Tripp and I are a couple again...

I have a funny story from the night before....as Brian and I were leaving the parking lot he says "Did you start your thing?"  I thought that was an odd question and said "What?"  He says "Did you start your thing?"  In my world "starting my thing" means my monthly, so you can imagine my confusion.  I said "No" and he said "Do you want to?"  WHAT?????  I said "What do you mean "Do you want to?  Are you going to scare Wy so I fall off my horse so I start my thing?"  (Brian said this is one of those times where I was communicating VERY well...no doubt how I was feeling about then...)
Now what on Earth is he talking about do you ask?  My GPS!  He wanted to make sure I started my GPS so I can keep track of our distance.  Oh my.....we laughed about that one!  

Anyways...fast forward to Tuesday night...Brian is with his kids and I am with my boy!  :-)  I love the extra daylight in the evenings...

Today I was going to try the Sensation Hybrid on Tripp to see how he liked it.  I am still learning how to adjust it, and I still need to do the 'string test' to make sure there isn't too much pressure on his back when I am in the saddle.  I will get that done this weekend.  Getting all this fitting stuff done takes time.  Tripp is smaller around than Wy and I was beginning to wonder if the dressage girth I have is too big for him!  Yikes!  I didn't have much room to spare....I will need to make a list and get a shorter one later.  The breast collar is too big for him too.  I can snip off the long ends of a couple straps, but I really don't want to.  I am going to work on attaching stuff first....then if I need to snip snip later I will.  I think he looks pretty cute in his new stuff.  

My goal this evening was to do a lot of trot work and to see how fast we can put in the miles.  I want to do a 25 mile Limited Distance ride with him, and I need to learn to pace myself to make sure I complete the ride in the amount of time given, and I need to know that Tripp is up for the challenge.

Before I left the parking lot, a guy I met a few rides ago came by on his big mare.  We chatted a while... my goals were already changing.  It was fun chatting, and I mentally changed my plan.  I will do a smaller loop...but that is okay.  I still get to ride!  Woo hoo!

 





We headed down the trail and he was moving out very well...I love how much I can feel the horses move with this saddle.  I can actually feel the back muscles as they relax, flex, etc.  It is cool!







This little red bird flew right in front of us.  I think it is a finch.  

As I was getting close to the  lake I could see a horse and rider thru the trees.  They were on the dam...





Tripp spotted them too...we tried to catch up.  :-)  It was at this time that I realized how easy it is to lose track of time, where you are, and your smarts!  At the time I had no idea who it was, but I was focusing on 'finding' them thru the trees as we got closer...I know this is a long shot, but it could have been a trap!   And I would have fallen for it! 

When I finally caught up, it was my friend and his mare.  They took a shortcut so got to his parking lot pretty quick.  She is a big girl and gorgeous!  She flirted with Tripp but Tripp was a good boy and stayed true to his mustang girlfriend, Kahlua.  Angela and Jessi, please tell Lua that Tripp loves her!  :-)






Since there was a lot more chatting at the second visit, I had to change my plan again.  Ha ha!  So I headed back and enjoyed the ride...


The sun is setting and reflecting on the lake thru the trees.  I wish I would have been on the hill by the lake to see this.  It was a beautiful night!

 





 












We had a great ride!  We cantered, and he cantered longer than he ever has.  I think it is because he can move better in this saddle.  FUN FUN FUN!!!!  When I took the saddle off there was a perfect dry spot that went to both sides.  I did not get that on Wyoming, so I might need to shim the pad a bit to give me more clearance from his back.  I also need to find a way to adjust the stirrup length.  They are on the last hole and still too long.  I like having a straighter leg but not all the time.  It is also the first time I have used the wider stirrup and I love them.  I also love the free movement of the stirrups.  If I could take some of the positives of this saddle and combine them with the positives of my big ranch saddle, I would have the most perfect saddle in the world!  :-)

Until later...Karen and Tripp who loves when people stop to chat because it means less work for him!  Nicker snort!