Saddle Time

20 minutes - 0.60 miles - Rhulain

 Since we now have the Australian saddle, I decided it was time to sell one of the "extra" saddles.  I pulled out the vintage Billy Cook and asked Bill to saddle Rhu.  She panicked when he was tacking her up, and he had to go slowly and ask her to smell everything before setting it on her back. Then he hopped in the saddle for a few minutes.

 Bill decided the seat was too small for his liking.  So, we'll be putting it up for sale.  She was already saddled, so I hopped up for a quick walk up and down the driveway ... sort of a farewell to the saddle.

After untacking, the kid and I took her for a quick half mile walk.  She was perfect.  Absolutely perfect.

So, Rhu and I got a New Saddle

33 minutes - 0.90 miles - Rhulain

Bill and I went to get Rhu's saddle fixed.  I had lost the slide for the stirrup way back in June and the replacement slides I had ordered didn't quite fit.  At the saddle shop, Bill found another Bona Allen saddle and I got excited. Then we realized the seat was too large for me, but would fit Bill perfectly. Sigh.

Bill pulled out a vintage Billy Cook saddle that was my seat size. I cringed at all the floral tooling. Once I sat in it, I started grinning ... it felt like sitting on a cloud.  The gullet size was perfect for Rhulain.

We bought it.

Rhulain was very tolerant while I adjusted stirrups, rode for a few minutes, hopped off and did more adjustments. After 3 or 4 tries, we finally got it set comfortably. Had Rhu trot and lope in the open desert so I could make sure the saddle worked for us both.  Her lope is marvelous!

When we got back, Rhu received four or five carrots as a thank you for being so understanding.  Can't wait to get in longer rides!