adjust their girths diff erently. T is way they didn’t have the same amount of buckle pres- sure on their sides in the same spot for weeks on end. I use a center-fi re rigging on my saddle, which keeps the girth from get ing too close up into the horse’s armpits. Again, we had no girth rubs or irritation throughout the ride on either horse. The first part of the ride had us riding
through Kansas and Nebraska, which is mainly fl atland or rolling hills. I chose to not use a breast collar or crupper on the horses during most of this time. I only added those items once we started to do more climbing. T is worked well too, as the horses did not have any rub or wear marks from wearing those items. One tack item I had a diffi cult time fi nding
their get ing a leg over the rope and become tangled. Rope burns were something I really needed to avoid! In addition to the neck collars, I had more
than one style of bridle and breastcollar for each horse. T is allowed me to change back and forth to avoid excess pressure on any one area. T is method seemed to work as Bo and
Chief both came through the ride without any rub spots. When it came to girths, I used mohair as
that is what I have found works best for my horses. I had several girths of diff erent lengths. This allowed me to change them out so I always had a clean girth on the horse I rode, but also because it gave me the fl exibility to
was ankle and splint boots. Chief only wears one hind ankle boot, while I like to use four leg protection boots on Bo. Neoprene gets hot and many types of splint and ankle boots will rub. I tried a new type that sounded great but aſt er the fi rst week on Bo they were rubbing hair so I switched back to the old felt-lined ones I’ve always used. T at worked, though they tend to absorb water, and foxtails stick to them, mak- ing them diffi cult to clean. Since they don’t rub, I stayed with them for the remainder of the trip and had no rubbing issues on any legs. I also rotated saddle pads, always keeping them clean. I used a Wyngz saddle pad for ap- proximately 500 miles on
the trip and Toklat Wool- back pads for the other 1,500 miles. I use carabineer clips in the front of my pads
to clip them to the D-rings on the front of my saddle to keep the pads from slip- ping. T e horse’s backs came through the ride in fantastic shape without a single saddle sore or rub.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING CLEAN Being fast idious about
Morning sunrise. We were treated to stunning sunrises and sunsets nearly every day of the trip. T is one is probably the most memorable because the local sheriff had been called the aſt ernoon before and came out and made us move our camp. Many riders who had grown weary of get ing stuck in the mud chose to park on the local country road, which didn’t go over so well with the locals. We hauled a couple of miles away and camped on fi rm ground aſt er being invited by a nice local farmer. It was all part of the great experience!
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keeping my horses clean was also important. One small
sore or rub could easily lead to a gall or open wound. I always at the very least sponge-washed
the horses aſt er each ride and made sure their backs, armpits and girth areas were kept clean and free of bug spray prior to tacking up. I used a lot of hair
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