In the meantime, I took Serts out for a ride on Monday afternoon. I asked him to keep a good pace for 7 miles. He did great, but was tired at the end. We did take a couple of walking breaks, but 7 miles is a good long ride for a pasture potato. And to top it off, I asked him to trot up the last half mile of the hill. He did well and his heart rate stayed around 160, but it sure took it out of him.
For that ride, I used a Cashel bareback "saddle" instead of going bareback. I prefer bareback, but I have some health issues that prevent me riding bareback for training rides. I removed the stirrups from the Cashel pad because I don't believe they are safe.
I also decided that I didn't like Serts' nylon bridle. The headstall cames way too close to his eye for my taste. I rarely use my halter/bridle combination on Tanna, so I decided that could be Serts' for awhile. Serts is sporting a French Link snaffle bit.
I also employ a crop to keep Serts motivated. I used it all of twice in the 7 miles we were out. It really saves my legs. When I noticed I had to keep using my legs a lot, a quick rap to Serts' shoulder with the crop brought his attention back and he responded to my legs again.
I enjoyed my ride on Serts, but I did not enjoy the Cashel pad. It is a nice pad for putzing around in to keep one's jeans clean, but I was not comfortable above a slow trot. When Serts did a very nice 8 mph, I was unbalanced and had a hard time staying on due to nothing to grip. The pad also slipped significantly to the left when cantering. This probably means I'm way unbalanced, but I didn't really like it at all.
So our next outing will be to try out Tanna's Abetta saddle on Serts. I will designate a saddle pad as Serts' and will likely purchase Serts his own breast collar as well.
Serts sometimes has issues with rain rot that Tanna does not have, so I make sure and keep their tack separate.
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