Another good ride.. but a new issue arises.

Yesterday,the horrible cold winds finally let up and the day was going to be in the 50's and sunny. I was still on my min-vacation from work so we hit the trails again. Maggie was using her time off to rest since her 14 miles two days earlier so a pre ride bit of beet pulp was served up to the princess so as not to disturb her nap. She gladly complied.

A spoiled horse?????

I decided we would try the electrolyte thing today so when she finished, I dosed her with a half dose of electrolytes. She didn't even get up for that. I was beginning to wonder if I should even go if she was that tired. I decided to get her up and just see how she behaved. I decided quickly that she was just fine , as she trotted back and forth horse playing with Brego across the fence. She was also in heat.. great...

I finished loading all the stuff into the horse trailer while she pranced around . I was hoping she would take a big gulp of water after her electrolytes before I had to load her up. Ever have those days where it takes FOREVER to get yourself organized?? I was having one of those mornings. I kept forgetting something  and had to keep back tracking or go back into the house. I finally got everything thrown into a bag , tossed it into the truck, grabbed Maggie and hit the road.



Ready to go..

I even hooked up the HRM for this ride to see how her recoveries were with hills. We ended up riding an uneventful 11.8 miles before making it back to the trailer. Maggie felt very really good still coming out. She recovered to 60 bpm within 4 minutes and I imagine it may have been quicker but I let her dive into her beet pulp when she was at 72 bpm. If it were race day that would have been the wrong move to make but I am trying to encourage her to eat and drink. If she is willing, I am going to let her at this point... we weren't in competition. And she wasn't overly tired...

She finished most of her sloppy beat pulp . She refused water... again.. I decided to give her another half dose of electrolyte and head back out for another 4-5 miles. 

This was the first time in quite a while I had her at the trailer and then took her back out again. She was NOT expecting that move and as we left the trailer, she kept trying to get us turned back around,

Surely mom had lost her marbles....

We made it a total of 17.5 miles by the time we finishe. Maggie felt strong the entire time but she was starting to stumble a little on the way back in so she was probably a little on the tired side. It's hard to tell with her sometimes.  She recovered with only a couple minutes back to 60 when we finished our ride.

I was pleased with our ride and how she felt and looked. Ofcourse, she still didn't want to drink at the end. She got a little more sloppy beet pulp and some green grass while I unsaddled and got everything packed up. Everything about the days' ride was perfect, exept one thing.

When I pulled the saddle off to brush her she reacted like she had a sore back. It was at the back of the bars, right under where I sit.  I could see that there was definitely more of an impression of the bars right there, clearly two round areas from pressure points. However, the sweat patterns were even  and looked really good. That is unusual if there are pressure points.

I got her home, prepared a bucket of warm linimented water and rubbed her down. She really reacted and did not want me even touching her there.  I felt horrible. Not once during the ride did she indicate any discomfort but she was pretty sore.

I checked my saddle and saddle pad and got my husbands second opinion. We both came to the conclusion that judging from the saddle pad , the saddle is bridging on her. It's the only explanation. 

I ride in a Specialized Eurolight saddle and have had no issues in it but to be fair, this is the hardest I have ridden Maggie in this saddle thus far since getting it last year. Maggie is thinner and more fit than she has ever been so obviously the fit needs to be changed.

The good news is that the Specialized is designed to give fitting options as the horses back changes with the padding system they come with. I hope we can get this one figured out..

Maggie will get some well deserved rest and pampering. She should have bucked me off for as sore as she was. That is the bad side of riding a horse that is tough. They never complain , and just keep going..

I hate saddle fitting issues....