Re: RC: lopsidedness

[DESERTRYDR1@aol.com]

My mare had a big shoulder.  I measured her for a blanket one day.  She 
measured 70 inches from center of chest to center of tail.  Imagine my 
surprise when I went around the other side, measured from center to center, 
and she measured 74 inches!     I measured her several times on each side, 
and the results were the same.  Lest you think I don't know how to measure or 
read a tape, I used to be a millwright, a craft that requires precise 
measurements down to .0001 inch.    I was not evident to the naked eye that 
she was so crooked.  I quit riding her in a western saddle.  Couldn't afford 
a good english saddle, and didn't know what I wanted to be anyway.  so I rode 
bareback, with a pad for about a year.  Not only did it improve my seat, it 
got me in the habit of placing my seatbones on each side of her spine, and 
got me out of the habit of relying on stirrups to balance.  Best news, since 
I pracitced riding straight, and concentrated on working my mare equally to 
both sides, the big shoulder went away.  jeri