smiling

when i came out of the arena - we'd been moving, not standing!

i'd decided to try a different set up with the saddle.

took the inner panels off, put the smart panel on, and didn't use a numnah.

the smartpanel has tended to drop but it occurred to me that it might be the numnah, which is a griffin nuumed half wool shimmy (can take the shims out if required) - to be precise, it might be the half wool.  i like the half wool under the treeless as there is no hard centre seam, but can see that the wool might make it slip.

anyway, whilst the smarpanel did drop a shade, not nearly as much as it has been known to (possibly, also, the lack of extra layer underneath might have been relevant).

also, the smartpanel is harder than the saddle's panels (certainly feels so when sitting on it!) and i wonder, therefore, if the feel is more stable in consequence?

having said all that, using hte smart panel with the numnah wasn't successful.

so we'll see.

i didn't do a lot, just enough to know that i could keep the walk going...one stirrup felt longer than the other even though i knew i'd set them up as normal, so assume i'd had a slight slip left getting on!  which means i should have tightened the girth one more hole (or had him a shade nearer the block when i could have stepped over and on!)

anyway, i'll keep this setup for a bit and see how we go - it'll mean more saddle cleaning, but worth it if it works.....

ages since i've had a smile on my face riding!