Corn is Harvested

Corn is harvested off the fields! That means I can ride in the fields. Now the beans are off, and I can enjoy some nice places to trot out and to lope.



I have been waiting for this to happen for a month now. When I rode the fields the other day, I could smell the freshly cut scent of corn. It smelled so good.



Today was a very warm day. The last 2 weeks have been days full of sun. No rain. Sunny with a slight wind. I needed to feel the warmth of the sun on my face. Nothing is better for the soul than feeling a good horse underneath you and the sun warming your back.



I’m riding 4 horses. 3 of my own and 1 training horse. And I’m getting a 2 year old ready to ride. The training horse is ready to be ridden outside the arena and have hour long rides in the fields. He has had a month of desensitizing and slow arena work to build up his confidence. He has had 2 short rides in the bean field behind the barn. Now he is ready to go further.



My 3 horses are all so different from each other. Savannah is the gaited TWH (Tennessee Walking Horse). She is only 4, but I’m getting tired of her looking for things to jump at. I am building up her confidence with as many short and long trails rides as I can. I try to ride with other horses also.



Shaggy has had his first couple of rides to the field. I just love riding him. He is 7, but he was on the back burner for 5 years. That is turning out to be ok, as he is a confident, gentle horse. He He isn’t scared of anything, and when he is hesitant about crossing a ditch, he has a lot of try. He eventually sticks with it, and crosses what he is hesitant about, and generally without jumping the obstacle. He perks his ears and trots out.



Dixie is the 16 year old mare that I bought in May as a replacement lesson horse. One of my lesson horses is in foal, and that only left me 1 good horse. I wasn’t sure if Dixie was going to work out as she has a very fast trot and lope, or should I say canter. But the more I ride her, the more I like her. She loves the fields, too. I was discouraged with how Savannah was always looking to goose, and the day before the Peter Campbell clinic, I took Dixie to the field. I enjoyed the moment I got on her to the moment I got off her. She made me realize why I love riding the fields at the trot and the lope.



I love the outdoors. When I think it’s too much work, I just need to get on a horse and ride the fields and CRP land. I need to sit on top of the rise and feel the warm sun and gentle breeze. Some days, the wind isn’t so gently, but brisk and cold, but that is ok. It is exhilarating if you let it be. Riding can be that way too. IF you just let it be. No matter what is going on in your life, or with you, just go ride. Let everything else disappear, if only for a short time, and ride the ride.



“Embrace the Journey!”