Astride Again!!

First things first......

It's here!!!
I'm really pleased. The saddle is obviously used. It has marks on the flaps from the leathers, a few scuffs and scratches on the seat and cantle, and the billets are well worn, but the best part is that it fits Lady!!  I'm still doing a few adjustments as to where it sits on her back, but I'm happy. The only thing I have to fix yet is the leathers that came with the saddle are too long for me. I set them at the highest setting (pictured) and could still have done with one or two holes shorter. I have my nylon set, but don't know what that would do on leather, so I'll either be buying a new set of leathers or punching more holes in these.

Can't hardly tell that it's used from this picture, can you?  :D
I went out and saddled up today already and even Lady had no issues with it. Well, other than the fact that I've had only synthetic saddles before and she had to sniff everything out of this leather one before I could put it on her. O.o
We had a 20ish minute ride of trot/walk work and I got my 2pointober baseline (1 minute, 20 seconds!). My legs did not die in that time, but my balance sure did, which shows the instability of my lower leg.

Cute baby following me around.  <3

Poor girl is having some trouble with her hocks hurting her again, so I've increased her joint supplements for the moment and I'll keep an eye on it. She does get worse during colder weather and she's also put some weight back on recently, but its still something I want to keep as minimal as possible.

Currently, blanket shopping is taking up most of my time, since it seems that October is the best time to buy winter blankets. What is your favorite blanket for turnout?  :)