Monday, April 13, 2009

Spring Cleaning

Last week we had a really nice afternoon and I decided that I had a saddle that needed to be cleaned.  Really I just wanted to be outside and doing something of the horsey type.  Since I can't keep my horse at my house, cleaning a saddle was the closest horsey type thing I could find to do.  I really miss cleaning stalls.  (This whole horse thing really is a sickness, isn't it?)  

My husbands old roping saddle needed to be cleaned the worst but since I didn't have the back strength to haul it up the basement stairs and out to the deck I decided to clean my English saddle.  It wasn't really that dirty but it did need to be cleaned.  So I hauled it upstairs and got everything set up on the deck. 


I stripped the saddle pad and girth off and got down to work.  Before I knew it I had a little helper show up.


We got the saddle all spiffed up and I threw the pad into the wash as it was covered in the hair of the last horse that I used it on.  In thinking back on which horse the hair belonged to I realized that I haven't used that saddle in about five years.  Yikes!  I need to start taking lessons again to get my butt back in shape!  My riding in the last five years has been pretty sporadic but that is a history lesson for another day.

Sadly, I don't have a picture of the finished project.  I had to hurry and put everything away as my daughter was getting a little over zealous with the cleaning.  She kept dunking her sponge in the water and squeezing it out over the saddle.  Finally, when everything within a six foot radius of her was soaked I sent her to play in her sand box so I could clean up.  At least she likes to help, right?

2 comments:

Once Upon an Equine said...

Ahh, that's really cute that you had such an ambitious helper. It's sweet when children want to help. Wouldn't it be nice if that enthusiasm continued into the teen years?

Rocky Mountain Yankee said...

Yeah, I know it won't last forever. I keep telling myself that when she is "helping" me. Just this morning while I was vacuuming she was assisting me with her vacuum, except it looked more like vacuum cleaner bumper cars because she kept ramming mine with hers and then laughing. Wonder what she could do with a manure fork? Hmm, it may be best to leave that one alone...