Still Muddy

Yes, Savannah, I see you are still muddy.

The morning was beautiful. 

But the sky was cloudy and dark.

 I went to babysit my 2 grandsons this moring. Caden and Tyler had fun playing!

Spring is coming.  Geese are flying!

Savannah didn't get ridden today, but Shaggy did. 

Savannah, I see you watching me.  You are getting rode tomorrow!

Great Training and Ride Day

All photos are of Windy, compliments of Tammy (Horsetrailriders.com)

I continued working Savannah on the ground, asking her to give her hip both directions. My young 3 year old gelding, Duster, came over to bother us, as I was working Savannah in the horse lot. 2 things were very interesting. Since he was right there, I asked him to move his hip. Him without halter or lead, me holding another horse. And he gave his hip both directions. Secondly, this young gelding is never tense. As I was doing these manuevers, he would lick and chew. Hmmmm. After the Chat group discussion about Van Hargis saying licking comes from a tense horse, I’m seeing a young, very confident, horse lick and chew BECAUSE HE UNDERSTANDS SOMETHING. Him, tense? I think not. Bully in a non-pushy way, yes, but never tense. I adore him, as much as I adore Shaggy’s big puppy dog ways!

I’ve had Tammy’s, (Horsetrailriders.com) horse Windy here all week. She was in for a tune up on giving to the bit and collection work at the trot and lope, standing still while mounting, and side passing. Yesterday, Tammy came today to watch me ride Windy and to take a lesson on her. After we rode, we went to the field to ride.

Windy showed a little attitude at the trot, which she got corrected for, but then rode off without hesitating. She has learned to stay collected at the trot, giving nicely to the bit. We circled and made small figure 8’s, while she stayed in frame and had a very smooth trot. Coming out of the figure 8, we moved on down the rail at the extended trot. We stopped and reversed and went the other way.

Once her trot leveled out and stayed smooth, I asked for the lope. There was no kicking out and she kept her nose tucked. I am working on her stops, asking her to keep her nose tucked and stopping with her hind legs under her. She is starting to understand the moving with her body in frame is better for her. I’m wondering if the kicking out was a sign of soreness or defiance. But as I work quietly with her, she appears to understand that the collected movement is easier than head up and hollow back.

Tammy took a lot of pics and video. Hubby always said I should set the old camcorder up and video my rides. They are very insightful! I saw where I need to work on Windy. I saw how I rode. I saw how the horse responded with what I did.

Tammy rode and did very well. I had encouraged her to quiet her hands and she did a great job. I asked her to carry my hands a little higher, at the height of the horn, as this helps to lift a horse’s shoulder. I was amazed that I rode with hands a little lower than I wanted her to ride. But my hands are moving slightly, very little, and I really need to watch myself ride more often!

I had a wonderful time riding and teaching. Maybe it started because I Centered myself and started with some Centered Riding exercises with Tammy. Maybe because I centered myself and became calmer. Maybe because I centered myself and enjoyed the moment.

Tammy and Windy responded well together, and we took Windy to the point where working became hard for Windy. I talked about that with Tammy. Windy had worked physically and mentally, and all 3 of us were done. Let’s find something easy to do and be done.

The 3 of us walked to the barn. Tammy and I got a cold drink, I bridled Shaggy who was already saddled and standing quietly tied, and we headed to the field. How much fun is it to ride horses that are matched movers? I needed to be a little cautious with Shaggy, as he just came back from having a sore ankle a month and ½ ago. I have been riding him with sport boots to support his ankle.

We weren’t long in the field before Tammy wanted to move out. LOL Slow trot, extended long trot, then a slow lope for me and a little bit faster lope for Windy. We crossed the road and rode a ½ mile north, then a ½ mile west, weaving through the fields. Trotting and loping. Extended trotting and posting. Loping. We circled back around, adding another mile to our ride. Then letting a little bit loose and running. Tammy was ahead, Shaggy felt good, and I just HAD to let him out a little. Oh my goodness. Have you seen on the races when the TB is held back, let go, and he spurts ahead? Now, Shaggy didn’t spurt, but he went. I told Tammy I was behind her, then I was beside her, then I shot ahead. Tammy went sideways, lol. I pulled Shaggy up, as I didn’t want to strain his leg any more that I already had.

He is a mover. Maybe a better mover than Finny. Maybe things really do happen for a reason. We only know afterwards the “why”. All I know now is that I’m glad I kept Shaggy and I am enjoying riding him. I have always like his “looks”. He was handsome at 6 months, and at 3 years, and now. What a mover! I just need to balance my Centered Riding work, and my future dressage lessons, and the trail riding with his mind. I want to keep him as balanced and calm as I want my life.

Tammy and I ended the ride by walking through a CRP field, kicking out some deer, twice. We walked a tree lined field, enjoying the scenery. Walking back to the barn we only rode an hour and a ½, riding almost 6 miles. And the tension, and the last year and 5 months melted away, and I was in the moment.

The training and lesson day ended with 2 friends catching up, lounging on chairs, with a glass of Shiraz. The only sounds were the birds in the trees and the horses moving in the distance. The day was still warm, and there wasn’t a breeze, and it felt wonderful to just lounge.

Take time for yourself each day. I have enjoyed sitting with a cup of coffee at the end of each day, listening to the sounds outside. Today, I sat with a glass of wine with a good friend. And the peace and calmness was there.

After a deep breath, I sense the beginning of a different way of life. I life I want to share with my grandbabies. After many years with horses, I am still learning. I am learning that I am always learning.

Moving Savannah's hip from the Ground

Shaggy loping

After yesterday’s Horses Are Our Lives Chat Group discussion, I decided Savannah needs more ground work. I need her paying attention to me! And not looking everywhere but at me. (Click on name if you would like to join in the discussion or follow along).

After riding the other 2 horses, which I’ll talk about after this, I took a rope halter and cotton rope lunge line down to the lower lot. I planned on just working Savannah where the other horses were, so she had to pay attention to me.

I gave Sara my carrot stick to use, so I used a buggie whip in its place. Now, I know what it looks like to ask a horse to give its hip and I know how the horse is to respond, but I’ll sum up my time with this: Hubby asked if the horse is confused/getting it/learning or me?

I teach my horses to lunge, so giving Savannah credit, she thought I wanted her to lunge. Nooooo. When I point to your hip, you are suppose to move that hip away. Don’t lunge. Don’t run off. And Don’t run over me.

I shortened the lunge line. We went from a 20’ line to a 15’ line, and I could pull her head towards me easier when she went to lope off in a circle. I have the rope halter on, but sometimes it’s easier, well all the time it’s easier, if I use a chain over the nose for a little more control. Last year, that big girl would just turn her neck and pull the other way. The chain gave me the leverage that my body, and arms needed, so she didn’t pull away from me.

Shortening the line, and being a little quieter with the whip, helped. Finally, I got her to where she would just move her hip, and cross over her hind legs, and look at me. From both sides. So I petted her and left her looses. Enough for 1 day. Especially with me trying to hobble along and hold her with 2 gigantic blisters on the back side of my ankles, where a pair of old boots rubbed earlier in the day. I knew I shouldn’t have used them, but we were burning a little bit of brush, and they were the oldest pair I have. I was only in them for an hour, and I have the largest blisters that I have ever had! They still look nice, and now I know why. They pinch my toes, and after the blisters today, they are going in the goodwill bag!

Hubby thinks Shaggy is going to be his horse.

After burning brush this morning, the wind picked up. I free lunged Windy a few minutes, and she wanted to run. She is collecting up nice at the trot, and is staying soft and starting to extend at the long trot, instead of just picking up speed. She is starting to lope off while giving to the bit, but she still doesn’t like to be collected. Today, she gave me some kicks, and was told that wasn’t nice, and we reversed and loped off. Many times. I think she got it when one time, I reversed to the outside, and the next step was a lope step. Good girl.

I continued asking Windy (Tammy's horse, of Horsetrailriders.com) to stand still and mount from whatever I had around. Mounting block, upside down feeder, old water tank. Only when we approached something different was she hesitant. But she is learning to side pass over from the ground, and most of the time, she stands still.

Windy is starting to anticipate the side pass now. Today, I stopped and pause going over the logs, instead of just walking over them. Stopped and used some Centered Riding Breathing. Then asked for a step or 2 of the side pass. Windy likes to back up while going sideways, so I’m constantly asking for more forward motion. Anytime I work the 2 tract (half pass), I start walking forward first, then asked for the movements. My legs always need to be further back on Windy’s side, and I reinforce moving the hip by doing forehand turns also.

Shaggy is learning so fast. His lope has come a long way in less than a year. I really need to keep things slow for him, as he wants to think fast and do it. His trot is awesome, and I found myself working on the extended trot while in 2 point position. His trot will condition ME for CTR’s this year! Once again, I didn’t work him long, maybe 45 minutes, as I want to condition that leg that had been sprained a month or so ago. We loped both direction, and instead of working on him, I found myself working on myself and another Centered Riding exercise. As we lope, I lifted my shoulders, and I imagined my center going up and around, spinning backwards in a nice large pattern. I wanted him to slow down and have a lift “up” to his stride. What a difference in your own position when you do this.

I didn’t get to bring the 2 3 year olds into the barn and have them stand tied. I think I will add them to the agenda next week. But I did saddle Dixie, my 16 year old mare that I purchased last spring as another lesson mare. I took her to the field for a little over a ½ hour and for a 2 mile ride. That girl will be my extra trail horse. Point her and she goes. Down a short bank, straight down for 2 feet, and she couldn’t care. Through the fields. Ears perked, wanting to go. No whinnying. But she is out of shape and was huffing. I stayed out just long enough to get a few early sunset pics.

Next week, I’ll need to saddle both Chick and Dixie, and pony one so I can get them both to the field. I don’t pony horses, yet! But I will start. I wonder who will like to lead and who will like to follow?

Shaggy

I'm back to riding and training this week. It's been a long winter, and even a longer time for me to feel this good. I plan on blogging nightly about my day, but as you see, I'm alreay to days late, lol! I'll have 2 posts today for the last 2 days!

I'm also talking about Training Tips and Centered Riding Exercises on my Horses Are Our Lives Chat Group. Click here if you would like to join in or just follow along.

Tuesday and Wed's thoughts:

Gorgeous Days

I’m going to lump the last 2 days into one post. The last 2 days have been just plain gorgeous. Both Top 10 days. Warm 60-70 degree weather. A little bit of wind but we’ll take it if the days are this warm. When I was in the shelter of the trees at the outside arena, there was almost no wind. I just love sun and warmth!

And I will repeat what I said the first day of the week, I sure loved being in the barn the last 3 days! The horses didn’t agree. Shaggy whinnied the first day, then stood quiet. Savannah whinnied and tried to climb out of the stall both days. She didn’t succeed.

I had always used web halters, but I had a rope halter on her yesterday. I’m sure the extra pressure of the rope on her poll told her to stay down. She didn’t learn the lesson and tried to go back up today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Windy is such a good girl when tied. She just stood there, waiting her turn. She was good until we went to the arena! And then she just showed me some mare attitude with “I don’t want to work” attitude. We worked through all of that.

Good riding days. Yesterday, (Tuesday) I worked on Tammy's Windy, as well as lunging Savannah under saddle, and lunging and riding Shaggy. Shaggy's leg is better, a little bit of puffy area, but no swelling and no heat. I put sport boots on him for support and I saw and felt no gimpiness. and boy did he move! I think he is even a better mover than Finny was. I had a great day outside, can you tell? :-)))

Savannah was only free lunged under saddle. She could have cared less if I was there, flapping the lunge line, that had a baggie attached to the end of it, around. I kept moving her and she kept paying attention to something else. Is this a THW trait? She was sweating after that first day, but she never really paid attention to me. I don’t know why and I don’t like that. She should have, eventually, turned and come to me. I guess we’ll be free lunging a lot, to set me up as her leader.

Shaggy through the logs

Shaggy lunged beautiful, with no signs of soreness. And boy, did he move. He trotted and loped freely, with a little playful horse play amongst the loping. I flapped the baggie around him too, and he didn’t care. Every time I stopped flapping the lunge line with baggie attached to it, he would walk up to me. I rode him lightly on Tuesday, as I didn’t want to aggravate his leg and any potential residual soreness. We trotted, and I worked him at a posting trot and at a 2 point. Boy, is he a smooth ride. And he can cover ground. Shaggy is my Centered Riding horse, and I plan on taking dressage lessons with him. I didn’t lope him, just walked and trotted the arena and logs. I cooled him off by walking, side passing, 2 tracking, and walking the logs.

Windy saying I'm done lunging and I'm watching you.

Windy went back to work. I free lunged her again, and she left me know when she was done lunging, as she would stop and look at me. LOL She didn’t walk up to me, but I’ll continue to work on that bonding. She needs to learn that I’m the leader and she needs to learn to accept the human as leader. She watched intently though, and I just loved her expressions. As I put the lunge whip away, she did approach. We are to work on quietly standing still while mounting, so I had her approach the mounting block from both directions, getting on and off both sides. She did well.

We continued working the collected trot, both at the sitting and posting trot. Once she was moving freer, and moving more willingly forward, we worked on the collective lope. This takes some leg from me to hold her in that frame, and this takes a mental mind from her, as this is a mental and physical job for her. Once again, she left me know that she didn’t like this job, and with a toss of her head, she left out a kick as we loped off. Stop, one swat, reversed, and lope off. 2 times around, no kick out. Stop, reverse, lope off, no kick, just ears back, lope a few times around. Repeat until ears where better and Windy was puffing. Now we have the mind, and we walked off on a relaxed long rein. She side passes and 2 tracks but her hip lags behind. I worked on moving the hip more. I worked on more forehand turns, asking the hips to move around. I think the trick with Windy is the leg needs to be further back to encourage the hind legs to move. She anticipates the side pass, so I worked on stepping over logs and waiting, then just ask for 2 or 3 good side pass steps, then moved forward. On the side pass, she has a tendency to back up.

Today, (Wed), I worked and rode all 3 horses. I just need to add the 2 3year olds to the daily routine now, as well as Dixie and Chick, the 2 lesson mares. They need to be in shape for the trotting that the lesson kids want to do!

Savannah, standing tied after being worked. She needs to learn patience!

Wed was a repeat of Tuesday’s work. I lunged Savannah a little less, working on getting her attention on me and not on the trees, the birds, any movement, the horses that she can barely see in the other lot, and…. She was calmed and walked up to me. I rode her at the walk and the gait. With Savannah, I’m learning to hold my hands a little higher above and forward of the horn and take a light hold on the reins. She will gait easier that way. With her tendency to want to see everything, this helps to hold her straight. Her response to something that unrepentantly happens is to always rush forward, holding her helps me to keep her from jumping ahead of herself. I worked on bending any time she gave an inclination of excitement. Any time she wanted to move forward too fast, I stopped and reversed out, and moved on down the opposite rail. I think she got the hint. I’ve decided I’m going to work her like we work Chick, our reiner. She is going to physically work until I have that mind. She will be a broke quiet horse!!!

Shaggy appeared just a little puffy on his one leg, which could just be residual swelling. So after a little bit of lunging, I rode him at a walk with minimal trotting. I’m in no rush with him. He doesn’t buck and he doesn’t bolt. I want him quiet. So we walked and side passed and worked on a few logs. My phone beeped as we went by a stack of logs, and wouldn’t you know it, he thought those logs were after him for the next couple of passes around the arena. We stopped and studied the logs after that. Isn’t it something what a strange sound at a particular instant can do to a horse’s mind? Those logs meant nothing until a sound was made as we were by them.

Windy free lunging easily, going over the logs.

Windy showed a little more attitude today, but I find that happens as I work horses. They don’t like work mode. Her trotting is smoothing out and she willingly lopes. She now tries to lope too fast. I hold her in a collective lope. Each time I let her have an inch, she takes it and sticks out her nose. We stop, trying to get her to stop collectively, and I am always asking for the back at the stop with her. In this way, she’ll start to stop, using her hind end. I always end on a relaxed walk with her, as she enjoys walking out, and I want to end the training time on something fun for her.

Tammy has been working one of her other horses at home. She’s going to be ready when Windy comes home! Windy needs to have a little work time each day, just for the mind set, then she’ll always be ready to go down the trail!

Morning Hay

New round bales on a crisp, cool morning. It was only 16 degrees out this morning.

The early morning light coming between the trees,



A fresh round bale, with Goldie and Chick getting their place,

Shaggy,

Savannah,

Goldie,

Shaggy and Duster getting some hay on the ground, since the others wouldn't let them in,

Starlet and Duster, mother and son,

The look like each other, except the coloring,

Starlet definitely seeing something, must be looking at the cats, but I can't believe that she isn't at the round bale, eating the hay!

Cleaning Lots

I put out a reminder on my Chat Group about worming. You should worm after a killing frost. Ivermectin should be used in spring and fall, alternating with other types of wormers during the other times.

I just got my worming done. Some of the horses I didn’t even have to halter. Then there are always those few that said, “you aren’t catching me to stick that thing into my mouth.” So I walked off, did something else, and walked up to one of the young horses with a hand full of grass that I found. I think she forgot that I was after her earlier, and she left me halter her easily while she eagerly ate that grass that no one else was getting. She wormed easily, and after I took the halter off, she searched the ground for more grass. She wouldn’t find any there!

We had the horse's teeth checked last week for sharp edges, A few of the horses have been floated. Hopefully, that helps to keep the weight on some hard keepers.

Lots are being cleaned as I type, so they are not so messy next spring. These pictures make them seem really wet and slimy now, but they weren’t too bad to scrape. At least I didn’t fall on the slime! Tom liked running the bobcat. Must be a guy’s toy.

Then he gives me, “what do you want” look. LOL

My 2 helpers were helping me. Posie, the Aussie, and Lady, the Springer Spaniel.

Then I think Posie went to sleep for awhile. Lady is always on the go. You would never find her sleeping.

Water Heaters are going into the tanks. We put the extension cords of the heaters through PVC pipe and tie the pipes to the fencing.

Then those pesky horses can’t play with the heaters and destroy them. I just need to find 1 or 2 extension cords. We'll plug them in tomorrow night, as we are suppose to be getting nights with temps down in the teens. Horses don't like to drink really cold water, and will limit their intake if the water is freezing.

It is important to keep the water source from freezing. I like to put 5 gallon buckets over the hydrant handles to keep them from freezing shut. Oops, didn’t get a pic of that, but I think you can imagine what a bucket looks like over a hydrant.

I need to replace salt blocks. I still want them licking salt, and that will help with water consumption. I have 4 lots of horses, but we usually buy a couple of large blocks and I have hubby break them into quarters.

Hay is ready. I feed brome round bales, but one lot of hard keepers will get alfalfa squares for a few months. I realized today why my shoulders are achy and waking me up during the night. I thought it was from moving boxes of tack to the store 3 weeks ago. But today, I was forking hay back into the hay feeders, trying to keep the lots clean from the hay getting mucky. I could feel the strain. I have been forking hay over to a horse that was in it’s own lot for a month and a half. That was a lot of torquing on my shoulders. I wasn’t feeling the soreness until the last 2 weeks. I don’t think I’ll be pitching hay any more. I’ll give that job to hubby!

Grain is ready. I'll start graining soon. I'm graining Purina Strategy to supply the nutrient level for 2 broodmares that are having foals next spring, 3 young horses, and 2 pleasure horses that can use the extra energy over the winter. I’ll feed Senior feed to the lot of older teenage horses that are my hard keepers.

Horses have had trims, and may need 1 more trimming late December. Then I find over the winter that I can go 2-2 1/2 months before the next trim if I'm not riding the horses. I don't mind them a little long, just not breaking off. All of their feed goes to keep themselves warm, and their hooves don't tend to grow so long. I just keep hay in front of them so they aren’t shivering as much when the weather gets damp. Chewing on hay keeps internal temp up.

We also got a load of clay dirt, to spread in the low places. (Sounds like a song) (Who can name it?) We spread a couple bobcat buckets under the lean to where the water runs off. Hubby needs to spread it over in the horse lot where the summer rains washed out dirt and made a ditch. And we will spread the rest of the dirt where we drive into the lot. There is always a low spot there.

What else? I think I'm ready for winter. Except for the snow. I better put the shovel at the back door! Maybe if I’m ready for snow, it won’t snow as much as last year!

Oh, and I better get my turtlenecks and overalls ready, and insulated boots and gloves. I was freezing yesterday, but today I wore my fleeced lined jeans, a long sleeve T with a sweatshirt, and a hoody with a winter jacket. And gloves. I was much warmer in this 30 degree damp weather.

I better go check on hubby. He should be about done playing in the horse lot. I need him to get a bucket of sand to put under the big lot’s large round water tank. We keep it a little higher so the horses aren’t constantly kicking the bottom of the tanks, which causes them to leak. The level tool is ready so we can make sure the water tank is laying even.

I went outside and waited on Tom to finish blading the section of the lot that he was working on.

The horses were at the round bale. Shaggy walked up to me. He dropped his head for me to rub it. He actually turned sideways and seemed to want me to rub his neck and back, which I did. Honey walked up and wanted to be petted also. Shaggy pinned his ears slightly, but he is so gentle, I was surprised by his actions, as that certainly is the most I’ve ever seen him do. After rubbing Honey, I walked to Shaggy’s other side, and when he was done wanting to be rubbed, he walked back to the round bale. Then Savannah walked over, wanting me to rub her forehead. When I went to walk away, she followed me.

I wonder if my horses have missed me, as I haven’t done much riding the last 2 weeks. It was nice to walk out into their lot, and have them walk up to me. Tom caught me rubbing them, and asked when he was going to get his back rubbed? LOL

Kanopolis CTR

October 22-24, 2010

Last week, I was preparing for the Kanopolis CTR. Located near Marquette, Kansas, just north of Salina, the park is a beautiful place to ride. The pictures don’t do it justice. With a mixture of canyons, river views, and prairie, it is a breathtaking place to ride.

We had fantastic weather and a fantastic ride! It looked like it could have rained at times on Friday, but it went around us, and we stayed dry all weekend.


Both Saturday and Sunday started out a little chilly, but you only needed a light jacket if you had other layers on. By the end of the ride, we were down to short sleeves. The ride is beautiful, but I didn't take as many pics as I wanted to. I rode with Shari, and as always, she is awesome to ride with. Wiley was a calming influence for Savannah, and we had a near perfect ride by Sunday. The stony hills are a challenge, and this is a great place to ride if you are thinking of going to the mountains. This is a tough ride, as I think 5 horses were pulled due to lameness on Sat, and another 2 on Sunday.I was very pleased with Savannah. I didn't think I would have a good ride, because she was very uptight on Friday afternoon. Even after an hour pre-ride, she was ready to go! I was ready to sell her or give her away.We ended up placing really well. Savannah was 3rd and I was 2nd out of 7 riders in my division. Now, I may just keep her!

Shari placed 5th in CP (Competitive Pleasure) and Wiley placed 2nd. And, they achieved a 1000 miles of NATRC Competitive Trail Riding with this ride. Congrats, Shari and Wiley.

My friend, Virginia, placed 3rd in both Horse and Horsemanship! YEA! I got to visit with Jonni from Trot on Hank, and she placed 2nd on Horse and 5th on Rider in her Open Division and with this ride, achieved the National Championship! I had a great time talking with her about her Tevis Ride this year!

Saturday obstacles started with a rocky decline with both judges watching. We had to open and move through a very heavy gate, that swung open away from the rider and downhill. As soon as you opened it, it swung open fast. I only had to open and go through, but even with watching other riders, the gate swung away from me fast and I left go of the gate. CP and open had to open and close the gate.

We had a judged mount after a P&R, and Savannah stood still. We had to lead the horse up to a mounting block and mount. After another P&R, we had to walk to the judges and back between 2 trees. Savannah did well at this, but wouldn’t come forward between the trees, which wasn’t part of the obstacle, so I just backed her a little more and walked around the trees. I don’t think I lost any points for doing that. CP and Open had to back between brush.


On Sunday, we had to take a detour off the trail to a rocky area. We had to walk down a steep rocky hill, while CP and Open had to step down from a large rocky area. At another obstacle, we had to continue walking down the path, and walk over a very large log. Savannah, with her long legs, had no problem. CP and Open had to side pass a smaller log, while stepping over a branch on the log at the same time.


After the last P&R, we came upon the last obstacle with the vet judge. We had to step up on a large rock, about 2’ high, with the horse's two front feet only, and settle. Savannah stepped up and stepped back down instantly. I asked her to do it the 2nd time, but she backed off again instantly. We’ll have to work on standing still longer. After we left this obstacle, the Horsemanship judge was hiding. As we walked up a hill, he was watching to see if we were riding heavy or off the cantle. I only saw him because there was a hiker at the top of the hill. As I looked back to tell Shari there was a hiker, I saw the judge up behind the rocky ledge, and waved at him! Lol


All of Savannah’s P&R’s were great. She made all of her metabolic points. When we checked in on Friday, she started loping and acted up a little, getting her a 4 for attitude. We were to check out on Sunday with the same attitude, and anything less would mean missing points. She actually started loping again on Sunday, but I don’t know if we lost points. I didn’t stay for awards, as the trip home was almost 4 hours. I was thinking of staying with Shari, and following her home, but decided to leave. The cards will show up in the mail soon.


My thighs were sore on Monday! I think I hold with my thighs going up hills, to help hold me off the horse. I think I better start keeping more weight in the stirrups, and hold less with my thighs. I better keep moving , as it hurts a little to sit down and stand up. By the end of the day, my legs were almost back to normal.


I was only able to ride 2 CTR’s this year, but I can’t wait for next year’s schedule! I’m ready to keep riding the trails and competing!

“Embrace the Journey!” Come along on the ride with me!

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!”

Brushy Creek CTR 2010

September 17-19, 2010

We had a fantastic time at the Brushy Creek CTR. I rode with Diane, and her KY Mountain Horse and Savannah, my TWH, were well matched. Even though it rained Saturday, and was cool and drizzly on Sunday, both horses did well.

We were sweating Friday when we pulled in at 1pm, unloaded, and checked in. I had met Diane at a gas station about ½ hour from Brushy Creek. After checking in the horses, we had to get a weight card. We tacked up our horses, headed back up to check in, and we had to be weighed while holding our saddle, bridle, breast collar, saddle bags, and helmet. We rode late Friday afternoon for about an hour. The horses could stretch their legs, relax, and see some of the terrain.

The ride management fixed all of our meals, and they were delicious! It was great to get done with the ride, and be able to sit down to a hot meal and coffee, already cooked for us. Thank you, Iowa Trail Riders!
We were freezing by Saturday morning! It started thundering before 4 am and poured until just before 6. I got up in the dark and fed the horse, and then management said to come to a meeting at 7, since we couldn't ride where we were going to. Luckily, they have great all-terrain trails here. The rain had stopped, but there was the wind and dampness to endure.

We only rode 15 miles Saturday. We were on the horses for about ½ hour before we clocked out. The ride only took 4 hours with gaited horses! lol, and we had to make them walk slow the last 2 miles. We only had drizzles during the ride, BUT, after eating lunch, when it was time to bring the horses to the vet judge, it poured on us! I was so glad to get back inside the trailer by 3 pm and change into dry clothes. Savannah did great today, as well as Diane's Jordan. The 2 horses were well matched and got along. Diane and I sat inside my trailer after the vet check, warmed up, and had a great visit. I was planning on reading my Centered Riding 2 book, but only got a couple of pages read.

I had to call the farrier who was on call for the CTR. Savannah pulled a shoe in the only wet spot we had - a water crossing, where she sunk into a little mud! Arghhh - the shoes were only on a new reset for 5 days. The farrier came a little after 6 and replaced the shoe. Too many fine stones here to go barefoot.

Savannah did awesome at the obstacles on Saturday. She stood well for a judged mount, using the terrain to help you mount, we had to open and go through a gate, and were judged on a steep decline. Savannah does not trot with me "in hand" - something I should have taught her by now, and I have to work on that. And the other trot in hand that everyone had to do was to trot a figure 8 with your horse, but stay to the inside. That means, circle left, when you are normally to the inside of your circle, then stop your horse after completing the first circle, go to the off side of your horse, and trot your horse on a circle to the right, so that you stay to the inside of the circle. A lot of horses have trouble with that. I lead my horses from the off side, but I don't trot them from that side - I only trot the lesson horses from that side when I am in a hurry to get them to the barn and I have one on each side of me.

It started thundering before 8 Saturday night, and then it POURED all evening. I went to bed Saturday night listening to the thunder. Please pray it stops. I don't like riding in the downpour. I was sure hoping that it would stop before morning! I don't think it even got to 50 today. How can we sweat one day, freeze the next day, be wet, and then the forecast is for 70-80's next week? I hope we are not all sick. My jeans, through "waterproof" pants, were wet today!

We need to remember - this is suppose to be fun! and it is, when the focus is not on winning, but trying to do your best with your horse. I am happy with what Savannah can do well already, as a 4 years old, she crosses bridges over wide creeks with running water and fishing boats, doesn't bat an eye at garbage cans, signs, tents, etc, crosses water. Now, if she would just get used to the unseen monsters behind her....

It poured through the night Saturday night but stopped by Sunday morning. The horses were tied at hitching rails. They were set on a little bit higher ground, with the ground sloping away. That meant that even though the ground was dry, the horses were not standing in water. We got tacked up, and had a trot by the vet judge, who was checking for lameness, at 7:30. Weather was better, and we had a little bit warmer day. We did get drizzled on once, and the water crossing was deeper, but the day was just damp.

We rode over 15 miles on Sunday, and about 4 ½ hours. Savannah did awesome on all the obstacles on Sunday, except side passing a 6' log! We made it a few steps, then she wanted to step forward over the log or back up. We made it to the end, but it wasn’t pretty. She doesn't trot "in hand", but I was lucky, and that wasn't judged. The other obstacles on Sunday were taking a bag off a limb and handing it to the judge, walking over a small water hole and backing through it, going up a steep incline, 360 turn on the forehand. We had to stand both days for the judge checks and at the P&R's.

Savannah's goosiness was almost gone by Sunday. She did not like horses passing her fast, from either direction. I turned and faced the riders coming up behind her. And when riders had to pass us from the front, I asked them to walk slowly by.

We had a deep water crossing on Sunday, swollen from the rains the night before. It was a lot deeper than on Saturday. She went into the water crossing too fast, and lunged into the swollen water, splashing water up my legs and into my 1 boot. I felt water to my toes!

After the ride, management thought that it could be 3 hours before open division was in from the ride and before awards could be ready. With a 3 hour ride ahead of me, I decided to leave for home. Diane stayed and picked up the awards and certificates.

I ended up with 2nd Place in both Horse and Horsemanship Novice Lightweight Division! I was astonished. I knew I had a good ride with Savannah, but I knew that there were a few things that we had to improve in. I couldn’t have been more pleased with her demeanor the whole ride. Most of the time, she didn’t show her goosiness. With 2 days of riders behind her, she got used to them. I need to take the time to allow her to walk out, rather than slow gait. We will need to work on that long stretching walk.

Savannah did so much better than I expected. and she tied well at the hitching post for the 2 nights and 3 days! I think I came back with a slight head cold. By the time I got home after the 4 hour drive, I was really stuffy and had a sinus headache. I took some meds as soon as I got inside, and before bed. I did wake up clear headed, but I can tell that I'm getting stuffy. I did sleep from 10 pm to 8 am! I never sleep that long, even though I do need to sleep 8 hour nights!

It just goes to show that when you go into a ride with the "I just want to have the best ride that I can on my horse" attitude, and pressure is off on "winning", you ride more relaxed and have more fun.

And by today, I was stuffy! Maybe I just have some allergies I never knew I had. I’m so glad I’m not sick after the wet pants, wet neckline to my shirt, wet gloves, wet shoes and wet feet, and wet, damp weather!

Remember, this is fun!  And it is. I can’t wait for the Kanopolis CTR in a couple of weeks. With the way my schedule is, I can only make 2 of the 4 fall CTR’s this year. But that’s ok since Savannah is so young. This is enough for her young legs, and her young mind!

Great Rides with a Friend

I am getting bored riding in the arena. I can ride the fields but I need to wait until harvest. I can road ride, but that doesn’t sound like a great idea to do with a young horse by myself. I have only had Savannah for 2 months and I would like to do some field riding before just riding the roads. So I have done the next best thing. I called a friend to see if I can ride with her around her place. And she said, “of course!” Thank you, Virginia!

I was suppose to go to the last PRR trail ride at Two Rivers yesterday, but I was just feeling down in the dumps. I needed a dose of V’s humor yesterday. And she didn’t let me down. After some corny text messages, like, when she asked me, “do you want to road ride”, and I said, “that’s ok, I have shoes on”. And she said, “I’m glad you have shoes on, what about your horse?” I knew I had made the right decision.

We rode for 2 hours yesterday, covering 7.7 miles. I had the option for road riding or going through the wooded trails. I chose the trails, and without knowing it, there were weeds and nettles. My horse does not like nettles! She wanted to rub her legs, and when I found a place where we could stop and let her rub, she was better. But then, we circled around, and ended up going through another patch! We finished the ride by doing some road riding. She has very wide grass areas to the side of the roads, making it easy to get off the roads when vehicles go by. Savannah is doing great. She is not afraid of cars and trucks, dogs, garbage cans, plastic on the ground, or cement bridges.

Today, we rode for almost 2 hours and over 6 miles. This time, we stayed out of the woods and only went down the roads. We went a different way, hoping that the dark clouds didn’t mean rain. We rain into a light breeze during the last mile, but no rain. Once again, nothing startled Savannah. I don’t even think she knew she was following behind Dani, and not beside her. Savannah does not like to be last.

Savannah loaded great yesterday and today. She refused to load when I first got her. She would turn her head and pull away from me. There was no stopping her once she could turn her neck away from me. She had the attitude that she could get away with this bad behavior. I think she had done that a time or not! I kept a lunge line on her, with a chain over her nose for control since that first time. She was not going to be able to pull away from me again. The consistent work has helped. She loaded both days with just laying the lead rope over her back and sending her in! She hesitated twice yesterday but I kept asking, and she went in and stayed. Today, there was no hesitation. She is becoming a good girl!

I came home in a refreshed mood both days. I knew I wouldn’t ride Savannah as long as I had ridden her the last 2 days. I am so glad that I called my friend and went to ride with her.

Call a friend and go ride together! What a relaxing time!

Turkey Creek Trail Ride

August 27-29, 2010



Turkey Creek is just a wonderful place to ride. Lots of hills. Long, sloping up and down hills with great scenery and lots of trees! Well marked trails. Some go higher and further and is was great to have Brenda, the owner, as a guide.

There is always great food and friends to ride with. Gretchen, from Georgia, came back to Nebraska for her yearly visit. She left to work at a horse camp that specializes in handicap riders, as well as youth camps in the summer and riding lessons for adults and youth year round. Gretchen loves to cook in a Dutch oven over a campfire. We had 3 fantastic meals, and leftovers for 2 other meals. Creamed potatoes and ham casserole with homemade bread. Chicken and vegetable stir fry and cherry German chocolate cake. Egg and sausage casserole. Apple crisp. Just delicious.



Gretchen stayed with me the evening before. She had already shopped and we repacked her groceries into 2 coolers and my small trailer fridge. I had the trailer ready to go with hay, grain, extra drinking water for the trail rides, and my clothes. I could outfit a family for the weekend with all the clothes that I take, but hey, I have the room so I take extra.

Friday morning, after feeding the dogs and cats, we loaded the horses. Savannah went right in with little resistance. Maybe she was on good behavior because she had Dixie ready to load right behind her. Dixie loaded and the 2 horses were ready to go.

We had a 3 hour trip. We headed north towards Sioux City, taking a short rest room break as well as to fill up with gas. We drove northwest, driving through Newcastle, and arrived at the campground.



We were there before noon and we were the first to arrive. We unloaded horses and put them into pens. We decided to eat our sandwiches and relax a moment before picking a spot to park. We thought we would wait on Tammy to show up to decide where she wanted people. In the meantime, John and Brenda came and she showed us what area she wanted our group to be in. I backed the trailer into the spot closest to the new pavilion.



Isn’t it just wonderful?

Gretchen and I decided to take a short ride while we were waiting on Tammy. We were just leaving camp when she pulled in, but told us to go for a ride while she unloaded her horse and got her trailer parked. Gretchen only had about 2 hours to ride as she needed to be back to start the campfire and to begin preparation for the first meal. Gretchen and I rode the beginning of a lot of the trails. Not knowing how far each trail went, we turned off to stay close to camp. One of the trails was called Whitetail and we kicked out a deer. Another trail was perfectly named as Prairie Ridge, and we came out onto a field of shoulder high native prairie grass. I could imagine what the settlers felt when they saw a field like that. We had perfect weather Friday afternoon. Mid 80’s and a breeze to keep the flies off our horses.



We rode back to camp and Brenda and Tammy were getting ready to ride out for a short ride. Since Gretchen said it would take her a little while to get the fire going, and to start to prepare the first dish, she wanted us to ride again. We waited while Gretchen unsaddled Dixie. I told her to let the saddle sit by the trailer, and I would care for her tack and Dixie when I get back. We rode another 2 hours, I think, and had perfect views of the area around us.



Our group arrived after we got back, and throughout dinner time. The first evening, every one was tired of traveling and getting horses settled, and we were all in bed early. We wanted to eat at 8 the next morning and start our ride at 9, but that would mean that Gretchen would have to get up at 5:30 to start the fire. We pushed everything ahead another hour. Who wants to get up that early on the weekend? 6:30 was early, but when I went out at 7 to feed horses, almost everyone else was up. We ate, we rode, we ate, we rode. You can see how our weekend went!



We rode Saturday morning from 10 - 1. There were 2 other groups of riders, and Brenda led the trail ride, taking us places that we normally could not ride. We saw so many wonderful views of the hills and lower areas. Just breathtaking and very green this year! We have had a very wet summer and it showed in all the green around us. We rode out again at 4 and rode until 6, riding the hill tops.



Most of us were done riding so that we could help Gretchen prepare and chop up meat and veggies. We had that delicious German Chocolate Cherry cake for supper and no one was ready to move. We enjoyed our beverage of choice and I also brought out a bottle of Merlot to share. What a relaxing way to end the day, sitting back on soft chairs, chatting with friends, and sipping wine.



Sunday morning, I fried the leftover potatoes and some sausage links. Sandy cooked scramble eggs. We rode out again at 10 and rode to around 1 again. This time, we rode to the river. Beautiful. To the north was the South Dakota border.



I needed to head home, so I started breaking camp, unplugging the electric cord, putting the trailer living space in order, packing up horse buckets, and cleaning out pens again. I usually have my trailer picked up early the day that I leave, but with cooking breakfast, it took my free time to clean fry pans. I did have all the dishes put away before the ride started so that saved me some time, as well as having the 2 food coolers packed into the trailer. The little stuff takes so long, doesn’t it?

Savannah loaded just perfect, and Dixie hopped into the trailer before I even had Savannah tied off. Dixie is a good girl. I said my goodbyes, and thanked Brenda for the wonderful trail ride.

3 hours later, at 5pm, I pulled into home. Once again, temps had reached 91 at home and humidity was high. Hubby helped me to carry in coolers, dirty clothes, food out of the fridge, and misc items, like my laptop that I didn’t use. Oh well. I just didn’t get my early mornings to type like I usually do on trips. But I used the camera a lot!

And my friend Tammy from Horsetrailriders.com has me hooked on using a GPS. My new GPS is the wrist type, and now we can see our paths that we rode when we plug into the computer. How much fun is that?

As always, I was tired this morning, but had to get ready for a training horse to come in. I am really enjoying my trail riding time with Savannah. She only had a few goosey moments and jumps, but they are getting less frequent, and with less intensity. My first CTR is in a little more than 2 weeks, so I hope she is on her way to becoming conditioned for that.

Come ride a trail with me sometime! I can’t wait until the next ride!