Midget catch up,show report, saddle ponderings

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Hallo2012

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So......we had a not so successful Dec outing when we walked (big gold star as we all know he prefers sideways half piaffe and half canter!) and we trotted but canter resulted in hundreds of changes and bucks and not very much of N23 or N30 lol.

He is always a bit like this over winter but i still felt it wasn't just freshness and it mostly turned out to be my fault as i had changed his girth (for a nice Fairfax type shaped one) and it had slightly altered how the saddle sat and made him tight behind his shoulder poor boy :(

So after slapping myself and swapping back this about 80% cured the issue and after swapping spurs to some small horizontal rollers this took it to about 95% (i struggle with this as tiny spurs he cannot feel due to my leg length but he doesn't need long ones.....the rollers are a happy medium).

Final piece of the puzzle was a clever friend picking apart my saddle fit and suggesting a small middle riser as he has the typical welsh dippy back and croup high confo and for now this has solved the last bit, but i fear i am getting to the stage of a M2M saddle so if anyone has any recommendations for a saddler who sees tall riders on small ponies all the time,and has a good track record and covers the NW please message me!!!!

so onward to this weekend, N37a first and he actually walked probably the best he has in a ring ever and the trot was his usual metronome like quality (not that this particular judge appreciates a single thing about him, I am avoiding her from now on!) humped in to canter and then for symmetry purposes had a hump on each rein too but generally felt 500 x more rideable and i could get my leg on with no changes and nothing like the hand stands i had been getting.

By the end of the canter work he was starting to relax in to it so regardless of the 60.9% score i was just happy he was happy.

I had fully expected a few humps so had really written whichever test was first, off, as a confidence building mission.

N24 was MILES better again :) no humps, more uphill and just generally very jolly and pleasant...........was hoping for a much improved mark but was still very surprised with a whopping 76.95%, clever midget (different judge i hasten to add)

so he's qualified for the AF now, but ive decided we both need to do a show a month to keep our eye in or else i go to sleep and he loops the loop!!!!

few days off and then a lesson wed :)

I also need to get him booked in for dummy training as he has had a lot of requests from pretty mares already!

RHjan6.JPGRHjan4.JPGRHjan2.JPG
 
Wow, that's some difference! Well done on your second score and bloody well done for getting through the first (I'm dreadful at throwing in the towel!). Can't help with a saddler but he's a super smart pony, can see why the girls are lining up!
 
oldie48 said:
Wow, that's some difference! Well done on your second score and bloody well done for getting through the first (I'm dreadful at throwing in the towel!). Can't help with a saddler but he's a super smart pony, can see why the girls are lining up!
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yes i'm not sure it was worth a 15% diff tbh, with my realistic head on i would have expected 63/64 and then 70 ish ???? as he is always very straight and very balanced so not a total disaster in the first and still lots to work towards in the second but ill take it lol :)
 
Many years ago on my old boy I did 2 novice classes (UA) and was first in one and last in the other, despite doing a much better test in the second one. Different judges but the mother of the winner came up to me afterwards and told me my test was better than her daughter's and she really couldn't understand it. It's all a bit subjective really, isn't it? so best not to get too hung up on the scores as long as you feel you are making progress or know what you need to do to make it better. That's my philosophy anyway!
 
Have you tried him with swan necks for spurs? I had a couple of different versions.

Love the canter pic and glad he's a bit more settled.
 
Lovely report it’s nice to see him so much more open in his paces well done. Looks like Reaseheath, I could probably guess who the other judge was, a certain SD? She is generally pretty stingy one of the reasons I don’t generally go there anymore which is a shame.
 
Ossy2 said:
Lovely report it’s nice to see him so much more open in his paces well done. Looks like Reaseheath, I could probably guess who the other judge was, a certain SD? She is generally pretty stingy one of the reasons I don’t generally go there anymore which is a shame.
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yes it is lol! She just doesn’t like any thing about him (or I gather, most people!)
 
Saddle-wise, nothing will fit for long at this age on a growing pony, m2m or not. My lot had theirs fitted 2.5 months ago and already one doesn’t fit, despite being completely perfect on the day of fitting!

Makes that fit a croup high native with an adult rider... I have always had ponies, 13hh-14hh. My little one who ended up staying croup high preferred Saddle Company saddles, as the one we got her from there was the only saddle we had ever had that didn’t scoot forwards into her shoulders and annoy her all the time. The adjustable tree was also a godsend as at that point we could stop buying saddles!!!

I am also riding a 13hh native in an old style Thorowgood pony club saddle - my ‘magic saddle’ that always fits with a little reflocking here and there! Not suitable for looking good at fancy dressage though!
 
Hallo2012 said:
On the list of possibles if the rollers are rejected at any point!
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I have some swan necks you could try if you wanted, Topaz said swan necks = rodeo when I tried them lol.

Think I responded to your fb post, but Steph at Freedom Saddlery is a superb fitter, both of mine have been tricky to fit and she's done a fabulous job with both! She also stocks a good range of different makes so won't try and force you down a specific brand.
 
HufflyPuffly said:
I have some swan necks you could try if you wanted, Topaz said swan necks = rodeo when I tried them lol.

Think I responded to your fb post, but Steph at Freedom Saddlery is a superb fitter, both of mine have been tricky to fit and she's done a fabulous job with both! She also stocks a good range of different makes so won't try and force you down a specific brand.
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i think i have a pair, but thanks :)

steph is on the list although so may people struggle with a selection of 15 to try :(
 
maya2008 said:
Saddle-wise, nothing will fit for long at this age on a growing pony, m2m or not. My lot had theirs fitted 2.5 months ago and already one doesn’t fit, despite being completely perfect on the day of fitting!

Makes that fit a croup high native with an adult rider... I have always had ponies, 13hh-14hh. My little one who ended up staying croup high preferred Saddle Company saddles, as the one we got her from there was the only saddle we had ever had that didn’t scoot forwards into her shoulders and annoy her all the time. The adjustable tree was also a godsend as at that point we could stop buying saddles!!!

I am also riding a 13hh native in an old style Thorowgood pony club saddle - my ‘magic saddle’ that always fits with a little reflocking here and there! Not suitable for looking good at fancy dressage though!
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its a shame the dressage TG dont go smaller :(
 
Well we managed a 17% difference that day...although our 53% was thoroughly well deserved with an accurate 3 for submission ?

1st judge may or may not be well be known for being tough...

I recently went to Foxes for the first time, really nice venue but with horse eating Chickens. They run arena walks at regular intervals if that's helpful for your lovely midget.
 
Ossy2 said:
Lovely report it’s nice to see him so much more open in his paces well done. Looks like Reaseheath, I could probably guess who the other judge was, a certain SD? She is generally pretty stingy one of the reasons I don’t generally go there anymore which is a shame.
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Tell me about it! Some of my favourite venues have that particular judge, but she just doesn't like the way my little cob goes. I remember at an AF one time I got 67%, 66% and 52% ?

I can also guess who the other judge is, the one who gave me my only ever 10 ?
 
DressageCob said:
Tell me about it! Some of my favourite venues have that particular judge, but she just doesn't like the way my little cob goes. I remember at an AF one time I got 67%, 66% and 52% ?

I can also guess who the other judge is, the one who gave me my only ever 10 ?
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You should have reported that. Whether she likes your little cob or not, she should still be marking at the same sort of level as the other judges. Thats a whopping discrepancy!!
 
Leo Walker said:
You should have reported that. Whether she likes your little cob or not, she should still be marking at the same sort of level as the other judges. Thats a whopping discrepancy!!
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As far as I’m aware she has been reported previously to the RDO and this particular venue itself.
 
His looking great I just love him! It's lovely that he will be having some babies in the future how exciting.

Saddle fit I have a very wide dippy back Arab I find I shim pad with a much wider saddle and a prolite depending on how the top line is works, its the only think he is truly comfy in and we have tried quite a few saddles over the years, I have been using a Lavinia Mitchell dressage saddle for the last 8 years wouldn't use anything else on him now. She will custom make saddles as well might be worth a look.
 
Pinkvboots said:
His looking great I just love him! It's lovely that he will be having some babies in the future how exciting.

Saddle fit I have a very wide dippy back Arab I find I shim pad with a much wider saddle and a prolite depending on how the top line is works, its the only think he is truly comfy in and we have tried quite a few saddles over the years, I have been using a Lavinia Mitchell dressage saddle for the last 8 years wouldn't use anything else on him now. She will custom make saddles as well might be worth a look.
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thank you I will have a look :) I can’t go too wide as it will then drop on his shoulders as he’s croup high and he HATES that so as much i Prefer a half size wide and pad he won’t go for that option :( it has to fit spot on with the prolite only xxxx
 
Hallo2012 said:
thank you I will have a look :) I can’t go too wide as it will then drop on his shoulders as he’s croup high and he HATES that so as much i Prefer a half size wide and pad he won’t go for that option :( it has to fit spot on with the prolite only xxxx
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Mine is also group high I use a nuumed shim numnah and lift the front so It doesn't shoot forward, I just adjust it all the time as he changes he lets me know when it's wrong!
 
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