Goldie's Filly

Friday, June 17, 2011

Finally... here she is.  Goldie was only 4 days late, but it felt like we were waiting for this little girl forever!  Goldie was huge, with an udder like a cow's.  Yesterday, Friday, we woke up to this picture:



 with a large star, light buckskin coat, and dorsal stripe,

 Starlet's Dove didn't know what to make of this little one!

even though this photo is a little blurry, I just loved the front leg movement of mom and baby

 Her actual coat coloring is very light

 I just love her eyes!

I'm thinking of calling her Doe, or Fawn, or something like that.  Ideas?

Thanks!

What Next?

I’m getting near the end of the 2nd week since Finny died. I can talk about him now. I can talk to friends without crying. I have ridden some friend’s horses. I am ready to ride my other horses, but it has rained so much this week that it’s too cool, damp and muddy out to even want to go get them out of their muddy lots. But I will when the sun comes out!

Now, what is next? Months ago, I had started thinking about getting a gaited horse for CTR. Sometimes, Finny and I worked awfully hard to keep up to the gaited horses. When the gaited horses moved out, they did so easily. Finny and I struggled at some P&R’s, barely getting below the number that we needed before losing points. But, I have found out that gaited horses struggle also. I felt that I had Finny conditioned, as I had ridden him more days a week as other people rode their gaited horses.

Since Monday, I have been on the internet search to see what gaited horses are for sale. I have decided to look at Foxtrotters, I like the front to backward movement of their gait. I have also struggled with upper body sway going down hills. I have improved that movement by concentrating on the Centered Riding exercises that I have learned. I also feel that the front to backward movement of the Foxtrotters will help me with that sway as I go down a hill, helping me to move front to back with the horse‘s movement instead of the side to side sway.

On the internet, I have goggled Missouri Foxtrotters in Missouri. Do you know how many Foxtrotter Breeders there are in Missouri? Do you know how many Foxtrotters there are for sale in Missouri? Let’s just say that it took me from Monday evening to tonight, Thursday evening, to look at a lot of the sites and decide on a few horses to see. Right now, I’m excited to have narrowed the search down to 2 places, and more specifically, to 1 horse. I will look at this horse on Sunday. Hopefully, Sunday evening I have good news. I really like the looks of this horse. I think it is one that I can grow with. To further compete with. And to bond with.

A friend recently told me that she was glad I was looking at gaited horses. She said that looking for a gaited horse is somewhat therapeutic for me. She said I couldn’t compare Finny to a gaited horse, as the movement isn’t the same. I hadn’t thought of that before, but she is right. If I was looking for another Quarter Horse right now, I would compare each horse to Finny. I can’t compare a gaited movement to Finny’s movement. If I was looking for another Quarter Horse, I’m not sure I would be looking for another horse right now. I’m not even sure I could ride another Quarter Horse right now. I know I haven’t ridden any of my other horses yet.

I think if it ever quits raining, and the sun comes out, I’ll be able to saddle up one of my horses and ride in the fields. I’m hoping the sun comes out soon, as I’m ready to ride. Come along on the ride with me!

Riding With my Friend

Yesterday and today, I rode with my friend, Virginia. I rode her gaited Foxtrotters, Danni and Annie. Even before Finny’s death, I was considering getting a gaited horse for the CTR’s. When Finny died, I didn’t want to ride any other of my horses. A week had gone by, and I was suppose to go riding with friends for 4 days. I had planned on camping at Turkey Creek. With Finny. Then I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to Turkey Creek. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take another horse of mine if I did go.

Brenda W from Turkey Creek is selling some of her Tennessee Walking Horses. I made the decision to go, and not take horses, but ride some of Brenda’s that were for sale. I need to get a feel for the movement of gaited horses. The Walkers were smooth, and one filly especially moved out in a ground covering walk. But I needed to evaluate more horses.

I ride CTR’s with Virginia. She texted me Sunday morning to see if I wanted to come to her place and ride her horses. She knew I hadn’t gone back to riding any of my other horses. I had already made plans to go see a young Foxtrotter, so Virginia came with me to help evaluate her. Afterwards, I went to Virginia’s place to ride. Danni is Virginia’s CTR horse. Annie is a Foxtrotter, but she paces. I started the ride on Danni, than rode Annie. I need to get used to the movement of the gaited horses. I felt like I held a lot more with my legs. I had a hard time figuring out how much to hold and how to stay centered.

Today, I rode with Virginia again. I rode Annie the entire 2 hour ride. As I became comfortable riding her, I held her with a little more contact to control her speed, and she began to foxtrot instead of pace. The Foxtrot gait was so much smoother. The pace has the legs, on the same side of the body, moving at the same time. That gait is rough.

As I rode Annie with contact, she became smoother. There is a place on the trail that she likes to lope. She was very smooth. She was collected and light. Later, as she moved into the foxtrot, the movement was getting easier for me to feel and to ride. The movement was easier for me to achieve.

Yesterday and today, I enjoyed riding horses. They weren’t my horses, but they were horses. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to ride some of my own horses.

Come along on the ride with me. I’m ready to ride again.