Remember when I said I'd made a decision?!

Well, I've changed my mind! Once the Offenstall is gone we're going to move to a different barn. I can't really say why, but I had a very hard time making my mind up about this. But now the choice is made and I really think it's for the best.

I'm moving Crispin to the same barn where Meike moved Nacho to last fall. She's still happy with her choice, the care is fine, the people and facilities are alright and the stalls are nice. Two other boarders from the Offenstall have moved there too since.

I'm confident that Crispin is going to be fine there too. He will be turned out with three other horses he already knows (plus one or two new ones) and he even gets a stall right next to one of his buddies from the Offenstall.

This is going to be his new home:

It's nice, big and airy. It's not an Offenstall but it is alright for now, I think. We will be moving at the end on june.

The search for a saddle goes on...

...and I thought I just give you a quick overview of the saddles I've tried so far (of course those are just some of the saddles I've tried):

This is my old jumping saddle (it was clear from the start that it would not fit Crispin):



This is the the saddle I started Crispin in. A Tekna, 17.5 seat and 33 gullet. It fit him better than it fit me:



A Kent&Masters dressage saddle. High wither, gullet way too narrow and the distributor a pain to work with:



This one was close. A Euroriding "Achat". Seat was 18 inch and the gullet was a +34. Unfortunately I it was a horrible fit for me. The knee rolls overextended me in the hip:



This one doesn't look too bad either but neither Crispin nor I liked it. It's a Massimo Dressage II with french pannels. 17 inch seat (way too small for me, but they delivered the wrong size) and a 36 gullet:



A Euroriding "Leon". 17seat, wide gullet. Loved the way it fit me unfortunately it was a horrible fit for Crispin! It is a little difficult to see, but the rear pannels hardly touch his back:



And the last one I've tried. A Prestige "Milano" (17/34). I wanted to try the Prestige Hippos Dressage but the Milano was the only saddle with a wider gullet they had in store. The Saddlefiitter said it had a tree shaped similar to the one of the Hippos, so I tried it. Loved the feeling. The fit for Crispin is not too bad but far from perfect. I'm hoping that the Hippos Dressage can be changed to fit him. The saddlefitter will come and check on monday...

Happy Birthday, Crispin!

...and it's time for pictures again:

4y/o

 3 y/o

 4 y/o

 3 y/o

What a difference that last year made!

...a few more "first times".

I've been busy with other things going on and being more important lately. But that doesn't mean that there are no news to report from Crispin.

Two weeks ago we had our first lesson with Alfred. Just 30 minutes and we didn't really do much. But Alfred had some helpful tips (like I knew he would) as to how to improve steering and brakes and how to introduce contact. 

And on sunday we cantered for the first time. I was out on the track by myself and Crispin was being such a good boy that I decided to just give it a try. What fun!

I still don't have a saddle (of course). I have tried a few more during the last few weeks (mostly used ones) and there are two more, new ones, I'm going to try once they're here. The Achat will finally be here by the end of the week and I have ordered a Massimo Dressur II with french panels, which should be here in a couple of days too. I really, really hope one of the two will fit.

First riding video

I wanted to see what riding Crispin looks like, so I asked Daniela to take a video. We are progressing slowly but steadily (I still haven't found/decided on a saddle and still ride him only once or maybe twice a week).

The video is from our 16th ride. The saddle is yet another one I've had out to try (Euroriding Achat). This one is too small for both of us (17 inch seat and a 34 gullet). I've asked the the saddler to order one one size bigger and wider. Not sure if that one will fit, the saddle is really short but the panels might not be flat enough for Crispin.

Now to the video (it's pretty bad quality because of the editing).

Steering is still a little awkward. Circles to the right and straight lines to the left are pretty solid but we have issues with circles to the left and with going straight on the right. It's getting better with every ride and I'm looking forward to our first riding lesson (just a 30 min session) next week!

The New Welsh meets The New Haflinger

My very good friend Daniela who let me ride her horse during the last year, finally sold her horse in January.

Like me she wanted to downsize and started looking for a small horse or big pony. Unlike me she wasn't set on a specific breed but she did have a soft spot for haflingers. She checked out a few horses and a couple more haflingers and found the right little pony for herself, a comming 3 y/o halfinger gelding.

So, here's "The New Welsh meeting The New Haflinger"

His name is Amalfi aka "Alfie" and compared to Crispin he looks tiny! But of course Crispin has a whole year of growing and filling out on this little guy. 

I think they make a cute little pair.

The first 6 weeks of riding (and one more freejumping video)

After six weeks "under saddle" I think it's time to summarize what I did so far.

Rides 1-3:  Mounting and dismounting and being led a couple of circles by a friend.

Rides 4-9: Riding alone. Just walk in the indoor and outdoor ring and on the trails/track on the property (accompanied by another rider). Crispin responds to my leg aids well by ride 9.

Rides 10-14: I added the trot at ride 10 without any difficulties. I'm now basically riding by myself walk/trot in the indoor (steering greatly improved by now) or outdoor ring plus walk/trot on the trails/track on the property without another horse to lead.

We also did some freejumping again this sunday. Here's the video:

This time it was a little more challenging and technically difficult. Crispin managed quite well. In one round he bounces through a one stride distance but with the help of a ground pole he gets it correctly the next time. I tink there is some real jumping to be seen in the video.