They arrived in Pennsylvania last Monday. Mark says they are doing well. They have been lunging in a saddle for a week and sometime today (Monday) Mark will ride Normandie.

Phantom should have a rider for the first time in about a week. She is still a little skittish, but she is doing well.

Just thought you all would like to know.

Jenn

Jeff and I are planning to go horseback Christmas Caroling in the neighborhood on the 17th. This is an annual event arranged by the local Trails association. The horses are supposed to be "decorated", with a prize for the best decoration.... now *where* did I put that size XXL Santa hat???

Caroling on horseback...sounds like fun. Not something we can do in this neck of the woods. Maybe in Hollis, but most certainly not where we are stabled now. Too close to a main roadway with lunatics driving like it was La Mans. Ah well...someday...

You'll have to dress Jeff up like an early St. Nicolas. Long fur lined gown (burgundy or emerald damask), you know, Santa goes Medieval. Just don't dress Bella up like a reindeer, the "cityfolk" might get confused.

Side saddle??

Jenn reaches for a distaff...

Received a message from the trainer this morning.

quote:

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The horses are both doing well. They are both riding well for this stage of training. The filly has calmed down completely. Mark is riding them both about 5 times a week. We crosstie and groom and saddle them then lunge them...(snip)... They both walk, trot, turn, stop, and back. Normandie canters very well under saddle. Phantom does not canter as well and probly never will and it is not natural for her even when she is out free she hardly ever canters...

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Phantom not cantering well is not a surprise to me. Her linage is Standardbred. She has a beautiful ground eating "pace".

We will be heading down to PA at the end of January to learn their cues and ride them for the first time! Once we determine how well they are doing, they will probably be coming home at the beginning to mid-February. This is all very exciting!! It's almost been 3 years, but it was well worth the wait! WOO HOO!!!

Don't buy that Standardbreds can't canter thing though. I've seen a lot of then turned into lovely dressage horses and fieldhunters. They can do it just fine, they just have to be reassured about it

Their first adventures in going out and about after their initial saddle training will be in PR and just getting used to being around groups of new people and in some cases, unfamiliar horses. Inbetween these types of "getting used to it" events, we will be setting up a training area with a quintain and posts for cutting the melon drills.

To answer your question, yes Gulf Wars is an SCA event. It is in Mississippi in March. It's the only SCA war with horses. Last year we had 50+horses in attendance and more are expected this year. We do quite a number of things (though we don't joust--darn insurance) and the best part is always the Emprise held on Saturday. It's a 15th century fete d'armes with lots of barding requirements, attendant requirements, crested helm requirements, personal heralds in livery, formal challenges offered by the Tenant Company of St. Anne and the Venant Lances and individuals.

Traditionally, the Gulf War Emprise for the next year is named by the winner of this years. Last year was the Emprise of the Sword Ascendant, this year is The Emprise de la Trois Roses.

You can see some pictures from the Tenant Company's website at http://lanceofstanne.homestead.com
also the requirements for participation are at http://lanceofstanne.homestead.com/Emprise.html

The horses are doing well and will be returning to us within two weeks. They have learned their cues well (voice and leg). It was quite rewarding to be able to ride them for the first time in approx. 3 years. Both of them ground tie, which I think is one of the coolest things.

Surprisingly, neither one of them has gotten any taller. Phantom is still 15.3 and Normandie is 16.1 (and we hope they don't get any taller).

Brenna, you're right, Phantom can canter, she's just stubborn and doesn't want to. She questions everything still but is a quick learner.

Normandie is very quick and willing to please. He gets a little frustrated when he is trying to figure things out, but it usually doesn't take him long.

We didn't get any photos, the arena was too dark for the flash to get anything good, so we will probably post pics when they return in Feb.

How old are your kids? Most horses are done growing by four, but there are certain breeds that continue to grow until age 6. Arabians, a fair selection of European warmbloods and Irish Thoroughbreds come to mind. Even the breeds that don't grow much past 4 generally have attained most of their height by age 3.

Oddly enough, one way to get height on a young male horse is too geld him. The same hormone that brings on sexual maturity also shuts down their growth. If you want some extra height on a mare, breed her as a 3 or 4 year old. The hormones secreted during pregnancy spur growth in the mare. Not that it's something I would personally recommend but it does work.

You may yet get another inch or two out of your babies. They do have an easy full year of growth. You probably won't see a full hand but hey, the one thing I can say for sure about horses, is never be absolutely positive about anything. Anybody who tells you they "know it all" about horses is a fool, a liar or both.

This is an exciting time for you and your horses. My best friend just brought her mare home from the trainer's. We started her ourselves, introduced her to the bridle, the saddle, someone on her back but then we turned her over to a professional for finishing. It was well worth the money spent and now Meghan has a really great horse that goes everywhere from the show ring to SCA equestrian events.

Kiddies returned 7:30 PM - it's been a hectic few days due to communication breakdown with all parties at various points. All went well, the horse transporters are a great bunch of people, and the barn was a scene of noisy greetings back & forth as horses exchanged credentials.

Gotta go buy a saddle now - damn!......

I'm currently waiting with bated breath on my new one. I also do a lot of high country camping and trail riding. (You know the kind, leave only hoofprints, etc) For that I ordered a WONDERFUL saddle known as a Montreal Trooper from Tucker Saddlery. In all my years of riding, I have NEVER sat in anything more comfortable or kinder to my horse.

If you're not going to be doing A LOT of riding for hours at a time, you will probably be fine. However, I have a number of friend who do competitive trail and endurance riding, in addition to high country camping, who have had serious trouble with their horse's back overheating under a synthetic saddle. Granted this is extreme riding (my favorite kind, lol), so there is a very good chance you will never have to even worry about it. I just wanted you to be aware of it.

I have some friends with Wintec (synthetic) dressage saddles who love them and don't have any problems with heat at all. The synthetics are also reasonably priced and a decent saddle (if you purchase from a reliable name brand manufacturer)

It's funny, Bob and I have the exact same saddle, except his is leather and mine is synthetic. I found the leather one to be very uncomfortable yet the synthetic was very comfy.

Jenn

Hope this helps
Andy

The Portugesa (sp?) saddles are $1100 in the US, at least the ones I have found. We have heard a few comments regarding fitting problems, especially on size L horses. This was from the supplier as well as someone we know of that had to have his reworked so that it fit his horse properly. This may be a communication problem in conveying the sizes and intent to the manufacturer's in Spain and Portugal. I might be able to do a little better as I work with some one who is from the Azores.

I probably should have executed an Internet search for saddles, but I definitely wanted something I could lay my hands on and sit in before I bought it.

The cordura saddle is just a transitory measure and not meant to be a permanent solution. It's comfortable for me, it fits Phantom really well, and the price and availability was right, which is the key factor as we don't want them to "forget" what they learned.

It is good to hear what experiences others have had with the synthetics.

Well, I went from being a statistical oddity to being one of the many. I was thrown today. I've been riding since I was 14 - on again - off again, and I haven't done any real riding in 4 years, but I'd never been thrown.

I started riding the kiddies today to keep them going with what they have learned. Had a problem with my damn saddle girth so I ended up riding Normandie bareback, and as always, he was a trooper and gave me no trouble.

We put Jenns synthetic saddle on Phantom, and all started out well until she slipped a hair on a patch of ice and decided she didn't want to play. She got me with a combination "bunny hop" and full buck, and I was flying through the air and smacked into the ground - never had a chance to even say "boo". I was just winded, with some minor bruises & lacerations. Phantom never panicked, looked at me, and walked over to Jenn. I walked around in circles until I could talk again and got right back on her, and she gave me no problems after that. We ended the session on a good note and all is well between us.

I'm beginning to understand that bit the fellow wrote about not being a man at arms "until you've been struck down twenty times and have risen again, until youve heard your teeth crack and felt your blood flow..". It was an interesting experience, kinda fun in a wierd sort of way - although I'm not in a rush to repeat the experience !

First of many, I'm sure.....