How to Create a Trail Horse: Saddle Upgrade

 Adding wheels to our equation changes everything.

Don't get me wrong--I'm an expert in bumming rides and I have lovely friends who have always gotten me where I needed to go on time. I've also lost all desire to show horses and am skeptical about clinics unless I know the clinician (and even then idk). 

I also live in a state rich with natural beauty with tons of public land and just so happen to be riding a purpose-bred ranch horse who hates going in circles and loves to explore. It's the perfect recipe to make a backcountry trail set up.

It's still winter here, especially in the mountains, so I'm taking the opportunity to put together the essentials to go do the damn thing with my horse. I'm also blogging about it, in part because I'm excited and I want somewhere to share but also because I'm trying to piece together information from random sources on the internet and it seems like a nice idea to consolidate it here. 

All of this is work-in-progress information and I'll update it or write new posts as I learn what is most important to me. 

Here's the basics about us:

Person
SB (me): hi

Horse experience: seasoned arena rider with some experience on trail riding a variety of horses ~1-2 hours at a time. Favorite equestrian memory is hacking out event horses in the mountains.

Hauling experience: lots of miles going forward, limited miles going backward, brand new trailer owner

Mindset: old enough to know better, dumb enough to try anyways, smart enough to learn on the way

Horse

ZB (my beloved Zoebird)

Ridden experience: pretty good at circles, loves variety, can be herd bound, generally unflappable

Hauling experience: never met a trailer she wouldn't get on. Very pro food. Doesn't like to back off.

Mindset: will always try

Stats: coming 12 (!!) Percheron/Paint cross. Low single swirl. Broad/flat back, comfortable stride, wearing front shoes on big, solid feet. 

Saddle:

Big Horn 16" Draft Trail Saddle w/ Xwide Draft Bars (1680 Model)

I bought this saddle back in 2020 and have ridden exclusively in it for the last couple of years. The balance is nice for both of us and it's in good shape. I always ride in a breastcollar (note custom mohair stunner link here) due to ZB being a round lady. I upgraded the cinch strap and stirrups last year and uh "custom shortened" the stirrup leather because it was apparently designed for some 6'6" all-leg ogre and I'm simply not that person.

Another upgrade this winter was to the F10 Ultra merino wool pad--I'm a sucker for a nice saddle pad and it's the softest thing I've ever felt under a western saddle. I'm keeping an eye on it--it's definitely designed for a horse with a curvier topline so either it's going to break in to her back through use and be fabulous or it's going to slip around. I'll play it by ear. 

I'm also running in a mohair cinch with roller buckles. It came with the saddle and I like it. 

Our goal is single day treks in the mountains, which means I need to be able to change layers, carry lunch/water, and have some basic emergency supplies handy. That means saddle bags. That means they need to attach to something. We have an excellent old-school western saddle maker/repair guy nearby so the first step was to take the saddle in and replace the pretty-but-useless conchos with strings so I can tie things on. 

conchos circled

I also had him add a twist in to my stirrups--it's way easier to keep them and less torque on my knees/ankles to have them hang properly. I'm rocking my lovely, grippy purple stirrups. They're lightweight with excellent tread. Long term, I might want something more practical with a wider footbed but short term these are pretty and I already have them. 

strings and twists!

My experience with ZB in general and on trails in particular tells me that I'd rather have a more mild bit on her. Even if it means I'll have to work a little harder when the pony nose starts going to snacks, I'm in a better position if something weird happens and she gets a little reactive. Long term, my friends who are experienced at riding out have a pretty specific lightweight bosal hackmore set up that's more comfortable for the horse so I'm looking in to it but I don't think we need to wait on that to get started. 

I do have (ha ha this will shock you) a lot of bit and headstall options to play around with until we find the right fit and one of many cool things about ZB is that she's pretty much the same horse whether you ride in a halter or a curb bit or anything in between. I'm fucking obsessed with these hand made teal-accented horsehair reins so this is the current set up. 

It's false spring here and fingers crossed our maiden voyage is this week.

The Moment

I was the little kid with the dream truck. 

The little poor kid who drove a car as old as she was and thought that dreams were for other people. 

best

When Roxie's mom announced "your picker is broken" (and unintentionally foreshadowed me blowing up my entire life), I showed up for myself and bought my absolute dream horse, the ZB we all know and love today. 

Then as life stabilized, I traded in the practical car.

I'll never forget the transcendence of the moment I drove my truck off the lot at the dealership--decades after a dream was born to a little girl who didn't think she'd live past 25, here I was. Doing the damn thing. 

this

Y'all lived through the last 5ish years with me so you know what happened to prices and interest rates. There were life things and work things and I debated if all this was what I really wanted and was "the dream" still "my dream" and was it worthwhile (was I worthwhile?). I set aside a chunk of money for a trailer to complete my rig, then waffled and told my partner we'd probably just take a nice vacation with it. 

He told me I ought to follow the dream I'd had since I was that little horse crazy kid. That mattered more. 

I mattered more.

found what i was looking for

I've been low key following the trailer market locally and had pretty well decided that I would wait until the end of the year and then likely end up financing something once my truck was paid off because that little girl who grew up with nothing is real risk-adverse financially.

Plus, the best thing I learned from Roxie's mom (after "this is fun you ninny, ride my roxiecorn and find out") was to ruthlessly exclude. I had a pretty specific list of what I wanted:

• Two horse bumper pull (dream truck isn't huge)
• Tack room not part of horse compartment (i just can't with the half wall thing)
  
• ZB must be able to turn around to unload (she HATES backing off trailers)
• No ramp (ramps freak me out. ZB DGAF)
• Large enough to accommodate a 16h+ Draft X 
• Structurally solid/ready to go

I saw a couple things that I followed up on but they sold before I got answers or just weren't quite right. I had to get new tires for my truck so I shelled out $$$ on the upgraded tires because as I confidently told the clerk "I'm going to start hauling a trailer a bunch soon". I didn't feel confident that was true but I felt kind of ridiculous spending that much money on tires for a truck that I mostly admire in my driveway. 

And then.

My local friend sent me an add. It hit all my must haves and was actually slightly under budget. I messaged the seller and she responded right away. I checked out our mutuals and decided I probably would not get scammed or murdered. (Then I decided I might so I made arrangements for said partner to go with me to see it yesterday afternoon.) 

And that's how on a sunny January afternoon, I pulled my dream truck into a stranger's driveway and left with my dream trailer and a new friend to go trail riding with.

y'all

Much like the truck--it isn't the newest, shiniest, or most expensive option. It's the thing I've always wanted, the thing that fits me and my life. 

the whole set up

I just. 

Y'all. 

It's hard to put into words what it's like when all those dreams and plans converge. When present day SB is little kid SB. 

I want to reach back in time and tell her it's going to happen. 

To let the version of myself who said "if I knew how hard life would be, I wouldn't have kept going" know that she's wrong. 

There's hope.

It does get better. 

It's not the money and the material things. It's watching as the dreams you've had from a very little kid, galloping your (imaginary) cute black mare down a (real) snowy road become your real and actual life. 

And realizing that all along, you were worth it. 

happy trails

A Study in Canter

Jumping back into some low key lessons has re-ignited a passion for learning an improving with my horse that I haven't felt in a LONG time. I've taken lessons here and there over the past few years, but horse stuff has been back burnered for me for a bit. I scaled spending way back, focused on some other passions closer to home, and have been comfortable knowing that I could hop on and toodle around at any time.

and yes i rode her bareback after this

My basic philosophy of training is that I need to be calm, clear, and kind. I'm asking Zoe to do all the same things she used to do in dressage, but now I want her to do it in self carriage on a loose rein. I want her to be in a level balance, soft to me, and for her to allow me to ride her forward in that balance. 
 

ok but these reins amiright

We use lots of transitions and very clear rewards. If she does something right, it's a release and relax reward. I don't drill. I try not to ride in the arena two days in a row. I'm still only riding 3-4 days a week. I've made huge strides forward in the walk/trot area but we've been struggling with the canter. 

this day was SO COLD OMG

It's a two part issue--one, ZB is a natural trotting horse. Her canter is less organized and requires more strength to give me the same level of work I get in the trot.

Two--me. I don't think I've actually ever had a horse that would let me sit in the saddle and ride the canter. There's lots of half seat in my past with a HEALTHY dose of TB/OTTB type horses to whom cantering was the more natural gait, which means I've never really had to train it. 

I can do a lot with a balanced canter but I was kind of lost on how to create said canter if I didn't already have it. 

benefits of blogging infrequently means more riding pictures to choose from

So how do I train a balanced, soft canter on a horse it isn't instinctive to when my riding is one of the biggest obstacles we face?

this horse is so insanely gorgeous

Very mindfully.

I started using the round pen on the property. Every time I was at the barn, I'd take her in there loose and ask her to do a couple of canter transitions each way. I didn't drill it--it was a-ok if she picked up the canter for a stride or two and dropped back down. I just wanted her doing the motion and building the muscle memory. The whole "session" was about 60 seconds or less and typically included rolling in the sand as well. 

it's lovely sand

Her muscle memory wasn't the only one I needed to retrain. I was/am dealing with two things:

1) my lack of muscle memory related to sitting the canter with my seat in the saddle being neutral

2) my bad muscle memory of grabbing like a deranged monkey when my horse feels off balance

I'm working on my own and if thinking really loudly "stop sucking at riding the canter" was an effective strategy, I would have fixed this ages ago. 

Instead, I used the round pen. I'd saddle up, take her in there, and get on with just the halter. This was such a mental thing for me--the round pen took away the deep and irrational fear of her bolting into the next county and the halter gave me an E-brake without me fussing with her face.

Same strategy--do 2 transitions each way, then hop off and go do something else.

don't have a halter picture so here's the current 'fit

Here and there, I started trying to incorporate the transitions into longer rides, but my gut reaction to her sort of "lurch" into the canter was to grab her and then neither of us was having a good time. 

But then.

I having a nice ride the other day in the arena and for a moment, I felt so soft and connected, like I could have rolled up into the soft, balanced canter I wanted right there. I didn't, but the feeling was right.

The next time I rode, my friend happened to be out and I asked her for some quick media.

Y'all. 

just literal heart eyes

It's coming. She was soft and connected and balanced and let me ride her forward. 

This is so much fun.