Concerning Winter Woes

I love snow and winter weather, I really do. Nothing contents me more than sitting in my cozy bed reading or watching TV during a snowstorm knowing my ponies are tucked up in the barn with bigs piles of hay and warm blankets. I also love skiing, a lot, and you need snow to do that.

However, this is SO MUCH in excess of what my snow quota is for the year. Or the next 5 years.

So far this year, we've gotten over 3 feet of snow where I am. About 18 inches came all at once about a week ago, and just as we finished recovering from that, another storm (WITH FREAKING THUNDER AND LIGHTENING) dropped 2 inches of heavy, icy hail and another 4 inches of snow. Needless to say this has made many people cranky, many roofs slightly less safe and the notion of actually doing anything productive much less appealing.

So this is what I've been doing for the past week:

Massages. Both Ernie and Stella have serious exceeded the number of massages they get on a weekly basis. But hey, I figured it's a nice way to perfect my skills, improve my observational abilities AND I get to know my horses a little bit better.

I've also been cleaning off my truck multiple times per day, pretending I want to clean tack (which I don't, really, although I probably should) and searching for saddling alternatives for Stella. My Wintec Pro Dressage doesn't fit her...not even close, actually. Being some-what snowed into the barn gave me a chance to really look at it and do a pretty thorough fit evaluation, and while it could probably be reworked, I'd really like to get something that REALLY fits. This saddle was purchased for Ernie, who has much more twist to his back, needed heavily sloped/curved panels (both front to back and laterally) and who is fitted with a far narrower gullet than Stella. The gullet could be swapped out, but that doesn't solve the paneling problem: Stella's back has less angle to it and with time she'll develop the muscle to even it out even more. She's not slab-sided like Ernie, she's get far better-sprung ribs, and her withers aren't ramped like a black diamond ski run. I couldn't believe the wither clearance that saddle had on her; if there's such thing as too much, it definitely was.

So, I'm counting my pennies (of which there aren't many) and have conceded to continued our groundwork and suppling exercises on the long lines and in-hand until I can afford a new saddle. I'll probably end up selling the Wintec, and in the mean time having been window, er, screen shopping. Lookie lookie:

Drrooooooooooool...

This is a Black Country Vinici dressage saddle. It is probably one of the nicest saddles I have seen in a while, and I wants it. I've heard fabulous things about Black Country, including fantastic customer service (hooray!) and super-awesome well-made saddles...however, this saddle (new) is $3520. Just a tad out of my price range.

This, however, is not, and still makes me salivate:

This is an M. Toulouse Verona Monoflap dressage saddle. I like Buffalo leather better than some of the smoother, less-tacky leathers dressage saddles are often made from. It's the same reason I like full-seat breeches: I feel more secure, more stuck to the saddle, and it makes it easier for me to relax my hips and move with the horse, especially at the canter, if I don't feel like I'm sliding all over the place. The seat looks a little deep for me, but I need a medium-narrow twist, which this has and I don't mind a deeper seat so long as it puts me in a correct position. This saddle is $1,090, which is completely doable once I have some time to save up.

Now, that figure will probably turn into something much bigger once you factor in all the saddle fittings, reflocking, etc., but I'd rather start Stella out right than have her develop back pain as a result of a crappy fit. Hence why I'll stay with my feet planted firmly on the ground until she's got one that fits.