse, to being in the dirt, and your horse running like mad with the saddle underneath them. I was determined not to let that happen. Remember I'm sick, I didn't need to be sick and dirty.
I jammed on the brakes, swung my saddle back onto her back, and promptly hopped off. Roxy stops on a dime even mid pattern, good to know. I rig my saddle using the holes in the latigo, not the tie, and when I raised it, it went up 3 entire holes. For those of you that don't know, 3 holes is quite a lot on an English saddle, but it's even more on a western saddle.

Who could resist that smokey dun face? 

This is my usual tack, myler bit (which I want to talk about in my next post), reining saddle, breast collar, and fancy little pad, and I'm trying so hard to use splint boots regularly. I am planning on switching my english reins out for my nice blue gymkhana reins, since that's what we are doing so much more of.

Do you have any almost in the dirt stories? How about any tack that you love, or that needs to be switched out?