New Saddle and a Ride!

Remember the last time i blogged? i had my eye on a saddle? i got it, and discovered at the same time. That the person selling it was a Parelli Natural Horsemanship person! i was so happy to find another crazy one like me.. and also to find out that there is a Russell Higgins event coming up! Russell Higgins is the only parelli instructor in New Zealand at the moment.

I tried the saddle on prince, and sent him out to do a few jumps on the end of my twenty-two foot line. Just a note to you all, every time i sent him out to do this he bucks with all four feet off the ground and won't do anything.
  once he was out there, he did ONE funny four legged hop and then really buck with both hind feet off the ground, and not just a little buck, a massive one.
  then after i finished jumping him, i then took him up to the front paddock to let him see the tree branches that had fallen in the big storm. he snorted like they were going to jump out and 'get' him.
  i decided to back him up and make him stand still, but he took off with a buck and cantered around me six times one way until i asked him to do a flying lead change in a change of direction. then he cantered the other way about six times too, until i asked him to stop.
  It wasn't until he stopped then i realised he hadn't bucked once while cantering. With my other saddle he used to buck the whole way round. now i know that the saddle wasn't fitting him right and he was irritated by it.
  Afterwards i checked the time only to find i had to run down to the neighbours place and trim her Mini's feet. i did six ponies in an hour and a half. i can't even do that with my horse Prince!
  That was Sunday. On Monday i went to course as normal, but when i came home i rushed out and grabbed Prince and saddled him up and took him out and took some pictures (sorry! i left my camera at home otherwise they would be on here!) and then after doing some ground work, i mounted up and walked him out the gate.
  I had an hour and a half ride. this is the longest ride i have ever had in Kaponga. and i've been here nearly a year (in may).  i ended up fighting him the whole way. he wanted to stop every five seconds and look at holes in the hedge (there might be ghosts mum!) and when he wasn't doing that he was ether trying to eat, or staring at cows. for all you that don't know, he loves cows. maybe one day we could do cow cutting or something.
  Let me tell you this! if you haven't done more then a fifteen minute ride, don't ever do an hour and a half! i was so sore when i got off, i couldn't stand for about five minutes. Prince came in handy to hold me up, i discovered i had places i never knew could be sore!
  When i was out riding Prince i trotted him. i forgot how strange his trot was. when he trots (i watched his shadow) he picks his feet up really high then flicks his toes out.  Its so strange you can't sit to it or post to it. so i just stood in my sturrips like a ding dong, until he started getting faster and faster. i realised that i was so unbalanced that if he put a foot wrong i would fall off, so i stopped him. after that i was fighting him the whole way home, because he wanted to trot and i wasn't ready.
  so far so good! i'm going to see if i can fit a ride in today. i'll take some more pics of him, without the saddle on.
  Also we have got our hay down,  so please pray that it doesn't rain! cause this is all our hay for the winter, and i can't afford to buy any at the moment if it does get ruined!