I’m Not Going

I’m not going to the ACTHA ride this weekend.










But only because it has been rescheduled due to the weather! They have now moved it to the 29th of January. They need two safety riders so I asked DH and MIL if they wanted to be the safety riders. To my surprise DH said yes. I think MIL will too but she’s still debating. She wants to make sure there are no liability issues since she is a RN.

What is a safety rider you might ask? Well one takes up the lead to show the contestants where the trail is and the other one brings up the rear to tell the judges when they are finished. They both carry 1st aid kits and a cell phone so they can call 911 if necessary. I joked and told DH he would have to bring up the rear because there was no way Bell was going to lead that pack.

Originally there were 13 or 14 signed up for the ride so it will be interesting to see how that changes due to the change in the day. So far there is only 1 signed up (and no, it isn’t me - yet).

What is my problem!

I don’t know if I’m having bouts of anxiety or AOF (adult onset fear). As you guys know, the ACTHA ride is coming up this weekend. I have to decide by Wednesday if I’m riding or not.

The weather is supposed to be between 18* - 26* (big difference I know). I’m not sure if there is going to be any wind or not but it isn’t going to be horribly warm either way.

The ride will last approx. 2 hours and will be six miles long.

There are 12 riders signed up so far.

So what’s the problem? I don’t know! Lucy has always been very dependable. Even when she’s scared she doesn’t scare me. So why now? Why all of the sudden am I worried she’ll spook?

Saturday I got her out to see how she would handle dragging an object (a sled). I jumped on bb w/a halter like normal and she was goosey! She didn’t like the wooden squirrel that was in the front yard (it has been there for ages) and she hated the sled!

DH started off pulling Chase on it behind the 4 wheeler w/us following. I thought I was coming off a few times but quickly regained control. When they went inside to warm up I jumped off and desensitized her to it a bit from the ground & then hopped on. She was good as gold. I even had Chase come out and get in it so I could pull him (from both sides). I’m not sure if she could have been any calmer.

I have to say, I’m almost more nervous about doing this ride then I was going to the CA clinic. I’m nervous she’ll spook at the obstacles, I’m nervous she’ll spook at deer (even though she never has before and these deer are so used to horses that they don’t move), I’m nervous about stuff I don’t even know I’m nervous about.

Any thoughts?

Go for the Silver Winter Wonderland CTC

I’m on the fence and looking for a bit of input from you guys. There is an ACTHA trail ride on the 22nd of this month and I’m debating on going. I’ve never been to one before but they look like a lot of fun. DH of course thinks it is a horrible idea since I haven’t ridden Lucy since Nov. Hey, I’ve ridden her once since then!

It looks like the cost of the ride would be approx. $93, not including food or fuel ($35 for membership and $58 for ride fees). I know they money goes to a good cause and that they have over $1200 worth of prizes at every ride but that does sound a bit expensive. On the other hand – I tend to follow through with things when my money is on the table so to speak.

The ride is 6 miles long with 6 judged obstacles and 6 different judges. Here is the list of possible obstacles (you don’t find out which ones until the day of the ride) and my comments in red on how I think Lu would do.

Slicker (Raincoat) – I think Lucy would be fine w/thisHat Pick up – Not sure if I can do it but I don’t think Lucy would be bothered.
Water Obstacle – Might take some coaxing
Mount – No problem
Dismount – No problem
Drag – I’m not sure how she’d do on this. For some reason, I don’t think she’d care
Back- No problem
Uphill – No problem, I do this when she anticipates going down a hill
Downhill – Never tried it but I think she’d do ok
Stop – awww, her favorite thing to do!
Canter (Lope) – shouldn’t be an issue except for picking up the correct lead. Somehow I doubt they ask for this in 7”+ of snow.
Mailbox – since she tries to rub my leg off on ours, I don’t think this would be an issue
Vine Simulator (Ropes dangling down) – she was ok w/the ones at the CA clinic & they were pretty scary.
L-Back – I think if we communicated well she would do fine.
The Jump – she can, I can’t!
Noise Control – I have no idea
Bank (Up an Embankment) – she’d do fine.
Bank (Down an Embankment) – she’d do fine.
Trot Transitions – We’d have to stop her from stopping on the downward transition.
Turn on Haunches, Forehand, and 360's - since this is done in a box, I’m not sure. She does the hq well but not so well on the fq.
Barrel Board Pin Wheel – this looks difficult!
Side Pass – I’ve never tried to sidepass her so I have no clue.
Tarp – I don’t think she’d mind. I think I’ve taken her over them before.
Trot Weave – no problem.

You can see videos of all of the obstacles and more detailed descriptions of how to complete them here.

Well those were my initial thoughts until I looked at some of the ACTHA photos on FB! The drag used a fake person, the vine simulator was cups, stinger, etc., they had a fake deer on the one side of the bridge, a mirror in front of the dismount, etc. These are things most people wouldn’t think to train their horse for. It almost intrigues me more!

And DH is right. I haven’t ridden Lu much but I don’t think she’d do anything out of character. You ride out in a group, not by yourself. You just do the obstacles by yourself.

I also think it would be a great place to meet new people. So far there are only 10 people signed up so it is a very small group.

Any thoughts?

I rode!

Yes I know it is amazing isn’t it?

I decided if I wanted it bad enough there really wasn’t a reason why I couldn’t ride (even though I have tons of them). I left DH a note saying I was taking some “me” time and headed out to the barn after work. It was cold! I think it was around 30* with a nice, brisk wind.

I started out doing some GW with Cat.

Problem #1 – the ground is so hard the horses can barely move over it.

I took her up to the drive thinking it might be better.

Problem #2 – the drive is no better then the drylot.

I decided to end her where I was at and do some desensitizing. She was ok until I started slapping the stick/string on the ground. Guess I now have a starting point for desensitizing.

I backed her all the way from the house to the pasture. She had that one down pat so there really weren’t any issues. After that I got Lu out. I did a quick (2 second) run of gw with her and then jumped on bb w/the halter.

It was too dark and the ground was too hard by the barn so I rode up into the backyard. She was a bit nervous at first but soon settled. I worked on flexing and then bending. I swear to you it is like we never left the clinic. Once she “gets” something she gets it. She still isn’t great on her left side but her right side is wonderful.

It was a nice ride and it was much needed! After being in the cold for an hour I had to go home and defrost.

Oh and on a side note - I'm pretty sure Cat has finally figured out how to open up those "horse proof" latches.

Baby its cold outside................

I knew we had a chance of getting some snow this weekend but when I watched the news last it didn’t sound like much. The weatherman made it sound like the snow was supposed to stay north of us and that we would get more rain.

Saturday I headed out to the farm to pick up Chase as he’d spent the night with my parents the night before. The roads were a bit slicker then I’d anticipated from the rain we got the night before but we made it out safely. I wanted to get some housework done at home so I just grabbed Chase and we headed home.

By around 4:00 the weather had turned so bad that they started to shut down roads and the interstate. DH was at work and I wasn’t about to risk the kids to drive back out to chore so we stayed put. I felt a little bad for my horses when a friend posted a photo of her horse on Facebook.

This is Maggie –she is normally jet black!



When I went out yesterday to chore the horses weren’t as bad as I had anticipated. I did put them in last night so they could get out of the wind. I’m sure they were wondering why I hadn’t put them in the night before.

On a sad note – we had to put down the fawn Mollie. I’m not sure if she panicked in the storm or what but my dad found her Sunday morning with a shattered front leg. While trying to move her, her back leg broke as well. This is the hard part about rehabbing.

An OLD wise man once said:

A Little is Better Than None

As winter sets in, so does the cold & flu season. DH was feeling a bit under the weather last night and the boys were engrossed in cleaning their rooms (I guess they are really worried Santa won’t come) so I headed out to do chores by myself.

The ponies are always eager to come in for food. I can almost tell you what order they will come in (Cat, Lucy, Bell, and then Abby). Cat is trying to show her dominance over the other horses. As the youngest horse in the pasture she should be getting her butt kicked – instead – she’s doing the kicking.

Bell just can’t get with the program and it annoys me to no end. She’s been going in the same stall since we got her yet she still can’t quite figure it out. My horses seem to pick this up in less then a week. Last night she went into Cat’s stall instead of her own. Cat knew Bell was going to get whacked so she hauled ass out of her stall and into the empty stall on the end. Chaos set in and everyone was panicking to get into their stalls but they couldn’t because of Bell. Once Bell finally found her stall everyone else ran to theirs for safety.

Cat and Abby don’t get as much as Bell and Lu so once Cat was done I decided to check out some of her new “battle scars”. I decided while I was waiting for the others that I’d clean out her teats. She was not thrilled and let me know it by kicking out her leg. The halter came out and then next kick was greeted with a whack on the ass from the end of Mr. Rope. Mr. Rope some how always seems to get her attention. After she was clean I did some flexing. She had a difficult time reaching her belly (I’m still not sure why – it sticks out so far it should be easy to touch) but she did try.

I decided I would go ahead and back all of the horses out of the barn. I started with Cat – she knows the drill so she was pretty good. Then Abby – she wasn’t too bad. Then Bell - ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Please kill me now! I realize she has not been taught to back up off of pressure but man did she go from dull to over reactive. I know where her trailer loading issues come from because we had them in the barn isle last night. As soon as pressure hits her poll she goes flying backwards. I knew I didn’t have a ton of time so I did what I could to get her to back out quietly without over reacting. I finally got it and turned her loose. Lesson #1 – let DH deal w/his own horse! From now on I think I’ll just back out my two and Abby.

Tis the season……………..

To be lazy – fa la la la la, la la la la!

We had a great Thanksgiving. The food was wonderful & company was even better. DH had to work on Friday so the boys and I spent the weekend at MIL’s. Friday was cold so we stayed inside and watched movies most of the day.

Saturday DH came down to fix MIL’s fence. He had a long night at work so he went to sleep for a few hours while MIL and I went shopping. I picked up a new tank heater and a heated water bowl for the ducks. The weather was beautiful! When we returned I moved some rock into MIL’s pasture so the horses had to go over some when going from one pasture to the other.

I decided to get Black out for Ty to ride. MIL had sent his saddle home so I saddled her up with MIL’s new CA saddle. She was full of P & V so I had Ty get on with me instead of letting him ride alone. MIL hopped on bareback and Ty pointed us to the big pasture. I trotted Black to catch up w/MIL and Ty thought that was the best thing in the world so we spent the next 20 minutes trotting all over the place. Ty was giggling and I was reminded what having horses was all about. MIL got to laughing so hard that she fell off of Sis.

Sunday we worked on some more winterizing in the barn. We got the tank set up on the front pasture and put a new outlet on the pole. Then we went to town for some plexi glass to put over the windows. DH got to feeling a bit under the weather so we didn’t get them installed but we at least got them purchased.

DH and I have started talking about next year. I am no longer an officer of the Saddle Club and I have already told the Drill Team no to being their drill master so I’m not obligated to anyone. I am thinking next year we need to hit the trails more – as a family. I think Black will be just fine for Ty to use. Chase really seemed to enjoy the overnight at Brushy and I think Ty will enjoy them too. I know I will!

Winter is just around the corner

Not much new to report. I haven’t had much time to do anything with the horses since we’ve gotten back from the clinic. I wish I could say I have all of the exercises perfected but let’s face it – we all know better then that by now.

Saturday the weather was decent but it wasn’t great. My plans to finish up my winterizing in the barn were cut short since both of my parents were feeling ill and I didn’t want to keep Ty out in the cold. MIL came over and we grabbed some feed and I decided to head over to her place to spend the night with the boys. It was a good decision because DH had a bad call at work Sunday am and needed some time to himself.

MIL had decided that Black (now known as Ma-maw) is hers. I’m not sure how she’s come to that decision but she does enjoy her and enjoys having a companion for Sis. Black looks wonderful! I switched her to Triple Crown Senior just prior to taking her to MIL’s and she has packed on the pounds! She’s moving great too!

Not the best photo I know. It was overcast and misty but I wanted one before we left.

When I went out to chore Sunday night I found this in Abby’s stall (we have concrete floors). Anyone have a Jack Russell I can borrow for a week or two?

Clinic Update

The clinic was a blast! If you haven’t seen the photos on my Facebook page e-mail me and I’ll send you the link.

Lucy and I learned a lot! Day one we listened to his philosophy for most of the morning and then hit the round pens in the afternoon. Very few horses wanted to cooperate & Brittney (his new apprentice) got to take over quite a bit. The sand in the round pens just rolled under your feet so almost everyone fell down at least once (some more then once).

When it was my turn I got CA’s round pen. Lu was doing well turning to go clockwise but didn’t want to draw in and turn counterclockwise for me quite as well. CA felt she was chumping me so he had me run in at her. That just made things worse. When he asked if I wanted Brittney to take over I couldn’t say yes fast enough! I was tired. I did feel a bit better when she wouldn’t turn for Brittney. CA had to step back and get Lu to just acknowledge Brittney from her right eye & then drew her in. He asked about her breeding and then asked if I bred or showed her. He looked at me like I was an idiot when I said no. lol

At the end of the day I took Lu back into the RP and worked on her some more. She was much better but still not perfect.

Day two – we did round penning in the am again. Lu was 100x better then she’d been the day before. This time Jenny helped me. I really liked Jenny. After that we went to the indoor arena (it was butt arse cold) and worked on some more groundwork. Sis and MIL got used as examples a lot and there was a film crew there filming them. I’m not sure if they will be on TV or if it was just for footage. Day two went slowly so we still didn’t get to ride.

Day three we worked on our groundwork outside in the morning. After our groundwork I saddled Lu, tied her to the patience pole and headed to lunch. When I got back Sharon said Lu had laid down so she whacked her to get her back up. I could tell Lucy was itching to lie down. I get so nervous when she gets this way because I worry about my feet getting caught in the stirrups as she goes down. Jenny told me to just flex her and if she even though of going down to whack her between the ears. Lucy looked miserable. She’d flex, keep her head at my foot and just close her eyes. By the end of the day she was pig rooting on the bit and she was as stiff as could be. I haven’t had her like that in well over a year.

When we were finally done I unsaddled her. She was swollen where the girth goes under her belly. No wonder why she was so pissy.

Day three – we started with groundwork again. I was learning how to refine and also was being shown some of the bad habits I’d gotten myself into. We broke for lunch only this time I decided to turn Lu loose in her pen for water/feed. She was still swollen so I had DH go into town and buy me a Mohair girth in case she was having a reaction to the CA one.

We rode and did our ORS, cruising and then went into the arena to do diagonals. Lucy did great with these and went very deep into the corners. When I got done riding I unsaddled and the swelling was gone! I guess I now know that Lu is an au’ natural gal, no synthetic for her. It must burn. That is the only thing I can think of but I had no problems with her wanting to lie down after switching to the Mohair.

Day four – we did a bit of groundwork and then CA let us go out onto the obstacle course. It was a blast! I was surprised at how much Lu seemed to enjoy jumping. I felt some people asked too much of their horses for the first day on the course but I just worried about me and mine.
Riding wasn’t too much different for day four. CA did mention that it appeared that MIL and I had loped our horses a lot.

Day five – CA was gone so we got Shana. I liked Shana. We did LFR Stage 2 and Lu did awesome! Then we went to the obstacle course and Shana helped me get Lu to jump down into the water (she didn’t want to on day 1 on the course). She had us all cracking up because she just put her front end in the water and then drank.

We worked on riding and the bending exercise. I went straight to Jenny because I knew we were not going to get it. Jenny helped me and Lu and I finally started to get the beginning of the bending. Woo hoo!

Day six – the majority of the people left so it was a nice small class. We did LFR stage 2 again and Jenny helped me refine it even more. Then we went to the obstacle course where Shana helped me get Lucy off of the big bank into the water.

After that we rode some more and worked on bending – Lu was doing awesome now that she knew what I wanted! Then we went to vertical flexion and draw to a stop. I need to work more on those since Lu wants to back up before giving. After class was over I went into the indoor and worked on diagonals, stick to the fence and the clover leaf pattern. She did very well. I called it a day and we packed up the trailer.

Sunday we were up and out of the ranch by 5 am. We made it to Janet’s around 7:00 and I made it to my mom’s to pick up the boys around 8:30. Brandon brought the horses home Monday. I’m glad to be home but boy did that week just fly by! I hope I can afford to do it again soon!

Moonlite Bareback Ride

Friday night the boys and I headed over to MIL’s so we could get up and go shopping for TX on Sat. The boys crashed pretty early so MIL and I headed out to the barn. Cat was being pretty pushy so I put her halter on and put her to work. She is a very smart girl and didn’t mess w/me too much.

While I was working with Cat, MIL starting working with Sis. The next thing I knew – MIL was riding Sis bareback around the dark pasture. Temptation overwhelmed me and the next thing I knew I was up on Cat bareback riding around with MIL in a dark pasture full of loose horses. It was wonderful! Cat was so quiet and laid back, almost as if I’d been riding her all summer. We rode for probably 30 – 45 minutes before calling it a night.

I just looked back and my last ride on Cat was June 13th! I knew it had been a while!

Saturday we got up and went shopping. I finally found a new pair of boots and picked up a couple of pairs of jeans. After our shopping spree we headed back to the farm and cleaned out the trailer. I gave it a quick power wash inside and out and then we loaded it up and headed back to MIL’s. Sunday we got all of the packing (for the horses) complete. I brought Black back home so she can stay on her feeding schedule while we are gone but the others (Bell, Cat, & Abby) will be staying at MIL’s while we are gone.

Lucy got a quick trim this morning so she’s ready to go (as ready as she’ll be). Now it is just time to get me and the boys packed!

Hitting the trails

Friday night Chase and I headed up to Brushy Creek for an overnight trail ride. This was the first “overnight” we’ve done this year. I don’t typically take Chase up to Brushy because the trails are a little more challenging but I felt he was finally up for the challenge. I didn’t think he was up to the challenge w/Abby though so he took Sis and I took Lu.

We got up there late Fri. night and parking was quite the task (he almost backed me into a tree). We finally got settled and snuggled down for the night. Sat. we got up and headed out on the trails.

Right off of the trail head is a steep hill. Chase was a little nervous but this quickly became his favorite trail head.



The weather was perfect and the trees were lovely. We went South on Saturday and ended up down by the river.



One of my favorite signs. It reads “trail closed”



On the way back we found an old warming house. Chase thought it was the coolest thing so he pulled the DNR guy over and asked him what it was for. It was an old snowmobile warming house that hadn’t been used in 20+ years.



Sat. night we had a bonfire with farm fresh steaks, potatoes, green beans and of course – smores! Chase was in bed and out cold by 9:00. lol

Sunday we headed towards the spillway. These are my all time favorite pics from this weekend.





Up, up, up and away



When we made it to the spillway Chase said “I’m not crossing that!” I informed him he had no other choice. He told me he did, he could turn around and go back. In the picture you’ll notice the water in the top right-hand corner of the picture. That is where we normally cross. There is typically a sand bar there that you follow and then you cross a short section of water to the other side. Last time DH and I went up the deep part was up to my ankles. When I took Lu down into the shallow I was in up to my ankles and I could feel her going in deeper and deeper. I was pretty uncomfortable pushing her to go in any further since I know that was the “shallow” section so I backed out and opted to try to navigate the top part.

We don’t typically take the top because a) it is very rocky and b) the current is pretty strong. I coaxed Lu out into it and told Chase to stay behind. After we crossed safely I had him bring Sis on through. You can’t tell from the pic but that is a straight up & down jump up out of the water. Chase (and Sis) handled it very well.



More smiles



And here is the end. Chase heading up his favorite hill.



It was a great weekend!

Woo hooo! Pony Time!

I’ve already informed my parents that they aren’t getting their house back. I’m loving being out on the farm!

Sat. MIL and I headed to the vet for out coggins/health certs for TX. Sis got out first and Lu wasn’t very happy. I’m not sure if it is the weather or what but she typically doesn’t care. After Sis got done I grabbed Lu and she was full of it. She was antsy and didn’t want to stand still for the vet. I would have loved to have done some LFR but the vet was in a hurry & she wasn’t any worse then most horses so I just let it be.

When we got back to the house I decided to do some gw with her since she seemed to have so much extra energy. I put the long line on and she did very well. It didn’t take her long to start thinking. ;) She was dripping sweat by the time I got done so I tied her up in her stall to think about it and we headed to town to pick up feed. They had mini hay bales at the feed store so I bought one for Ty to carry around. I think it is too cute!

After the feed store we headed up to Ames to look for new boots and to buy bagged hay (they don’t sell it locally). I really want a pair of boots that doesn’t have a thick, grippy sole but I can’t seem to find a pair. Since we were close to Brandon we decided to take the boys to go see their dad. By now Lu had stood for a good 4 hrs. so I asked my sister to go untie her. Good thing I did as we didn’t return home until after 8.

Sunday I got up and did some gw with Lu again. I put her on the long line and made her do LFR on the hill and over the creek bank. After she was nice and hot I grabbed Sis. Sis did have some swelling from her shots so I took it easy on her. She was still huffing and puffing but she didn’t work nearly as hard as Lu did.

Later in the day MIL came over and we rode. I saddled up English and MIL rode bb. My bridle was at home so I used MIL’s bosal. Lu did well in it but didn’t like the heaviness of the bosal. I know she’s light because I can just barely pick up the reins and she will tuck her head – in the bosal she thought I was picking up when I wasn’t.

When we got done riding I decided to see if Lu would lie down. I worked on her in increments and treated her often (she’s a lush for treats). Let me tell you – when she decides to go down she falls like a ton of bricks! I was just trying to get her to touch her knee to the ground when she decided to come on down (almost on top of me). I got her to go down twice and then put her away.

Later I went down and spent time cleaning up her mane, clipping her and I even blunt cut her tail! I actually like the way it looks on her. Did I mention I love being out at the farm.

Life on the farm……………….

My parents left for a 10 day vacation so I’m house sitting for them until they return. They still have some baby squirrels to take care of and a fawn so instead of going out two times a day (with my kids in tow) I decided to just stay in their house while they are gone.

Last night I went out to get my computer and a few other things set up and then headed down to the barn. Lu was just standing there looking at me awaiting her dinner. The boys were enjoying their nightly dig in the dirt with their toy trucks. I decided I needed to work on my balance so I grabbed my rope off of my stick, looped it around her neck and jumped on.

Our ride was pretty interesting. If Lu feels me get unbalanced she stops. I’m not saying this is a bad thing but sometimes I need to work through it. I pushed her on and started trying a few different things to get in sync with her. She was being really good and I the ride was just what I needed. I did learn that her steering isn’t so good. She doesn’t move off of my legs as well without a bridle to help guide her. I did end up getting her to go where I wanted a few times but I had to use my crop to help back up my leg cues.

Her steering might not be the best but her stop and backup were pretty darn good. If I took my legs off of her she sat down. When I rocked back she tucked her head as if I was picking up on the reins and backed up (almost better then when I do have a bridle on). If I would have had my camera, I would have had Chase take a video even though I was in capri pants and flip flops.

We messed around a bit. I laughed as she decided to take off after the dog – until she started to pick up speed! Then I shut her down. We tracked the dogs a bit and then I got up the courage to lope her. This was the first time I’ve loped her bareback. Now I’m not typically afraid of loping bareback but when it comes to Lu, I find I have a difficult time getting in rhythm/sync with her. I don’t know if it is her size, her athletic ability or if it is just me.

We headed down to the end of the pasture and I hopped of. On the way back to the barn I did a bit of yhq and yfq with her (halterless) and she did great. I’m hoping to do the same again tonight (only maybe w/an English saddle this time). I love being back on the farm!

Cleaning out the barn!

Well since I can't ride I decided to clean out the barn. I've got a lot of stuff I don't use so I've decided to put it on Craigs List. Hopefully I can get ride of most of it.

I'm going to list some stuff here in case anyone is interested. I hate tossing stuff and I'm not sure if I'm up for selling on E-bay yet.

So far I have:

A vintage pony saddle (metal horn, slick seat, tapaderos)
Professionals Choice skid boots (green)
2 sets of cotton mecate reins
Flat halters
Rope halters/leads
Whither pads
Muley Horns - I linked it because I know someone is going to ask!

Will add more when I get through more trunks.

On the road again

Harvest time is here so my riding is coming to an end. Knowing this I decided to take Lu on a ride Sunday. The weather was perfect so I saddled up and we headed down the road. She was a bit full of herself so I kicked her into second gear. Halfway down the road I noticed my dog was following behind. He was far enough away from the house that I turned around and ran him back home. Lu was pretty excited thinking she was done until we turned back around.

I kicked her back into second gear and we finished the road at a trot. We crossed the highway and headed towards rollercoaster road. When I got to the cross roads I checked the time and then headed on down rollercoaster road. This road gets its name from the massive hills. There are three hills and they are long and steep and take the energy right out of any horse.

Half way down the first hill a deer jumped out and spooked Lu (I think the cool weather has increased her awareness) so we did some circles and I decided she had enough energy to move out. Heading down the hill she was in a hurry so I put her in reverse. She finally decided walking was a better idea (I have a thing about going fast down hills). At the bottom of the longest hill I kicked her into 3rd gear. I really had to push to get her to finish the hill! When we got to the top of the hill I reached for my phone to check the time. Oh crud! Where did it go? Yep – I lost it.

Knowing that I had it at the beginning of the road I turned Lu around and headed back to look for it. No luck! Well I wasn’t cutting my ride short so we turned around and did rollercoaster road again. Lu was not amused! When we finally finished our normally 7 mile ride (assuming closer to 9 with the back tracking) Lu was ready for a break! She was a very good girl though.

I grabbed DH’s cell phone and the 4 wheeler and headed down the road. Can you believe it? I found my phone. Right about where I noticed I’d lost it. Oy!

DH is gone to harvest now and it is getting dark by 7:00 – 7:30 so I have a feeling my riding will be very limited. I guess now is a good time to work on my groundwork huh?

Not what I wanted to read

I don't usually cross post but this one is near and dear to my heart. For some the fugly horse of the day blog can be too much. I still read it from time to time just to keep up with things. I was taken back today when I read the story about a rescue in VA called Hidden Meadows Equine Rescue.

You can read the article here: 56 horses, 2 cows seized from rescue organization

So why do I care? This is where Rain went to. Do you remember Rain? She was the palo/paint that I rescued and sold to a gal in PA. When she couldn't keep her any longer I introduced her to Mary after meeting her on the NWC forum. This was before Mary formed her rescue. I can only hope that Rain is in good health and is adopted. I will be doing what I can to find out what her status is.

Ground meet Courtney, Courtney meet Ground

Last night I was asked to fill in for MIL at drill practice. Wanted to ride I accepted and headed straight to the arena after work so I could work Lu before practice. I figured I’d use Sis for practice since she is the one that will be running it and she needs to work on the pattern (not Lu).

I took over my big red ball to play soccer with before practice. The young girls were having a hay day and their horses caught on quickly. Lu was a bit nervous about it so we worked on getting her to focus on me (instead of the ball) and rate my seat. She did very well so we moved up into a canter. I’ve been trying to post a lot more (although not the 30 min. a day CA recommends) and I’m noticing that it is placing my body in a different position compared to how I normally ride. I seem to be more upright (like I should be) and more in cadence with Lu although I am still struggling to maintain my seat rhythm when she canters clockwise (her bad side).

Before I headed to grab Sis I had Lu move the ball some. Once she got the hang of it she was all over the ball. I put her away and grabbed Sis. She acted like the ball was going to kill her even though she’d played with it the entire weekend. I moved her out trying to stretch out her tight muscles (from her injury last year) and she quickly got with the program. We ran the run and it wasn’t very pretty. I’ve watched the pattern quite a few times but haven’t paid attention to MIL’s spot and apparently neither have some of the other riders. I’d get out of place but quickly fell back into place.

I got a chuckle out of a few gals when they said “so Sis can run”. LOL yes she can! I was in MIL’s saddle and the stirrups are too long but I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal – Sis is pretty easy to sit compared to Lu. As we came around the one bend Sis decided to turn before me and I popped out of the saddle and my hands landed on her neck. I recovered but I shouldn’t have done it in the first place. Then around another corner she tripped. That time I maintained my seat much better.

As we were cooling down from the run one of the younger gals grabbed her weanling and was leading it around from her gelding. I was working on getting Sis to soften and tuck her head. One of the other gals asked me about my mecate wondering “isn’t that dangerous tying to yourself like that”. I explained to her that it wasn’t tied and it would come out if I’d come off. It wasn’t but about a minute later when I gave her a demo on how it worked.

I don’t know what happened but Sis jumped sideways and over her shoulder and off I came. The mecate got caught under my leg and Sis reared trying to get away from the pressure and whatever was scaring her. I thought a few times she was going to come down and land on my legs but luckily she didn’t. I finally got the mecate loose, got up and put her feet to work. She looked at me like “you want me to what”.

The gals watching think the foal spooked her. I don’t think she saw it on the side of the gelding and as he turned I guess the foal bucked and kicked out. I really don’t care why she spooked. I was very happy that I was able to maintain my composure and not let frustration get in the way when I got up off of the ground. I can honestly say that I wasn’t upset with Sis. While my body was a bit sore today I can say that for the first time my pride wasn’t hurt. I know I’m not the best rider but I am working towards being a better rider so if people feel the need to judge me – so be it. I’m frustrated that I can’t find my “center” but I know old habits die hard. Guess I just need to post some more. ;)

Beautiful weekend to ride

Friday night the boys and I headed over to MIL’s with the ponies. I took Cat over to stay at MIL’s so I could a) get some horses off of my pasture and b) focus more on Lu. Bell will be joining Cat and Black as soon as DH leaves to go harvest.

Black was very happy to have company again. She’s moving very well. Her abscess ended up being a sub solar abscess so her entire sole is lifting off. Hopefully it stays dry so she doesn’t get gunk underneath it.

Saturday was beautiful. We got the ponies out to ride (Chase on Abby, MIL on Sis, Ty on Black and I was going to ride Cat). When I unwrapped Cat’s leg it was pretty nasty looking. The wrap kept the fluid from moving down like it was supposed to but it also re-opened her cannon bone injury that had been healing well so I opted not to ride her.

The boys rode for a good while. I had to teach Ty how to spank Black because she was being super lazy (not a bad thing). He enjoyed that a little too much so I had to get after him a bit (not that he whacked hard). MIL worked on the clover leaf pattern w/Sis and Chase messed around.

I made Ty get off and got out the big ball. Black immediately got nervous (hence why I took Ty off). Very few things freak that old mare out but the big ball is one of them. Abby wasn’t quite sure about it so I rolled it away while Chase and MIL followed. The wind was blowing quite a bit so it wasn’t helping much. After a while I got on Sis and got her to move it around some then let Chase have a go. I gave him a crop and Abby got a little frisky so he got off and had grandma get on.

The next day I went out to work Abby. I worked on the clover leaf pattern but decided we really need to go back and work on our gas pedal. She’s all over the place because she is so lazy! I made her move her feet and soon enough she did go better. Then I put Chase on her in my saddle. That kid has some long legs but he wasn’t quite able to reach my stirrups so I took him to the RP (with Sis loose in there) and let him just ride while I moved Abby (and Sis). It was very good for him and he’s got a pretty good balance when he doesn’t have to worry about other things.

It didn’t take him long to get tired so I hopped back on. The ball was in the RP so I decided to play with it some. MIL hopped on Sis bareback and bridleless and rode her around with. Anytime Abby wouldn’t kick the ball I’d make her move her feet. It didn’t take that fat pony long to figure out the ball was the place to be. At one time Abby was flying around the RP and Sis decided to join. I thought MIL was going to come off but she didn’t. We were laughing so hard – man I love my horses!

I’m going to go fill in for MIL at drill tonight and I plan on going early so I can play with Lucy with the ball (using Sis for drill) and work on our stops. I think Chase is going to go with so it should be a blast. I’m really happy with the way Lu is going. I had to ride her w/my leather halter last week (MIL used my bridle for drill) and she was just as light and soft in it as she was with her bridle. Really makes me wonder what she’d be capable of doing w/a patient trainer.

Also, I want to thank John and Ranae for the tips on the bending exercise. I’m gong to try a few of them w/Lu tonight and see if I can get it to work or at least get a starting point.

1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days

Until the fun begins! Wow has time gotten away from me. When I put my deposit down for the clinic November seemed so far away. Now it is just around the corner and I feel so unprepared. My new helper asked me if I was nervous about going. I was, but now not so much. I just want to go have fun and learn. I don’t much care for riding in front of people but I’ll get over that quickly I’m sure.

I have been riding Lucy, just not as much as I’d like to. I think it will be a good 15+ years before that happens and by then she’d better be dead broke! Hopefully I’ll have 60 rides on Cat by then too. What I’m noticing is that the more I focus on me – the better she does (another duh moment I know). I have sore muscles where I didn’t know I could have sore muscles but I’m also noticing that along with that, I’m started to get more centered in my riding. I still have a long way to go but this is a start.

I have a horrible habit of looking down at my horse instead of where I’m going – I’m working very hard on that. I’m hoping this weekend to get the big ball out and play a little bit of horse soccer to get us both focusing on something so we can have fun while learning.

If I had one exercise I wanted CA to help me with it would be the bending exercise. I just can not for the life of me get Lucy to do it. Anytime I pick up on the rein and put my inside leg on her she sucks back and tries to go into a spin. If I try to squeeze to get forward movement she just increases her spin speed. A lot of the other exercises hinge on this one so I’m hoping he can help me fix it while in Texas. If anyone has any suggestions before then I’d love to hear them.

Play Time!

The weather was just beautiful last night so Lu and I went to the arena to play. On the way to the arena we stopped and picked up a friend to play with us. We had a blast and boy can I feel it today! Ouch am I sore.

For whatever reason she wasn’t nearly as soft when I started flexing when I first got on. She’s normally very light so I wasn’t quite sure what the deal was there. I rarely yield her hq under saddle so I decided it was time to get with it and do it. She did fine and only needed tapped a few times but those few times got her a bit wound up. After that any time I’d flex her she thought she needed to yield her hq and wouldn’t relax. This tells me we obviously need to work on this more.

After that we did some follow the fence at the trot. She follows the fence fine (sometimes too close) but I used it more to warm her up and to give me time to post. I’ve got to get this out of shape body somewhat in shape before CA kills me in Nov. On his last DVD he said if you could post for 15 minutes 2 times a day for 5 days……………..bwaaaa haaaa haaa haaa lets start with 5 minute increments and be happy with that.

After that I set up a pylon in the arena and did the clover leaf pattern at a lope. I figured Lu would be a drunken sailor but she did really well. What I found is that when she didn’t go straight – it was because I wasn’t looking far enough ahead to where I wanted to go. Duh I know but sometimes you have to catch yourself doing it. She was better on the right lead which was expected but she didn’t do too badly on the left. Next time I just need to start on that side. After a while I waited for her to lean so we could go the opposite direction she wanted to go. To my surprise she waited for me to give her directions on where we were going.

She got ample rest in the center of the pattern and was very happy to stop when I asked her. She did have difficulties standing still. She was very fidgety and wanted to back up and would flex w/o me asking (that is a nice problem to have I know). I really think she wanted to just drop to the ground. I didn’t want to let her end that way so after she aired up some we did some ORS at the trot. I want her to start rating my seat better then she was. She was tired enough that she reverted back to trying to rub me off on the other horse so I determined if she had enough energy to do that she had enough energy to do what I wanted. Finally when I sat she immediately sucked back and stopped, then flexed (w/o me asking again) and stood in the center of the arena w/o moving. I let her air up for a while and then repeated. After she did it again I dismounted and called it good. She was tired!

I had a blast though and it was just what we both needed!

Full of beans!

What a beautiful holiday weekend we had! The weather was just perfect and grandma was in a good mood so DH and I slipped off for a ride down the road Saturday evening. As we pasted the neighbor’s house their white (wolf looking) dog jumped out behind the trees barking at the horses. Lucy jumped and so did Bell but I think I did too. As we continued down the road Lucy found lots of items shy at so we did lots and lots of circles. When she wasn’t shying, I was working on getting her to rate my seat at the trot. It was a fun ride but I don’t think she’s been that full of beans since I first got her! Hopefully she was just feeling her oats and she’ll be back to her normal lazy self next ride out.

Cat’s leg is healing well. It is still pretty swollen but it is going down slowly. She’s self medicating (cleaning her leg) so I’m letting her do all of the work. Here she is resting her leg on the fence so she can lick the inside of her leg (she just got done licking as the camera snapped).

It is starting to get cooler here (54* this am) and the ponies are starting to fluff up. Black went over to MIL's to give my pasture a rest and Bell will be joining her in a few weeks when DH leaves to farm.

BBHRR = Bareback Halter Road Ride

Not much to report here. Black is suffering from and abscess and I think Lucy and Cat are trying to kill each other. It seems like if it isn't one thing with one of them then it is something with the other. Unfortunatly the KC doesn't help with injuries. If it did - I'd double their dose.

Lucy has cuts and scraps all over her body. Luckily none of them are too deep. Cat...............Cat is going to put me in a white jacket one of these days. Her cheese sliced leg is finally healing and her hair is growing back. Her chest fluctuates depending on what her and Lu have managed to do that day. As of last night it looked as "normal" as I think it is going to look. But now..........now she has a puncture wound on the cheese slice leg up above the knee. I have no clue what she could have gotten into. The pasture is mostly high tensil fence and minus a water tank and some hay bales - there really isn't anything in it. The only thing I can think of is that she poked it on a tree branch or something?

Needless to say her leg is swollen up about 3x the size of normal. I've wrapped her leg (which she despises) so I guess we'll wait and see. Once she's healed up she's going to go visit MIL for a while so I can seperate her and Lu. I don't need Lu getting hurt any worse before Nov. If I have to - I'll take Abby to TX but I really, really, really don't want to!

Lu has given me a few good/much needed laughs over the last few weeks. I made her go into the duck pond since she ins't a big fan of water. She pawed for what seemed like an eternity splashing duck poo water everywhere! After her third trip in she decided it was good enough to roll in. Yuck! She got a bath and I turned her out. I'm so glad those CA halters wash up well.

I did send Cat into it before her last injury. She wasn't as much fun as Lu but she went in. I'd never asked her to go in any water before so it was good for her.

Last night MIL and I rode bb down the road. I just wanted to "ride" so I didn't even bother to put a bridle on Lu. I just snapped some reins on her leather halter and we were off. We rode for and hour or so but quickly ran out of daylight.

Too Hot!

It has been horribly hot here! Too hot to ride – or at least it should be.

MIL and the drill team had a performance at the Carson Rodeo 08/7 and it was by far the worst performance they’ve ever had. They tried to get it back together but it didn’t happen and they left the arena w/o finishing the performance. They were scheduled to perform at the opening ceremonies of the Iowa State Fair in less then a week so this was not the confidence booster they needed.

MIL and I got back to her place around 2 in the morning and it took a while before we were able to fall asleep. We’d planned on getting up in the morning and going for a trail ride before heading home. Notice I used the word planned. By noon we finally got the horses loaded and headed to the trails. I think we should have stayed at home. The trails were horrible. They have had so much water this year that they haven’t been maintained. We got to the middle of one trail and the creek had been washed out. It had a “caution” sign. Caution? I don’t think you could get your horse through it w/o risking injury. IMO it should have been closed. MIL and I turned around and headed back.

We hit another trail and we could tell the horses (Sis mainly) were tiring. At one creek crossing she went to her knees coming up the hill. It scared MIL but I think she was just tired and missed her step. We headed back to the trailer and gave them a good rinse down before heading home.

Lucy did spook w/me for the first time. Luckily I was able to stay on. I’m not happy that she spooked but I was happy w/her response. She did a ORS before I could find my reins.

The drill team did perform at the Iowa State Fair Opening Ceremonies. I didn’t go but I was told it went well. You can see a few clips of them in this video talking about the new facilities at the fairgrounds.

State Fair Opens

Sis was used once again for the Cowgirl Queen Contest on Friday at the State Fair. Anna – our Jr. Queen made the cut for the semi finals. This is a pretty big deal to make the cut so we were very proud of her.

Anna doing the cowgirl salute on Sis (yeah can you believe she can run).

Catch me if you can!

Last night Lucy and I went to drill practice with MIL. One of the little girls had asked me to pull her horse’s mane in preparation for the Cowgirl Queen Contest next week at State Fair so I didn’t really anticipate riding much. While she was getting her horse warm for me Lu and I headed to the arena. I’m amazed at how much she changes w/the little amount of consistent work she gets. I’m constantly getting compliments on how good she looks and how relaxed and happy she looks. That of course makes me happy.

While the drill team performed I pulled Maggie’s mane while Lucy ate grass. After they were done with their run Lu and I headed back into the arena to play around some more. The team was standing in a group listening to their instructions for their rodeo this weekend so Lu trotted circles around them. She’s not rating my seat as much as I’d like her to so I’m trying to go back to the basics a bit.

Anna (the queen contestant) got on Sis to try her out. She still isn’t sure if she wants to use Sis or her horse. Lu and I had been loping around the arena (plunking more like it) when I told Anna to do the “Cowgirl salute”. She kicked Sis up a notch and I asked Lu to follow. OMG that filly finally found the gas pedal! She can book it when she wants to. I saw visions of my butt in the arena thinking if she moved just one quick step to the side I was a gonner! Luckily for me it didn’t happen. I don’t think Lu has ever gone that fast w/a rider before and I kind of think she enjoyed it.

After that I wanted to jump on Sis a bit. She was stiff and wasn’t driving the way I knew she could. We did some rollbacks and some bending exercises and then she decided slow and low was a better idea. While I was riding Sis another member of the team decided to get on Lu. I’m pretty picky about who gets on my horses but it was nice to see how Lu reacted w/a different rider. She had her head tucked nicely on a very loose rein. By the end of the night the mosquitoes got so bad we decided to get out of Dodge!

A little peace & quiet

Wow, I haven’t posted in a while huh? Last week/early this week the boys (DH and Ty) were gone to the farm so Chase and I had some quality one on one time. He’s been riding Abby and I’ve been a mean mom only giving him 1 rein at a time. Since he has been riding I let him take Abby to the show and run games with her. This was the first time he’d had two reins in a while and he wasn’t quite sure what to do.

I warmed Abby up for him (wore her out) so she didn’t have much get up and go when it was time to run but they did great! He’s got a lot of fast kids/horses in his age group this year and he still managed to place. Why? Because he got the pattern right and he worked with Abby instead of against her. I was so proud of him.

Sunday I took Cat and Bell over to MIL’s. I don’t have time to work Cat and trying to manage 7 horses by myself was starting to wear on me. Cat’s leg seems to be healing fine. I took the bandage off and she’s been licking it. It looks better w/her caring for it then it ever did with me trying to so I’ll let Mother Nature take her course.

Monday night MIL and I went to the arena while Chase stayed with grandma. Sis got a new set of shoes (yes I know) so the trimmer wanted us to check them out to see if back shoes were called for. We worked on what I think we will work on in TX and all I can say is that after 25 min. MIL and I were ready to collapse (the ponies weren’t looking much better). There is NO way I’m going to be ready for TX. I’m just going to face the reality now. It was a nice ride though and Sis looked great! For the first time since her injury (May ’09), she was actually almost hitting her front footsteps with her back feet. Normally she short strides so bad on that side that she look lame. MIL was excited and sad at the same time. We’ve worked long and hard to keep from shoeing but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

Sat. the boys (Ty and Chase) leave for great grandmas for a week so I’m hoping to get some ride time in then.